If your father never says to you “I love you” when you are a child, it   36  to be more and more difficult for him to say the words as he grows   37 ．
I do not   38  hearing the words from my father when I was growing up．  39 , I could not recall(回憶) when I had   40  said those words to him either．
One day, I decided to   41  the ice and make the first   42 ．So in our next phone conversation I gathered all my   43  and let out the words in a low voice, “Dad… I love you!”
There was a   44  at the other end and he awkwardly   45 , “Well, same back at ya!”
I was unexpectedly   46  and my voice was raised, “Dad, I know you love me, and I know when you are ready, you will say what you want to say．”
Fifteen minutes later my mother called and   47  asked, “Paul, is everything okay?”
A few weeks later, Dad   48  our phone conversation with the words, “Paul, I love you．” I was so moved that tears were rolling down my cheeks as I finally “  49 ” the love．As I sat there in tears I realized that this   50  moment had taken our father-and-son relationship to a new   51 ．Shortly afterwards, my father narrowly   52  death following heart surgery（外科手術(shù)）．Many times   53 , I have   54  if I had not taken the first step and Dad not   55  the surgery, I would have never “heard” the love．

I stepped into my hotel room which was surrounded by a(n)  26  king-size bed, flanked（兩側(cè)有）by overstuffed armchairs. “Wow,” I thought to myself. “Nice place.”
I  27  hotels. I love to enter a clean room, look out the window, or walk out in the morning  28  that each afternoon when I return, someone else will have made the bed.
The  29  is that unless Alison travels with me, I never sleep well in hotels. I miss my family. Even though Linus and Camille, aged 4 and almost 2, find a way to interrupt even the  30  night’s sleep at home, still, I’d rather be with them.
I’m deeply  31  by the parents who wake up too late with the realization: “My children grew up too  32  . In the busy and noisy career and life, I  33  their childhood.”
A hundred years from now, nobody will remember the car you drove or the large house you lived. The world might  34  greatly however, based on your  35  on the life of a small child. Your life will most certainly improve, if you pay attention to your important  36  , and make the choice to put her or him first. What could you do today to let your loved ones know how much they  37  to you? What will you do tomorrow? And the next day?
Think of one specific  38  that you can take, and take it. Challenge yourself to find new ways to  39  your appreciation and love on a daily basis.
Room service will never kiss you goodnight! Nothing  40  family.

【小題5】

A．worst B．longest C．shortest D．best

Are you still wishing your friends and partners “Happy New Year”? In the first few days of a new year, we say these three words countless times. The ___16___ is that we say them almost without thinking. The result of such a wish is that it ___17___ its meaning and power.
Last month, I ___18___ Dada J P Vaswani’s first speech after his return from the US. The ___19___ of his speech was “In 2012, all will be fine”. While sharing one of his many ___20___ ideas, he said that while “Happy New Year” is a nice greeting, there’s a more beautiful and encouraging way to ___21___ others—“Happy New You!”
Those three ___22___ words show that New Year is a time to leave behind our ___23___ and step forward. It’s the time to renew ourselves by getting rid of the negative things of the past — ___24___, pain and so on. It’s also the right time to give up thoughts of fear and failure.
For those who are ___25___ what to change, Dada has a simple suggestion: write down all the things that you don’t ___26___ about yourself… every single one. They could be small or big, easy or difficult — ___27___ write them all down. Putting them on ___28___ brings clearness of thought, which is the first step towards bringing about any change.
So this New Year, let’s wish each other “Happy New You” and then ___29___ that trend all through the year. Each time you wish others, you will be ___30___ not only them but also yourself to leave behind sadness and the past — because it’s time for being Happy and New.

 My First Day
I was still shy in the presence of a crowd. And my first day at the new 36 made me a laughing stock（笑柄） of the classroom .I was sent to the blackboard to write my   37 . I knew my name, and knew how to write it , but standing at the blackboard with the  38  of so many pupils on my back made me  39  inside and I was unable to write a single letter.
“Write your name,” the teacher called to me. I  40 the white chalk to the blackboard, as I was about to write, my mind went blank, I could not remember my name,  41 the first letter. Somebody laughed and I became  42 .
“Just forget us and write your name,” the teacher called and walked to my side,  43 at me to give me confidence.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Richard,” I   44
“Then write it.”
I turned to the blackboard and lifted my hand to write, but then I was  45  again. I tried to  46  my senses but I could remember nothing. I realized how totally I was 47 and I grew weak and leaned my hot forehead  48 the cold blackboard. The room burst into a loud  49 and my muscles froze. I sat and  50  myself. Why did I always appear so dumb  51  I was called upon to perform in a crowd? I knew how to write as well as any other pupil in the classroom, and there was no  52 I could read better than any of them, and I could talk  53  when I was sure of myself. Then why did strange  54  make me freeze? I sat with my ears and neck  55 , hearing the pupils around me whisper, hating myself.  

I was on my lunch break in the city, enjoying a salad at an outdoor café, when a shabby homeless lady came waking towards me. She was _36_ everyone who walked past her for spare_37_ and she looked very dirty. My _38  reaction was fear and I hoped she wouldn’t come near me, but she did.. I was on the phone and when she__39_ , I said “ I’m on the phone” in the nicest way I could, telling myself what she needed was a lesson in _40_. She walked away, mumbling(自言自語), “ I’m_41_ you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll leave.” And she turned the corner.
_42_ ,I would feel relieved or satisfied, but something in me couldn’t _43_ . Without another thought, I looked in my _44_ for the spare change I had. I even started searching through my entire purse, the pockets, everything for all of the change I could _45_ find to give. I got up and walked towards this lady and gave her all I _46_. She held my hand and said, “ Thank you!” Her hand was 47 and dirty, but I didn’t mind 48 her hand. I wanted to be there for her , when normally I would  49 the other way. She looked at me and said, “Will you touch my face?” And for some reason, I did. I put my hand on her cheek and she started to 50  .  I could  51 it was as if she had not been touched by a loving, soft hand in ages, 52 . And so I held it there, trying to 53 her with my heart open. It was powerful.
She thanked me and walked away quietly. And I walked away with an open heart, trying to 54  
sense of what had just happened. It changed something in me and has made me want to be a 55 person to the people I meet during my day.

Window
Bill and John，both seriously ill，lived in the same room at Marie Hospital．John lived next to the only window of the room and was allowed to  36 in his bed and watch for an hour every day．But Bill had to spend all his time  37 on his back．
They became friends soon and talked for hours every day．They spoke of their families，their children，their hobbies，and their  38 in the American army．Each day John would sit up and  39 to his roommate Bill what he could see outside the window．
Through John’s description，Bill’s world was  40 and brightened by all the activities and colors of the outside world．The window overlooked a beautiful park with a lovely  41 ,John told Bill．Ducks played on the water  42 children sailed their model boats．And a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance．As John described all these  43 ,Bill would close his eyes and  44 the picturesque scene．Bill was recovering  45 . However，John became weak day by day．
Late one night，Bill was lying in bed  46 the ceiling when John began to cough seriously．Then doctors and nurses rushed to the room．Thirty minutes later, John  47 coughing．Now，there was only silence—  48 silence．
The following morning，Bill was moved to the bed next to the window at his request．Slowly and
  49 ，he supported himself up on one elbow （胳膊）to take the first look．But to his  50 ，he could see nothing but a  51 wall．
Only at that moment did he begin to realize that the pursuit（追求）of happiness was a matter of  52 ．It was a positive attitude we chose to express．It was not a gift that was  53 to our doorstep each morning，nor did it come through the window．It was all inward journey．Whether a man is happy or not depends on his own thoughts  54 anything outward．
So Bill began to describe the  55 world to his new roommate that he saw through the only window of the room.

He drove after drinking alcohol, having a severe accident and had to get his arms removed．Since then, he has had to __31__ on his younger brother, who became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was totally unable to do __32__ else. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their own problems and would often __33__. Finally, his younger brother went away and lived __34__, leaving him heartbroken and at a loss what to do.
__35__, a misfortune befell（降臨）a girl. One night she was preparing dinner when the kerosene light on the stove was overturned, __36__ in a fire which took her hands away. Having decidedly __37__ her sister’s willingness to help her, she determined to be thoroughly __38__. At school, she always studied hard．Most of all she learned to be self-reliant. “I am lucky. Though my __39__ are broken, my heart can still fly.” she wrote in her blog.
One day, the young man and the girl were both invited to a（n）__40__ programme. The boy told the television hostess about his __41__ future, whereas the girl was full of __42__ for her life. They were both asked to write something on a piece of paper with their __43__. The boy: My younger brother’s arms are my arms. The girl: Broken wings, flying heart.
They had both gone through the same ordeal（痛苦經(jīng)歷）, but their different __44__   determined the nature of their lives. As seems the case, __45__ disasters can strike our life at any time. How you handle the __46__ when faced with it is the true __47__  of your character. If you choose to __48__ or escape from the ordeal, it will follow you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the __49__ will turn out to be a fortune on which new __50__will arise.

The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My  36 began when I was just a kid. I   37  becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that  38 people spent a lot more time reading than they  39   watching television. She announced that my brother and I  40 watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and 41 her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later, we realized her marks were a  42 . My mother was Illiterate(不識字的，文盲的)。
When I entered high school I was a(n) 43  , but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes.  I wanted to  44 the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home from  45  her various jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy  46 food and pay the bills. With everything  47 , you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.” I was very  48  with that arrangement but once I got through distributing money, there was  49 left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to  50 our heads and any kind of food on the table, 51  buy clothes. I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my  52 and became an A-student again, and eventually I  53 my dream and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story—a woman with  54  formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job  55 than parenting.（養(yǎng)育） This I believe.

One night I went to Himeji, a city not far from Kobe. As I walked with my family along the river I saw a __20__. It was a young man who looked just like me. He was wearing a cap and smiling. Around his neck was a leather strap （皮帶）and in his hands was a saxophone. He was __21___ the saxophone to his __22__ and just about to play. My family walked on up the river towards the castle __23__ I stayed there by the statue, __24__ of playing a saxophone on TV.
Two weeks later it was my birthday. Imagine my __25___ when I opened my present from my parents and found that it was a __26__! I put it to my lips to play, but it wouldn’t make a sound. Then Dad told me to read the __27___ book to find out what to do. After about 15 minutes the saxophone was ready to play. I __28__hard but I couldn’t get the saxophone to play. I was almost __29___ when suddenly the saxophone made the most beautiful sound – loud and clear like I __30__ the music of the man by the river in Kobe. 

【小題1】	A．car B．bus C．train D．motorcycle
【小題2】	A．bank B．castle C．mountain D．river
【小題3】	A．closed B．open C．broken D．clear
【小題4】	A．low B．lonely C．loud D．deep
【小題5】	A．man B．statue C．photo D．picture
【小題6】	A．playing B．picking C．lifting D．rising
【小題7】	A．hands B．ears C．eyes D．lips
【小題8】	A．though B．but C．so D．or
【小題9】	A．dreaming B．pretending C．a(chǎn)dmiring D．observing
【小題10】	A．a(chǎn)nger B．regret C．sickness D．joy
【小題11】	A．guitar B．drum C．saxophone D．violin
【小題12】	A．music B．exercise C．instruction D．note
【小題13】	A．blew B．flew C．shook D．beat
【小題14】	A．reading B．crying C．talking D．a(chǎn)sking
【小題15】	A．made B．heard C．played D．imagined

As I got up today, I smelt fresh coffee. I woke up to   36   a cup of it with some biscuits on my bedside table. This reminded me of   37  , the old school and college days, when mom used to wake me up by serving a   38   cup of coffee. The taste is still so   39   in my memories.
A   40    thought hit me, “I was in bed, so who prepared this coffee for me? Is it a dream?”
I pinched（掐）myself, ouch… that hurt, which meant I was not   41  . I walked out of the room with the cup of coffee,   42   my roommate. I asked him whether he prepared that for me, and the answer was YES.
I was relaxed   43   somehow my heart wanted him to say NO, because I wanted to be in a   44   that my mom prepared it for me. The whole   45   reminded me of mom and I   46   her at that moment.
On my way to my office, I was thinking about those days when mom used to cook my   47  meal. I could not   48   any single day when I slept without food. But now, I no longer   49  the food mom cooked.
This very thought   50   tears to my eyes and I decided to call up mom. I reached the office and gave her a call.
The first thing she asked was, “Is everything all right?” I was   51  . And I thought, “How the time has   52  ”.
When I was with her, I used to call her after every hour when I was out with my friends. In those days she   53   asked me what was wrong, as she knew that it was my habit. My call at this point of the day to her meant that I was in   54  .
Time has changed, she is still the same, and it is   55   who have changed.