We were travelling in Italy recently and what really made our trip memorable are the encounters (邂逅) with Italian grandmas. I just ___1___ a busy road in Rome. A grandma right next to me sprinted (飛奔) across and came back with my baby’s missing shoe. I hadn’t even ___2___ and she thought it would be easier to run twice than try to communicate with me through our language ___3___.
Another time, I was looking for Fontana de Trevis (許愿池) and ___4___ off in the name of looking at this and that. Out came a ___5___ from a small café and she at once knew I was ___6___. She took me by the hand and asked where I was heading for. Then she ___7___ me  to the fountain and three minutes later, I was standing in front of the masterpiece.
On the last day of our ___8__, we were in the local Metro train and a very old grandma got on. The train was ___9__ and many of us offered our seats to her. She accepted my ___10__ and a couple of stops later, I found myself ___11___ again, right next to her. We ___12__, she in Italian and me in English. When she ___13__ my husband and I were heading for Tivoli, she took out her return ___14__ for the expensive inter-city bus and put them into my hand.
I’ve lost count of the grandmas that played with our baby as if he was their own. But the ___15__ of all those grandmas is very hard to forget.

It was a Friday morning and two lovers were going through a heart-searing breakup.
As he was being  1   away from his lover，he banged on the fence  2 them. She was 3 desperate，and with all her 4squeezed through the fence and rushed to him.
A sweet kiss followed.
No，this was not a passionate Romeo-and-Juliet love 5 .The couple is not _6human．He is a ram，and she a doe．They have been living together in the Yunnan
Wild Animal Park and have been in love since last year．In a fenced area the amorous ram，7 Long Hair，has fascinated the doe，Chunzi．Liu Gencheng，has been   8  the couple for more than a year．“The two have  9  a lot of time together since they were little.”
The pair became famous after the local TV channel reported their relationship．Thousands， 10  some celebrities，left their  11 ．Many gave their blessings but some，12  animal experts，left doubts． 
Cai Yue，is one of the fanatic web followers of the unusual love affair.
“I first thought this might be a joke，but when I saw these photos，the love in their eyes  13 my heart. ”
The zoo manager vowed not to separate them．But after Long Hair fathered a baby lamb with the only female sheep in the zoo last month，the manager   14  .
“The baby sheep needs care from both parents,”he said．“  15   the sheep and the deer are not able to have kids，we decided to separate them.”
The zoo’s plan was to form a “normal family” for Long Hair，letting him live with the female sheep and his baby  16  staying with Chunzi all the time.
17 ，the separation，was like a dramatic scene from a love story.
“Long Hair even hurt his baby and the female sheep with his horns．It  18  us,“Li said．”And Chunzi has been trying to lick Long Hair   19  the fence."
The zoo promised to let them “l(fā)ive happily ever after”．”We  20 do anything to separate them.” Li said．

I live in Albuquerque, and some homeless people often stay at the stoplights. I often gave money to them, feeling  1 for their bad luck. But later I became a single mom with no home, a huge debt. As a result, I  2 giving and had a strong sense of  3  .
Things started to  4 for me. Again I had a home, and plenty of food, and I started to  5  myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the  6  ,"Will work for food." I  7  .
My daughter commented, "Mommy, you  8 to give to those people in  9  ."I replied, "Honey, they just use that money for alcohol or other  10 things. "She didn't respond. But when I said that, I didn't feel right.
Three days later, I was driving to  11 up my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner, and something deep  12 me said, "Just help him."  13  I rolled down my window, and he ran over with delight, saying "God bless you, I only need 77 cents." I  14 into my ashtray（煙灰缸） and strangely enough, there sat three quarters and two pennies.
I scooped（抓起） it up and gave it to him. He  15  with joy and tears in his 16  "Wow, you just made it  17 for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you so much. The bus that has this great sale is  18  in 20 minutes!" It was a moment I'll never forget. I think that man won't forget it either, 19  I was the one who got the best  20  in life——GIVING.

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pen, and white paper, I decided that the act of   1 must be the most   2  thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother   3  different things for my sister and brother. “But the  4 ”, she said, “is for Elizabeth”.
I never saw her angry, and never saw her cry. I knew she  5    me, she showed it in action. But   6  a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks   7  mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf (深淵) opened between us. I was “too emotional”.    8  she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed and I graduated from college, I loved my mother and I wrote to her in 9  words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did   10  me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer.   11  came. My hope turned to   12 , then little interest, finally, peace --- it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the   13  had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could    14  trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the   15  of her desk told me, as she’d   16  been able to, that she was   17  that writing was my chosen work. I   18  the desk carefully and found some papers   19 --- a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded and refolded many times.
“Give me an answer”, my letter asks, “in any way you chose”. Mother, you always chose the   20  that speaks louder than words.

Rain was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the church, eager to get home and play with the   1  that Santa had left for us. Across the street was a gas station where the bus stopped. It was   2  for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing close to the locked door in an attempt to keep   3 .
We were on the way to our grandparents’ house for the Christmas dinner. We were approaching our destination(目的地)   4  my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, “I can’t   5  it! They are standing in the rain. They’ve got children. It’s Christmas. ”
When my father   6  the gas station, he rolled down his window. “Merry Christmas. You are waiting for the   7 ?” Father asked.
The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and   8  of a job.
“Why don’t you all get in the car and I’ll   9  you up there. ”
After they settled in, Father looked back over his   0  and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Their sad faces gave him the   11 .
“Well, I didn’t think so,” my father said, “  12  when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having   13  finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys in my   14 . We’ll just   15  them first before I take you to your destination. ” All at once, the three children’s faces shone with   16 .
When we got out of the car at our house, the children   17  the front door and straight to the Christmas tree. One of the girls picked up Jill’s doll and   18  hugged it to her breast, and the other girl seized(抓住)something of mine.
All this happened many years ago, but the memory of it remains   19 . That was the Christmas when my sister and I learned the   20  of making others happy.

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s came to the hospital. I heard him saying to the nurse that he was in a hurry for an appointment (約會) at 9:30.
The nurse had him take a __1__in the waiting area, __2__him it would be at least 40 minutes __3__ someone would be able to see him. I saw him __4__ his watch and decided, since I was __5__busy—my patient didn't __6__ at the appointed hours, I would examine his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment.
The gentleman said no and told me that he __7__ to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his __8__. He told me that she had been __9__ for a while and that she had a special disease. I asked if she would be __10__ if he was a bit late. He replied that she __11__ knew who he was, that she had not been able to __12__ him for five years now. I was __13__， and asked him. “And you __14__ go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are？”
He smiled and said, “She doesn't know me, but I know who she is.” I had to hold back __15__ as he left.
Now I __16__ that in marriages, true love is __17__ of all that is. The happiest people don't __18__ have the best of everything; they just __19__ the best of everything they have. __20__ isn't about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

完形填空 (共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分)
閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從41—55各題所給的A、B、C和D項中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
Never Save Something Beautiful for That Special Day
　　Years ago I was talking with a classmate in Sydney. At the time his wife had just passed away not too long ago. He told me while going through her things, he found a silk scarf _1  in a designer store when they had traveled to New York City. The scarf was beautiful, with elegant _2 , and a high price tag still hanging. His wife begrudged wearing it; she was _3  it for a special day.
　　He _4  at that moment; I didn’t say anything either. After a long pause he said: “Never save something beautiful for that special day. Each _5  day is a special day.”
　　Whenever I _6  what he had said, I would put down the things I was doing to grab a novel, turn on the music and lie down on the couch to _7  some time for myself. I would appreciate the glorious scenery of the Tanshui River through a French window, _8  the dust gathered on the glass. I would take my wife out to _9 , not thinking what to do with the meal already cooked. Life should be the experience we truly cherish, not days we just have to endure.
　　One time I shared the above conversation with a lady. When I saw her again, she told me that she no longer _10  the beautiful china in a cabinet. She had thought to save them for a special day, only to discover that it never _11  came. “Future”, “someday” are not contained in her _12  any more. If there are things that are pleasant or make her complacent, she wants to hear or see them now.
　　We often hope to gather with old friends, but always say, “l(fā)et’s find a(n) _13 .” We often want to hug our grown children, but always wait for the appropriate moment. We often want to write to our spouses to express our strong affection or to show our deep admiration, but always tell ourselves that there is no need to _14 . In fact, each morning when we open our eyes, we should tell ourselves that this is a special day. Each day, each minute is so incredibly _15 .

完形填空（共20小題；每小題1.5分，滿分30分）
閱讀下面短文，從短文后所給各題的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
My husband and I sat outside. A small child about three came up the street, accompanied by her mother. As she saw another girl a few feet away, she gave her admiring comment, “Mommy, I like her dress.” Her mom   1 , “Well, why don’t you go and tell her?”
The little girl walked   2  toward the girl wearing the pretty dress. The other one,
  3  the same age, was standing with her   4  turned, alongside her parents. They had not heard the compliment (贊美). Receiving no answer, this little one   5 . My husband said to the other girl, “  6  wants to tell you something.” As she turned around,   7  was made. Once again, the little one   8  “I like your dress,” and upon hearing those words, the other one gave her a big smile and excitedly   9  “Look, it’s a spinning (旋轉(zhuǎn)) dress!”, at which moment she began to spin. Both of them smiled widely.
Now, the one stopped spinning and said, “It’s my favorite dress and I have (a)   10  that match!” She   11  running toward a stroller (嬰兒車) parked nearby.
The mom and daughter started to   12  down the street,   13  the encounter (邂逅) had ended. Moments later, the “spinning dress girl” reappeared, shoes in hand,   14  her new friend who had seemingly disappeared. Now, an elderly couple, seated on a bench, had obviously been
  15  of all this. The man   16  the child, saying, “There’s someone coming behind you.” Then we saw one showed and the other   17  the beautiful shoes.
If you can make a   18  better, do it. I have no idea how many others that evening might have   19  this act, hoping to help good things to happen. But such brief moments,
  20  together, make up what might very well be the important times in our lives.

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑
Filled with sorrow, I didn’t notice the hardness of the chair I was sitting on. I was at the funeral(葬禮)of my   1 . The hurt was so intense（強烈的）, and I found it hard to   2  at times.
Suddenly, I heard a   3  open and slam shut at the back of the church. Quick   4  hurried along the floor. A young man looked around in a   5  and then sat next to me. His eyes were full of tears.
“I’m  6 ,” he explained, though no explanation was   7 . After several eulogies (悼文), he leaned over and commented, “Why do they keep   8  Mary by the name of ‘Margaret’?” “Because that was her name, Margaret. Never Mary,” I   9  . “No, that isn’t correct,” he insisted. “Her name is Mary, Mary Peters.” “That isn’t  10  this is,” I replied. “Isn’t this the Lutheran church?” “No, the Lutheran church is across the street. I believe you’re at the   11  funeral, sir.”
The solemnness (莊嚴) of the occasion   12  with the realization of the man’s mistake bubbled (充溢) up inside me and came out as  13 . I peeked at the misguided man seated beside me. He was laughing,   14 . I imagined Mother laughing. At the   15  “Aman”, we darted(猛沖) out a door and into the parking lot.
“I do believe we’ll be the   16  of the town,” he smiled. He said his name was Rick and that   17  he had missed his aunt’s funeral, he asked me out for a cup of coffee. That afternoon began a lifelong   18  for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral. A year after our meeting, we were   19  at a country church. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time.
Whenever anyone asks us how we   20  , Rick tells them, “Her mother and my aunt Mary introduced us.”

完型填空（共20小題；每小題1分，滿分20分）
閱讀下面短文，從1---20各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項, 并在答題卡上將該選項標號涂黑。
One day, an expert in time-management was speaking to a group of business students. To make the point 1 , he used an illustration.
As he stood in front of the group, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” He then pulled out a wide-mouth jar and set it on the table. Then he    2   placed about a dozen fist-sized rocks, one by one, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the    3   and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar    4 ?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
“Really?” Then he    5  under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel（沙礫，石子），dumped some in and   6  the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space    7  the big rocks. Then he asked the group the same question. “Probably not.” One of them answered. “Good!” he replied.
He reached under the table and    8   a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the    9   left between the rocks and the gravel.    10   he asked the question. “No!” the class shouted. “Good!” Then he grabbed a can of water and began to pour it in    11   the jar was filled to the brim.
Then the expert in time-management looked at the class and asked, “What is the    12  of this illustration?” It is such a seemingly easy question that one   13   student raised his hand and said, “It is, however full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always   14   some more things in it.”
“No,” the speaker replied, “The truth it teaches us is that you will    15   get them in at all if you don’t put the big rocks in first.    16   the big rocks in your life are, do things that you love and    17  for yourself. In your schedule if you value the little stuff then you’ll fill your life with    18   things and you will never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are   19   on this short story, ask yourself what are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Then put those in your    20   first.”