The House Fairy
As young parents, my husband and I felt that at age 6 and 8, our children were old enough to be cleaning their rooms and making their beds. But they thought
36
. My complaints, repeating myself, even self-justified shouting were landing on
37
ears. I felt frustrated (沮丧的) , and very often a whole afternoon’s scolding would end with their
38
into tears, I realized I needed to
39
my methods of “mothering”.
One day while they were at school, I had great fun
40
their rooms. On their desks, in plain
41
, I left the cards: “Dear Bill (the other card was
42
to Sarah), your room was messy this morning and I’m sure you like it clean. Love, the House Fairy. ”
43
arriving back, the children were
44
excited to receive the little note from the House Fairy. The next day, their rooms were fairly tidy. Sure enough, there was another note from the House Fairy
45
for them, thanking them for their nice “gift” of a clean room and
46
asking them to play a certain violin
47
. Each day, thank--you notes would be worded differently to keep the ideas
48
.
Sometimes the House Fairy would propose a little
49
: “If you can finish your homework today and
50
it before dinner, I’ d like to watch a particular television program with you tonight. ” Sometimes some colored markers or other little items would be left in
51 of jobs especially well done the day
52
.
53
I can’t remember how long “the House Fairy” continued leaving her love notes. When they were no longer age appropriate (合适的), we used various versions of Post-Its. The bathroom mirror became the
54
centre of our home. Appointments, notices about visiting relatives, lesson schedules, and changes in plans could be posted.
We all benefited from and
55
the idea of sharing reminders and daily details of life through notes. I believe the true legacy of the House Fairy notes survives in our frequent and enjoyable communication.
36.
A. different
B. no
C. otherwise
D. doubtful
37.
A. side
B. deaf
C. neither
D. either
38.
A. crying
B. breaking
C. bursting
D. bumping
39.
A. adjust
B. adopt
C. access
D. addict
40.
A. to tidy
B. tidying
C. tidied
D. tidy
41.
A. distance
B. words
C. speech
D. sight
42.
A. sent
B. read
C. delivered
D. addressed
43.
A. As
B. At
C. Of
D. Upon
44.
A. more than
B. rather than
C. no more than
D. other than
45.
A. asking
B. waiting
C. praying
D. expecting
46.
A. politely
B. friendly
C. gently
D. toughly
47.
A. music
B. song
C. piece
D. tone
48.
A. respectable
B. uninteresting
C. incredible
D. fresh
49.
A. challenge
B. question
C. suggestion
D. advice
50.
A. go with
B. go through
C. look up
D. look into
51.
A. response
B. answer
C. praise
D. honor
52.
A. ahead
B. before
C. over
D. ago
53.
A. Actually
B. Even so
C. Even if
D. Though
54.
A. reminder
B. main
C. memory
D. life
55.
A. learned
B. appreciated
C. shared
D. thanked
答案：36-40：CBCAB
41-45：BDDAB
46-50：CCDAB
51-55：CBAAB
Loving Kindness Is Twice Blessed
I felt gloomy (沮丧的) the other day. The weather had been dark and rainy, and I just didn’t feel so
16
.
As I was sitting at my desk, I
17
it was the birthday of a dear long-time friend — a single, middle-aged woman who has devoted the past 30 years to nursing and loves her
18
.
Knowing that she doesn’t have family in town, I
19
to give her a call. Sure enough, she was on B-shift,
20
to work late into the evening, and wouldn’t have
21
of a birthday this year. As always,
22
, she sounded cheerful and was happy that I
23
.
After I hung up, I couldn’t
24
the feeling that she would really appreciate a little attention on her special day.
25
feeling a little gloomy myself, I tried to put it out of my mind, but as the day passed I couldn’t shake the thought. I
26
gave in, and that evening set off to the hospital with a card, a cheese cake, and some balloons. My friend’s grateful smile and joyful surprise
27
me I’d done the right thing and were a generous
28
for the little effort it had taken.
When I got home, I realized that not only had I cheered up a
29
friend on her birthday, but my own gloomy feelings had also disappeared. Making her day had
30
my own!
Isn’t that the way it is
31
we take the time and make the
32
to do something for someone else? It’s like the little saying, “Loving kindness is twice blessed; it blesses him who gives, and him who
33
.”
Cheering up people on their birthdays isn’t the only thing we can do to make their day. Life constantly presents us with
34
to take an extra step or do a kind deed that will make a difference to
35
. And the wonderful thing is that as we do, it changes things for the better for us too.
16. A. special
B. positive
C. nervous
D. proud
17. A. explained
B. complained
C. remembered
D. informed
18. A. family
B. training
C. work
D. school
19. A. decided
B. continued
C. agreed
D. refused
20. A. surprised
B. disappointed
C. bored
D. prepared
21. A. much
B. many
C. little
D. few
22. A. though
B. besides
C. therefore
D. otherwise
23. A. admitted
B. called
C. succeeded
D. apologized
24. A. experience
B. imagine
C. shake
D. understand
25. A. Almost
B. Even
C. Never
D. Still
26. A. luckily
B. finally
C. unhappily
D. hardly
27. A. convinced
B. advised
C. promised
D. reminded
28. A. response
B. contribution
C. reward
D. share
29. A. careless
B. lonely
C. weak
D. curious
30. A. troubled
B. taken
C. wasted
D. made
31. A. when
B. where
C. why
D. how
32. A. suggestion
B. friend
C. effort
D. call
33. A. tries
B. receives
C. expects
D. cares
34. A. opportunities B. dreams
C. choices
D. regrets
35.A. someone
B. something
C. everyone
D. everything
16.B. positive意为“乐观的”，此处的didn’t feel so positive 与上文的felt gloomy相符。
17.C. 记起。
18.C. 从事护士职业30年，很喜欢她自己的工作。
19.A. 我决定给她打个电话。
20.D. 她是B班，准备工作到深夜。
21.A. 不会有太多的时间过生日。
22.A. though 意为“虽然”。
23.B. 她因我打电话而高兴。
24.C. shake 意为“动摇”，下文26空前有提示。
25.D. 作者仍然感到沮丧，与文章开头相呼应。
26.B. 最终。
27.A. 使我相信我做对了。
28.C. 她的笑容和惊喜是对我慷慨的回报。
29.B. 作者没有家人在镇里，所以孤独，与19空前内容相符合。
30.D. 与make her day 相符合。
31.A. 当我们付出时间和努力的时候。
32.C. 同上。
33.B. receives 与 gives 相对应。
34.A. 生活为我们提供机会。
35.A. 对某个人产生影响。
In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23-year-old son, Daniel．In a few hours he would be flying to France to
36
a different life．It was a transitional(过渡的) time in Daniel’s life．I wanted to
37
him some words of significance．But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the
38
time I had let such moments pass．
When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten．He asked, “What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?” Then he walked
39
the steps of the bus and disappeared inside．The bus drove away and I said nothing．A decade later, a similar
40
played itself out．I drove him to college．As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him
41
and confidence as he started this new stage of life．Again, words
42
me．
Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those
43
opportunities．How many times have I let such moments
44
? I don’t find a quiet moment to tell him what they have
45
to me．Or what he might
46
to face in the years ahead．Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything．
What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him?
47
as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter．My father and I loved each other．Yet, I always
48
never hearing him put his
49
into words．Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten．Why is it so
50
to tell a son something from the heart?
My mouth turned dry, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly．“Daniel,” I said, “If I could have picked, I would have picked you．” That’s all I could say．He hugged me．For a moment, the world
51
, and there were just Daniel and me．He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn’t understand what he was saying．All I was
52
of was the stubble(短须) on his chin as his face pressed
53
mine．What I had said to Daniel was
54
．It was nothing．And yet, it was
55
．
36．A．experience
B．spend
C．enjoy
D．shape
37．A．show
B．give
C．leave
D．instruct
38．A．last
B．first
C．very
D．next
39．A．upward
B．into
C．down
D．up
40．A．sign
B．scene
C．scenery
D．sight41．A．interest
B．instruction
C．courage
D．direction
42．A．failed
B．discouraged
C．struck
D．troubled
43．A．future
B．embarrassing
C．obvious
D．lost
44．A．last
B．pass
C．fly
D．remain
45．A．counted
B．meant
C．valued
D．eared
46．A．think
B．want
C．expect
D．wish
47．A．But
B．And
C．Instead
D．So
48．A．wondered
B．regretted
C．minded
D．tried
49．A．views
B．actions
C．feelings
D．attitudes
50．A．important
B．essential
C．hard
D．complex
51．A．disappeared
B．changed
C．progressed
D．advanced52．A．sensitive
B．convinced
C．aware
D．tired
53．A．by
B．against
C．on
D．with
54．A．clumsy
B．gentle
C．absurd
D．moving
55．A．none
B．all
C．anything
D．everything