Dear Miss Li,

I’d like to thank you for sending money    1   “Animal Helpers”, an organization set up to help disabled people. You see, you have helped    2   it possible for me to have “Lucky”. My life    3  pleasure because of him now. Let me tell you my story.

Being blind, deaf, unable to walk or use your hands    4   is something that most people cannot imagine. But there are many people who face these challenges, and I am one of them. Because I can’t use my arms or legs well, things like answering the telephone, opening and   5

doors or carrying things have always been difficult for me. Then one day last year, a friend of mine said that she would like to    6  . She said she would talk to “Animal Helpers” to see   

  7    it would be possible for me to get a trained dog. She also thought a dog might cheer me up. I told her that I love animals and that I’d love to have a dog.

   8   six months of training with a dog at “Animal Helpers”, I was able to   9   him

home. My dog’s name is “Lucky” – a good name for him    10   I feel very lucky to have him. You see, I’m only able to have a “dog-helper” because of your kind donation!

  11  , you might ask? Well, he has been trained to    12   different instructions. For example, I say, “Lucky! Fetch my book,” and he does it at once. He is very clever and understands many English words, even some difficult    13   like “upstairs”.

Lucky is an    14   dog. I’ll send you a photo of him if you like, and I could show you how he helps me too one day. And so I thank you again for supporting “Animal Helpers”. It is very important that this organization does not run out of money. Your donation   15   and the money is well used to help disabled people like me.

Best wishes,

Liz Smith

1.                A．of             B．to             C．from D．a(chǎn)way

2.                A．make          B．made          C．become  D．making

3.                A．filled with       B．is full of         C．is fill with D．is full with

4.                A．carefully        B．quick           C．easily D．easy

5.                A．moving         B．close           C．shutting  D．shut

6.                A．help me over    B．give me out      C．dress me up   D．help me out

7.                A．who           B．if              C．why D．that

8.                A．After          B．During          C．In   D．Since

9.                A．carry          B．took           C．bring D．fetch

10.               A．because        B．a(chǎn)ccording to     C．depend on D．in this way

11.                                A．What do I say    B．Where is Lucky

C．What do I think of Lucky             D．How does Lucky help me

12.               A．tell            B．understand      C．listen D．see

13.               A．thing          B．word          C．ones  D．one

14.               A．a(chǎn)mazing        B．surprising       C．clever D．a(chǎn)nnoying

15.                                A．great appreciate  B．greatly appreciate

C．is great appreciated                D．is greatly appreciated

My dad was driving to the city center to shop and I was going along for the ride. At least that was what I had told him—   1  I had an important question to ask—that had been on my mind for a couple of weeks and this was the first time I had been able to   2  with him alone.

“Dad…”I started. And   3 .

“Yes?” he said.

“The kids say there is no Father Christmas. They say I’m   4  to believe in Father Christmas anymore…it’s only for little kids. But I believe what you told me. Father Christmas is __5 . He is, isn’t he, Dad?”

“The real life and spirit of this magical elf (精靈) lives forever in your heart, my heart, Mom’s heart and in the hearts and minds of   6  people who believe in the joy that giving to others brings. The real   7  of Father Christmas becomes what you can give rather what you get. Once you understand this and it becomes   8  of you, Father Christmas becomes even more exciting and more magical because you come to   9  the magic comes from you when Father Christmas lives in your heart. Do you understand what I am   10  to tell you?”

My heart was filled with pride and I’m sure my eyes were shining with   11 .” Of course, Dad. I want him to be in my heart, just like he’s in yours. I love you, Daddy. You’re the best Father Christmas who has   12  been in the whole world.”

When it comes time in my life to   13  the reality of Father Christmas to my children, I hope that I will be as eloquent (有口才) and   14  as my dad was the day I learned that the spirit of Father Christmas doesn’t wear a red   15 . And I hope they will accept me as I did that day. I’m sure they will.

1.                A．clearly         B．a(chǎn)ctually         C．personally D．originally

2.                A．stay           B．fight           C．live  D．a(chǎn)rgue

3.                A．laughed        B．continued       C．stopped  D．cried

4.                A．honest         B．wrong          C．proud    D．foolish

5.                A．real           B．proper         C．kind D．right

6.                A．every          B．some           C．few  D．a(chǎn)ll

7.                A．spirit           B．position         C．character D．life

8.                A．part           B．tool            C．half  D．dream

9.                A．guess          B．realize          C．promise  D．discuss

10.               A．considering     B．expecting       C．planning   D．trying

11.               A．fear           B．excitement      C．panic D．surprise

12.               A．still            B．yet            C．ever  D．a(chǎn)lready

13.               A．explain         B．solve          C．introduce  D．describe

14.               A．strict          B．loving          C．careful    D．gentle

15.               A．beard          B．belt           C．suit   D．stocking

When students and parents are asked to grade subjects according to their importance, the arts are usually at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is only viewed as entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（優(yōu)先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is very important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it shows their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity（身份，特性）as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts can express the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same thing. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language through which we express our fears, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
【小題1】What can we learn from Paragraph 1?