In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic—and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed Son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how busy I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo—a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.
1.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ______.
A．a writer B．a teacher C．a judge D．a doctor
2.The author quit school in her second year of college because she ______.
A．wanted to study by herself
B．fell in love and got married
C．suffered from a serious illness
D．decided to look after her grandma
3.What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
A．She was busy yet happy with her family life.
B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.
C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.
D．She was too confused to make a correct choice.
4.What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A．Failure is the mother of success.
B．Little by little, one goes far.
C．Every coin has two sides.
D．Well begun is half done.
5.Which of the following can best describe the author ?
A．Caring and determined. B．Honest and responsible.
C．Ambitious and sensitive. D．Innocent and single-minded.
I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
1.Why did the boy start his job young?
A．He wanted to be famous in the future.
B．The job was quite easy for him.
C．His mother had high hopes for him.
D．The competition for the job was fierce.
2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
A．excited B．interested C．ashamed D．disappointed
3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
A．She forced him to continue. B．She punished him.
C．She gave him some money. D．She changed her plan.
4.What does the underlined word “nickel” most possibly mean?
A．a note that is worth ten dollars
B．a bill signed in acknowledgement of debt
C．a list showing how much you have to pay
D．a coin that is worth five cents
5.What is the text mainly about?
A．The early life of a journalist.
B．The early success of a journalist.
C．The happy childhood of the writer.
D．The important role of the writer in his family.
根据句子结构的语法性，在下面空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词的适当形式填空
1.I like getting up very early in summer. The morning air is so good ________(breathe).
2.Nobody knew the ____________ (deep) of her love for the child.
3.Their sudden attack made us more aware ________ the danger around us.
4.Tom is excited about ______________ (invite) to the party.
5.In order to find _______ better job, he decided to study a second foreign language.
6.Doing morning exercises is _______________(benefit) to our health.
7._______ is important to keep a balance between study and a social life.
8.Mary’s parents will go to the airport by taxi because it is raining _______ (heavy).
9.It is a novel _______(write) by Mark Twain.
10.Those _____ will go to the park stay here please.
11.Parents should not give their children ____________ they want.
12.Her husband died ten years ago, _______ (leave) her with three children to look after.
13.This is the factory _______ the shoes are made.
14.With all the work ____________ (do), I feel totally relaxed.
15.He was given severe ____________ (punish) by his father only for a little mistake.
It was a busy morning，about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s came to the hospital. I heard him saying to the 11 that he was in a hurry for an appointment(约会) at 9:30.
The nurse had him take a 12 in the waiting area, telling him it would be at least 40 minutes before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his 13 and decided, since I was not busy—my patient didn’t 14 at the appointed hour, I would examine his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment. He said no and told me that he 15 to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his 16 , who had been there for a while for a special disease. I asked if she would be 17 if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not been able to 18 him for five years. I was 19 , and asked him，“And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”
He smiled and said. “She doesn’t know me but I know who she is.” I had to hold back 20 as he left.
Now I 21 that in marriages，true love is 22 of all that is. The happiest people don’t 23 have the best of everything; they just 24 the best of everything they have. 25 isn’t about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.
1. A．friend B．patient C．nurse D．doctor
2. A．test B．chance C．shower D．seat
3. A．nurse B．blackboard C．watch D．doctor
4. A．turn up B．show off C．come on D．go away
5. A．needed B．forgot C．agreed D．happened
6. A．daughter B．wife C．mother D．sister
7. A．lonely B．worried C．doubtful D．hungry
8. A．recognize B．answer C．believe D．expect
9. A．moved B．disappointed C．surprised D．satisfied
10. A．curiosity B．tears C．words D．judgment
11. A．realize B．suggest C．hope D．prove
12. A．agreement B．expression C．acceptance D．exhibition
13. A．necessarily B．completely C．naturally D．frequently
14. A．learn B．make C．favor D．try
15. A．Adventure B．Beauty C．Trust D．Life
The Diaoyu islands, in the East China Sea between China and Japan, _______ to China since ancient times.
A. is belonged B. have belonged C. are belonging D. Belonged
21st Century is ______ a newspaper． It helps us to improve our English a lot．
A． no less than B． no more than C． less than D． more than
