Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoho...

Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoholic parents, was failing. Surprisingly, he could read.     21   his good reading skills, Steve had been failing since first grade. Steve was a big boy, yet, he went unnoticed...    22    Miss White.

Miss White was a smiling, beautiful, young lady. For the first time in his    23   life, Steve couldn’t take his eyes off his teacher; yet,    24   he failed. In the middle of the first term, the entire seventh grade was    25   for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and    26   to dream of other things, as the day passed slowly. One day, Miss White’s    27   voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve!” Startled (吓了一跳), he    28   to look at her. “Pay attention!” She began to    29   the test results. “You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “   30   one boy, and it breaks my    31   to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, pinning Steve to his seat with a sharp    32  . “... The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!”

After that, Steve still    33   do his homework. “Just try it,” Miss White said one day. “Steve! Please! I care about you!” Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it! Someone cared about him? Someone, so beautiful and perfect, cared about him! Steve went home from school,    34  ,  that afternoon.

The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all sparkle and smiles! Immediately, she gave a    35   on the weekend homework. Steve was the first to    36   his paper. With a look of    37  , Miss White took his paper. Steve walked back to his desk, his heart beating strongly within his chest.

Miss White’s face was in total    38  ! Suddenly, her face broke into a bright smile. The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just    39   his first test! From that moment   40   was the same for Steve.

1.A. In honor of  B. In spite of  C. In addition to  D. In case of

2.A. to       B. before        C. until           D. upon

3.A. rich       B. young       C. fresh            D. simple

4.A. still      B. even        C. also             D. forever

5.A. observed   B. corrected        C. selected        D. tested

6.A. struggled  B. agreed           C. continued        D. declared

7.A. cheerful   B. impatient        C. enthusiastic         D. shy

8.A. decided    B. managed          C. turned               D. forgot

9.A. go over    B. run over         C. turn over            D. hand over

10.A. except     B. due to          C. as for               D. up to

11.A. will       B. record          C. heart                D. back

12.A. pain      B. stare            C. sense                D. contrast

13.A. wouldn’t  B. needn’t     C. mustn’t            D. shouldn’t

14.A. amused    B. doubtful    C. approved          D. thoughtful

15.A. survey    B. speech           C. report               D. quiz

16.A. give up   B. hand in    C. turn down         D. come across

17.A. respect      B. curiosity         C. surprise             D. fear

18.A. victory     B. shock         C. sadness           D. confidence

19.A. escaped    B. taken           C. missed           D. passed

20.A. nothing    B. something    C. anything     D. everything