Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely mad and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.
Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason.
I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers(窃笑) about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse was judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted.
All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.
My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.
As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.
1. The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 4) most probably means " __________".
A. told how to enter the arena
B. shown how to make the horse beautiful
C. removed from the competition early
D. told to enter the timed-speed events
2. Why was the writer not confident of victory?
A. He was an inexperienced rider.
B. He had not practiced enough.
C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.
D. He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others.
3.When the final race finished, nobody cheered because____________.
A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy B. people envied the writer
C. the win was unexpected D. the writer had run out of time
4.What did the writer learn from his experience?
A. Life can sometimes be unfair.
B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.
C. A positive attitude will bring success.
D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.
5.The best title for the story is ___________. .
A. A Race to Remember B.A Horse’s Tale
C. Neck and Neck D.A Difficult Age
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Nowadays lots of students ask their parents for money to buy things they like. For me, to ask for money is like entering a(n) _36__. I learned this from 37 .
Last year my mother told me that the _ 38 way I would get a driver’s license before I turned eighteen depended on _ 39 I paid for the classes myself. “What?” I asked in _ 40 . But I knew _ 41 that my reasoning would have no_ 42 on the situation, 43__ by the look on my mother’s face.
Three weeks later, I started working _ 44 a hostess at a factory, twice a week. A month later I paid $ 270 for driving lessons, and then over $ 20 to _ 45 my permit test. My pockets were empty _ 46 as soon as they were filled.
My mother thought that I’d be _ 47 to do things without her help. The funny thing was that even though I was totally _ 48 in the beginning, I truly appreciated it, _ 49 if I had just been handed bills from her.
When I realized that my mother wasn’t going to _ 50 something like a driver’s license, at first, it seemed as if she had __51__ an immovable block before me and I would never _ 52 it. But my mother was __53 _. She knew that I wanted a luxury（奢侈品）but _ 54 me to get it. That is as _ 55 as this ---- if I really want it, I’ll find a way to get it myself.
1.A. office B. prison C. battlefield D. bank
2.A. facts B. experience C. lessons D. quarrels
3.A. best B. proper C. same D. only
4.A. whether B. that C. how D. when
5.A. trouble B. disbelief C. comfort D. horror
6.A. hurriedly B. jokingly C. instantly D. surprisingly
7.A. effect B. sense C. effort D. result
8.A. judged B. judging C. to judge D. being judged
9.A. with B. for C. like D. as
10.A. pass B. take C. hold D. gain
11.A. almost B. even C. still D. yet
12.A. ready B. likely C. unhappy D. unable
13.A. terrified B. annoyed C. tired D. disturbed
14.A. more than B. rather than C. no more D. no longer
15.A. pay B. raise C. buy D. support
16.A. laid B. lay C. lied D. lain
17.A. get about B. get by C. get through D. get over
18.A. wise B. mistaken C. strict D. kind
19.A. dared B. hoped C. encouraged D. expected
20.A. well B. far C. soon D. simple
You may take ___ half of the cake; they are exactly the same.
A. both B. either C. any D. each
Our ____ resources and stable policy provide foreigners with the advantages of developing their business.
A. generous B. narrow C. limited D. abundant
Once made out, the plan must be carried out ___ any difficulty.
A. instead of B. in need of C. because of D. regardless of
I ___ on my report next week so I won’t be able to meet you any day.
A. am working B. will be working C. was working D. have been working
