I believe that families are not only blood relatives, but sometimes people who show up and love you when no one else will.

In May 1977, I was living in a Howard Johnson’s motel off Interstate 10 in Houston. My dad and I 21 a room with two double beds and a bathroom which was too 22 for a 15-year-old girl and her father. Dad’s second marriage was 　23 and my stepmother had 　24 us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no　 25_ what to do with me. And that’s when my other family 　26 .

Barbara and Roland Beach took me into their home 　27　 their only daughter, Su, my best friend, asked them to. I 　28 with them for the next seven years.

Barb washed my skirts the same as Su’s. She 　29 I had lunch money, doctors’ appointments, help with homework and nightly hugs. Barbara and Roland attended every football game where Su and I were being cheerleaders. 30 I could tell, for the Beaches there was no 31 between Su and me; I was their daughter, too.

When Su and I 32 college they kept my room the same for the entire four years I attended school. Recently, Barb presented me with an insurance policy they bought when I first moved in with them and had continued to pay on for 23 years.

The Beaches knew 33 about me when they took me in – they had heard the whole story from Su. When I was seven, my mother died and from then on my father relied on other people to _34 his kids. Before I went to live with the Beaches I had believed that life was entirely 　35__ and that love was shaky and untrustworthy. I had believed that the only person who would take care of me was me.

36 the Beaches, I would have become a bitter, cynical (憤世嫉俗的) woman. They gave me a(n) 37 that allowed me to grow and change. They kept me from being paralyzed(使癱瘓 ,使麻痹 ,使無能力)by my _38　 , and they gave me the confidence to open my heart.

I 　39 family. For me, it wasn’t the family that was there on the day I was 　40　 , but the one that was there for me when I was living in a Howard Johnson’s on Interstate 10.

16．A. lived　　 B. shared 　　 C. possessed　　　　 D. bought

17．A. cheap　　 B. noisy　　　 C. small　　　　　　 D. limited

18．A. in trouble B. in sight 　　 C. in place 　 D. in parts

19．A. struck　　　　 B. removed　 C. kicked 　　 D. knocked

20．A. plan　　　　 B. choice 　　　 C. chance 　　 D. idea

21．A. looked after　 B. showed up　　 C. turned over 　　 D. came cross

22．A. so　　　　　 B. because　　　 C. until 　　　　 D. while

23．A. worked　　　 B. traveled　　　 C. lived 　　　　 D. learned

24．A. worked out　　 B. called up　　 C. watched out　　　 D. made sure

25．A. As long as B. As far as　　 C. As soon as 　　　 D. As many as

26．A. change 　　 B. problem 　 C. conflict 　 　　D. difference

27．A. set off　　　　　 B. left for　　　　 C. entered into 　　 　　　 D. admitted into

28．A. all 　　 B. little 　 C. something D. nothing

29．A. supply B. teach C. encourage D. raise

30．A. different 　 B. unfair 　　　 C. easy　　 　　　 D. hopeful

31．A. Thanks to B. In spite of C. Except for 　　　 D. But for

32．A. home 　　　 B. house 　　　 C. ability 　　　 　　D. lesson

33．A. choice 　　 B. failure 　　　 C. past　 　　 　　D. present

34．A. doubt about 　　 B. call on 　　 C. center on　　 D. believe in

35．A. born B. accepted 　 C. educated　　 D. deserted

The power of encouragement is great. You may draw some inspiration from the following story.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a famous 19th­century poet and artist, was once  26  by an elderly man. The old man had some sketches (素描) and drawings that he  27  　Rossetti to look at them and tell him if they were any good, or  28  they at least showed potential(潛在的)talent.
Rossetti looked them  29  carefully. After the first few, he knew that they were worthless, showing not the least sign of artistic talent. But Rossetti was a  30  man, and he told the elderly  31  as gently as possible that the pictures were of little value and showed little talent. He was sorry,  32  he could not　33  to the man.
The visitor was  34  , but seemed to expect Rossetti’s  35   .He then apologized for  36  Rossetti’s time, but would he just  37  a few more drawings—these done by a(n)  38  art student？Rossetti looked over the  39  batch (一批) of sketches and immediately became  40  over the talent they revealed(顯示；透露) .“These,” he said,“Oh, these are good. This young student has great talent. He should be  41  every help and encouragement in his career as an artist. He has a hopeful future if he will work and stick to it.”
Rossetti could see that the old man was  42  moved.“Who is this fine young   artist？” he asked.“Your son？” “No,” said the old man sadly.“It was I  43  painted the pictures forty years ago.  44  I had heard your praise then！For you see, I got discouraged and 45  drawing—too soon.”

For most of the day construction worker Sidney Smith and his brother – in – law Joseph Chambers had been   21   along the banks of Lake Waco with little   22  . Chambers suggested they go home, but Smith 　33　　that there were still several hours of daylight 　24　　and there was one other place they might try a bit longer before 　25　.

Smith drove his pickup（小貨車）a couple of miles along the　26　road to get to the other side of the lake. This road, in the truest sense, was a path wagging in the heavy 　27　area. Even with the sun still high in the cloudless sky, the 　28　of trees formed a leafy　29　over the road and it suddenly seemed 　30　in the evening.

“A guy could get lost and nobody would ever find him,” said Chambers.

Smith smiled, “We’re 　31　there.” He said. A few seconds later, the smile was 　32　　from his face.

“What the hell is that?”

　　He braked to a stop. Less than twenty feet away was what appeared to be a  33  .

　　For several minutes the two men sat in the pickup 　34　to decide whether they had happened to 　35　someone’s bad practical joke or something far more serious. Smith with his brother-in-law got out of the pickup and 　36　walked towards that thing some distance before them.

It was a young man who was already dead. They had got to tell 　37　. Back into the pickup, Smith backed the pickup down the road 　38　he could turn around, then 　39　back. With the dead young man still on his mind, Smith felt as if he was going to be sick. God, how he　40　　they had given up fishing and gone home early.

A．playing　   B．boating　　     C．fishing　　　　      D．walking

A．failure　       B．success　  C．disappointment D．interest

A．quarreled　 B．a(chǎn)rgued　      C．reasoned　      D．shouted

A．remaining　 B．staying　　     C．keeping　　    D．leaving

A．starting off　B．running out　   C．sending away　       D．giving up

A．winding 　 B．widening　       C．leading　　　  D．blocking

A．grassed 　　B．wooded　　　 C．iced　　　　   D．snowed

A．trunks　　　B．shadow　　     C．shade　　　　 D．shape

A．hat　　　　B．umbrella　 C．sheet　　　     D．overcoat

A．foggy　　 B．late　 　  C．early　　 D．rainy

A．a(chǎn)lmost 　　B．a(chǎn)lready　　     C．only　　　      D．fairly

A．escaped　　B．lost　 　　　C．gone　　　       D．missed

A．body　　　B．trap　 　　　 C．pile　　　　   D．stream

A．talking 　　B．hoping 　　 C．wanting　　    D．trying

A．come across B．turn out　　  C．bring about　   D．make up

A．loudly　　　B．quietly　　  C．quickly　　　  D．slowly

A．everybody　 B．somebody　　C．a(chǎn)nybody　　　 D．nobody

A．until　　　 B．before　　　  C．a(chǎn)fter　　　    D．when

A．turned 　　 B．ran　　　　　C．headed　　　 D．walked

A．expected　　B．hoped 　　 　C．wished　　　  D．prayed

完形填空（共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分）

閱讀下面短文, 從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

If you asked high school girls to name their favourite sports, most would probably say basketball or volleyball. I happen to be one of the few girls who would 　21　: surfing. But isn’t that a boy thing? Some people 　22　.  

I started surfing about five years ago and 　23　 in love with the sport on the very first day. Riding that first wave was the best feeling I had ever 　24　.

When I try to 　25　　surfing with other things, I find it very difficult because, in my 　26　,

there’s nothing like it. It involves（涉及）body, 　27　, and soul. There’s sand between my toes and cool, salt water all 　28　us. The feeling I get when I’m surfing across that   29 , becoming one with the ocean, is like I’m   30  .

The one thing I can get from surfing and not any other sport is endless   31  . You can never be the “best surfer” because the ocean   32  an uncountable variety of waves that nobody can ever master. The variations of surfing styles are wonderful. Some surfers are free and flowing;   33   are very aggressive（攻擊性的）and sharp. All of these things attract me to surfing and make it   34   from any other sport.

I’ve   35   to tell every girl I know to do something that people don’t think girls can do. It’s part of being human to advance to new levels, so shouldn’t it be   36   that girls should step up and start pushing the limits of things boys and men   37   dominate (主宰)?

There’re women   38   side by side with the President of our country, so why not side by side with the boys   39  the football team or out in the water surfing? Give girls a chance to succeed, and they   40  .

21. A. tell                            B. answer                     C. give                          D. realize

22. A. wonder                          B. understand                   C. reply on                       D. believe

23. A. stayed                            B. came                              C. dropped                      D. fell

24. A. experienced                 B. adventured                   C. worked out                D. discovered

25. A. bring                               B. connect                         C. compare                     D. tie

26. A. work                               B. study                              C. holiday                        D. life

27. A. mind                               B. figure                             C. health                          D. control

28. A. over                                B. above                             C. around                        D. among

29. A. beach                             B. water                                      C. board                                    D. lake

30. A. weight                           B. overweight                    C. weight-loss                 D. weightless

31. A. success                          B. challenge                      C. ability                          D. trouble

32.   A. catches                          B. includes                         C. offers                                    D. collects

33. A. others                            B. other                              C. another                       D. the other

34. A. exciting                          B. attractive                      C. enjoyable                  D. different

35. A. chosen                           B. tried                               C. learned                       D. promised

36. A. expected                       B. supposed                      C. achieved                     D. proved

37. A. hated to                        B. hoped to                        C. used to                        D. had to

38. A. sitting                            B. walking                          C. fighting                       D. working

39. A. of                                     B. from                               C. on                                    D. with

40. A. had                                 B. will                                  C. have                               D. do

For most of the day construction worker Sidney Smith and his brother – in – law Joseph Chambers had been   21  along the banks of Lake Waco with little   22 . Chambers suggested they go home, but Smith　33　　that there were still several hours of daylight　24　　and there was one other place they might try a bit longer before 　25　.

Smith drove his pickup（小貨車）a couple of miles along the　26　road to get to the other side of the lake. This road, in the truest sense, was a path wagging in the heavy　27　area. Even with the sun still high in the cloudless sky, the　28　of trees formed a leafy　29　over the road and it suddenly seemed 　30　in the evening.

“A guy could get lost and nobody would ever find him,” said Chambers.

Smith smiled, “We’re　31　there.” He said. A few seconds later, the smile was 　32　　from his face.

“What the hell is that?”

　　He braked to a stop. Less than twenty feet away was what appeared to be a  33 .

　　For several minutes the two men sat in the pickup　34　to decide whether they had happened to　35　someone’s bad practical joke or something far more serious. Smith with his brother-in-law got out of the pickup and 　36　walked towards that thing some distance before them.

It was a young man who was already dead. They had got to tell　37　. Back into the pickup, Smith backed the pickup down the road　38　he could turn around, then　39　back. With the dead young man still on his mind, Smith felt as if he was going to be sick. God, how he　40　　they had given up fishing and gone home early.