The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read beneath an old willow tree. Not  36__  with life, I was down. A young boy out of breath  37 me, all tired from play. He stood right before me with his head tilted（倾斜的） down,  38  with great excitement, “Look what I found!”
In his hand was a flower, and what a  39  sight, with its petals（花瓣） all worn－not enough rain, or too little light.  40  him to take his dead flower and go off to play, I  41 a small smile and then shifted away. But instead of  42  he sat next to my side and placed the flower to his nose and declared with  43 , “It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful, too. That’s why I  44  it; here, it’s for you.”
The flower before me was dying or dead. But I knew I  45  take it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower, and  46 , “Just what I need.” But instead of placing the flower in my hand, he  47  it mid－air without reason. It was then that I  48  for the very first time the boy was  49 .
I heard my voice shake, tears shone like the sun  50  I thanked him for picking the very best one. He smiled, and then ran off to play,  51 of the effect he’d had on my day.
I sat there and  52  how he managed to see a self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree. How did he know of my self-indulged（放纵的)  53  ？ Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true  54 .
55  the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see, the problem was not with the world; the problem was me. And for all of those times I myself had been blind, I vowed to see beauty, and appreciate every second that's mine.
36．
A．excited   B．inspired   C．content   D．disappointed
37．
A．approached    B．overlooked    C．understood    D．recognized
38．
A．telling    B．saying    C．informing D．talking
39．
A．unique    B．rough    C．bothering  D．pitiful
40．
A．Wanting  B．Demanding    C．Persuading    D．Inviting
41．
A．presented  B．adjusted   C．forced    D．delivered
42．
A．declining  B．accepting  C．panicking  D．quitting
43．
A．surprise   B．embarrassment C．sympathy  D．sorrow
44．
A．took  B．pulled    C．attained   D．picked
45．
A．should    B．can   C．may  D．must
46．
A．announced    B．replied    C．declared   D．whispered
47．
A．grasped   B．held  C．caught    D．seized
48．
A．observed  B．confirmed C．noticed   D．concluded
49．
A．strange   B．blind C．deaf  D．unimaginable
50．
A．once  B．after  C．as    D．since
51．
A．unaware  B．unbelievable   C．regretful  D．regardless
52．
A. doubted   B. felt   C. found  D. wondered
53. 
A. embarrassment  B. depression  C. hopelessness    D. effort
54. 
A. sense  B. hearing    C. sight  D. ability
55．
A．In   B．From C．Before    D．Through

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and some homeless people frequent the stoplights. I often gave money to the homeless, feeling  36 for their bad luck. But later I became a single mom with no home, a huge debt. As a result, I  37 giving and became very  38 .                   Things started to 39  for me. Again I had a home, and plenty of food, and I started to  40  myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the  41  , “Will work for food.” I 42  . My daughter commented, “Mommy, you 43  to give to those people in  44  .’’ I replied, “Honey, they just use that money for alcohol or other 45 things.” She didn’t respond. But when I said that, it didn’t feel right. Three days later, I was driving to 46 up my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner, and something deep 47  me said, “Just help him.” 48  I rolled down my window, and he ran over with enthusiasm, saying “God bless you, I only need 77 cents.” I  49 into my ashtray and strangely enough, there sat three quarters and two pennies. I scooped（抓起）it up and gave it to him. He  50  with joy and tears in his 51  , “Wow, you just made it  52  for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you; the bus that had this great sale is  53  in 20 minutes!” It was a moment I’ll never forget. I think that man won’t forget it either, 54  I was the one who got the best  55  in life -- GIVING.

A. pleased       B. sorry         C. nervous      D. notable A. stopped       B. refused      C. considered         D. continued 

38 A. bitter         B. disappointed    C. satisfied      D. happy

A. reform            B. decline      C. end         D. changeA. pull         B. drive        C. persuade     D. concern A. gesture       B. symbol      C. sign          D. sentence A. passed by       B. gave in      C. stood up       D. held on A. expected       B. attempted    C. promised       D. usedA. shock         B. happiness     C. comfort         D. need A. dim        B. bad          C. exciting     D. anxious A. pick         B. look        C. ring        D. beat A. beside       B. inside      C. behind      D. aboveA. So         B. Otherwise    C. However    D. Moreover A. climbed       B. jumped     C. saw        D. reachedA. turned around    B. broke down   C. burst out     D. spoke upA. eyes        B. face      C. nose        D. mouthA. necessary    B. possible       C. important    D. niceA. taking       B. operating    C. leaving        D. drivingA. but       B. or           C. and      D. nor    A. award         B. message       C. gift       D. lesson  

When someone steps on your toe by accident, you will hurt plenty．But it hurts even more, if you think the person does the same thing on purpose．Earlier studies have found that the feeling of pain can change with how it is experienced．That is why giving people sugar pills and saying they are medicine can make them feel better． This study examined whether self-reported pain is indeed higher when the events producing the pain are understood as intentionally caused by another person．For the study, the researchers told 40 volunteers that they were going to do a series of tasks, including color matching, number counting and discomfort assessment．This last task involved their receiving a brief electric shock to the wrist．They were told that a partner, sitting in another room, would choose which task they would do, and a computer screen helped them to know their partner’s choice． In some cases, the volunteers were told their partner had chosen the pain tolerance test．In others, they were told the computers would select the pain tolerance test regardless of their partner’s choice．When volunteers thought that their partners were making the shocks on them on purpose, the feeling made the pain worse．As a matter of fact, they were the same． This study provides evidence that the experience of pain changes depending upon how they think when people have been harmed．Specifically, the meaning of a harm — whether it was intended — influences the amount of pain it causes．So, although a broken toe may hurt, an intentionally broken toe should hurt more． 小题1:It can be concluded from the text that _______．

A．the feeling of pain varies from one person to another

B．long-lasting pain damages people’s health

C．pain is greater if harm seems to be intentionally done

D．people suffer more from accidental pain小题2:What can we infer from the text？

A．People can reduce pain by relaxing．

B．Researchers study how pain is caused．

C．Everyone should know the effect of pain．

D．People should think more about pain．小题3:What does the underlined word “they” in the third paragraph refer to？

A．Volunteers．

B．Computers．

C．Shocks．

D．Pains．小题4:What’s the author’s attitude to the result of the study？  

A．Indifferent．

B．Sceptical．

C．Disapproving．

D．Approving．

A letter to Edward, a columnist（报刊专栏作家） Dear Mr Expert: I grew up in an unhappy and abusive home. I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved. Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine — so much so that they make mine theirs. It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever. I enjoy having my friends here sometimes — it makes the place feel comfortable and warm— but this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy（隐私）？ Joan Edward’s reply to Joan Dear Joan: If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now. And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere（气氛）,you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with— or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time. Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over.”

We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward     .

A. lives away from her parents B. takes pride in her friends C. knows Mr Expert quite well D. hates her parents very much

We can infer from the first letter that     .

A. Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy B. Joan’s friends visit her more often than she can accept C. Joan doesn’t like the parties at all D. Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

According to Mr Expert, why can’t Joan tell her friends her feelings？

A. She is afraid of hurting her friends. B. She does not understand true friendship. C. Her family experience stops her from doing so. D. She does not put her needs first.

The underlined word “conflict” in the second letter means    .

A. dependent life   B. fierce fight C. bad manners    D. painful feeling

The second letter suggests that Mr Expert     .

A. is worried about Joan’s problem    B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends C. advises Joan on how to refuse people    D. encourages Joan to be brave enough

You Did More Than Carry My Books
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had dropped all of the books he was carrying,along with a baseball bat and several other things. Mark "_36" down and helped the boy pick up these articles. "_ 37  "they were going the same way,he helped to carry some of them for him. As they walked Mark "_38  " the boy's name was Bill,that he "_ 39  " computer games, baseball and history,that he was having a lot of "_40" with his other subjects and that he had just broken "_41" with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was "_42" in for a Coke and to watch some television.The afternoon passed "_ 43  " with a few laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home.They "_ 44  "to see each other around school,had lunch together once or twice,and then both ended up from the same high school.Just three weeks before "_ 45 ",Bill asked Mark if they "_ 46  " talk.
Bill "_ 47  " him of the day years ago when they had first met.“Do you "_48" wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day？”asked Bill. “You see, I "_49 " out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess （脏乱) "_50  "anyone else. I had planned to run away and I was going home to "_51 " my things. But after we
spent some time together "_52" and laughing,I realized that "_ 53  " I had done that, I would have "_ 54" a new friend and missed all the fun we would have together.So you see, Mark ,when you picked up my books that day ,you did a lot more .You "_ 55  "my life.”
36. 
A. fell       B. sat      C. lay     D. knelt 
37. 
A. Although     B. Since     C. After    D. Until 
38. 
A. discovered    B. realized   C. said     D. decided 
39. 
A. played      B. loved     C. tried    D. made 
40. 
A. questions    B. ideas     C. trouble   D. doubt 
41. 
A. up        B. out     C. off     D. away 
42. 
A. called      B. helped    C. invited   D. allowed 
43. 
A. peacefully    B. willingly   C. freely    D. pleasantly 
44. 
A. continued    B. agreed    C. forced    D. offered 
45. 
A. graduation    B. movement   C. separation  D. vacation 
46. 
A. would      B. should    C. could    D. must 
47. 
A. demanded     B. reminded   C. removed   D. asked 
48. 
A. ever       B. usually    C. even     D. never 
49. 
A. checked     B. took     C. cleaned   D. put 
50. 
A. over       B. into     C. with     D. for 
51. 
A. find       B. pick     C. pack     D. hold 
52. 
A. talking     B. playing    C. reading   D. watching 
53. 
A. before      B. if      C. while    D. as 
54. 
A. forgotten    B. passed    C. left     D. lost 
55. 
A. helped      B. recovered   C. improved   D. changed 

True friends double your happiness and half your burdens.Basically how you would like a true friend to be is what you should be like to your true friends.Trust,forgiveness, responsibility are some elements of a true friendship.True friendships are hard to achieve. And what’s more,life is short.So treasure these friends if you already have them.If you don’t, continue to search,because once you have them,life will become so much easier to live,no matter what happens.I have been through very difficult times and I dare say,without my friends, I would not have made it. Friendships need lots of energy and patience to maintain them.Not to mention time.When your friend needs you,and when things are not going too well on your side,it is often so easy to  turn a deaf ear to  their requests.It is especially during these times that you must find the strength to help your friend. And it is during these times that your friendship will be made stronger. And you must always be happy for their successes,even when things are not going too well for you.It might be hard to do this,but it is something that you need to learn.Think about all the sacrifices your friend has made for you and all the times when he was happy for you despite his own troubles.Think  aboutall the happy times you enjoyed and the sad,difficult times you went through together.That should give you plenty of patience to actually be a true friend.Remember,true friends are the next best thing to family.They will always be your supporters.小题1: What is the best title for this passage？

A．A Precious Friendship

B．A True Friend

C．A Happy Time

D．Friend,a Treasure小题2:According to the passage,to be a true friend,you do NOT need to ___ .

A．trust your friends

B．forgive your friends’ mistakes

C．spend much money on friends

D．be helpful to your friends 小题3:True friendships are hard to achieve because ____.

A．friendships can help you through difficult times

B．friendships need lots of energy and patience

C．your friends need you to give more help to them

D．you should be always on your friends’ side小题4:The underlined phrase “turn a deaf ear to” in Paragraph 2 probably means “______”.   

A．pretend not to know

B．take no measures to

C．have no means to

D．turn to a deaf for 小题5:From Paragraph 3,we can conclude that      .

A．a friend won’t achieve success without your support

B．most people in trouble are not happy about their friends’ successes

C．you should support your friends on any conditions

D．a true friend appears only when you have troubles