“Hey, Dad, are you going to come to my award ceremony tonight? ”I   36   asked my father. “I have to work late tonight. I doubt whether I’ll be able to   37   it on time. I am just too busy right now, ”he replied.

My mind could not   38   the idea that he would be too busy working late. He was also too busy to   39   my horse show, football games and the 15th birthday party. He always used the same   40  . Why had I even bothered to ask?   41  , there was always a slight hope that

As my mother and I arrived at school, two friends   43   me. “Jill, meet my da   D．Dad, this is my friend Jill. ”I shook the hand of a tall man. Camera flashes lit up the room, and claps filled the   44   as students accepted their awards. My name was finally called,   45   three others. I followed my classmates to the   46  . When I reached out my hand to shake the   47  , a big smile lit up her face. The blinding flash from my mother’s camera   48   my eyes and I knew my dad wasn’t there. I walked back to my seat   49  .

Back at home, seeing my dad’s car in the garage, I told myself he would not be   50  this time . But as usual the strong smell of alcohol hit me as soon as I  51  inside, and I could feel my tears   52  . I followed the sound of his drunken words and saw him   53   on the couch.

  54   did father lie to me? I threw my award on the floor, walked to my bedroom, and shut the door. Tears rolled down my face. I wondered if I would ever be more   55   than his whiskey bottle.

A．confidently      B．eagerly         C．proudly        D．fearfully

A．reach             B．keep           C．take           D．make

A．create             B．support         C．a(chǎn)ppreciate     D．a(chǎn)ccept

A．watch            B．a(chǎn)void         C．a(chǎn)ttend           D．speed

A．excuse           B．reply         C．promise        D．trick

A．Besides          B．Thus           C．Otherwise     D．However

A．a(chǎn)ctive            B．formal          C．different       D．serious

A．recognized        B．greeted         C．encouraged      D．showed

A．a(chǎn)ir              B．a(chǎn)udience       C．school          D．playground

A．a(chǎn)part from       B．other than       C．except for       D．a(chǎn)long with

A．stage            B．position        C．office          D．exit

A．Jill’s            B．teacher’s       C．mother’s     D．father’s

A．fixed            B．touched         C．hurt         D．spotted

A．successfully     B．disappointedly C．delightedly     D．hopefully

A．drunk            B．woken       C．forgiven       D．hidden

A．stepped           B．noticed         C．examined     D．glanced

A．getting off       B．falling down   C．building up   D．turning around

A．leaning         B．lying         C．putting         D．carrying

A．How          B．Where           C．Why          D．Whether

A．perfect        B．comfortable      C．fortunate       D．important

完形填空（共20小題，每小題1.5分,滿分30分）

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36—55題各題所給的四個(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)。

The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My __36__ began when I was just a kid．I __37__ becoming a doctor.

My mother was a domestic．Through her work, she observed that __38__ people spent a lot more time reading than they __39__ watching television. She announced that my brother and I __40__ watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and __41__ her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a __42__. My mother was illiterate. 

When I entered high school I was a(n) __43__, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to __44__ the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home from __45__ her various jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I'll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy __46__ food and pay the bills. With everything __47__, you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.” I was very __48__ with that arrangement but once I got through allocating money, there was __49__ left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to __50__ our heads and any kind of food on the table, __51__ buy clothes. I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn't going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my __52__ and became an A-student again, and eventually I __53__ my dream and I became a doctor.

My story is really my mother's story—a woman with __54__ formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job __55__ than parenting. This I believe.

36．A．belief       B．work C．education  D．promise

37．A．majored in      B．got used to      C．dreamed of      D．got tired of 

38．A．lazy B．easy-going      C．successful        D．reliable

39．A．spent       B．paid C．took        D．did

40．A．could only      B．could not        C．must not D．should often

41．A．read to    B．present to        C．teach       D．explain to

42．A．joke        B．means      C．tool D．trick

43．A．A-student        B．B-student        C．C-student        D．D-student

44．A．get rid of       B．hang out with C．break away from     D．keep in touch with

45．A．making    B．stopping   C．working         D．getting

46．A．your brother    B．yourself   C．your sister       D．the family

47．A．left over B．paid off   C．used up    D．carried out

48．A．a(chǎn)ngry      B．pleased    C．disappointed    D．bored

49．A．a(chǎn)nything        B．everything       C．something       D．nothing

50．A．put an idea into             B．gave an impression on  

       C．keep a roof over             D．have eyes in the back of       

51．A．let alone         B．let out      C．let in       D．leave alone

52．A．guys       B．mother    C．studies     D．play 

53．A．made       B．fulfilled   C．changed         D．tried

54．A．little        B．much       C．few         D．high

55．A．more interesting      B．less important   C．more important       D．less interesting

I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant , and ancient for a sportsman, Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age. but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.

A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying,  “ Fifty is what forty used to be . ”He had made an inspirational point, Am I over the hill ?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that he high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.

“ Your are not getting older, you are getting better . ” says Dr. Joyce Brothers . This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.

And so. as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net. I am moves to share some thoughts on aging with you. I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally. Getting older. of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼詞). In fact , a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all :

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to me.

Whether or not Browning was right , most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by. I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend ( 混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher(哲學(xué)家) was right when he said . ”O(jiān)ld is always fifteen years from now. ”

44. The author seems to tell us in Paragraph I that      

A time alone will tell                                       B time goes by quickly

C time will show what is right                          D time makes one forget the past

45. When the author turned fifty , people around him      

A. tried to comfort him                                           B. got inspiration with him

C. were friendlier with him                             D. found him more talkative

46. The author considers his fifty years of life       

A peaceful                  B. ordinary                 C. satisfactory              D. regretful

47. We can infer from the passage that      

A. the old should led a simple life                            B. the old should face the fact of aging

C. the old should take more exercise                   D. the old should fill themselves with curiosity

How do you feel after you've stayed up late to finish schoolwork? Or the day after a slumber party? Scientists now say that your answers to these questions may depend on your genes.

     Genes are stretches of DNA that work like an instruction manual for our cells. Genes tell our bodies and brains what to do. People have about 40,000 genes, and each gene can have different forms. So, for example, certain forms of some genes make your eyes blue. Other versions of those genes make your eyes brown.

In a similar way, new research suggests that a gene called period3 affects how well you function without sleep. The discovery adds to older evidence that period3 helps determine whether you like to stay up late or get up early.

The period3 gene comes in two forms: short and long. Everyone has two copies of the gene. So, you may have two longs, two shorts, or one of each. Your particular combination depends on what your parents passed on to you.

Scientists from the University of Surrey in England studied 24 people who had either two short or two long copies of period3. Study participants had to stay awake for 40 hours straight. Then, they took tests that measured how quickly they pushed a button when numbers flashed on a screen and how well they could remember lists of numbers.

Results showed that the people with the short form of period3 performed much better on these tests than the people with the long form did. In both groups, people performed worst in the early morning. That's the time when truck drivers and other night-shift workers say they have the most trouble concentrating.

After the first round of experiments, participants were finally allowed to sleep. People in the group that performed well on the tests took about 18 minutes to nod off.

People with the long period3 gene, by contrast, fell asleep in just 8 minutes. They also spent more time in deep sleep. That suggests that people with the long form of the gene need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form.

We can know from the passage that genes can not ________.

 A. tell our bodies and brains what to do

 B. make our eyes blue or brown

 C. decide how well you work without sleep

 D. ensure whether you’re good at driving

Which of the following statements about the period3 is wrong?

 A. It affects whether you like to stay up late or get up early.

 B. It comes in two forms: short and long.

 C. One has either two longs or two shorts of it.

 D. Your parents determine what particular combination you have.

People with the short form of period3__________.

 A. need to go to bed early and get up early

 B. can work better than the people with long form of period3 without sleep

 C. take less time to fall asleep after they stay up late

 D. need more and deeper sleep to keep their brains working at top form

What’s the best title of the passage?

A. The Period3 Gene                           B. The Function of Genes

 C. Wake up, Sleepy Gene                                D. Stay up Late or Get up Early?

In a time of social reform, people’s state of mind tends to keep _______ with the rapid changes of society.

A. terms              B. pace              C. progress            D. touch