三、完形填空

A young mother set her feet on the pathway of the life. “Is the way long?”

And her guide said, “Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old __41__ you reach the end of it, but the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy and would not __42__ anything could be better than these years. So she __43__ with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed with them in the clear springs. The sun shone on them, and life was good. And the young mother cried, “ Nothing will be __44__ than this.”

Then the night came. And the storm (暴风雨) __45__ them and the path was dark, and the children shook with __46__ and cold. And the mother drew them close and covered them with her clothes, and the childern said, “ Oh, Mum, we are not afraid, for you are __47__, and we know that no harm (伤害) can come to us.” And the mother said, “This is better than the __48__ of the day, for I have taught my __49__ courage.”

And the morning came. There was a hill ahead, and the children __50__ it and soon grew tired. And the mother was __51__, too. But she said to the childern, “ A little patience and we are there.” So the childern climbed and climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, “Mum, we __52__ not have done it without you.” And when the mother lay down to sleep that night, she __53__at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the __54__ , for my childern have learned determination(决心) in the face of __55__. Yesterday I gave them courage—today I gave them strength.”

41. A. after B.before C. since D. until

42.A. know B.believe C. feel D. find

43.A. worked B. stayed C. played D. studied

44.A. worse B. better C. easier D. sadder

45.A. hit B. beat C. took D. carried

46.A. excitement B. happiness C. interest D. fear

47.A. far B. away C. near D. out

48.A. coldest B. coolest C. darkest D. brightest

49.A. students B. classmates C. friends D. children

50.A. walked B. moved C. climbed D. flew

51.A. tired B. happy C. angry D. proud

52.A. will B. can C. could D. shouldn’t

53.A. looked over B. looked on C. looked after D. looked up

54.A. last B. next C. latest D. second

55.A. dark B. difficulties C. failure D. success

四、阅读理解 A

The world has many beautiful sounds. we can hear the songs of birds and laugh of people. We can listen to cool music and news reports. And all this is due to(归功于)our ears! They bring us a world of sounds.

But some people can’t hear any sound at all. Some are born deaf. Others can hear well in their childhood, but too many loud sounds hurt their ears later on.

In China, 6 children out of 1000 have hearing problems when they are born. They can’ t hear ordinary sounds clearly. Children who have hearing problems usually also have learning problems at school.

A lot of things can cause hearing problems. For example, too much earwax is not good for our hearing and noise louder than 85 decibels(分贝) can hurt our ears and make us lose our hearing for a short time or even for ever.

Hearing is a problem for all of us. So we should do our best to give our ears special care. Don’t forget the following: xkb1.com