It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  31 any November day. His   32 , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   33 . One morning, I walked slowly   34  and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  35 those good people would not see me. I was   36 . My first thought was, how would I ever  37 them? I didn’t have the  38 to brush my hair,   39 clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   40 asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  41 . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   42 myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   43 from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   44 for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   45 words from the people who supported me during those  46 days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  47 may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   48 was, but in many ways I have changed for the   49 . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  50 one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

Nick Santonastasso has one arm equipped with one finger. He has no legs. He also has no limitations(局限).
“ I know anything’s possible ,” the 12-year-old told TODAY ’s Ann Curry.
He can play baseball and football, play the keyboard and drums, and play video games with his brothers.
When Nick was born, he suffered a disease only found in 11 other people. The Santonastassos had three other children, and they decided to treat Nick the same as others, with love but without excuse
“ We’re supposed to be heroes to our children, but Nick is a hero to us,” his father Michael said. But heroes have heroes, too, and Nick’s is Tiki Barber, the former football superstar who retired last year and became a reporter for TODAY. Curry told Nick that for his birthday, the show wanted to give him a new skateboard. The person who presented it to him was Barber.
“ You’re an inspiration,” Barber said. “ There are a lot of kids who might be at a disadvantage.
You give them strength.”
Curry observed that most parents try to protect their kids from failure, but the Santonastassos didn’t do that with Nick.
“Absolutely not, “Nick’s mother Stacey said. “ If you do have a small failure, it just makes you stronger to succeed at the next stop.”
“ It builds self-confidence in yourself to try it again,” Nick added.
Recently, Nick entered a drawing in a statewide contest in New Jersey. His drawing was a tree with a spreading canopy (樹冠) and deep toots. Above the tree were the words, “The roots of a family are…” Below the ground, the roots spelled out the final word for the message: “ Love.”
It won the contest. The judges didn’t know Nick’ physical condition. He won on merit (成績), the same way he does everything else in life.
【小題1】How did the Santonastassos treat Nick?

TOURNAMENT OF ROSES
-- 5 Days Los Angeles

The summer of 1975 I’d just graduated from college in Southern California and received a Ford Car for a   36   present. I had my first job, in Los Angeles. One Sunday night, thinking myself a very   37   gown-up, I   38   my uncle’s place in South Laguna after a visit,   39 admitting to him that I had less than an eighth of a tank of gas and no   40   to buy more on the way to L.A. I pulled onto the Pacific Coast Highway and watched the   41   move down as I headed north. When the engine started giving off strong smells, I   42   into a gas station. There was no self-serve then; there were no credit cards, no ATMs.

I   43   the guy at the station. I could write him a check for gas, I said, or I could   44  in my car and try to walk to a town with a   45   the next morning. As he was informing me that I could sleep in my car but he’d have me arrested, a station wagon pulled up to the next  46  . The driver—a thin, plain, middle-aged guy—overheard the tail end of my   47   request. As the attendant went to   48   him, he nodded at me. “  49   her tank first,” he said.

“Really?” I said.   50   bloomed. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. But please. I just need two  51   worth. I just need to get home.”

“Fill it,” he   52   to the attendant. Then he turned to me, “You’ll do the same one day, for someone else.”

I keep looking for someone unlucky, hoping to save her   53   on the road. Meanwhile, in case she never shows up, I try for other acts of   54   kindness. That quiet driver is always at the pump a few feet away, instructing the attendant to fill mine   55  .

1.A. graduation              B. birthday                    C. Christmas          D. wedding

2.A. independent         B. honest                   C. polite                    D. confident

3.A. reached               B. left                      C. witnessed               D. took

4.A. after                  B. without                  C. on                       D. by

5.A. time                   B. chance                   C. place                     D. cash

6.A. sun                    B. window                  C. needle                   D. clock

7.A. jumped               B. walked                             C. looked                   D. pulled

8.A. seized                 B. pushed                  C. begged                   D. warned

9.A. sit              B. sleep                     C. break                    D. fight

10.A. bank                 B. station                   C. hotel                     D. restaurant

11.A. door                B. garage          C. pump           D. town

12.A. planned             B. failed                    C. pretended              D. suggested

13.A. serve               B. attack                    C. charge                  D. treat

14.A. Open               B. Start                                 C. Fill               D. Heat

15.A. Anxiety              B. Nervousness             C. Caution                   D. Hope

16.A. miles’               B. hours’                   C. liters’                    D. dollars’

17.A. explained            B. repeated                C. threatened             D. ordered

18.A. night               B. car                       C. gas                       D. money

19.A. unwilling            B. unnecessary             C. random                  D. extra

20.A. immediately         B. quickly                   C. next            D. first5

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。

When I was about 13, my father would take me on short outings on Saturdays. On the way home, Dad _36_ stopped at the Dairy Queen for 10-cent ice creams. I couldn’t _37_ it, but I could pray from the _38_ we started heading home to that corner where we would either go straight for the ice cream or _39_ and go home empty-handed. That corner _40_ either mouth-watering excitement or _41_.

On one special day, we were heading home, and again I was praying for the _42_ sound of his offer. It _43_. “Would you like an ice cream today?” “That sounds great, Dad!” But then he said, “How would you like to _44_ today?”

Twenty cents! My mind reeled(震驚). I could afford it. I got a weekly allowance of 25 cents, plus some _45_ for odd jobs(零活). But _46_ it was my money, ice cream wasn’t a good use of it. In a fit of _47_, I said, “Well, in that case, I guess I’ll _48_.” My father just said, “Okay, Son.”

But as we headed home, I realized how wrong I was and begged him to _49_. But he just said, “That’s okay, we don’t really need one.” I felt _50_ for my selfishness and ungratefulness. He didn’t mind, or _51_ act disappointed.

I _52_ that generosity（慷慨）goes two ways and gratefulness sometimes costs more than “thank you”. On that day gratefulness would have cost 20 cents and it would have been the _53_ ice cream I’d ever had.

I’ll tell you one more thing. We _54_ another trip the next week. As we _55_ the corner, I said, “Dad, would you like an ice cream today? My treat.”