Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family and all of my close friends were back home in Florida, and I was all alone in a rather cold California. I was working too many hours and became very sick.

I was working a double shift at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, it was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve, and I was feeling really miserable inside. There were a few of us working and very few customers waiting to be helped. When it was time for me to call the next person to the counter, I looked out to see the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried. I tried to find out more information by asking if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed to travel, but he seemed to become more confused with each question. He just kept saying, “She said I have to go to New Orleans.”

After much time, I was able to at least find out that this old man had been dropped off at the curb on Christmas Eve by his sister-in-law and told to go to New Orleans, where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him just to go inside and buy a ticket. When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling very sorry for myself about being alone on Christmas, when this angel named Clarence MacDonald was sent to me to remind me of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart.

Immediately, I told him we would get it all straightened out, and our Customer Service agent helped to book him a seat for the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him the senior citizen’s fare, which gave him some extra money for travelling. About this time he started to look very tired, and when I stepped around the counter to ask him if he was all right, I saw that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it that whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes.

I called for a wheelchair. When the wheelchair came, we all stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he hurt his leg, and he said that he had just had bypass surgery and an artery was taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had had heart surgery, and then shortly afterward, was dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans, alone!

I never really had a situation like this, and I wasn’t sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said yes, and they obtained a hotel voucher for Mr. MacDonald for one night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the porter a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food and itinerary (行程) again to Mr. MacDonald, and then patted him on the arm and told him everything would be just fine.

As he left he said, “Thank you,” bent his head and started to cry. I cried too. When I went back to thank my supervisor, she just smiled and said, “I love stories like that. He is your Christmas Man.”

1.Last Christmas the writer had a miserable time because ______.

A．there were more customers than usual waiting to be helped

B．it was freezing cold in California at Christmas time

C．she was working all alone at the ticket counter

D．she was far away from her family and friends

2.The writer’s first impression of the old man was that he was ______.

A．gentle-looking and weak                  B．tired out and worried

C．confused and very sick                   D．sad and anxious

3.The old man wanted to fly to New Orleans to ______.

A．see his friends there

B．spend the Christmas with his family

C．visit his sister-in-law

D．undergo heart surgery

4.On hearing the old man say that he would wait at the airport the whole night, the writer felt a bit ashamed. This is because ______.

A．she felt sorry that she couldn’t do the old man a favor

B．she realized that someone was even more miserable than she felt

C．it took her a long time to find out how helpless the old man was

D．the old man was like an angel in the writer’s eyes

5.The writer called for a wheelchair for the old man because ______.

A．the old man had broken his leg when he was dropped off at the curb

B．the old man could spend the whole night on it at the airport

C．the old man was carrying a whole lot of clothes

D．the old man had had surgery just before and was very weak by then

6. By calling the old man the writer’s Christmas Man, the writer’s supervisor implied that ______.

A．the old man had told the writer a love story on Christmas

B．the old man had caused a lot of trouble for the writer on Christmas

C．the old man was the best gift the writer could have received on Christmas

D．the old man was the only customer the writer had served on Christmas

My father brought home a sailboat when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at 36 . As for me, I 37 both before twelve because of living close to Lake Ontario.
The last time Dad and I set sail together is really 38 . It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and 39 Dad to go sailing. Out we set soon on the__40__ lake. Dad hadn’t sailed for years, but everything   41 
well with the tiller (舵柄) in his hands.
When we were in the middle of the lake, a 42 wind came all of a sudden. The boat was hit __43 . Dad was always at his best in any 44 , but at this moment he   45 .
“John!   46 !” he shouted in a trembling voice, with the tiller still in his hands.
In my memory he could fix any 47 . He was the one I always 48 for strength and security. Before I could respond, a 49 of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller 50 it was too late. Another huge wall of water 51 the boat in a minute. We were thrown into the water, and Dad was struggling aimlessly. At that moment, I felt fiercely 52 of him.
I swam to Dad 53 and assisted him in climbing onto the hull (船殼) of the boat. Upon sitting on the hull, Dad was a little awkward about his flash of 54 . “It’s all right, Dad. We are safe now,” I comforted him.
That was the first time Dad had counted on me in a moment of emergency. More importantly, I found it was my turn to start 55 for my father.

I grew up in a community called Estepona. I was 16 when one morning, Dad told me I could drive him into a   31  village called Mijas, on condition that I took the car in to be   32  at a nearby garage. I readily accepted. I drove Dad into Mijas, and   33  to pick him up at 4 pm, then dropped off the car at the   34 . With several hours to spare. I went to a theater.   35 , when the last movie finished, it was six. I was two hours late!

I knew Day would be angry if he   36  I’d been watching movies. So I decided not to tell him the truth. When I   37  there I apologized for being late, and told him I’d   38  as quickly as I could, but that the car had needed some major repairs. I’ll never forget the   39  he gave me. “I’m disappointed you   40  you have to lie to me, Jason.” Dad looked at me again. “When you didn’t   41 . I called the garage to ask if there were any   42 , and they told me you hadn’t  yet picked up the car. ” I felt  43  as I weakly told him the real reason. A   44  passed through Dad as he listened attentively. “I’m angry with   45 . I realize I’ve failed as a father. I’m going to walk home now and think seriously about   46  I’ve gone wrong all these years.” “But Day, it’s 18 miles!” My protests and apologies were   47 . Dad walked home that day. I drove behind him,   48  him all the way, but he walked silently.

Seeing Dad in so much   49  and emotional pain was my most painful experience. However, it was   50  the most successful lesson. I have never lied since.

6..

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12. questions                        B. problems                  C. mistakes                   D. faults

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16..

17.. A meaningless                B. useless            C. helpless           D. worthless

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20..

完形填空(共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分)

    閱讀下面短文，從短文所給各題的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A，B，C和D)中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

One spring afternoon five years ago, Jimmy Liao was crying in the hall of Taipei’s Sherwood Hotel, Life seemed  36  . The people who laughed as they walked past were taking their   37  for granted, just as he  38  himself. Now, however, he felt  39  —and he couldn’t even show his disappointment in his  40  .

    Seeking more personally satisfying  41  , he had just left a successful job as a commercial artist when it seemed that fate（命運(yùn)）played a cruel  42  on him. It was at this time that he developed cancer and was  43  to work. But that moment in the hotel was a turning point for Jimmy. He began to  44  the fact that there is no such a thing as fate, only  45  . Since then, he has published several imaginative, illustrated（帶插圖的）books.

    According to Jimmy, you are  46  you choose to be. You can give up or you can work to be a happier person. Jimmy realized that, while the world  47  seems unfair, your choice can change your life.

    This idea can be   48  in Jimmy’s books, where his characters show the powerlessness they feel   49  making their choices. The message that goes with Jimmy’s drawings, however, is 50 .

Though the world may make us feel small, we must be  51  . Everything will be all right for us—as it is for the“small people”in Jimmy’s books—if we make choices that are   52  for us.

    In spite of his new  53  and wealth, Jimmy prefers working  54  at home with his wife and daughter. He spends his mornings drawing. To Jimmy, living a life as he chooses means much more than money and fame could  55  .

1.A．unhappy        B．unusual          C．unfair           D．uneasy

2.A．health     B．wealth           C．happiness            D．illnesses

3.A．ought to       B．had to           C．needed to            D．used to

4.A．a(chǎn)shamed        B．disappointed     C．helpless         D．endless

5.A．crying     B．painting         C．imagination      D．consideration

6.A．home       B．condition            C．situation            D．work

7.A．game       B．trick                C．role             D．part

8.A．unable     B．impossible       C．unfit                D．difficult

9.A．understand B．face             C．refuse           D．recognize

10.A．failures      B．efforts          C．choices          D．interests

11.A．that          B．what             C．which            D．whoever

12.A．a(chǎn)lways        B．seldom           C．sometimes        D．usually

13.A．found     B．drawn            C．written          D．a(chǎn)ccepted

14.A．a(chǎn)fter         B．a(chǎn)bout            C．with             D．before

15.A．powerful      B．hopeful          C．useful           D．successful

16.A．great             B．strong           C．brave            D．equal

17.A．scientific            B．basic                C．right                D．simple

18.A．product           B．fame             C．name         D．job

19.A．rapidly           B．separately       C．slowly           D．quietly

20.A．offer             B．gain             C．gather           D．earn

One summer several years ago, my family was enjoying a barbecue on the beach. After the barbecue, my father-in-law invited me to go fishing.  Fishing was his hobby, but I   36  went fishing. We walked a little way along the beach and reached a rock by the shore, and I    37   the hook into the sea from there.  Frankly speaking, I am a (n)   38  person, and although I had not felt a tug (猛拽) on the line, I reeled up the hook after five minutes or so. I had caught    39 . It was a starfish. It trembled uneasily when I   40  the hook from its ugly mouth. I threw the starfish back into the sea. After another five minutes I caught another starfish and I threw it back again.

After a while, I caught yet another starfish. That was  41  time, and this time I really got angry. I hit the starfish on the rock   42  throwing it into the sea. I was not in the   43  to continue fishing any more.

When I was   44  the fishing tools, I noticed a little girl looking at the starfish on the rock. We   45  looks with each other. The little girl spoke to me in a   46  voice. “Sir, would you mind if I   47  the starfish back into the sea?”“Not at all,” I replied. “"But you know, there are too many starfish in the sea, and they eat many shellfish.   48 , they look so ugly. I don't like them.”

“I understand,” said the little girl. “But if the starfish cannot get back to the sea, it will be   49  by the sun and die. My dead grandfather once told me that there are no living creatures that have no right to exist in the world. God   50  every creature because it was needed by nature. Poisonous snakes, spiders, and starfish were born into this world with a certain   51  for their existence.”

“All right, dear, please throw the starfish back into the sea,” I said to the little girl, feeling   52 . The girl picked up the starfish and gently put it into the sea, and she  53  at me and said, “Thank you, sir.”

Many people like "cute" creatures such as dogs, cats, and rabbits, while they tend to dislike “ugly” creatures such as snakes, spiders, and starfish.  However, the “cuteness” and “ugliness” of things are decided   54  only on one’s personal opinions. There are no living creatures that have no  55  in the world-- this is what I learned from the little girl.