Roberta appeared on the stage. She took a deep breath and began to ___16___. Now she was Portia, a strongwilled ___17___ in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The theater was filled with people. She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing ___18___ form her.

___19___, Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition (選拔試演). She ___20___ being in front of other people. She was very ___21___ at school. She had never thought she was good enough at anything to ___22___ much attention. She stayed mostly to herself, making ___23___ friends. She had excellent grades, ___24___ she always thought that something was missing.

Two weeks before the audition, Robertsa’s mother had heard about it and ___25___ her to join in.

“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to ___26___ the part. Remember all the plays you used to act our for us?”

Her mother wouldn’t let the ___27___ drop. “You’re just a little scared (害怕). Everyone gets scared. You know you ___28___ do it. The trick is to look past the ___29___ to find the love of what you’re doing.”

So Roberta had made an appointment (預(yù)約) with the head of the Drama Club. She had read the play and found herself excited by the ___30___ of speaking such rich words. In secret she practiced Portia’s part, ___31___ the lines by repeating them over and over. It wasn’t hard; she ___32___ every minute of it. Every time she spoke the words, she had a new ___33___ of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.

On the day of the audition, she ___34___ two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors. When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the ___35___ was hers.

16. A. sing               B. dance               C. speak                     D. report

17. A. member         B. actress             C. player                    D. character

18. A. weakly          B. rapidly              C. smoothly                D. slowly

19. A. At first          B. In fact              C. After all                  D. In all

20. A. hated             B. enjoyed            C. appreciated             D. regretted

21. A. honest           B. shy                  C. polite                     D. patient

22. A. avoid             B. focus               C. pay                        D. attract

23. A. few               B. a few               C. several                   D. many

24. A. or                 B. so                    C. for                         D. but

25. A. forced           B. requested          C. encouraged             D. reminded

26. A. accept           B. play                 C. offer                      D. learn

27. A. role               B. matter              C. interest                   D. grade

28. A. can               B. must                C. may                       D. should

29. A. anger             B. pain                 C. sadness                  D. fear

30. A. purpose         B. way                 C. idea                       D. importance

31. A. memorizing  B. organizing          C. checking                D. improving

32. A. disliked          B. loved                C. expected                D. bore

33. A. considerationB. description         C. selection                 D. understanding

34. A. practiced     B. planned              C. performed              D. delivered

35. A. part               B. play                 C. speech                   D. position

The seaside here draws a lot of tourists every summer. Warm sunshine and soft sands make ________ it is.

A. what                   B. which              C. how                       D. where

The final score of the basketball match was 93-94. We were only ________ beaten.

A. nearly                 B. slightly             C. narrowly                D. lightly

 If Newton lived today, he would be surprise by what ____ in science and technology.

A. had discovered     B. had been discovered

C. has discovered     D. has been discovered

One thousand dollars a month is not a fortune but would help cover my living ________.

A. bills                    B. expenses          C. prices                    D. charges

Those successful deaf dancers think that dancing is an activity ________ sight matters more than hearing.

A. when                  B. whose              C. which                    D. where

― I apologize for not being able to join you for dinner.

― ________. We’ll get together later.

A. Go ahead             B. Not to worry     C. That’s right           D. Don’t mention it

A new ________ bus service to Tianjin Airport started to operate two months ago.

A. normal                B. usual                C. regular                   D. common

 It is difficult for us to learn a lesson in life ________ we’ve actually had that lesson.

A. until    B. after    C. since   D. when

 Lucy has ________ all of the goals she set for herself in high school and is ready for new challenges at university.

A. acquired     B. finished      C. concluded  D. achieved