第一节 完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

    Tim was unhappy that his father didn't attend the last soccer game of the season, but he wasn't surprised. Tim was ten years old and he   (1)   that lots of clients（客户）depended on his father, a   (2)   , who had to work most nights and weekends. Still it made him sad ,   (3)   because this year he won the league's most valuable player  (4)   .

    One evening Tim got up the nerve （勇气）to   (5)   his father's work at home to ask him how much lawyer make per hour. His father was   (6)   and coldly answered , "They pay me ＄300 an hour."

    Tim gulped（倒吸气）and said, "Wow, that's a lot. Would you   (7)   me ＄100?"

    "Of course not," his father shouted. "Please, let me   (8)   ."

    Later, the father felt   (9)   and went to Tim's room where he found him   (10)   .

    "Son," he said, "I'm sorry. If you need some money, of course I'll lend it to you. But can I ask   (11)   ?"

    Tim said , "Daddy, I know your   (12)   is really worth a lot and with the ＄200 I've already   (13)   , I'll have enough. Can I   (14)   an hour so you can come to the award dinner on Friday?"

    It hit his father like a punch on the heart. He realized his son   (15)   him more than his clients did. He needed to be there for his son more than he needed   (16)   or career success. He hugged him and said , "I'm so   (17)   of you; nothing could keep me   (18)   ."

    Lots of parents are trying very hard to   (19)   business demands and family needs. It's always a matter of priorities（优先事项）. But   (20)   we don't arrange our lives to be there for our children, we will regret it.

 (1)__ to buy some clothes.

One morning I knocked on the door of an elderly woman and asked if she needed some help. She asked why I was not in school and I_(2)_ her my old pants and my shoes, which were_(3)_ and no longer kept my feet warm. She_(4)_ me to work in the yard. She said when I finished, “I suppose you want to be _(5)_ now.”

She asked what my fee(费用) was. I had not thought about how much I could make. I was excited about the opportunity even as a _(6)_child. She let me in and then _(7)_ high above the refrigerator and got a big jar(广口瓶) filled with coins. I could not _(8)_ my eyes. She said with a big smile on her face. “You’ve done a(n) _(9)_ job today, although you missed some school which is very _(10)_; that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to buy some pants and new _(11)_ and go back to school. Come back and visit me later with your report card and I will reward(奖励) you _(12)_I see you have some good _(13)_. Now reach in with your hands and take out as much as you can.”

I reached in and _(14)_ so much money that I could not believe it for myself. It  was _(15)_ for me to buy what I needed. I _(16)_ to see the woman several times and she did just as she _(17)_. She would give me some dollars every time I showed her I had an “A” or “B”. However, I never knew her _(18)_.

Years later, I moved away from that_(19)_. I will never forget her huge difference this stranger made to my life with her _(20)_.

A doctor entered the hospital in a hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery (手术). He answered the call as soon as possible, changed his clothes and went  (1)   to the surgery block. He found the boy’s     (2)    pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor.

On seeing him, the father     (3)   , “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in     (4)   ? Don’t you have any sense of    (5)  ?”

The doctor smiled and said, “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital and I came as fast as I could after    (6)    the call and now, I wish you’d      (7)   down so that I can do my work.”

“Calm down?    (8)    your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son died while    (9)    for doctor, what would you do?” said the father angrily. The doctor    (10)    again and replied, “We will do our best by God’s grace and you should also     (11)   for your son’s healthy life.”

“Giving advice when we’re not concerned is so    (12)   ,” murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out and said happily, “Thank goodness! Your son is   (13)  !” And without waiting for the father’s    (14)   , he carried on as he ran by saying, “If you have any questions, ask the nurse.”

“    (15)   is he so arrogant (傲慢的)? He couldn’t wait a few minutes   (16)   I could ask about my son’s state?” asked the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor    (17)   The nurse answered, tears coming down her face, “His son      (18)   yesterday in a road accident, he was at the    (19)    when we called him for your son’s      (20)   . And after he saved your son’s life, he left to finish his son’s burial (葬礼).”

Long time ago, there was a farmer who lived with his daughter. A young man  (1)   in love with the farmer’s beautiful daughter and wished to marry her. One day, he went to the farmer to   (2)  his permission(允许). The farmer looked at him and said, “ Guy, stand out in that  (3)  . I’m going to release  (4)  bulls(公牛), one at a time. If you can  (5)  the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter.”

  (6)  , the young man got out and stood in the field,  (7)  the first bull. The barn（畜棚）door  (8)  and out came the biggest bull that he had ever seen. He  (9)  that one of the next bulls had to be a better  (10)  than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull  (11)  .

A few   (12)  later, the barn door opened again. Unbelievable! The young man had never seen any bull so  (13)  and violent as this one in his life. It stood there, pawing(扒) the ground and looking   (14)  the young man. “ What the next   (15)   was like ? It had to be a better choice than this one,” he thought. He let the bull pass through again.

The door opened a third time. A  (16)  came across the young man’s face. This was the weakest bull that he had ever seen. “ This one was my bull,” he  (17)   to himself. As the bull came running by, he placed himself just right and  (18)  at just the exact moment. He threw his hands to catch the tail of the bull. But to his  (19)   , the bull had no tail.

Life is full of opportunities.   (20)  catch the first one.

  I have never understood the importance of parties in the classroom. As a mother of two school age children, I believe that public schools should no longer  41         classroom parties during the school day.

 42          is very important to students in school today. Our school year is already too short. Teachers can only just get all the basics of the courses (课程) into the  43          instructional minutes of the day.  44         , there is no time for anything useless or silly.  45          time is best spent focusing on the primary goal — learning.

And what about food? For health and safety reasons, schools often require that  46          for these activities should be bought from a store. This  47          a real problem for many families. Biscuits for a class of students, plus drinks and napkins can  48  what it costs a family to eat a meal at home. The  49          of a classroom party is  50          a problem for many people, especially in these difficult times.  51         , we all know that our children have eaten enough sugar and junk food without the school  52          such unhealthy choices.

All the  53          that a party can create is unacceptable! I  54          those birthday parties held at home for my children. I would just buy the disposable (一次性的) plates, cups, and napkins  55          I didn’t need to do any cleaning up. But even so, I just  56          to fit all the party time rubbish into the rubbish bin (垃圾桶).  57          the trash thrown out by a school of 16 classrooms and over 400 students. It only adds to the  58  of our planet’s environment.

I am not sure when our public schools decided that classroom  59          needed to become a part of the school calendar (日历), but I do not see the  60         . So I do believe schools should forbid (禁止) classroom celebrations.

Thanksgiving Day was near. Lucy, the first grade teacher, gave her class a fun1        －to draw a picture of somebody or something for which they were 2        .When the students 3        their assignment(作业), she found that most of them drew some pictures of their parents, teachers, brothers, sisters, friends or neighbors. “What 4        students! How wonderful the pictures are!” She thought.

  Douglas, however, made a different kind of picture. He was a 5        boy. He didn’t act the same as others. He always seemed to be shy and  6        . He seldom  7        with other children during the break  8        they kindly invited him to. Lucy treated him very well. She always helped him and encouraged him to be confident and have a good time with his classmates. Yes, his picture was different. He just drew a  9        .Nothing else. His abstract(抽象的) image 10        the imagination of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One guessed it was a mother’s hand, for mother’s hand gives children warmth and 11        .Another child guessed it was a farmer’s hand, because farmers raise turkeys. Still others thought it was a police officer’s hand, because the police12        people and care for people. And so the discussion 13        .

  When the children were discussing it, Lucy stopped at Douglas’ desk, 14        , and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy murmured(低声说）, “It’s 15        , teacher.” Douglas was most thankful for her hand. She was16        and felt tears in her eyes. She thought of the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there. She 17        how often she had said to him, “Take my 18         , Douglas. We’ll go outside.” or “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” or “Let’s do this together.”

  The story speaks of 19        thankfulness. It also says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the children like Douglas. They might not always say “20        ” out, but they’ll remember the hand that you reach out to give them love and be thankful to you always.

Dear Mom and Dad,

     I’d like you to know that I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, such as teaching me, taking care of me and loving me.

     I’m writing this thank-you letter, Mom and Dad, because I want you to know what a big     (1)   you have truly made in my life. You   (2)   me so many things about the world and myself. You were the first ones to tell me about the importance of   (3)   by telling me it was  (4)  to refuse all my other playmates from using my toys. And to this day,  (5)    those toys are long gone, I  (6)  to live by the idea of sharing my blessings with the people    (7)  me.

 Mom and Dad, you also  (8)   me to be sympathetic(同情的) towards the blind old man. You told me that our pets are there for us to   (9)  and not to hurt. And because of those   (10)  , I’ve learnt to be  (11)  .

 Thank you, Mom and Dad. You gave me some of the nicest  (12)  . Mom, I remember how you would let me sleep in your bed and how you  (13)  to bring me my favorite fried chicken and take care of me whenever I was  (14)  . Dad, I remember how you worked  (15)   to make me a playhouse in the yard so my friends and I could  (16)  happily there.

 I may have  (17)  you and your purposes when I was much younger. But now I know that everything you did was for my own  (18)  .

  Mom and Dad, I  (19)  this thank-you letter is enough to let you know how much I   (20)  you for everything you’ve done for me. 

                                                                                                                                                                                    Rex                                                                     

“Mom, stop. You don’t have to go anywhere. Stop!”At 7 am, I   (1)   to my mother’s yells outside my bedroom. It’s the weekend and I want to sleep.   (2)  , a loud knock on the door crushes my chances of   (3)  . “Maggie, get up quickly and help with your grandmother,” my mother   (4)   me eagerly.

I enter her room and say, “Grandma, let’s go downstairs.” I   (5)   her as she walks slowly. We finally make it to the living room. Now, I have to   (6)   her to sit down quietly. “I have to go to work!” She argues,   (7)  toward the front door. “I have to go and meet with Fran!” she   (8)  , referring to her daughter, who lives nearly 120 miles from here. This argument continues  (9)  I convince her to sit down.

I pour out a   (10)   from a medicine bottle. She hesitates, then swallows the pill down with a glass of water. We return our  (11)  to the TV and soon she dozes off. 15 minutes later, she wakes from her nap, becoming   (12)  . The rest of the family comes in to greet her. She smiles at everyone, and makes jokes, like a  (13)   person.

Yes. You guess it! My grandmother is   (14)   from Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a disease that causes loss of brain function in the elderly. One out of five people develop the   (15)   by age 80. Symptoms include forgetting words. They also   (16)   to recognize friends and family members, dress themselves and perform other   (17)   tasks. As of today, Alzheimer’s is   (18)   , but there are treatments to relieve the symptoms.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects both the   (19)   and the family members who surround them. It’s   (20)  . But it’s in someone I love. So there are battles my family and I are willing to fight. We fight it with love.