Question

    A few days before Christmas 2012, I found myself in Walmart. It was the last _______I wanted to be, especially during the chaos of last-minute Christmas shopping. It had been a little more than a month since my husband was laid off.

The school my kids attended asked if we needed help for Christmas, and we _______. If not for them, our kids would not have had Christmas gifts.

My children were with me that day at Walmart. Our cupboards were bare, and I had only eighty dollars to _________  a family of six for a week. It’s not impossible to _______, but certainly not comfortable. It leaves little _______  for anything extra. Yet, it was Christmas, and my kids asked if they could buy a present for their dad. How could I say “no”? I found a gift box of their dad’s favorite cologne and hoped I could _______ it. Lucky for me, my husband doesn’t have expensive_______.

My husband worked very hard to_______ for us, and I stayed home. It wasn’t by _______ . Having two children on the autism spectrum makes it difficult for me to work. Doctors’ appointments, therapy schedules, and school meetings make it near impossible to __________  a regular work schedule. So, when he was laid off, things got very __________ quickly. He wasn’t without a job long, but the __________  of income for a couple of weeks certainly put a stress on our family.

As I chose my groceries, I kept a running total in my head. As my cart (手推车) filled, my __________  rose. The more I thought about it, the less ___________ it was that I would be able to buy a gift for my husband.

When I went to the checkout, I set aside the cologne gift box. My kids____________,    but I didn’t have much of a choice. My heart__________ when the grocery total was indeed too high for us to buy the gift, but an angel was waiting in the wings.

What happened left me speechless, and being the __________ type, speechless is rare for me. A man__________ us, put four twenty-dollar bills into my hand and happily exclaimed, “Merry Christmas!” He left so fast that I didn’t __________ have a chance to say, “Thank you.”

A wave of emotion came over me as I ___________the cologne gift set to the belt. We were thrilled, and my husband had a Christmas present. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.

1.A.place B.moment C.season D.station

2.A.refused B.answered C.accepted D.ignored

3.A.warm B.feed C.help D.inspire

4.A.respond B.appreciate C.purchase D.accomplish

5.A.room B.excuse C.energy D.courage

6.A.offer B.afford C.owe D.earn

7.A.bill B.collection C.taste D.clothes

8.A.stand B.compete C.prepare D.provide

9.A.choice B.mistake C.heart D.nature

10.A.create B.design C.maintain D.discover

11.A.smooth B.tight C.unexpected D.simplified

12.A.increase B.discount C.steadiness D.absence

13.A.regret B.anxiety C.blame D.complaint

14.A.likely B.important C.necessary D.difficult

15.A.cheered B.followed C.protested D.supported

16.A.lost B.calmed C.beat D.sank

17.A.outgoing B.optimistic C.talkative D.hardworking

18.A.approached B.guided C.pleased D.trusted

19.A.ever B.even C.once D.already

20.A.threw B.cancelled C.recommended D.added

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.A

6.B

7.C

8.D

9.A

10.C

11.B

12.D

13.B

14.A

15.C

16.D

17.C

18.A

19.B

20.D

【解析】

本文是记叙文。因为丈夫失业，家庭开支紧张。作者想要给丈夫买一盒古龙水作圣诞礼物，但是买不起。最后一位天使帮助了她。

1.考查名词词义辨析。句意：这是我最不想去的地方，尤其是在圣诞采购时到处都是一片乱哄哄的期间。A. place地点；B. moment时刻；C. season季节；D. station车站。根据下一句“It had been a little more than a month since my husband was laid off.”丈夫失业，家里开支紧张，作者最不想去的是超市这种地方。故选A项。

2.考查动词词义辨析。句意：孩子们上学的学校问我们圣诞节是否需要帮助，我们接受了。 A. refused拒绝；B. answered回答；C. accepted接受；D. ignored忽视，不理睬。根据下一句If not for them, our kids would not have had Christmas gifts.可知，如果不接受帮助的话，孩子们就不会有圣诞礼物。因此作者接受了学校的帮助。故选C项。

3.考查动词词义辨析。句意：我们的橱柜里已经没有东西了，我只有80美元来为一个六口之家提供一个星期的食物。A. warm使温暖；B. feed为……提供充足的食物；C. help帮助；D. inspire激励。根据上文Our cupboards were bare可推断，作者只有80美元可以用来为家人提供一个星期的食物。故选B项。

4.考查动词词义辨析。句意：这不是不可能做到的，但肯定让人不舒服。A. respond回应；B. appreciate欣赏；C. purchase购买；D. accomplish完成，实现，达到。根据下文but certainly not comfortable可知，作者可以做到只用80美元买一家六口的一个星期的食物。故选D项。

5.考查名词词义辨析。句意：这样就没有购买任何额外的东西的余地了。A. room空间，余地；B. excuse借口；C. energy精力；D. courage勇气。用80美元买一家六口一个星期的食物，就不可能购买任何其他的东西了。故选A项。

6.考查动词词义辨析。句意：我找到了他们爸爸最喜欢的古龙水礼盒，希望我能买得起。 A. offer提供；B. afford付得起钱；C. owe欠钱；D. earn挣钱。根据上文可知，作者没有额外的钱买其他的了，因此希望能够买得起这一盒古龙水。故选B项。

7.考查名词词义辨析。句意：幸运的是，我丈夫没有昂贵的品味。A. bill账单；B. collection收藏；C. taste品味；D. clothes服装。作者知道丈夫平时品味也不是很高，不会购买很昂贵的东西。故选C项。

8.考查动词短语辨析。句意：我的丈夫非常努力地工作来养活我们，我呆在家里。此处考查“动词+介词for”的短语辨析。A. stand for代表；B. compete for为……竞争； C. prepare for 为……准备；D. provide for 为……提供。根据下文“Having two children on the autism spectrum makes it difficult for me to work.”可知，作者不能出去工作，一家人是依靠丈夫提供经济来源。故选D项。

9.考查介词短语辨析。句意：这不是我的选择。此处考查“介词by+名词”的短语辨析。A. by choice出于选择；B. by mistake错误地；C.by heart牢记；D. by nature 天生地，生性。根据下一句“Having two children on the autism spectrum makes it difficult for me to work.”，有两个自闭症患儿让作者无法选择，只好呆在家里。故选A项。

10.考查动词词义辨析。句意：预约医生、治疗计划和学校会议几乎不可能维持正常的工作日程。A. create创造；B. design设计；C. maintain维持，保持；D. discover发现。因为忙于两个自闭症患儿的事情，如果要出去工作，很难维持正常的工作时间。故选C项。

11.考查形容词词义辨析。句意： 所以，当他失业时，情况马上变得非常紧张。A. smooth光滑的；B. tight紧的；C. unexpected出乎意料的；D. simplified简化的。根据上文“I had only eighty dollars to 3 a family of six for a week.”可知，因为丈夫失业，家里用度很紧张。故选B项。

12.考查名词词义辨析。句意：他失业的时间并不长，但连续两三周周没有收入无疑给我们的家庭带来了压力。A. increase增加；B. discount折扣；C. steadiness稳定；D. absence缺乏。根据上一句“he was laid off”，丈夫失业，自然没有收入。故选D项。

13.考查名词词义辨析。句意：随着我的手推车堆满了，我也越来越焦虑了。A. regret后悔，遗憾；B. anxiety焦虑；C. blame责备；D. complaint抱怨。根据上一句“I kept a running total in my head.”可知，因为购买的东西多了，作者就在盘算还能不能为丈夫买圣诞礼物，因此感到焦虑。故选B项。

14.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：我越想越不可能给我丈夫买礼物。A. likely可能的；B. important重要的；C. necessary必要的；D. difficult困难的。根据上文“I had only eighty dollars to 3 a family of six for a week.”可知，作者只有80美元，要度过一个星期，因此购买的东西越多，就越不可能给丈夫买礼物了。less likely意思为“不太可能”。故选A项。

15.考查动词词义辨析。句意：我的孩子们抗议，但我没有太多选择。A. cheered欢呼；B. followed跟随；C. protested抗议；D. supported 支持。根据上文“ my kids asked if they could buy a present for their dad.”，开始是孩子们提议给丈夫买个礼物，这时作者将古龙香水盒子放在一边，不打算买，所以孩子们就抗议。故选C项。

16.考查动词词义辨析。句意：我心头一沉，因为购物总额对于我们来说实在太高了，我们买不起这份礼物。A. lost失去；B. calmed平静下来；C. beat击败；D. sank下沉。因为不能为丈夫购买礼物，作者感到心头不快。故选D项。

17.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：作为健谈的人，说不出话来对我来说是很少见的。A. outgoing外向的；B. optimistic乐观的；C. talkative健谈的；D. hardworking努力的。根据“speechless is rare for me.”作者很少说不出话来，因此可知，作者是很能说的人。故选C项。

18.考查动词词义辨析。句意：一个男人走近我们，把四张20美元的钞票塞到我手里，高兴地喊道：“圣诞快乐!”A. approached走近；B. guided引导，带领；C. pleased使高兴；D. trusted信任。按常理，只有靠近作者，才能将钱塞进她手里。故选A项。

19.考查副词词义辨析。句意：他走得太快了，我甚至没机会说一声“谢谢”。A. ever曾经；B. even甚至；C. once一次；D. already已经。此处even加强语气，强调那位好心人离开得太快了。故选B项。

20.考查动词词义辨析。句意：当我把那套古龙水礼品加到输送带上时，一股激情涌上心头。 A. threw扔掉；B. cancelled取消；C. recommended推荐；D. added加上，补充。根据上文When I went to the checkout, I set aside the cologne gift box.作者先是把古龙水放在一边，不准备买。这时有了好心人的帮助，她就将古龙水又加到结账时放商品的输送带上了。故选D项。