17．If you have something to say about someone，say it today!It may make a world of difference．Last week at the Night of Hope in downtown Los Angeles，Victoria Osteen，one of my best friends，shared a story about a very special birthday present from a dear friend．It wasn't expensive jewelry or a designer handbag．It was an attractive box．And though it was lovely，the box was't the real gift．
When the friend presented it to Victoria，he said some wonderful things about the birthday girl．Then，he acted as if he were putting those compliments into the box and began passing it around to everyone else at the table．One by one，Victoria's family and friends also said loving things about her，and one by one they"places"their kind words into the birthday box．Victoria shared how much that night had meant to her，and that day she put that beautiful box in a striking place in her bedroom as a reminder of the sweet words that were put in the box and in her heart．
I related this story because I also have what I call"an encouragement drawer"．As a writer，I hope to sell articles and present my picture books to the right editor，but I sometimes get rejection letters from editors and publishers．Thankfully there have been acceptance letters，contracts and awards along the way，too．But do you know what means even more？The thank-you cards and sweet notes that I've received from other writers I've met at the many writers'conferences made me serve as a lecturer．
I remember looking forward to one particular conference more than 15years age．I knew the cost of attending it really wasn't in our budget，but I also knew that if I asked my husband to give me the conference ticket as my birthday present，he would．And that's exactly what he did．We were living in Texas，and the writers'conference was several thousand miles away．I had researched the editors who were going to appear there and the works to be offered，and I was sure the conference would be life-changing for me．
It was just not in the way I'd expected．
During the very first day of the"Writing for Children"conference，I sat in the front row．I was so excited that I hardly slept the night before．I couldn't wait to learn from a fruitful children's book writer．She greeted us with"Well，I wish I had better news．The children's market is almost impossible to break into right now．I mean，I am well-published in it but I'm having a tough time making a sale．"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing!Some people got up and left．I stayed until the end，hoping her mood would improve and offer some words of wisdom．But neither happened．I walked back to my house that afternoon defeated，discouraged and downright mad．Later that night，I said to myself，"I should encourage others to write for children．"That's why when I received emails，thank-you notes and cards saying"Thank you for helping me see that I can really make it a freelancer（自由作家），""Thank you for encouraging me to write that devotional proposal---I got a contract"，or"Thank you for being so excited about my manuscript（手稿） about children．I was about to give up before meeting with you"，I would put them in my"encouragement drawer"．
And，on those days when I received three rejection letters or a bad review of a recent book，I wuld walk into my office，open one of those encouragement drawers and read a few cards．Like Victoria，I immediately felt uplifted after spending a few moments reading the nice things that people had written to me．
Maybe you don't have a birthday box filled with wonderful compliments or an encouragement drawer filled with thank-you cards and notes，but you can spend some time on the good things and write a few thank-you notes of your own．
66．What does the underlined word"compliments"in Paragraph 2mean？B
A．complains B．greetings C．gifts D ideas
67．What is it that gave the author great encouragement？D
A．A good review about her recent book．
B．Acceptance letters from some editors．．
C．Contracts and awards from some publisher．
D．Thank-you notes and cards from other writers．
68．Which of the following is NOT true about the author's experience at the"Writing for Children"
conference？C
A．She was too excited to sleep well the night before．
B．The conference was somewhat life-changing for the author．
C．The fruitful children's book writes words were full of wisdom．
D．The conference didn't live up to her expectations．
69．What is the author's purpose in writing the passage？B
A．To look back on her career as a writer of children's books．
B．To inspire people to fill up others'"encouragement drawer"．
C．To show off her pride in encouraging other writers．
D．To describe a particular writers'conference she once attended．
70．Which is the best title for the passage？A
A．A box of encouragement
B．A story about birthday presents
C．The importance of writers'conferences．
D．The relationship between readers and writers．
分析 作者敘述了鼓勵箱給自己帶來了成功，并且希望大家都可以有一個這樣的箱子來鼓勵自己，甚至自己給自己寫鼓勵信填進箱子里．
解答 66．B．詞義推斷題．由第二段he said some wonderful things about the birthday girl，可知他放入的是對女孩祝福的話，故選B．
67．D．理解推斷題．由第三段The thank-you cards and sweet notes that I've received from other writers I've met at the many writers'conferences made me serve as a lecturer，可知是其他作家的感謝信和夸獎的便條給了我鼓勵，故選D．
68．C．理解推斷題．由倒數(shù)第三段hoping her mood would improve and offer some words of wisdom，可知作者的話并不總是充滿智慧的，C選項錯誤，故選C．
69．B．寫作意圖題．由最后一句Maybe you don't have a birthday box filled with wonderful compliments or an encouragement drawer filled with thank-you cards and notes，but you can spend some time on the good things and write a few thank-you notes of your own，可知作者希望大家都有一個裝滿感謝信的鼓勵箱，故選B．
70．A．主旨?xì)w納題．由文章內(nèi)容可知，作者敘述了鼓勵箱給自己帶來的好處，并且希望大家都可以有一個這樣的箱子來鼓勵自己，故選A．
點評 本篇文章主旨句即在第一段．因此考生要重視文章的標(biāo)題和文章的首句，因為文章的標(biāo)題或首句往往就是文章的主題，有利于考生理解全文內(nèi)容．
