阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant 1 Miller King, who was the best 2 at our school.
Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for 3.
Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he came back from 4. He looked very5, but he didn't cry.
That season, Iall of Miller's records while he 7 the home games from the bench. We went 10-1 and I was named most valuable player, 8 I often had crazy dreams in which I was to blame for Miller's 9.
One afternoon, I was crossing the field to go home and saw Miller 10 going over a fence—which wasn't 11 to climb if you had both arms. I'm sure I was the last person in the world he wanted to accept 12 from. But even that challenge he accepted. I 13 him move slowly over the fence. When we were finally 14 on the other side, he said to me,＂You know, I didn't tell you this during the season, but you did 15.Thank you for filling in for 16.＂
His words freed me from my bad 17. I thought to myself, how even without an arm he was more of a leader. Damaged but not defeated, he was 18 ahead of me. I was right to have 19 him. From that day on, I grew 20 and a little more real.
A lady wanted a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had liked a beautiful 1, and knowing her husband could 2 it, she told him that was all she wanted. On the morning of the 3, her husband told her how 4 he was to have such a good wife, and how much he loved her. He 5 her a beautiful gift package. She opened it and 6 a Bible. 7, she raised her voice and said to her husband, “With all your money, you give me a Bible?” She was so 8 that she left him.
Many years passed and the lady was very 9 in business. She owned two large companies. She 10 her husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to 11 him. But before she could, she 12 a letter telling her that he had died, and gave all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back and 13 things.
When she arrived at his house, sadness 14 her heart. She saw the still new 15, just as she had left it years before. With 16, she opened it and began to turn the pages. A ring 17 from the Bible to the floor and a 18 could be seen. She picked it up and found it was the ring she wanted in those days. And on the card was the date of her birth, and the words “LOVE U ALWAYS”.
19 your gift is not packaged the way you want it, it's because it is better packaged the way it is! Always appreciate little things; they usually lead you to bigger things! The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched for they must be felt with the 20.
A poor farmer had a friend 1 was famous for the 2 apple he grew. One day, his friend gave the farmer a(n)3 and told him to 4 it home. The farmer was 5 with the gift, but when he got home he did not know 6 to plant it.
He was 7 that if he planted the tree 8 the road, the fruit would be stolen. If he planted the tree in one of his field, his neighbors would come 9 and steal some of the apples. If he planted the tree near his house, his children would take the fruit.
10 he planted the tree in his wood where no one could see it. The farmer was very 11 of what he did. However, as time went on, he found that the tree didn't 12 any fruit. He didn't know without 13and good soil, the tree soon 14 after he planted it.
Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a 15 place. "What's the difference?" the farmer said 16. "If I had planted the tree near the road,17 would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted the tree in one of my field, my neighbors would have come and stolen some of the apples. If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the fruit."
"Yes," said the friend, "but at least someone could have 18the fruit. Now you not only have robbed every one 19 the fruit, but also you have 20 a good apple tree!"
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried 1 for hours as the farmer tried to figure out 2 to do. Finally he decided the animal was 3and the well needed to be 4 up anyway, so it just wasn’t 5 it to rescue the donkey.
He invited all his 6to come over and help him. They all grabbed (握起) a shovel (铁铲) and began to shovel 7into the well. At first, the donkey 8what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's9, he was quiet.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked 10 the well and was 11 at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that12his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would 13 it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors 14 to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take another 15 up. Pretty soon, everyone was surprised as the donkey stepped up over the 16 of the well and ran off.
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The best way of 17 out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our18is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest 19 just by not stopping, never20! Shake it off and take a step upward!
I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new 1 , and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. 2 he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his 3 .So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心) were sweating. I was completely 4for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you ,” she said, surprising me beyond speech.5 me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he 6 me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had 7 spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the 8 son. She kissed me again and left.
I had nurtured(培养) in her I sat, stunned ( 惊 呆), for about half an hour , 9 what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without 10 knowing it? What I finally came to 11 was one day, several months before, when some students were 12 reports in the front of the class. Jeanne spoke13 ,and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the 14 one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the 15 of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, 16 more, and became happy. And it was all because he 17 to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed 18was the one who took the last seat that day.
It taught me the most 19 lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came 20 and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.
Susan, a classical dancer from India, had to have her right leg cut after a car accident. She was also 1on her career（事业）road.
Though the accident brought her bright career to a 2 , she didn't give up. In the 3 months that followed, Susan met a doctor who developed an artificial (人造的)4made from rubber filled with sponge (海绵). So5she wanted to go back to 6after she had been fitted with an artificial leg. Susan knew that she believed in 7and could realize her dream, 8she began her courageous journey back to the world of dancing — 9to balance, bend, stretch, walk, turn, twist and twirl.
After every public performance (表演), she 10ask her dad about her performance. “You 11have a long way to go” was the answer she used to get12. In January 1984, Susan made an important13by giving a public performance in Bombay. She performed so greatly that it14everyone to tears and this15pushed her to the number one position again. That evening when she asked her dad the16question, he didn't say anything. He just touched her feet as a praise.
Susan's comeback was 17moving that a film producer18to make the story into a hit film. When someone asked Susan how she had19to dance again, she said quite simply, “YOU DON'T NEED FEET TO DANCE.” 20is impossible in this world. If you have the will to win, you can achieve(实现) anything.
When I was shopping a few months ago , I saw a man trying to get people to donate(捐赠)to a very well-known charity(慈善团体)for children. I 1 to him that I can't donate money any more 2 my bank account(账户)having some problems last year. It was a 3 time and took months to get back our money. 4, I noticed the man was hungry and cold, so I offered him a(n) 5 in the nearby restaurant.
Last week I 6 home on a really hot day. My husband Stewart was at the table with a person from a Charity having a 7. We talked for a while and then I said, "I 8 you!" and he looked at me in surprise and said, "Oh, you're the lovely lady that 9 me a big lunch and drinks when I was at 10 trying to get people to donate." We both laughed and we had a little 11.
He told me that he had let the organizers know about this lovely woman 12 him out on a cold day. He said 13was so unexpected. I was so 14 to see him again, sitting in my home. My act had really 15 him for the kindness of it and I loved the fact that Steward had 16 him in out of the heat for a cold drink.
In our daily life, maybe we 17 know how we 18people when we do good things. But in fact, 19we do does affect others, for it is a lovely 20. Kindness is so catching (感染力的).
When Charles Barkley's mother passed away, Barkley's hometown came to the funeral. But a(n) 1 guest also came. He wasn't a basketball player or from Barkley's hometown. More 2, he was my dad-a scientist.
My dad said he3 about Barkley long before he met him. Whenever we 4 dinner parties, he would talk about Barkley. Basketball has never been my thing. I 5some key words into a search engine to6something about Barkley. He seemed pretty famous and 7not like anyone who would be friends with my dad.
But the friendship was real.
My dad 8 made a slide of photos of him and Barkley together for our community's Chinese New Year party- totally irrelevant to the 9. I asked him what made them become friends.
"As an Asian in the U.S., we had a good 10," he said. "We agree on many views."
They believed the color of their skin didn't 11 .
But on a Sunday afternoon my dad passed away. Everyone was 12 as Barkley attended the funeral. "It gives me great 13and joy to know I was a friend of his," Barkley said. "Just hearing about him at the 14 -what he had achieved and what he was trying to help others 15, touched me I 16he would be known to many people."
At the funeral, people 17 memories of my dad. I realize that even after he passed away, I would continue to 18things about him.
The story of his friendship with Barkley was not just a 19with a famous person-it threw light on the 20 of this world.
When I was a kid, I kept using a bike with training wheels. And I didn't1much, so, of course, I didn't learn how to2. One day I observed that my younger sister was getting closer to3 how to get rid of the assistance than I was. I couldn't let her4 me! Like an outofcontrol mad man, I grabbed(抓住) my bike, 5the training wheels, pushed it out, and pedaled(踩踏板) all over the neighborhood. I tried to stay near the6 as close as I could, so when I fell, I'd7 crash onto the lawn(草坪) instead of the street. After many shortlived8, I finally learned how to balance!
The process seemed9, since I was afraid of falling. I10 the fear which held me back and gathered the11 instead. I tried my best to fall as much as I might have to, to12 getting hurt, and to quickly get back on the bike and try again. There might be some pain and13, and if so, I'd get hurt and bleed and keep going. It took me probably less than an hour to master the basic skill.
What14 pushed me to set aside the fear and take action? Nothing but the feeling that I was15. My sister could ride without the training wheels while I couldn't. This feeling of 16 gave me a much needed kick. Using such pressure to motivate(激励) progress is 17. Go take action. Make the attempt. Fall. Get hurt. Get up and try again18 the very moment you create the19 results. Everything can be as 20 as riding a bike.
In one of my college classes, we were required to do an act of kindness. My project included 1lunch for an elderly person. When I2the elderly person with the food I cooked, it never3to me that it would result in a new friendship and the discovery of a4.
The person I visited was Bill, who was unable to5much. A nurse came regularly to help him move to and from the wheelchair because he has no6. Bill said he was delighted to see me and it was a7for him to eat a meal with me because he usually eats8. He said the food was great, but he enjoyed having9even more than the food.
Bill had had a10life when working on the railroad and had many11stories to tell about his travels to many places. I was12a trip because of his stories. I had once13about traveling by train. However, I would14be going by train after meeting Bill.
Perhaps the biggest15of this project was that I suddenly realized that I am 16 of working with the elderly. Spending time with them was funthey have so much life experience to 17 On the one hand, I am a good 18. On the other hand, older people want someone to know their inner world, so it is a perfect 19. I decided to focus my studies on the 20. Hopefully in the future, I will work with them to help even more people like Bill.
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a 1 part of the learning process. But all too often as parents and teachers we 2 this same right to our children. When I see a child 3 from this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie.
Donnie was my youngest third-grader. His 4 of failure kept him from classroom games that other children enjoyed. He 5 answered questions he was afraid he might be wrong. I tried my best to build his 6. But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher, was assigned to our classroom. She was young and pretty, and she loved children. My pupils, Donnie included, all 7 her very much.
One morning, we were working on math problems at the chalkboard. Donnie had 8 the problems with pains-taking tidiness. Pleased with his progress, I 9 the children with Mary Anne and went for art materials. When I returned, Donnie was in 10. He'd missed the third problem. My student teacher looked at me in despair. Suddenly her face 11. From the desk we shared, she got a container filled with pencils. "Look, Donnie, " she said, kneeling beside him and gently 12 the tear-stained (弄脏的) face from his arms. "I've got something to 13 you." She removed the pencils, one at a time, and placed them on his desk. "See these 14, Donnie, " she continued. "They belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are 15? That's because we make mistakes too. But we erase the mistakes and try again. That's what you 16 learn to do, too." She kissed him and stood up. "Here," she said, "I'll leave one of these pencils on 17 desk so you'll remember that everybody makes mistakes, 18 teachers." Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and a smile.
The 19 became Donnie's prized possession. That, together with Mary Anne's frequent encouragement, gradually 20 him that it's all right to make mistakes as long as you erase them and try again.
When I was a boy, every holiday that I had seemed wonderful. My 1took me by train or by car to a hotel by the 2. All day, I seem to remember, I 3 on the sands with a strange 4 child. We made houses and gardens, and 5 the tide destroy them. When the tide went out, we 6 over the rocks and looked down at the fish in the rock-pools.
In those days the 7seemed to shine always brightly 8 the water was always warm. Sometimes we left beach and walked in the country, 9 ruined houses and dark woods and climbing trees. There were 10 in one's pockets or good places where one could 11 ice creams. Each day seemed a lifetime.
Although I am now thirty-five years old, my idea of a good 12 is much the same as it was. I 13 like the sun and warm sand and the sound of 14 beating the rocks. I no longer wish to 15any sand house or sand garden, and I dislike sweets.16, I love the sea and often feel sand running through my fingers.
Sometimes I17 what my ideal (理想的) holiday will be like when I am 18. All I want to do then, perhaps, will be to lie in bed, reading books about 19 who make houses and gardens with sands, who watch the incoming tide, who make themselves 20 on too many ices…
It was time that Donovan started his first grade. He was somewhat1. So was I.
Well, actually, we were both at the same time excited. His teacher is young and energetic and I 2that they will get along very, very well. When I 3him up from school, though, what the first reality of school is actually like was 4. He made it to the car5, without saying much. Then, as we got in and I asked how his 6 was and who his new classmates were, he 7and cried. He said at breaks all of his friends from kindergarten went to play with their new classmates, which did 8 him deeply.
When I asked him who it was that he played with, he said, "Nobody. I sat by myself 9 they all had new friends. " That is the point when I could no longer 10 myself.
However, I did all the 11 things a parent should do. I told him that the first days are really a(n) 12for anyone and that he will make his own new friends in his class but that his kindergarten friends are13his friends . In fact my initial14was to go to the playground and find the little stupid guys who left 15out at breaks and sit in judgement on （评判）them, but I gradually overcame my 16 and settled for（勉强接受）the confidence speech and the hopeful 17 of "tomorrow".
There is nothing like watching your kid deal with 18problems——partly because as a
parent, you 19 realize how torturous（折磨人的）and unnecessary it is and partly because
you know how painful it is. He will 20 it just as we all did.
I was frustrated at not being entered into the national IT competition I'd applied for. I sat in the car, lost in 1, chewing on my lip and staring outside.
I went upstairs, 2 and desperate. Grandpa's door was open for me as usual. There, he was waiting for my 3 with great excitement. I stood silently, forcing a smile to cover my sadness. He seemed to 4 me immediately, giving me a hug. I was astonished that such a 5 body was full of so much energy.
Only then did my emotions start 6 out. I told him that all my 7 were for nothing, and that I was feeling discouraged. Grandpa smiled at me gently and said, "Don't worry. You're far stronger than you think." Then he 8, "Life can be full of ups and downs so what we need do is to still have our hopes and 9, neglecting the anxiety that makes it easy to give up."
He 10 me on the shoulder, with a determined look, before saying, " Cheer up. I firmly 11 that you have the ability to succeed." Grandpa's encouragement soon made my sadness disappear.
The next day, I thought about all my problems and 12 a plan. Now, I believe that with a positive attitude towards failure, I'll 13 reach my goals.
Looking back, I realize that we should share our setbacks and progress in life with our 14 ones. As my grandpa showed, the 15 of our family members will benefit us forever.
Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal(主航站楼)to their boarding gates. Free, 1 and cold, the trains run back and forth all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard 2.
At the front of the first car - looking out of the window - were a man and his son. 3 most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations, the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as 4 as you can buy.
"Look out there!" the father said to his son. "See that pilot? I bet he's walking to his plane." The son extended his neck to look.
As I got off, I 5 something I'd wanted to buy in the terminal. I was 6 for my flight, so I went back and saw that the man and his son had 7 too. I 8 then that they hadn't been heading for a flight, but had just been riding the train.
"I want to ride some more! This is fun!"
"If not 9, all right," the father 10, and when a door opened, we all got on.
"Where are all these people going, Daddy?" the son asked. "All over the world, Some are leaving for 11 destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys." 12, the father and son shared each other's company.
Here was a 13 who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning. It doesn't cost a cent, yet it is the most 14 thing in the world.
The train 15 speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again.
Everyone back home told me that one of the nicest things about college is the people you meet. They all assured me that I would1friendships that could last a lifetime. I would always smile and agree. Frankly, before I 2college, I really didn't care.
I lived in the 3 where six guys lived in two small connecting rooms. All my roommates seemed to be good guys, but I didn't really try to get to know them.
I have always been rather quiet and never been able to make friends 4. I would always forget names after I met people. When we 5 again and they called out my name, I would reply with a(n) 6 wave and a weak hello. This was how things went for the first month or so. After a while, things started to 7. A couple of my roommates would try and keep me talking. Soon, these two roommates and I started becoming fairly 8. We began going to the cafeteria together, 9 together, and meeting in the library to study.
One night my roommates invited me to listen to a fellow roommate's practice with one of our college choirs. They drove me across campus where my roommate was to 10.
It so happened that this was my birthday, but I had kept quiet about it. So you can imagine my 11 when we entered the recital hall and the 120-member choir began to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. 12 at the dorm, my friends held a small party for me, complete with a card and cake.
I was completely shocked, and I felt 13 to be able to call them friends. It was then that I realized that college means 14 the piece of paper you receive at the end—It's a(n) 15 in both life and people.
I have had thousands of classes since I started school nine years ago. But only one1was the most important.
It happened last term just after I had got a2result in an exam. I was sad and had lost 3. I decided to go to a class which can tell me how to be4.
The speaker walked into the room. But he did not start talking like a teacher. 5, he held up a twenty dollars note!
"Who wants this?" he asked. Unsurprisingly, 6of us in the class held up（举起）our hands. The speaker smiled. Then he put up the note on the blackboard and asked the7question. Again, we all put up our hands. The speaker smiled again, but8nothing. Suddenly, he threw（扔） the note onto the floor! Then he asked the same9a third time.
I didn't10what the speaker was doing. Why was he asking the same question again and again? I didn't know what to do. I wanted the note, 11I put my hand up again. After a while, he12the note and started to laugh. "You have all just told me how to become successful," he said to us13the note in his hand.
"The note is worth（值......钱的） twenty dollars. It is14worth twenty dollars, even though I throw it on the floor. You are like the15. No matter16 happens to you, you still have your worth."
When I heard those words, I was deeply17. Suddenly, I18I was worth a lot. I may have done badly in an exam, but it doesn't19I can't do well in the future. If I believe in20, I will be successful!
At thirteen, I was diagnosed (诊断) with a kind of attention disorder. It made school 1 for me. When everyone else in the 2 was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to 3 a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I 4 my hand right away and said, "Mrs. Smith, you see, the 5 said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it." She 6 me through her glasses, "You are no different from your classmates, young man."
I 7 then, but I didn't finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to 8 it home. In the 9 of my bedroom, the story 10 all became clear to me! It was about a (an) 11 person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much 12. But Louis didn't give up. Instead, he 13 a reading system of raised dots (点), which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn't I the "blind" in my class, being made to learn like the "14" students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to 15. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no16 from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way 17 of his problems, why should I ever give up?
I didn't 18 anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs. Smith so it was quite a 19 when it came back to me the next day -- with an "A" on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words: "See what you can do when you keep 20 ?"
Last year I ruined my summer vacation by bringing along a modern convenience: the iPad.
Instead of looking at nature, I1my e-mail. Instead of reading great novels, I stuck to reading2newspapers each morning. And that was the problem: I was acting as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation but my 3wasn't.
So this year I made up my mind to try something4: getting away from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy,5I'm not good at self-control. But I was6. I started by handing the iPad to my wife. Then, a stroke of luck: The mobile phone7at our cabin was worse than in the past. I was8, forced to carry out my plan. Largely cut off from e-mail and my favourite newspaper websites, I had little way to9the world. I had no10but to do what I had planned to do all along: read books.
With determination and the strong support of my wife, I succeeded in my vacation struggle against the Internet. I finally11that it was me, of course, not the iPad, that was the12.
I knew I had13when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi. "Don't need it," I said.14, as we return to work, a test begins: Can I survive when I'm back at work? I don't plan to15my iPad completely. But I hope to resist the temptation (抵抗诱惑) to use it every five minutes.
I have seen the extraordinary impact volunteers have on patient care. They go about their work quietly, but often we 1 how important they are, forgetting there is a 2 aspect just as important as biological's.
I remember an elderly woman who broke her hip, 3 to walk. Yet what 4 her most was her dog at home, alone, without any food. From a medical perspective, this wasn't a 5. Yet for the 6, she wouldn't have been able to 7 on getting better until she knew her dog was looked after. Then the volunteer 8 in the sickroom and reassured that he would 9 everything. He checked on the dog, fed him and 10 to find a foster home(寄养家庭) for it. It allowed the patient 11 of mind on physical recovery.
When I was 18 and had just started 12 school, I too volunteered. I had volunteered thinking that I would help others but 13, it helped me. On my first day I met an elderly woman who had just been 14 with terminal cancer. I'd never met anyone who was dying and didn't know what to say or how to 15. But over the 16 of many weeks, we 17 a close friendship. In the later six months, she taught me more about life and 18 than six years at medical school ever could.
At such a young age, she had a 19 impact on me. Yes, it was sad when she died. But more than anything, it was a heart warming, uplifting and fulfilling 20. which changed me for I he better.
