“Mom, I have cancer.” These four words catapulted my son and me on a journey that lasted two years. On that day I felt a wave of paralyzing fear.

Scott was the oldest of my four children. He was 33 years old and a successful assistant principal at SamRayburn Hifht School in Pasadena, Texas. He and his wife Carolyn were busy raising four active children. Scott was 6’2’’, weighed 200 pounds and had never been sick a day in his life.

A few month earlier a mole（痣）on his neck had changed color. “Dr.Warner called,” Scott said that spring morning. “It’s melanoma.（黑素瘤）” I tried to comfort him, naming all the people I knew who had survived skin cancer. Yet, I felt small tentacles of fear begin to wrap around my chest.

Our next stop was MDAnderson, the famous cancer hospital in Houston. Scott had surgery at the end of May and was scheduled for radiation treatments over the summer recess. “There is an 80 percent chance it won’t reoccur,” the doctors said. At the end of summer, all his tests came back negative and Scott was back at school in the fall. However, in December, Scott discovered a lump on his neck. It was examined and the result came back “malignant.（恶性的）” We now realized that Scott fell into the 20 percent category. I could feel the tentacles tightening around my chest. He entered the hospital for an aggressive treatment, a combination of interferon and interleukin.

After five months of treatment, he had radical surgery on his neck. The test results were encouraging, only three of the 33 lymph nodes（淋巴结） removed were malignant. We were very hopeful.

For the next six months, Scott’s follow-up visits went well. Then in October, X-ray revealed a spot on his lung. The spot was removed during surgery and the doctors tried to be optimistic. It was a daily battle to control the fear and panic each setback brought.

In January, he was diagnosed as having had a “disease explosion.” The cancer had spread to his lungs, spine and liver and he was given three to six months to live. There were times during this period when I felt like I was having a heart attack. The bands constricting my chest made breathing difficult.

When you watch your child battle cancer, you experience a roller coaster of emotions. There are moments of hope and optimism but a bad test result or even an unusual pain can bring on dread and panic.

Scott was readmitted to the hospital for one last try with chemotherapy. He died, quite suddenly, just six weeks after his last diagnosis. I was completely destroyed. I had counted on those last few months.

The next morning I was busy notifying people and making funeral arrangements. I remember having this nagging feeling that something was physically wrong with me. It took a moment to realize that the crushing sensation in my chest was gone. The thing every parent fears the most had happened. My son was gone. Of course, the fear had been replaced by unbearable sorrow.

After you lose a child, it is so difficult to go on. The most minimal tasks, combing your hair or taking a shower, becoming monumental. For months I just sat and stared into space. That spring, the trees began to bloom; flowers began to pop up in my garden. Friendswood was coming back to life but I was dead inside.

During those last weeks, Scott and I often spoke about life and death. Fragments of those conversations kept playing over and over in my mind.

“Don’t let this ruin your life, Mom.”

“Make sure Dad re models his workshop.”

“Please, take care of my family.”

I remember wishing I could have just one more conversation with him. I knew what I would say, but what would Scott say? “I know how much you love me, Mom. So just sit on the couch and cry.” No, I knew him better than that. Scott loved life and knew how precious it is. I could almost hear his voice saying, “Get up Mom, Get on with your life. It’s too valuable to waste.”

That was the day I began to move forward. I signed up for a cake decorating class. Soon I was making cakes for holidays and birthdays. My daughter-in-law told me about a writing class in Houston. I hadn’t written in years, but since I was retired I decided it be time to start again. The local college advertised a Life Story Writing class that I joined. There I met women who had also lost their children. The Poet Laureate of Texas was scheduled to speak at our local Barnes and Noble. I attended and joined our local poetry society. I never dreamed that writing essays and poems about Scott could be so therapeutic. Several of those poems have ever been published. In addition, each group brought more and more people into my life..

I don’t believe you ever recover from the loss of a child. Scott is in my heart and mind every day. However, I do believe you can survive.

Scott fought so bravery to live and he never gave up. He taught me that life is a gift that should be cherished, not wasted. It has taken years to become the person I am today. The journey has been a difficult, painful process but certainly worth the effort and I know that my son would be proud.

1.How old was Scott probably when he died?

A．33               B．35                 C．37           D．40

2.What does the underlined sentence “ The bands constricting my chest made breathing difficult” probably imply?

A．It implies that Scott’s mother was likely to have a heart attack.

B．It implies that there was something wrong with Scott’s mother’s chest.

C．It implies that Scott’s mother was very upset and panic because of Scott’s severe illness.

D．It implies that the cancer had spread to her chest just like her son.

3.Which of the following statements best shows the author’s feeling about Scott’s death?

A．It was a daily battle to control the fear and panic each setback brought.

B．She felt a wave of fear.

C．She felt a feeling of fear begin to wrap around her chest.

D．The fear had been replaced by unbearable sorrow.

4.From Scott and his mother’s conversation, we can know that Scott is ________.

A．considerable      B．humorous         C．determined      D．sensitive

5.The author intends to tell us that___________.

A．it takes a long time to make a person recover from the shock of losing a child

B．Scott is proud of his mother

C．life is full of happiness and sorrow.

D．We’d better make our life count instead of counting your days.

6.What might be the best title of the passage ?

A．Life is valuable                         B．Grieving and Recovery

C．Love and sorrow                        D．Alive or dead

 

This was my grandmother’s first Christmas without grandfather. When we reached her house, it did seem a little 36 without grandfather.

Grandfather had always said the Christmas  37 was the most important. So we set to work assembling（组装）the beautiful  38 tree that was stored in grandfather’s closet（储藏室）. After we finished, we stepped back to  39 our work. It looked wonderful. But something was  40 .

“Where’s the star?” I asked. It was my grandmother’s  41 . As we emptied box after box and found no star, my grandmother’s eyes  42 with tears. Grandfather had given it to Grandmother fifty years ago. Now, on her first Christmas without  43 , the star was gone, too.

“Let’s  44 in the closet where the tree was,” my sister Donna said. We  45 under beds and over shelves, inside and outside  46 we had exhausted every possibility. We could see Grandmother was  47 , although she tried not to show it. By now, it was  48 outside, and time for bed, as Santa would soon be here.

The next morning, my sisters and I  49 early to see what Santa had left under the tree. After breakfast, the family sat together to  50 presents. “The last gift is to Grandmother from Grandfather.” Father said, in a puzzled voice.

“From who?” There was  51  in my grandmother’s voice.

“I found that  52 in the closet when we got the tree down,” Mother explained.

My grandmother opened it. Her face lit up when she pulled out a(n)  53  golden star. There was a note attached. Her voice trembled（颤抖）as she read it:

Don’t be  54  with me, dear. I broke your star while putting away the tree. Thought it was time for a new one, I hope it brings you as much  55  as the first one. Merry Christmas.

1.                A．empty          B．cold           C．slow D．absent

 

2.                A．wish           B．tree           C．spirit D．work

 

3.                A．unique         B．artificial         C．widespread    D．alive

 

4.                A．follow          B．show           C．judge D．admire

 

5.                A．losing          B．happening       C．missing   D．falling

 

6.                A．doubt          B．reward         C．honour   D．treasure

 

7.                A．filled           B．covered        C．put  D．removed

 

8.                A．them          B．it              C．her  D．him

 

9.                A．stop           B．move          C．start D．stay

 

10.               A．hid            B．searched       C．lay   D．found

 

11.               A．as             B．until           C．because   D．though

 

12.               A．disappointed    B．amazed         C．excited    D．shocked

 

13.               A．snowing        B．raining         C．blowing   D．darkening

 

14.               A．cheered up     B．picked up       C．woke up   D．took up

 

15.               A．pack           B．open          C．pick  D．exchange

 

16.               A．happiness       B．fright          C．surprise   D．hope

 

17.               A．gift            B．book           C．note  D．letter

 

18.               A．big            B．old            C．shining    D．broken

 

19.               A．generous       B．angry          C．strict D．important

 

20.               A．sadness        B．concern        C．peace D．joy

 

 

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon. A group of birds were having a great time 

  36  food and playing on the main road. All of a sudden, a big truck sped through… A   37  thing happened. Birds could   38 , too. Although this bird had already   39 , another bird flew over to her immediately, just like a family member, unable to accept the   40 .

Not long after that, another car passed by quickly,   41  the dead bird’s body to whirl(旋转) with the wind. The male bird   42  the movement. As if she was still alive, he   43  flew beside her again. He stared at her as if he was asking, “  44  are you not getting up?”

  45 , she was no longer able to hear him. At the same time, he was trying to lift her up. He,   46 , was unable to bear the burden. Another car soon passed by. He quickly   47 . Once the car had gone, he came down again.

Although other birds told him that it was   48 , he never gave up. He was trying his best to lift her up to   49  her flying again. Another car passed by, and her dead body whirled again as if she was still   50  and trying to fly. He had used all of his   51 , but he was too weak.

The   52 , who was taking photos of the scene, said he couldn’t shoot any more. He was so   53  that the living bird was going to be hurt by passing cars. So he picked up he dead bird and left it at the   54 . The living one still stayed at a nearby tree as if he was crying with his singing and   55  to leave.

1.                A．packing up      B．caring for       C．searching for   D．setting down

 

2.                A．strange         B．normal         C．funny    D．sad

 

3.                A．disagree        B．feel            C．fly   D．spread

 

4.                A．disappeared     B．dropped        C．died D．escaped

 

5.                A．story           B．truth           C．gift  D．past

 

6.                A．shaking         B．holding         C．sending   D．causing

 

7.                A．stopped        B．disturbed       C．noticed   D．feared

 

8.                A．worriedly       B．quickly         C．bravely   D．surprisingly

 

9.                A．Where         B．When          C．How D．Why

 

10.               A．Unfortunately    B．Gradually       C．Finally D．Honestly

 

11.               A．in return       B．of course       C．by accident D．on purpose

 

12.               A．sat down       B．looked up       C．showed up D．flew off

 

13.               A．simple         B．boring         C．useless    D．important

 

14.               A．see            B．keep           C．catch D．think

 

15.               A．lovely          B．complete       C．beautiful  D．alive

 

16.               A．confidence      B．energy         C．space D．time

 

17.               A．owner         B．bird           C．killer D．photographer

 

18.               A．hopeful        B．surprised       C．worried   D．shocked

 

19.               A．top            B．center         C．roadside   D．car

 

20.               A．required       B．pretended      C．tried  D．refused

 

 

第一节 完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21～30各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

There was once a scientist. After a lot of practice and efforts, he learned the art of reproducing himself. He did it so   21   that it was impossible to tell the reproduction from the original.

One day while doing his research, he   22   that the Angel of Death was searching for him. In order to remain   23   he reproduced a dozen copies of himself. The reproductions were so   24   that all of them looked exactly like him. Now when this Angel of Death came down, she was at a loss to know which of the thirteen before her was the original scientist and

25  . She left them all alone and returned to the heaven.

But, not for long, for being an expert in human   26  , the Angel came up with a clever idea. She said to the scientist,   27   all thirteen of them, “Sir, you must be a genius to have succeeded in making such perfect reproduction yourself. However, I’ve discovered a flaw(缺陷) in your work, just one tiny little flaw.”

The scientist immediately jumped out and shouted, “  28  ! Where is the flaw?”

“Right here.” said the Angel, as she   29   up the scientist from among the reproductions and carried him off.

The whole purpose of the scientist and his reproduction failed as he couldn’t control his

30  , so he lost his life.

21．A．quickly                   B．perfectly                 C．actually                  D．really

22．A．realized                  B．remembered            C．acknowledged         D．complained

23．A．superb                    B．young                     C．aware                     D．alive

24．A．different                 B．familiar                  C．popular                   D．similar

25．A．confirmed               B．blamed                   C．confused                 D．frightened

26．A．history                   B．nature                     C．society                    D．system

27．A．addressing                     B．mentioning             C．encouraging            D．challenging

28．A．Unbearable             B．Suspectable             C．Fantastic                 D．Impossible

29．A．picked                    B．took                       C．caught                    D．hid

30．A．soul                       B．idea                        C．pride                      D．spirit

 

完形填空 （共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

The moment happened 30 yours ago but it was still fresh in my memory. I was a college freshman and had   26  up most of the night before laughing and talking with friends. Now just before my first  27  of the day my eyelids were feeling heavier and heavier and my head was drifting down to my desk to make my textbook a   28 . A few minutes nap（小睡）time before class couldn’t   29 , I thought.

BOOM! I lifted my head suddenly and my eyes opened wider than saucers. I looked around with my   30  beating wildly trying to find the cause of the   31  . My young professor was looking at me with a boyish（孩子气的）smile on his face. He had   32  dropped the textbooks he was carrying onto his desk. “Good morning!”, he said still   33  . “I am glad to see everyone is   34 . Now let’s get started. ”

For the next hour I wasn’t sleepy at all. It wasn’t from the   35  of my professor’s textbook alarm clock either. It was instead from the   36  discussion he led. With knowledge and good    37 he made the material come   38  . His insight was full of both wisdom and loving-kindness. And the enthusiasm and joy that he   39  with were contagious（有感染力的）. I   40  the classroom not only wide awake, but a little  41  and a little better as well.

I learned something far more important than not   42  in class that day too. I learned that if you are going to do something in this life，do it well，do it with   43  . What a wonderful place this would be if all of us did our work happily and well. Don’t sleepwalk（梦游）your way through  44  then. Wake up! Let your love fill your work. Life is too   45  not to live it well.

1.                A．took           B．divided         C．stayed    D．put

 

2.                A．class           B．test            C．task  D．lecture

 

3.                A．platform        B．pillow          C．carpet    D．wall

 

4.                A．benefit         B．help           C．last  D．hurt

 

5.                A．heart          B．mind           C．thought   D．head

 

6.                                  A．trouble B．noise

C．failure                           D．reference

 

7.                                  A．angrily B．unfortunately

C．deliberately                       D．reasonably

 

8.                A．smiling         B．talking          C．complaining   D．shouting

 

9.                A．active          B．curious         C．present   D．awake

 

10.               A．sound          B．shock          C．revolution D．blow

 

11.                                A．fascinating  B．convincing

C．puzzling                          D．encouraging

 

12.               A．detail          B．sense          C．humor    D．design

 

13.               A．strange         B．natural         C．handy D．alive

 

14.               A．taught         B．spread         C．combined  D．started

 

15.               A．decorated      B．filled           C．left   D．entered

 

16.               A．clearer         B．smarter        C．quieter    D．stronger

 

17.               A．discussing       B．speaking        C．cheating   D．sleeping

 

18.                                A．joy    B．speed

C．aim                             D．qualification

 

19.               A．work          B．life            C．journey   D．college

 

20.               A．hard           B．complex        C．short D．simple