Part I Cloze
As a teenager, I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I worked hard at school, and sometimes looked after my younger sister. Still, I found myself regularly resisting the urge to 1 out at home with even the simplest things.
Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother 2 me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she’d rush to the nearby store and buy a week’s worth of 3 . Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back, 4 for my lesson, and bought me a candy bar, you’d think I’d be very 5 to help her bring the groceries into the house. 6 I wasn’t. I generally just brought in an armload and left the 7 for Mom as I ran to my room, shut the door, and started studying.
Don’t get me wrong: even back in my room, I felt 8 about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my 9 . But I also realized that once I did change, there’d be no going back. 10 I took on more responsibility, my parents would start 11 more of me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would 12 something much bigger: my personal change from a cared-for, spoiled (被宠坏的) child to a more 13 , caring and giving young man.
I’ll never forget the Wednesday when I made a(n) 14 to jump in and see what happened. Returning home from the 15 , I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning 16 . Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and 17 back to the garage to help my mother. How happy I felt that day!
Surely, over time, I continued to help out with more housework. The neat thing was, the more I helped out, the 18 I felt about myself and my place in my family. As Mom and Dad realized they could 19 on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too. In short, it was a win-win situation for everyone.
Sometimes the little things we put off doing the longest 20 out to be the simplest things to complete. And feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.
1.A. help B. cry C. start D. work
2.A.sent B. drove C. walked D. guided
3.A. fruits B. flowers C. groceries D. vegetables
4.A. paid B.fought C. applied D. planned
5.A. nervous B. grateful C. confident D. unwilling
6.A. So B. And C. Thus D. But
7.A. one B. other C. next D. rest
8.A. excited B. curious C. guilty D. doubtful
9.A. way B. world C. career D. shape
10.A. Since B. Though C. Unless D. Once
11.A. warning B. reminding C. expecting D. informing
12.A. tell B. mark C. express D. describe
13.A. energetic B. ambitious C. outgoing D. responsible
14.A. excuse B. decision C. statement D. appointment
15. A.duty B.store C. lesson D. holiday
16. A. anger B. shame C. delight D. pleasure
17. A. called B. looked C. headed D. handed
18.A. better B. smarter C. warmer D. stronger
19.A. live B. press C. focus D. count
20.A. turn B. make C. point D. bring
