A week or so later，someone knocked at my front door.I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep.He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card.He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom.Apparently，like many older folks，she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine.I just didn’t know what to say.I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday.
That year，I did not send out any Christmas cards，except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home.I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday.I sent her a Valentine and also a couple of notes in it.I just thought she might like to have someone write to her，to get some mail.
She passed away a couple of months ago.I never met this lady，but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts.I dropped them a line of sympathy.I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth.
21．The old lady lived________． A．in a senior citizens home B．at her son’s home C．at her own home
D．in a center of the local newspaper
A 解析：细节理解题。根据对短文第一段的理解，可知答案应选A。 22．From the text，we know that________．
A．the son of this old lady opened the door to meet the author
B．the lovely old lady received many birthday cards at the age of 90
C．the family wanted the author to celebrate the old lady’s 90th birthday D．the author sent another card with notes to the old lady on Christmas Day D 解析：判断推理题。通读全文，并根据短文第三段的描述，可以推断答案选D。 23．What is the passage mainly about? A．A moving story of an old lady.
B．A worthy deed from the caring author. C．A happy advertisement about the family. D．A perfect plan from the considerate son
B 解析：主旨大意题。文章主要讲了作者给一个素不相识的老太太送生日卡片和圣诞卡片这件事。这是一个善意的举动。由此可以推断答案应选B。
B
When Josephine Cooper was growing up，she learned the importance of charity from her parents.Although they made a modest living for their family of 10，they insisted on sharing with those less fortunate.
Half a century later，Mrs.Cooper became a beloved volunteer at the San Diego Food Bank，where she devoted herself to helping others.She organized and ran a distribution center of a church，helping it become the organization’s largest emergency food distribution center in San Diego.She was one of the 25 outstanding senior volunteers in the nation selected and invited to Washington D．C.to receive an award.
“She was the main person who helped us make that program grow，”said Mike Doody，
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former director of the Food Bank.“She had a way of getting people to work together and to work hard.She was determined and stubborn，but in a good way.She had a good heart.” People knew her as “Grandma” because of her selflessness and her devotion to helping hungry children and families.“She reminded people of their Grandma，” Doody said.
As a widow with a young child in 1979，Mrs.Cooper was helped through a difficult financial time when the Food Bank provided her with groceries.“She devoted her life to giving back，”said her daughter，Monica Cooper.It wasn’t unusual for a local church to call Mrs.Cooper to ask her to aid a needy family.“She would give people food out of her cupboard.Sometimes we would cook a meal for a family living in their car，” Cooper said.
Although Mrs.Cooper was honored to receive the national award for her volunteer work，she said being able to help others was her reward.She died of liver disease and kidney failure，aged 93.
24．The underlined word“charity”in Paragraph 1 refers to________． A．offering help B．donating money C．providing services D．showing sympathy
A 解析：词义猜测题。根据第二段首句“Half a century later，Mrs.Cooper became a beloved volunteer at the San Diego Food Bank，where she devoted herself to helping others.”可知，文中charity的意思是helping others。故A项正确。
25．The San Diego Food Bank is meant to________． A．distribute food in case of emergency B．help hungry children and families C．give basic first-aid treatment D．train some senior volunteers
B 解析：推理判断题。结合文章第二段的第二句、第三段的倒数第二句以及第四段的第一句可知，该机构致力于帮助饥饿人群，而在紧急情况下分发食物只是该机构的一项工作。故B项正确。
26．Which of the following is TRUE of Mrs.Cooper? A．She died at an early age.
B．She refused the national award. C．She was kind and devoted.
D．She was not easy to get along with. C 解析：细节理解题。A、B两项根据文章最后一段可排除；人们亲切地称她为Grandma，所以可以排除D项；通读全文可知Cooper是一个善良、乐于奉献的人。故C项正确。
27．Mrs.Cooper’s story suggests that________． A．everyone needs a grandma nearby B．children are what their parents are C．a sound mind is in a sound body D．a mother’s love never changes
B 解析：推理判断题。由第一段可知，Josephine Cooper从父母那里学会了乐善好施；由倒数第二段女儿对她的高度评价可知，女儿深受她的影响，非常支持她这样做。由此可推知B项正确。
C
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Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice.Gifts are easy—they’re given after all.Choices can be hard.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago.I came across the fact that Internet usage was growing at 2，300 percent per year.I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast，and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me.I had just turned 30 years old，and I’d been married for a year.I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t，and I wasn’t sure what to expect.MacKenzie told me I should go for it.As a young boy，I’d been a garage inventor.I’d always wanted to be an inventor，and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people，and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired.I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.He took me on a long walk in Central Park，listened carefully to me，and finally said，“That sounds like a really good idea，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.Seen in that light，it really was a difficult choice，but ultimately(最后)，I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration，I took the less safe path to follow my passion，and I’m proud of that choice.For all of us，in the end，we are our choices.
28．What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore? A．His dream of being an inventor.
B．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet. C．The support of his boss.
D．The millions of exciting titles.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据文章第二段第二、三句可知，迅速增长的互联网使用量让作者产生了创建亚马逊网上书店的想法。
29．What was MacKenzie’s attitude when the author told her his idea? A．Puzzled. B．Opposed. C．Supportive. D．Worried.
C 解析：推理判断题。根据第二段中的“MacKenzie told me I should go for it.”以及“and she wanted me to follow my passion”可知，作者的妻子支持他那么做，所以选C。
30．We can know from the passage that________．
A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author B．the author might not regret if he failed the idea C．the author wanted someone else to try the idea D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed
B 解析：推理判断题。根据第三段中的“I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，即使失败，作者也不会后悔。
31．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
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A．Cleverness and Kindness B．The Starting of Amazon C．Following My Passion D．We Are What We Choose
D 解析：主旨大意题。在文章的开头，作者表明，作选择是困难的；在第二、三两段中作者详细讲述了当初做出创建亚马逊网上书店这个选择的艰难；在最后一段中又强调我们的选择决定我们的一生。故D项作为标题最合适。
D
My first impression of Miss Vicki was a highly authoritative(权威的) person towering over me.She spoke in a loud voice and the earth shook whenever she marched.That was in the first year of high school.She was a knowledgeable literature teacher then.However, during my first year in school, she struck terror into my heart(使我胆战心惊)．And everyone else’s of course. Just the mention of her name made the most unruly classes silent.
Nevertheless, the two years of junior high passed by rather quickly.Soon, I went to senior high class.I had worked hard and gotten the subject combination that I wished for.Together with a group of old friends, I soon settled down in class comfortably.
To everyone’s surprise, she was fortunate enough to be my teacher that year.I was shocked when I heard the news.This time round, however, I decided not to hide in terror whenever she was near.I decided to face the fact that we were going to meet each other for the next 365 days.Instead of trying too hard to lick_her_boots,_I tried my best to be my natural self in front of her.
Still，I could not shake off the ice-cold impression that she put in my heart.Truly, her jokes sometimes sent me into fits of laughter, yet at other times these jokes simply fell flat the moment she told them.My lovely class, however, was always ready to laugh at the right time of her amusing stories.After all, we would not want to run the risk of provoking(激怒) her.
Unluckily, life was not to remain boring.One day we received news that Miss Vicki was to leave Singapore for the Philippines where she would take part in a voluntary teaching program for the poor.We did not know what to say actually.All of us cried at the airport.
32．During the first year in school, the author thought Miss Vicki was ________． A．proud but patient B．beautiful but strict C．scholarly but serious
D．humorous but single-minded
C 解析：细节理解题。由第一段中的She was a knowledgeable literature teacher和during my first year in school, she struck terror into my heart...made the most unruly classes silent可知，作者第一年对Miss Vicki的印象是她是一名博学但严格的老师。
33．What does the underlined phrase “lick her boots” in Paragraph 3 mean? A．Win her favor. B．Embarrass her.
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C．Argue with her. D．Follow her closely.
A 解析：词义猜测题。由划线部分前的I decided not to hide in terror whenever she was near以及划线部分后的I tried my best to be my natural self in front of her可推知，“我”不想再“取悦(lick her boots)”Miss Vicki, 而是通过做自己来与她相处。
34．What can we learn from Paragraph 4? A．Miss Vicki was a good joke teller.
B．Miss Vicki’s jokes were always boring.
C．Students liked Miss Vicki’s class very much. D．Students pretended to laugh to please Miss Vicki.
D 解析：细节理解题。由第四段中的My lovely class, however, was always ready to laugh...we would not want to run the risk of provoking(激怒) her.可知， Miss Vicki讲的笑话并不那么有趣， 但是学生们为了不激怒她， 总是假装发笑。
35．What can we infer about Miss Vicki from the last paragraph? A．She was dismissed from the school. B．She was not accepted by the students. C．She was unwilling to leave her students.
D．She had a strong sense of social responsibility.
D 解析：推理判断题。由最后一段中的Miss Vicki was to leave Singapore for the Philippines where she would take part in a voluntary teaching program for the poor可推知， Miss Vicki是一名有着强烈社会责任感的老师。
第二节(共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分) 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
In the past few years，many people found themselves trying really hard to hold on to jobs that they may not have wanted.36.________Jobs data is improving，and the labor market seems to be picking up.Here are four signs that it might be time for you to move on.
1．You really hate the idea of going to work.
We all have days that we don’t want to go in to work.We may even dislike what we do for work.But do you really hate the idea of going in？37.________
2．You are concerned about the values of your boss and coworkers.
38．________However，if you find yourself questioning the values and ideals of those around you at work，it could be an indication that you are out of place.If you feel that you are not in line with your organization，it might be the time to move on.
3．You wish you had more challenging tasks.
For some people，easy work is preferred.39.________However，you might wish for more challenging tasks.If you want to progress as a person，a job that doesn’t provide you with an abundant challenge can be disheartening.Now that the economy is a little more stable，you can look around for a job that offers more satisfaction.
4．40.________
If you feel left out of the culture at work，it might be a strong indication that you belong somewhere else.You want to be in a work environment that you feel
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