I’m sitting in a quiet room at the Millcroft Hotel, a peaceful place hidden back among pine trees about an hour out of Toronto. It’s just past noon, late July, and I’m ?? the desperate (絕望的) sounds of a life-and-death ?? going on a few feet away.

? There’s a small? ?? ?? burning out the last of its short life’s energies in a (an) ? ? to fly through the glasses of the window. ? ?? ? , it’s not working. The great effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically (諷刺地), the struggle is part of the trap. It is ?? ?? for the fly to try hard enough to succeed in? ?? ?? through the glass. This fly is doomed (注定失敗). It will ? ?? ? there on the windowsill.

? Across the room, ten steps? ? , the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it? ?? ? . With only a small effort now being ?? ? , it could be free of this self-set ?? ? . The breakthrough possibility is there. It would be so? ?? ? .

? Why doesn’t the fly try another approach, ? ?? ?? dramatically different? How did it get so locked in on the idea? ?? ? this particular route and determined effort offer the most promise for success?

? No doubt this way makes? ?? to the fly. Regrettably, it is an idea that will kill it.

? Trying hard isn’t necessarily the solution? ? ? achieving your goal. It may not offer any real ??? for getting what you want out of life. Sometimes, in fact, it is a big part of the problem.

? If you? ?? ?? your hopes like the fly for a break-through, you may? ?? ?? your chances for success.

1.A. seeing?????????? B. crying out????????? C. watching?????????? D. listening to?

2.A. struggle????????? B. cry?????????????? C. yell??????????????? D. test

3.A. bird???????????? B. fly??????????????? C. insect????????????? D. worm

4.A. experience??????? B. direction????????? C. force?????????????? D. attempt

5.A. Thus??????????? B. So??????????????? C. Although??????????? D. However

6.A. usual??????????? B. likely???????????? C. impossible?????????? D. uncommon

7.A. digging????????? B. breaking?????????? C. pushing???????????? D. jumping

8.A. kill????? ?????? B. die??????????????? C. lie???????????????? D. stick

9.A. away??????????? B. far??????????????? C. near?????????????? D. distant

10.A. dreams to??????? B. thinks of?????????? C. looks after?????????? D. longs for

11.A. done??????????? B. owned???????????? C. wasted????????????? D. planned

12.A. tunnel?????????? B. trap?????????????? C. cave??????????????? D. goal

13.A. easy??????????? B. necessary?????????? C. hard??????????????? D. obvious?

14.A. attempt????????? B. anything??? ??????? C. struggle??????????? D. something

15.A. that???????????? B. what?????????????? C. which????????????? D. where

16.A. sense??????????? B. trouble???????????? C. room?????????????? D. effort

17.A. of????????????? B. from?????????????? C. off???????????????? D. to

18.A. advice?????????? B. support??????????? C. hope??????????????? D. power

19.A. risk???????????? B. get??????????????? C. make?????????????? D. take

20.A. fail???????????? B. kill??????????????? C. overlook?????????? ? D. fulfill

A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教師）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ” I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

? “Forty.”

? “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

? “Two months and five days.”

? “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

? “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct?”

? Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but-still not a word.

? “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect（疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

? “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

? “But I made a note of it.”

? “Well... if you say so.”

? “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

? Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

? “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

? “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is!”

? I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

? “Merci（法語(yǔ): 謝謝）,” she whispered.

? I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

? “For the money.”

? “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you! I have actually stolen from you! Why this‘merci’?”

? “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

? “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless（懦弱）? Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）-to be such a fool?”

? Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

? I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”

1.While talking to Julia, the writer expected from her________.

A. a protest　　　B. gratitude　? C. obedience　　 D. an explanation

2.What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

A. nervousness in front of her boss???????

B. acceptance of injustice

C. shyness when talking about money?????

D. unwillingness to express herself

3.The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

A. to be more aggressive??????? B. to be more careful in her work

C. to protect her right?????????? D. to live independently

4.At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!” to show ________.

A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

B. his worry about Julia’s future

C. his concern on the living condition of working-class people

D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

5.From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was________.

A. greedy but honest????? 　 B. ill-tempered but warm-hearted

C. strict but forgiving??????? D. none of the above

(2013·高考重慶卷，A)When Joe was about to start school，all signs pointed to success.Yet things turned out to be quite___.The fourth grade even found him at the___of the class.Joe? struggled day and night，but it did not____－until one stormy afternoon.

On that afternoon，____the math teacher started to introduce difficult concepts，dark? clouds covered the sky，and the storm set in.Hard though she tried to make the kids____，the thunder won the battle for their attention.No one____the concepts.Except for Joe.He understood them and answered all the questions correctly.The teacher patted him on the back，and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had? managed it.____by his newfound? success，Joe moved quickly throughout the room.Soon math time was followed by the time for____.All children naturally drew____pictures on such a day.Except for Joe.

Since then，Joe started____.Though he never made it to the top，his math teacher was always____and curious about the change：Why had that stormy day changed Joe?

On the day Joe? graduated，he presented the teacher with his most____possession－the picture of a bright yellow sun.On the picture Joe had written：This is the day I____my brightness.

1.A.unfair? B．boring

C．disappointing? D．dangerous

2.A.center? B．top

C．beginning? D．bottom

3.A.happen? B．work

C．finish? D．last?????

4.A.until? B．since

C．because? D．as?

5.A.concentrate? B．change

C．hide? D．sit

6.A.challenged? B．grasped

C．doubted? D．admitted

7.A.Relieved? B．Surprised

C．Encouraged? D．Puzzled

8.A.class? B．sports

C．art? D．tea

9.A.great? B．dark

C．different? D．strange

10.A.improving? B．painting

C．recovering? D．studying

11.A.worried? B．amazed

C．friendly? D．cautious

12.A.familiar? B．expensive

C．admirable? D．precious

13.A.woke up to? B．put up with

C．got on with? D．looked down upon

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題的A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出適合填入
對(duì)應(yīng)空白處的最佳選項(xiàng), 并在答題卡上將該選項(xiàng)涂黑。   
My job was to make classroom observations and encourage a training program that would enable students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this      .
One day, I entered Donna’s classroom, took a seat in the back of the room and      . All the students were working       a task. The student next to me was filling her page with “I Can’ts.” “I can’t kick the soccer ball.” “I can’t get Debbie to like me.” Her page was half full and she showed no       of stopping. I walked down the row and found       was writing sentences, describing things they couldn’t do.
By this time the activity aroused my      , so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on       I noticed she too was busy writing. “I can’t get John’s mother to come for a parents’ meeting.” I felt it best not to      .
After another ten minutes, the students were       to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their “I Can’t” statements into an empty shoebox. Then Donna     hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door. Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway Donna got a shovel from the tool house, and then marched the students to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to      . The box of “I Can’ts” was placed at the       of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. At this point Donna announced, “Boys and girls, please join hands and       your heads.” They quickly formed a circle around the grave.
Donna delivered the eulogy (悼詞). “Friends, we gathered here today to       the memory of ‘I Can’t.’ He is       by his brothers and sisters ‘I Can’ and ‘I Will’. May ‘I Can’t’ rest in      . Amen!”
She turned the students       and marched them back into the classroom. They celebrated the       of “I Can’t”. Donna cut a large tombstone from paper. She wrote the words “I Can’t” at the top and the date at the bottom, then hung it in the classroom. On those rare occasions when a student       and said, “I Can’t,” Donna       pointed to the paper tombstone. The student then remembered that “I Can’t” was dead and chose other statement.   

1. A．job B．project C．observation D．course

2. A．checked? B．noticed C．watched D．waited

3. A．on B．with C．as D．for

4. A．scenes? B．senses C．marks D．signs

5. A．nobody B．somebody C．everyone D．anyone

6. A．curiosity B．suspect C．sympathy D．worry

7. A．and B．or C．but D．so

8. A．insert B．interrupt C．talk D．request

9. A．taught B．shown C．forced D．instructed

10. A．added B．wrote C．made D．folded

11. A．cry B．pray C．dig D．play

12. A．back B．bottom C．top D．edge

13. A．drop B．raise C．fall D．lift

14. A．keep B．thank C．forgive D．honor

15. A．remembered B．punished C．removed D．replaced

16. A．silence B．heart C．peace D．memory

17. A．down B．up C．off D．around

18. A．birth B．passing C．loss D．starting

19. A．awoke B．reminded C．forgot D．apologized

20. A．simply B．hardly C．seriously D．angrily

I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?"

??? At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket.

??? I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?

??? She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room—if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!"

??? Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room.

??? After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

1.Why did the author shout at the telephone?

A. He was mad at the telephone.??????????????

B. He was angry with his agent.

C. He was anxious about his wife.????????????

D. He was impatient with the secretary.

2.What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

A. She said nothing.??????????????????????? B. She shouted at him.

C. She called the agent.???????????????????? D. She threw the phone away.

3.What made the author laugh?

A. His own crazy behavior.????????????????? B. His wife’s suggestions.

C. His changeable feeling.?????????????????? D. His wife’s sweet kiss.

4.What does the underlined word “ antics” refer to?

A. Smart words??? B. Unusual actions.???? C. Surprising looks.??? D. Anxious feelings