One summer evening I was sitting by the open window, reading a good but rather frightening mystery story. After a time it was too dark for me to read easily, so I put my book down and turned on the light.
I was just about to draw the   36  as well when I heard a loud cry “Help! Help! ” It 37  to come from the trees at the end of the garden. I looked out but it was too 38  to see anything clearly. So I decided to go out and have a look in the garden, just 39  someone was in   40  . I took the torch and picked up a strong walking stick,   41  that this might come to be useful, too.   42   with these, I went out into the garden.   43   I heard the cry. There was no    44  that it came from the trees at the end of the garden.
“Who’s there?” I   45  as I walked, rather 46  , down the path that   47   to the trees. But there was no  48  . With the help of my torch I   49  the whole of that part of the garden and the lower  50   of the trees. There was no sign of anybody or anything. I came to the ___51___ that someone was playing a rather silly joke on me.
___52   feeling rather puzzled, I went back to the house and   53   away the torch and the stick. I had just sat down when I was startled by the cry of “ Help! Help! ”, this time from  54  my shoulder. I dropped my book and climbed up. There, sitting    55  of the mantelpiece ( 壁爐 ), was a parrot!

Allan Paul, a final year engineering student, was considered as a safe driver by all who knew him. One sunny morning, Allan was on his way home from his friend’s house on his favorite bike. All of a sudden, due to a major 31  by a truck driver near a traffic signal, Allan’s bike was hit by the huge truck. Poor Allan lost his legs and was 32  in the middle of the road, trembling.
He cried out for help but no one troubled to  33 . They were afraid of the consequences they could face if they gave Allan  34 .
There was a huge crowd gathering,  35  Allan like he was an alien. Allan kept crying and shouting aloud and finally he  36  his body to the sidewalk. Then he saw a man getting out of a car. Allan  37  him and cried out, “Please help me. I want to live. Save me, I am  38 .”
The man ran over and  39 . He picked up Allan and took him to the hospital. Allan gave him his  40  number and the man then called Allan’s house to inform his parents about the  41  and their son’s situation. Allan’s parents rushed to the  42 ; the doctors told them there was no  43  and asked them to take Allan home since it was impossible for him to  44 .    
Allan asked his parents to only  45  one person when he died, the man who had helped him. He also requested that they not inform or allow anybody else to see his dead body. Allan  46 the same night. As was Allan’s last  47 , his father called only that man and informed him about Allan’s  48 .?
Only a person, who has a  49  heart and who offers his service for the good of his fellow human beings, is a man. Those who  50  to, remain animals forever.

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。
This is a real life story of the engineers building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA back in 1870. The bridge was completed in 1883, after 13 years. In 1869, a creative engineer named John Roebling was   16  by an idea to build a spectacular bridge   17  New York with the Long Island.   18 , bridge-building experts throughout the world thought that this was impossible and told Roebling to forget the idea.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. After much discussion and persuasion he   19  to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge   20 could be built. The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway, a tragic accident took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which   21  him not being able to talk or walk.
  22  his handicap, Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning   23  to complete the bridge and his mind was still as   24  as ever. He didn’t want to   25 . Suddenly an idea   26  him. All he could do was move one   27  and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he   28  developed a code of communication with his wife.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his   29  with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands for his determination not to be   30 by circumstances. It stands too as a monument to the love and   31  of his wife who for 13 years long   32  decoded（解碼）the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves a(n)   33  goal. Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles(障礙) seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that   34  that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence(堅(jiān)持), no matter what the   35 are.

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C、D)中選出最佳選項(xiàng)。
Last week I went to a supermarket. After I   36  the bill and was passing through the door, the alarm suddenly started to ring. Suddenly, a young guard ran toward me and ordered me to   37  him. I felt so upset and   38 . He took me to a small room, but I was   39  frightened that I stopped at the door. Finding me   40 to enter the room, he shouted that I had to go into the room.
He closed the door. I thought he was going to hurt me. Suddenly, a   41  voice said in my ear: “Take out the things you’ve stolen!” “I stole nothing.” I said. “Do as I tell you. If we find them, you’ll be in trouble.” “There is nothing.” I answered. “I didn’t take anything.” I said, taking everything out of my pockets and bag.
  42  this point, a guard came in and asked a salesgirl to   43  me.   44 , they found nothing.
But they didn’t believe that I hadn’t stolen anything. So the young guard ordered me to pass through the door alarm again.
I was   45 when it rang again. I felt   46  and burst into tears. I didn’t know how to prove   47  I was innocent(清白的).
They made me go into the small room again.
“Take out the stolen things quickly,  48  we will dial 110.” They said.
“OK, call the police. I’ m not afraid.” I said   49 .
Suddenly,  they  50  their tone. After a while, a salesgirl asked me to raise my feet. I did   51  she had told me. There was a label (標(biāo)簽) on the bottom of my shoe. That was it! That was the   52 thing that had brought me such great trouble. But it   53 my innocence.
After that, they   54  to me in the small room, But they should have apologized  55 , shouldn’t they? A lot of people were there when I was taken away. What did they think of me?

It was lunchtime and I walked into a small branch office on the West Side. I had come to   36  a checking account. The only officer on   37  was a fortyish black man, standing   38  a small counter from a young white boy who was wearing a V-necked sweater. I think I was especially   39  of the boy because he looked more like a kid from a prep school than a   40  in a West Side bank.
The boy continued to   41  my attention because of what happened next. He was holding an open savings-account book and   42  an expression of disappointment. “But I don’t understand. I opened the account myself, so why can’t I   43  any money?” the boy said, his voice breaking.
“I know it is, but those are the rules. I’ve already explained to you that a fourteen-year-old is not   44  to withdraw money without a letter from his parents,” the officer explained patiently.
Suddenly I noticed the account had a series of small deposits and withdraws. Then I questioned the officer, “How do you   45  that? Why did you let him withdraw money before, but not now?” He looked   46 . “Because the tellers were not aware of his age before and now they are. It’s really very   47 .” I turned to the boy with a shrug. “You’re really getting   48 ,” I said. “You ought to get your parents to come in here and   49 .” The boy looked destroyed.   50 , he put his savings book in a rear-pocket and walked out of the bank.
The officer turned to me. “You know,” he said, “you really shouldn’t have got   51 .” I couldn’t believe what this idiot was saying. “We were   52  this morning that some neighborhood bully has been shaking down (敲詐) this boy for more than a month. The other guy was   53  him to take money out every week and hand it over. The poor kid was   54  too scared to tell anyone. Anyway, the police are on the case and they’ll probably make a(n)  55  today."
“You mean there is no rule about being too young to withdraw money from a savings account?”
“Not that I ever heard of. Now, sir, what can we do for you?”

Lightning flashed through the darkness over Sibson’s bedroom skylight（天窗）.Sibson was shaken by a clap of thunder ____21___ he knew what was happening. The storm had moved directly _____22____ his two-story wooden house. Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping.
Sibson rushed down the stairs barefoot to     23     ; he opened the door to the basement（地下室）, and flames      24     out. Sibson ran back upstairs to call 911 from his bedroom. “I felt      25      because the room had a separate outdoor stairway,” he explains.
But the phone didn’t work, and when he tried to go down the outdoor stairway, he was      26     by a wall of flames. Sibson realized he was trapped（困�。�.
Sibson’s house was three kilometers      27     the main road and was so well hidden by trees that he knew calling for help would be     28     .
Up a hill nearby lived Sibson’s neighbor, Huggons. He was lying in bed when something like a smoke alarm      29     his ears. He jumped out of bed, took his     30     and flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the    31    . That was when he saw the rolling heavy smoke.
Huggons dialed 911, and the operator warned him not to    32   the house. But Huggons said, “There is no way I am going to listen to Sibson    33    and die in that fire.”
“Anyone there?” Huggons called out. Then he heard “Help! I’m trapped!” coming from the second floor balcony（陽(yáng)臺(tái)）. He entered the house, but soon had to run back to catch his     34    .
After one more    35   inside the house, Huggons gave up and     36   around back.
The wind parted the smoke just     37    for him to catch sight of Sibson. But there was no way to get to him. He    38   the flashlight into the woods and noticed a ladder. He took it over to the balcony and     39    Sibson down just as the second floor of the house fell off.
Sibson is still     40    when he tells the story. “ I was alone that night,” he says. “Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life. It was Huggons.”

I could have easily gone through life without getting to know one of the most romantic feelings---love for a dog. For at least ten years my 1  had been suggesting that we get a dog. There were several reasons why the 2  came up. We had noticed that, on our block, couples with no children as a rule 3  one large or two small dogs. So we got one puppy (小狗) 4  we too had no children.
He flew into the house with the 5  of a Formula 1 (一級(jí)方程式賽車(chē)). In several minutes he ran over all the house, 6  from my shoulder onto the bed, and ended up in the 7  , where my wife washed him with 8  care. From that day on, the invisible（看不見(jiàn)的） 9  for the love of the new member of our household began at my home.
He seemed to 10  that at once. Most of the meals that my wife had 11  for him with greater care than those for me—he didn’t 12  look at them.
Every evening I went out walking with him. I could not know who was walking whom 13  one evening, when, tired from work, I 14  the walk. The dog was very angry and dragged me out.
Last night our dog pulled me by the ear with his teeth, 15  me up in my dream, and dragged me into the kitchen to make me turn off the 16  which had disturbed his sleep. I meekly（乖乖地）17  that I had forgotten to turn off the light, but that was not 18  . He looked at me like a teacher at a pupil who repeatedly makes 19 .
Now we finally know who’s the 20  at home, and for twenty years we had seriously argued whether it was my wife or I.

On August 26, 1999, New York City experienced a torrential downpour. The rain caused the streets to __16__ and the subway system almost came to a stop.
Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour. Many people who were going to work were __17__ to go home. Some battled to __18__ a taxi or to get on a bus. Still others faced the __19__ bravely, walking miles to get to work.
I __20__ to be one of the people on the way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most __21__ had stopped. After making my way __22__ crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was _23__. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to __24__ the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the __25__. So I took the train going in the opposite direction, and then switch back to the downtown train. Finally, after what seemed like an forever journey, the train __26_ my stop. Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I finally got to my office, I was __27__ through, exhausted and __28__.
My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off. When it was 5:00 pm，I was ready to go home. I was about to turn off my computer __29__ I received an email from Garth, my Director:
   I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and __ 30__ reported to work. It is always reassuring(令人欣慰), at times like these, when employees so clearly show their __31__ to their jobs. Thank you.
Garth’s email was short, but I learned more from that __32__ message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of __33__ can make a big difference. The rainstorm and the traffic __34__ had made me tired and upset. But Garth’s words immediately__35__ me and put a smile back on my face.

This is my third story．When I was seventeen, I   36  a quote （引文） that went something like, " If you live each day  37  it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right．" Since then, for the past thirty-three years, I've looked  38  the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, what would I do ?" And when there was no answer for too many days in a   39 , I know I need to change something．
About a year ago I  40  from cancer．The doctors told me it was incurable, and that I should 41  to live no longer than three to six months．They advised me to get my   42  in order, which is doctors' code （代名詞） for "prepare to  43  "．Later when the doctors  44  the cells taken from my pancreas （胰腺） under a microscope, they found it turned out to be a very rare form of cancer that is   45  with surgery．I had the surgery and,   46  , I'm fine now．
This was the closest I've been to facing  47  , and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades．Death is the destination we all   48  ．No one has ever escaped it．And that is   49  it should be, because death is very likely the single   50  invention of life．It clears out the old to make   51  for the new．Your time is limited, so don't waste it living   52  life．Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out （ 蓋過(guò)） your own inner   53  ．And most importantly, have the courage to 54 your heart and intuition （直覺(jué)）．They 55 already know what you truly want to become．Everything else is secondary．

After seating myself in my room and turning on my computer, I noticed a Post-it note stuck to my monitor(顯示器). It read, “Don’t   36   your computer. You stayed up until midnight doing your homework last night.—Mom.” I   37  the note into the wastebasket. “Why do they   38  ?” I thought. “They’re never here anyway.”
Right after high school started, I almost   39  contact with my parents. With all their business   40 , they asked the neighbors to watch over me. Of course, the neighbors didn’t do such a(n)   41  job, as they had kids of their own to worry about. The only means of   42  between me and my parents was through Post-it notes.
After spending about eight hours away from home, I usually came home to find the house   43  empty. It made me sad. I would come home from school to be welcomed by   44 , to talk to no one and to be watched over by my neighbors. That was when I started   45  more clubs and staying after school more often   46  I didn’t have to feel so lonely. Luckily, at school, my friends were there   47  me. They were all there to give me a   48  or talk with me when I wanted to talk. I felt   49  when I was at school. Yet, something was still   50  — my parents.
Now I realize that nobody can   51  my parents. I wish that they would be there at home,   52  me to come back from school. There are   53  things my parents don’t know about me. I wish that they actually had a(n)   54  to understand me. I want them to understand that they’re my parents and I’m their kid and I   55  them.