A Deed a Day
It was a busy day as usual. I was making sandwiches and balancing the phone between my shoulder and chin. The washing machine sounded as my husband walked in with our daughters. We had only about twenty minutes to eat 41 we had to take the girls to their next activity. My husband seemed a bit 42 that dinner was not on the table.
That night, I had a heavy 43 , thinking we were becoming taskmasters on an assembly line (流水线). We had become too 44 in our own tasks and not very considerate towards those around us. We needed to do something to bring back some meaning into our lives. It needed to be something that would 45 our own agendas and energize us toward the common good.
I bought a notebook, named it “Our Deed Diary” and held a family meeting. I told my family I wanted us all to think about doing a 46 for others every day. It could be for each other or for people outside our 47 . And we all needed to write it down in the notebook.
I thought one deed a day was too easy. However, it was actually 48 than it seemed because it had to be something 49 what we had already done. Sending birthday cards to people we already sent cards to every year would not 50 .
We had a rough 51 . On some days, someone would forget to 52 a good deed, while on other days, we would forget to write our good deeds in the diary. After a few weeks though, I found myself waking up in the morning trying to 53 what good deed I could do for someone that day. My daughters began to rush to me after school to 54 me the good deed they had done.
Now, after a year, I am happy to say that it is making a(n) 55 in our lives. Instead of always 56 what the day will bring for us, we think about what we can do for someone else.
Who would have thought that trying to do a simple kindness a day would be so 57 ? I feel my daughters have felt inner joy that you can only 58 by giving to someone else from your heart. The best thing is that you feel so great about doing something for someone else; you don't even look for or expect anything in 59 . So, when someone does return the favor, it is an enormous and positive 60 .
41. A. though B. unless C. before D. while
42. A. annoyed B. puzzled C. embarrassed D. frightened
43. A. shoulder B. stomach C. foot D. heart
44. A. absorbed B. interested C. confident D. successful
45. A. repeat B. relate C. refocus D. recall
46. A. kindness B. task C. job D. copy
47. A. room B. home C. school D. town
48. A. stranger B. sweeter C. harder D. bigger
49. A. beyond B. from C. about D. between
50. A. matter B. count C. last D. happen
51. A. time B. life C. start D. idea
52. A. praise B. check C. record D. do
53. A. describe B. decide C. remember D. explain
54. A. bring B. teach C. offer D. tell
55. A. effort B. choice C. difference D. fortune
56. A. forgetting B. believing C. knowing D. wondering
57. A. tiring B. moving C. surprising D. rewarding
58. A. experience B. imagine C. predict D. exchange
59. A. silence B. return C. time D. order
60. A. effect B. bonus C. attitude D. contribution
41-45 CA D A C 46-50 ABCAB 51-55 CDB DC 56-60 DDABB
I first went to hear a live rock concert when I was eight years old. My brother and his friends were all ___36____ of a heavy metal group called Black Wednesday. When they ___37____ that Black Wednesday were going to perform at our local theatre, they all bought ____38___ for performance. However, at the last minute, one of the friends couldn’t go, so my brother __39_____ me the ticket. I was really ___40____!
I remember the buzz (嘈杂声) of excitement inside the theatre as we all found our __41____ . After a few minutes, the lights went down and everybody became ___42____. I could barely make out the stage in the ___43____. We waited. Then there was a roar from the crowd, like an explosion, as the first members of the band ___44____ the stage. My brother leaned over and shouted something in my ear, but I couldn’t ____45___ what he was saying. The first song was already starting and the music was as ____46___ a jet engine. I could ___47____ the drum beats and bass notes in my stomach.
I can’t recall any of the songs that the band played. I just __48_ that I really enjoyed the show and didn’t want it to _ 49_. But in the end, after three encores (加演), the show finished. We left the 50_ and walked unsteadily out onto the pavement. I felt a little dizzy, as if I had just 51_from a long sleep. My ears were still 52_with the beat of the last song.
After the 53 , I became a Black Wednesday fan too for a few years before getting into other kinds of music. Once in a while, 54_, I listen to one of their songs and 55_I’m back at that first show.
40. A. relaxed B. embarrassed C. excited D. encouraged
41. A. seats B. entrance C. spots D. space
42. A. comfortable B. quite C. serious D. nervous
43. A. silence B. noise C. darkness D. smoke
44. A. fell upon B. got through C. broke into D. stepped onto
45. A. forget B. hear C. repeat D. bear
46. A. loud B. heard C. sweet D. fast
47. A. feel B. touch C. enjoy D. digest
48. A. realize B. understand C. believe D. remember
49. A. continue B. delay C. finish D. change
50. A. party B. theatre C. opera D. stage
51. A. escaped B. traveled C. benefited D. woken
52. A. aching B. burning C. ringing D. rolling
53. A. competition B. performance C. interview D. celebration
54. A. though B. otherwise C. instead D. besides
55. A. decide B. regret C. conclude D. imagine