閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C、D）中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was   1   and when I was 14 he said, “You’re never going to be   2   but a failure.” After five years of   3  jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl. It was the beatific   4   that could have happened to me. I  5  I wanted to do something positive (積極地) with my life because I wanted to prove to  6  that what people said about me was   7 . Especially her mother, who had said to me, “Let’s   8  it, you’ve failed at everything you’ve ever done.” So I tried hard with my   9   and went to college. My first novel   10    while I was at college. After college I taught during the   11  in high schools and attended evening classes at London University, where I got a   12   in history. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of   13   that job to write full time   14   I was offered a part-time job at Leeds University. I began to feel proud of myself —   15   was a working-class boy who’d   16   school early, now teaching at the university. My writing career (職業(yè)) took off when I discovered my own style. Now I’m rich and   17 , have been on TV, and met lots of film stars.   18  what does it mean? I   19  wish all the people that have put me down had   20 : “I believe in you. You’ll succeed.”

In 1982, Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank．He got into a life boat, but his supplies were   21 ．His chances of surviving were small．  22  when three fishermen found him 76 days later, he was alive —much   23  than he was when he started, but alive．
His   24  of how he survived is fascinating．His cleverness —how he   25  to catch fish, how he evaporated（蒸發(fā)） sea water to   26  fresh water—is very interesting．
But the thing that   27  my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, and there seemed no   28  in continuing the struggle．He was starved and 29  worn-out．Giving up would have seemed the only possible choice．
When people   30  these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going．Many people in   31  desperate circumstances 32   in or go mad．Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the courage to carry on   33  difficulties．
"I tell myself I can   34  it," wrote Callahan in his book．-Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate．I tell myself these things over and over,  35  up courage．．．"
I wrote that down after 1 read it．It   36  me as something important．And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed   37  off or when my problems seemed too terrible．And every time I've said it, I have always come back to my   38  ．
The truth is, our circumstances are only bad   39  to something better．But others have been through the much worse, that is, in comparison with what others have been through, you're fortunate．Tell this to yourself over and over again, and it will help you   40  through the rough situations with a little more courage．

Embroidering(刺繡)
When I was a little boy living in New York, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the    36    and ask what she was doing. She   37  me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched her work within the    38  of the little round hoop（鐵環(huán)）that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked   39   from where I sat.
She would smile at me, look down and  40   say, "My son, you go about your    41   for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my    42   and let you see it from my side."
I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the    43   ones and why they seemed so jumbled（混亂的）from my   44  . A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, " Son, come and sit on my knee." This I did only to be  surprised and    45  to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not    46  it, because from underneath it looked so messy.
Then mother would    47   to me, "My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a   48  plan on the top. It was a    49   . I was only following it. Now look at it from my side    50   you will see what I was doing."
Many    51    through the years, I have    52   up to my Heavenly Father and said, “ Father, what are You doing? ” He    53   , “ I am embroidering your    54  . ”I say, " But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright ? " The Father seems to tell me, " My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to    55   and put you on my knee and you will see the plan from My side. "

Travis laughed as he tore at the wrapping paper on his birthday present. He was so 36  ! Finally, he would have the coolest pair of name-brand basketball shoes.
All the guys on his team were wearing the name-brand shoes of a popular basketball 37 , Chuck Hart. 38_ Hart was criticized for his poor sportsmanship and infamous 39_ , he was a great player. In fact, Travis wasn’t thinking about Hart’s behavior; he had only expected to see Hart’s 40 on the side of the box. He realized that something was 41 as he tore away the last piece of paper. Not Hart’s. The new shoes were the name-brand of another player, Robert Ryann, who was  42  for his amazing work in the community.
Travis’s hands 43 ; his heart stopped. It wasn’t that the Ryann shoes weren’t nice, but what would his friends think?
They were the wrong shoes and Travis would be 44   by the other players. When he looked up into his dad’s eyes, however, Travis knew he 45 tell him. “Thanks, Dad. I was really hoping for shoes,” Travis said as he pulled the shoes out of the box.
Next morning his dad drove him to school. When they 46  in front of his destination, Travis slowly opened the car door. Just then, his dad stopped him.
“Hey, Travis, wait a minute…” his dad said 47 “Travis, I know those aren’t the shoes you had hoped for, but I saw the names of the two guys and made a(n)  48  . The guy whose name is on those shoes,” he said, pointing down at Travis’s feet, “is someone I 49 . Do you know how often Ryann has found himself in 50 ? ”
“ No,” Travis said.
“ Never. He’s never talked back to his coach or started a fight, and he’s a team player. You could have acted like a(n) 51   when you didn’t get the shoes you wanted, Travis,  52 you were polite and made the best of it. You have honor, like the guy whose name is on these shoes. I’ m hoping that someday, your  53 will be on the coolest pair of shoes I’ll ever see.”
When Travis looked down at his feet, he saw the shoes 54  . His dad had used his mind and heart to give the son a thoughtful 55   .

On a Friday   11 , a poor young artist stood at the gate of the subway station, playing his violin. The music was   12 , and many people   13  and put some money into the   14  of the young man.
The next night, the young artist took out a large piece of   15  and laid it on the ground.     Then he began   16 . The music sounded more pleasant. Some people gathered and they found the   17  on that paper. “Last night ,a gentleman put a(n)   18 thing into my hat. Please come to get it back.” When the people saw that, they felt very curious and began to   19  what it could be. After about half an hour, a man   20  there in a hurry and said ,“It can’t be true！You ...you ...”
The young violinist asked, “Did you   21  something?”
“Lottery (彩票).”the man answered  22 .
The violinist took out a lottery ticket. “Is it？”he asked.
The man was too   23  to say a word ...George Sang   24  a lottery ticket a few days ago. The awards(獎)opened yesterday and he won $500,000. So lucky and excited did he feel that he   25  50 dollars and put it in the hat when hearing the music. However, the lottery ticket was also thrown into the hat without being noticed. The violinist found the lottery ticket. Thinking that the owner would  26  to look for it, he came back to where he was given the lottery ticket.
Someone asked the violinist   27  he returned the lottery ticket to the man. He said, “   28  I don’t have much   29 , I live happily; but if I lose   30  I won’t be happy forever.”

A long time ago，there was a tiger in the forest. He was the__26__of the animals. One day the tiger asked a little cat to see__27__his palace was built. After a few hours，the little cat__28__and said to the tiger，“My dear king，your__29__is very large，tall and beautiful.” The tiger was very__30__to hear that.Several__31__later，the tiger said to a pig，“It’s been days since the cat saw my palace. Now，you go and see it__32__.” But when the pig came back，he said to the tiger，“My dear king，I thought that your palace is beautiful，but it__33__yourself only.”
The tiger was very__34__when he heard what the pig said. “Why are the cat’s and the pig’s__35__not the same？” he said to__36__.He then asked a camel to go to have a(n)__37__.Before long the camel ran back out of breath (氣喘吁吁) and said to the tiger，“Oh，your palace is too__38__for you to live in，my king.”
The king became very angry when he heard what the camel said. He said to the animals，“Maybe somebody of you tells__39__.You three have three ideas. I want to__40__you.” Just at the moment，a fox came out to__41__the tiger. He asked the tiger himself to go to see it before killing them. The tiger__42__.After he saw the palace himself，he thought that their answers were all__43__.He said to the__44__，“You should remember that to see with your own eyes is more important than only to__45__others.”

From the time I was seven, I had a dream of becoming a member of the Students Union. I always   1__  my school leaders for taking responsibility for all of us. So I dreamed of being a leader.
Years flew by, and soon I was able to take part in the elections,   2 I would win. But the reality struck that I hadn't had a chance. I wasn't pretty. Girls across the school hardly knew me. I just did not have what it   __3  to win a school election. I was   4 ___ .
As I cried in my room that evening, I   5  took a deep breath and decided I wouldn't stop dreaming. I decided that I would   6  for elections again in my final year at school—and I would win.
I recognized that my   7  had a lot of things in their favor(有利). What were the points that would work in ___8___ favor? I had good grades, and I was friendly and helpful. And my biggest  9  was the faith(信念) I had. I would not allow my plain appearance to hold me __10____ from putting my best foot forward. That evening, I   11  my election plans a whole year ahead of time.
I realized that girls would have to get to know me and recognize that I had the ability to   12  them. I loved making friends and I liked being helpful,   13 __  I decided that perhaps I could use these qualities to work to my advantage. In order to learn how to present a great election   14 __ , I also attended a course on effective public speaking.
The day after the election, when the principal announced I won the second highest number of votes, the students   15    .That joy on the faces of all my friends showed me that my victory was   16  theirs.
Suddenly, I realized that I had   17 much more than I had dreamed of. I had made many new friends and had helped people   18  the way. I had won the   19  and love of my school-mates and they knew me as somebody who would stand by them. I was able to put a smile on their faces and  20  their day.

On a Friday   11 , a poor young artist stood at the gate of the subway station, playing his violin.The music was   12 , and many people   13  and put some money into the   14  of the young man.
The next night,the young artist took out a large piece of   15  and laid it on the ground.Then he began   16 . The music sounded more pleasant.Some people gathered and they found the   17  on that paper.“Last night,a gentleman put a(n)   18 thing into my hat.Please come to get it back.”When the people saw that, they felt very curious and began to   19  what it could be.After about half an hour, a man   20  there in a hurry and said,“It can’t be true！You ...you ...”
The young violinist asked, “Did you   21  something?”
“Lottery (彩票).”the man answered  22 .
The violinist took out a lottery ticket.“Is it？”he asked.
The man was too   23  to say a word ...George Sang   24  a lottery ticket a few days ago. The awards(獎)opened yesterday and he won $500,000. So lucky and excited did he feel that he   25  50 dollars and put it in the hat when hearing the music. However, the lottery ticket was also thrown into the hat without being noticed. The violinist found the lottery ticket. Thinking that the owner would  26  to look for it, he came back to where he was given the lottery ticket.
Someone asked the violinist   27  he returned the lottery ticket to the man. He said, “   28  I don’t have much   29 , I live happily; but if I lose   30  I won’t be happy forever.”

Jane raced onto the train platform and asked a porter, “Is this the train to Rochester?”
“Yes,” said the porter. “but only the …Hey! Wait.” He was too   21 .Jane had raced off
  22   he had finished speaking.
She had just   23   herself in a seat when the train    24 out of the station. Jane got out her book and settled down to read. After about an hour or so, she looked  25  and glanced out of the window. “That’s 26    .” she thought . “the landscape(景色)doesn’t look  27   ,and it should; I’ve   28  this route so many times.” She was getting increasing  29   when the big, red-faced conductor walked up and asked for her 30   .
One glance was enough. He  31 his head in friendly reproach(責備) and said, “Now, young lady, what did you do a fool thing like that for? This is the  32 ticket. You  33 have sat at the back of the train. The Rochester-bound(開往) section was  34   at the last station.
Jane’s face grew red. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I guess I was in too much of a   35    to find out…”  “Well,” said the conductor, “don’t   `36   . You shouldn’t have been in such a hurry, but I dare say we can  37   you a train going in the right  38   at Syracuse. You’ll be a couple of hours late  39  ,though .”
When Jane finally stepped onto the Rochester platform, her mother  40 up to her . “Oh, Jane, we have been so worried. What on earth happened?”
“Well, Mom,” said Jane, “it’s a long story.”

It was my first year teaching in a special needs class, and I wasn’t sure what to expect at our yearly Special Olympics sports meeting. My   36  had some challenges, from learning disabilities to cerebral palsy（大腦性麻痹）.
Mark was one with the latter. Restricted to a   37 , he had to fight his spasms （抽筋） just to control his movements.   38 , he always had a positive attitude and greeted everyone with a huge smile.
His classmates   39  him and always took the time to make sure he was included in group activities, especially Mike, Andy and Lucas, three boys who were good at   40 . Obviously, Mark wanted to be like them, unrestricted by the limitation of his   41  and watching them moving on the playing field seemed to fill him with   42 .
When the day came, Mike, Andy and Lucas   43  well in their sports events, and gave the normally calm audience something to cheer about. Mark sat in his wheelchair on the sidelines,    44  them on.
The final event of the day was the 400 meter race.   45  was invited to either walk or run, according to their ability, around the   46  length of the track.
When Mike, Andy and Lucas reached the finish line, they   47  and turned to look behind them. At the   48  of the crowd, determined not to be left behind, was Mark. All his classmates had   49  him. He was alone on the track with over half the distance left to   50 .
Mike, Andy and Lucas looked at each other, and a silent   51  passed between them. Slowly, they jogged   52  towards their friend, cheering him on   53  he had done for them moments before.
The progress was   54 , but in the end the three star runners and Mark crossed the finish line together to the enthusiastic cries of their teachers and classmates. Seeing the look on Mark’s face as he crossed the finish line, hands upraised and laughing, I came to understand what   55  the Special Olympics, and the determined athletes who compete, so extraordinary.
Years later, I’m still cheering them on.