Question

I find it interesting sometimes that even the most ordinary occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.

My wife, daughter, and I moved into our home nine years ago and we ______ a lot of time and energy in the yard to getting it looking like it does today. We ______ on a corner, higher than street level, and the entire side of the yard is ______ by a professionally built rock wall. We did the best to put what we had into ______ and called this area our “rock garden”. Whenever we had flowers or plants, my wife Denise or I would stick them out and plant them in the “rock garden”, just to bring some ______ to the area.

I still do all of my own yard work, even the ______ weed-pulling. After ______ my knee pads, I assume the ______ to clear the yard of weeds, even in the rock garden.

Last summer I had reached the end of the rock garden and found a tiny little ______ that I could not ______ identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise ______ that she didn’t either. We decided to let it continue growing until we could ______ what it was.

Weeks passed and ______ I made my way back to the mystery plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. It was ______, looking with a tall thin stalk (茎) and only one head on it. I decided to ______ it and weed around it. As I ______ rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ______. The sunflower had not started where I saw the stalk begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and ______ under and around it to reach the sun.

That’s when I realized that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ______ of doing the same thing. As long as we try, we can find ways to go under or around our big ______ in order to reach our desires.

1.A. use    B. spent    C. applied    D. devoted

2.A. work    B. live    C. stay    D. play

3.A. crowded    B. surrounded    C. prohibited    D. governed

4.A. effect    B. practice    C. use    D. operation

5.A. color    B. peace    C. credit    D. focus

6.A. plain    B. bored    C. tiring    D. initial

7.A. holding on    B. taking on    C. bringing on    D. putting on

8.A. position    B. style    C. tissue    D. thumb

9.A. flower    B. plant    C. crop    D. bush

10.A. suddenly    B. hardly    C. gradually    D. instantly

11.A. claimed    B. instructed    C. described    D. guaranteed

12.A. turn out    B. figure out    C. hold out    D. pick out

13.A. as    B. before    C. since    D. because

14.A. pitiful    B. ugly    C. pretty    D. weak

15.A. admire    B. consider    C. attend    D. observe

16.A. pushed    B. removed    C. transported    D. conducted

17.A. cheerful    B. unnatural    C. unusual    D. appealing

18.A. pulled    B. dug    C. expanded    D. grown

19.A. power    B. capability    C. energy    D. strength

20.A. conflicts    B. responsibilities    C. barriers    D. chances

Answer

1. D

2. B

3. B

4. C

5. A

6. C

7. D

8. A

9. B

10. D

11. A

12. B

13. A

14. D

15. C

16. B

17. C

18. D

19. B

20. C

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议的文章。这篇文章主要讲了我意外地在庭院中发现一颗神秘植物，后来认出它是一株小向日葵。我搬开了岩石，清理杂草，意外发现向日葵没有从我看到茎开始的地方开始生长。它实际上是在一块大石头下面开始生长的，在下面和周围生长，以便够到太阳。我由此感叹，如果一朵小小的向日葵不让一块大石头挡住它的发展道路，我们也有能力做同样的事情。只要我们努力，我们就能找到方法克服或绕过我们的大障碍，以达到我们的愿望。

1.考查固定短语。句意：我的妻子、女儿和我九年前搬进了我们的家，我们花了很多时间和精力在院子里使它看起来像今天这样。devoted to致力于,故选D。

2.考查动词辨析。句意：我们住在一个街角，比街道还高，院子的整个一侧都被专业建造的石墙包围着。A. work工作；B. live生活；C. stay停留；D. play玩，故选B。

3.考查动词辨析。句意：我们住在一个街角，比街道还高，院子的整个一侧都被专业建造的石墙包围着。A. crowded拥挤；B. surrounded包围；C. prohibited禁止；D. governed管理，故选B。

4.考查名词辨析。句意：我们尽了最大的努力来利用我们所拥有的，并把这个地区称为我们的“岩石花园”。A. effect影响；B. practice练习；C. use使用；D. operation手术，故选C。

5.考查名词辨析。句意：每当我们有花或植物的时候，我和我的妻子Denise都会把它们挑出来种在“岩石花园”，只是为了给这个地方增添一些色彩。A. color颜色；B. peace和平；C. credit信用；D. focus焦点，故选A。

6.考查形容词辨析。句意：我仍然做我所有的院子里的工作，甚至是累人的除草。A. plain简单的；B. bored无聊的；C. tiring累人的；D. initial最初的，故选C。

7.考查动词短语辨析。句意：穿上护膝后，我担任清除院子里杂草的职位，即使是在岩石花园里。A. holding on坚持；B. taking on呈现；C. bringing on导致；D. putting on穿上，故选D。

8.考查名词辨析。句意：穿上护膝后，我担任清除院子里杂草的职位，即使是在岩石花园里。A. position职位；B. style风格；C. tissue组织；D. thumb拇指，故选A。

9.考查名词辨析。根据Weeks passed and ___13___ I made my way back to the mystery plant,可知我发现了一株微小的植物。A. flower花；B. plant植物；C. crop农作物；D. bush灌木，故选B。

10.考查副词辨析。句意：去年夏天，我走到岩石花园的尽头，发现了一株我不能立即辨认出的小植物。A. suddenly突然地；B. hardly几乎不；C. gradually逐步地；D. instantly立即地，故选D。

11.考查动词辨析。句意：我知道我没有种它，Denise声称她也没有。 A. claimed声称； B. instructed指示；C. described描述；D. guaranteed保证，故选A。

12.考查动词短语辨析。句意：我们决定让它继续生长，直到我们弄清楚它是什么。A. turn out证明是；B. figure out弄清楚；C. hold out坚持；D. pick out挑选出，故选B。

13.考查连词辨析。句意：几个星期之后，当我再一次回到神秘植物身边时，发现它很像一棵向日葵。A. as当…时；B. before在…之前；C. since自信；D. because因为，故选A。

14.考查形容词辨析。根据looking with a tall thin stalk (茎) and only one head on it.可知它很虚弱。A. pitiful可怜的；B. ugly丑陋的；C. pretty漂亮的；D. weak虚弱的，故选D。

15.考查动词辨析。根据and weed around it.可知我决定照料它。A. admire羡慕；B. consider考虑；C. attend照料；D. observe观察，故选C。

16.考查动词辨析。根据I noticed something ___17___.可知我搬开了岩石，清理杂草。A. pushed推；B. removed搬走；C. transported运输；D. conducted管理，故选B。

17.考查形容词辨析。根据The sunflower had not started where I saw the stalk begin.可知我注意到了一些不同寻常的事情。A. cheerful快乐的；B. unnatural不自然的；C. unusual不寻常的； D. appealing吸引人的，故选C。

18.考查动词辨析。句意：向日葵没有从我看到茎开始的地方开始生长。它实际上是在一块大石头下面开始生长的，在下面和周围生长，以便够到太阳。A. pulled拉；B. dug挖；C. expanded扩大；D. grown生长，故选D。

19.考查名词辨析。句意：就在那时，我意识到，如果一朵小小的向日葵不让一块大石头挡住它的发展道路，我们也有能力做同样的事情。A. power力量；B. capability能力；C. energy能量；D. strength力量，故选B。

20.考查名词辨析。句意：只要我们努力，我们就能找到方法克服或绕过我们的大障碍，以达到我们的愿望。A. conflicts冲突；B. responsibilities责任；C. barriers障碍；D. chances机会，故选C。