I live in a big city. It’s noisy and dirty and I got very  36 .At the weekends I like to leave the city and get some  37  air and a good rest. A few weeks ago I decided to go to see my  38 . I was really looking forward to it.
My parents live a long way  39 . I went to see them with James, a friend, and we drove on Friday night. In the middle of the  40  it began to rain. The road became very  41  and it was difficult to drive. We arrived home just after midnight, feeling very  42 . The next  43  it was still raining. James took his  44  to a garage which was very good.
In the afternoon the  45  improved, we wanted to go for a  46 . My parents lent us their car. That was no good. Their car didn’t  47 . We rang up the garage. “Oh,” They said, “Your car  48  be ready till tomorrow.” So it wasn’t  49  to go for a drive. We decided to play a word game. When we didn’t agree  50  a word we looked for a dictionary. It wasn’t there.  51  my mother remembered, “I lent it to your sister. She took it with her when she left.” The word game wasn’t any good  52  a dictionary.
On Sunday my mother dropped a heavy box on her  53  and we had to hire a  54  to take her to hospital. When James and I drove back we got stuck in a car accident. Next time I want a rest, I’ll stay  55 .

Brrriiinnng．The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning．You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think．A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing．Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters．In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking．Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused．If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed．Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving．By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer．
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either．The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons （神经细胞）, making inspirations less likely to occur．And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done．
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead．We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation．We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic．And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer．
【小题1】What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

I woke up the other day to find that 10 inches of freshly fallen snow was waiting for me outside my door. The flakes were still __36__ heavily too. I didn’t want my little dogs __37__ in it, so I reluctantly __38__ on my heavy coat and grabbed the snow shovel to make a __39__. I had only gotten a bit done, however, _40_ the handle of my old snow shovel __41__ with a “snap”. Laughing and shaking my head, I _42_ to wait out the storm for a while.
It was late in the afternoon when the snow finally __43__ and I trudged(跋涉) over to my Dad’s house to borrow his shovel and _44__ again. By then the 10 inches of snow had turned into a foot and a half. I started out slow setting a steady __45__ and stopping to rest whenever my back started to ache. After a while, though, the __46__ finally broke and the sun peeked out to __47__ me on. The work seemed a lot easier then even though it was still __48__. I even sang a few Christmas carols and __49__ while I cleared out the drives, cleaned off the cars, and shoveled out the paths. After an hour of hard work the job was finally done. _50_, I let the child that still lives __51__ of me fall back into the snow and _52_ a snow angel for the angels in Heaven to see. It felt good walking back to my house after a job well done. It felt even better _53__ around at this wonderful world of white.
I don’t know why life sometimes gives us spring days and sometimes dumps a ton of snow in us. I do know, __54_, that we can pray, laugh, love, and choose _55__ through it all.

Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in the town. I wanted to have a rest before catching the train. I __1__ a newspaper and some chocolate and __2__ into the station coffee shop. It was a cheap self-service place with long tables to __3__ at. I put my heavy bag down on the floor, __4__ the newspaper and the chocolate on the table and then went to get a cup of coffee.
When I came back with the coffee, There was someone __5__ in the next seat. __6__ was a boy, with dark glasses and old clothes, and his hair was __7__ bright red at the front. He had started to eat my chocolate!
Naturally, I was rather uneasy（不自在的）about him, but I didn’t want to have any __8__. I just read the newspaper, tasted my coffee and took a bit of chocolate. The boy looked at me in __9__.Then he took a __10__ piece of my chocolate. I could hardly believe it. Still I didn’t say anything to him. When he took a third piece, I felt more angry than uneasy. I thought, “Well, I shall have the last piece.” And I got it.
The boy gave me a strange look, then __11__ up. As he left, he shouted out, “There’s something __12__ with that woman!” Everyone looked at me, __13__ I didn’t want to quarrel with the boy, so I kept quiet. I did not realize that I had __14__ a mistake until I finished my coffee and was ready to __15__. My face turned red when I saw my unopened chocolate under the newspaper. The chocolate that I had been eating was the boy’s!

About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and — WHUMP! — it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new car.  That brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please....I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!" begged the boy. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. "It’s my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. "Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman," Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow (咽下) the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the black, shining Jaguar XKE — a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.
57. The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ____________.
A. the businessman drove at a high speed                   B. he envied the new car very much
C. he wanted to ask for some money                         D. he wanted to get help from the driver
58. Which of the following is the right order of the story?
a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.  b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.
c. The younger brother begged Josh for help. 
d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.   e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.
A.b, a, e, c, d        B. a, c, d, b, e          C. b, a, c, e, d    D. a, c, b, e, d
59. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Josh would accept the money from the kids.          B. The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.
C. Josh was a kind-hearted man.                               D. Josh’s new car broke down easily.
60. According to the passage, the underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ____________.
A. trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life
B. driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous
C. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble
D. protecting oneself from being hurt