The letter was a great disappointment to me. It was from Holy Cross, the only school I really wanted to  41  . I scanned the page, “…. We had a great applicant pool this year. …We can’t offer spaces to   42   … and place you on our waiting list.”

“What does it say, honey?” my dad asked, his voice full of   43   for me.

“I didn’t get in, but I’m on the waiting list.”

“Well, at least it isn’t   44  ,” he said brightly.

“Yeah, but   45  , I don’t want to be on the waiting list; I want to be   46  . No one gets in off the waiting list. It’s a way of saying ‘Thanks for   47  ’.”

“Then let’s go out there and tell them so.”

“That sounds   48  , dad.” I said sadly, “It doesn’t work.”

Upset and annoyed, I   49   myself in my room. However，my father’s advice kept   50   in my head. I thought about it for a few days, finally coming to the   51   that he was right. And the next day I seated myself across from Mr. Luis Soto, my admissions officer.

“What can I do for you, Nacie?” he asked pleasantly.

“Well, sir, I am here to tell you that I love this school and would love a   52   to be here. I just wanted to tell you how much going here would   53   to me—it is my only dream college— and that I would use my time here to the best   54  . I wanted to let you know that if you gave me a chance and reconsidered my application, you wouldn’t   55   it.” The words had poured out  56  I could stop them or check their desperate tone.

Mr. Soto looked me over for a minute before he smiled broadly.

“OK, that is the kind of thing we love to hear. Congratulations, you’re in.”

It was so   57   and I asked, “I’m sorry?”

“We want people in the class who want to be here, who will   58   the best of this education. I’m glad you came to talk   59   to me. I’m happy to offer you a position in the Class of 2009.”

The whole experience taught me a lesson: if you truly want something, never, ever   60  .

A. attend                   B. study                       C. admit                      D. visit

A. everyone          B. anyone                  C. someone        D. no one

A. trust              B. pity                    C. anxiety          D. curiosity

A. admission          B. imagination             C. restriction        D. rejection  

A. ever               B. again                 C. also              D. still

A. recognized          B. received                 C. accepted          D. permitted

A. writing            B. trying                   C. replying           D. waiting

A. lame             B. reasonable               C. painful         D. practical 

A. enjoyed             B. comforted            C. stayed             D. buried 

A. saying            B. ringing               C. showing          D. reminding

A. point             B. conclusion              C. agreement         D. arrangement

A. chance          B. motivation         C. degree         D. change  

A. refer              B. turn                    C. mean            D. stick

A. contribution       B. condition                       C. advantage        D. result 

A. suspect              B. disappoint               C. refuse              D. regret

A. as                B. when                 C. until           D. before    

A. unbelievable         B. unforgettable           C. unbearable     D. favorable

A. take                      B. get                          C. make                D. receive

A. patiently            B. openly                     C. carefully           D. calmly

A. get through            B. give up                 C. keep on            D. try out

Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.
For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(適合大眾口味的音樂) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".
What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.
It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.
In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.
For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.
【小題1】Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.

The letter was a great disappointment to me. It was from Holy Cross, the only school I really wanted to  41 . I scanned the page, “…. We had a great applicant pool this year. …We can’t offer spaces to   42  … and place you on our waiting list.”
“What does it say, honey?” my dad asked, his voice full of   43  for me.
“I didn’t get in, but I’m on the waiting list.”
“Well, at least it isn’t   44 ,” he said brightly.
“Yeah, but   45 , I don’t want to be on the waiting list; I want to be   46 . No one gets in off the waiting list. It’s a way of saying ‘Thanks for   47 ’.”
“Then let’s go out there and tell them so.”
“That sounds   48 , dad.” I said sadly, “It doesn’t work.”
Upset and annoyed, I   49  myself in my room. However，my father’s advice kept   50  in my head. I thought about it for a few days, finally coming to the   51  that he was right. And the next day I seated myself across from Mr. Luis Soto, my admissions officer.
“What can I do for you, Nacie?” he asked pleasantly.
“Well, sir, I am here to tell you that I love this school and would love a   52  to be here. I just wanted to tell you how much going here would   53  to me—it is my only dream college— and that I would use my time here to the best   54 . I wanted to let you know that if you gave me a chance and reconsidered my application, you wouldn’t   55  it.” The words had poured out  56 I could stop them or check their desperate tone.
Mr. Soto looked me over for a minute before he smiled broadly.
“OK, that is the kind of thing we love to hear. Congratulations, you’re in.”
It was so   57  and I asked, “I’m sorry?”
“We want people in the class who want to be here, who will   58  the best of this education. I’m glad you came to talk   59  to me. I’m happy to offer you a position in the Class of 2009.”
The whole experience taught me a lesson: if you truly want something, never, ever   60 .

The triathlon(鐵人三項運(yùn)動) promises to be one of the most popular Olympic sports.Recently it has drawn huge crowds attracted by athletes swimming 1,500m，cycling 40km，then running 10km without stopping.But what makes an attractive 17?year?old girl give up everything for the doubtful pleasure it offers?

Melanie Sears has not yet learnt those often?repeated phrases about personal satisfaction，mental challenge and higher targets that most athletes use when asked similar questions.“You swim for 1,500m，then run out of the water and jump on your bike，still wet.Of course，then you freeze.When the 40km cycle ride is over，you have to run 10km，which is a long way when you’re feeling exhausted.But it’s great fun，and all worth it in the end，” she says.

Melanie entered her first triathlon at 14 and she won the junior section.Full of confidence，she entered the National Championships，and although she had the second fastest swim and the fastest run，she came nowhere.“I was following this man and suddenly we came to the sea.We realised then that we had gone wrong.I ended up cycling 20 kilometres too far.I cried all the way through the running.”

But she did not give up and was determined that she never will.“Sometimes I wish I could stop，because then the pain would be over，but I am afraid that if I let myself stop just once，I would be tempted(誘惑) to do it again.”Such doggedness draws admiration from Steve Trew，the sport’s director of coaching.“I’ve just been testing her fitness，” he says, “and she worked so hard on the running machine that it finally threw her off and into a wall.She had given it everything，and she just kept on.”

Melanie was top junior in this year’s European Triathlon Championships，finishing 13th.“I was almost as good as the top three in swimming and running，but much slower in cycling.That’s why I’m working very hard at it.” She is trying to talk her long?suffering parents，who will carry the ￡1,300 cost of her trip to New Zealand for this year’s world championships，into buying a ￡2,000 bike，so she can try 25km and 100km races later this year.

But there is another price to pay.“I don’t have a social life，”she says.“After two hours’ hard swimming on Friday night，I just want to go to sleep.But I phone and write to the other girls in the team.” What does she talk about？Boys？Clothes？“No，what sort of times they are achieving.”

1.How does Melanie differ from other athletes，according to the writer?

A．She worries less than they do.

B．She expresses herself differently.

C．Her family background is not like theirs.

D．Her aims are different from theirs.

2.What upset Melanie during the National Championships?

A．She was tricked by another competitor.

B．She felt she had let her team?mates down.

C．She made a mistake during part of the race.

D．She realized she couldn’t cycle as fast as she thought.

3.What is Melanie trying to persuade her parents to do?

A．Buy an expensive bike for her.

B．Give her half the cost of a bike.

C．Let her compete in longer races.

D．Pay for her to go to New Zealand.

4.What does Melanie say about her relationships with her team?mates?

A．She would like to see them more often.

B．She only discusses the triathlon with them.

C．She thinks they find her way of life strange.

D．She dislikes discussing boys or clothes with them.

The letter was a great disappointment to me. It was from Holy Cross, the only school I really wanted to  41  . I scanned the page, “…. We had a great applicant pool this year. …We can’t offer spaces to   42   … and place you on our waiting list.”

“What does it say, honey?” my dad asked, his voice full of   43   for me.

“I didn’t get in, but I’m on the waiting list.”

“Well, at least it isn’t   44  ,” he said brightly.

“Yeah, but   45  , I don’t want to be on the waiting list; I want to be   46  . No one gets in off the waiting list. It’s a way of saying ‘Thanks for   47  ’.”

“Then let’s go out there and tell them so.”

“That sounds   48  , dad.” I said sadly, “It doesn’t work.”

Upset and annoyed, I   49   myself in my room. However，my father’s advice kept   50   in my head. I thought about it for a few days, finally coming to the   51   that he was right. And the next day I seated myself across from Mr. Luis Soto, my admissions officer.

“What can I do for you, Nacie?” he asked pleasantly.

“Well, sir, I am here to tell you that I love this school and would love a   52   to be here. I just wanted to tell you how much going here would   53   to me—it is my only dream college— and that I would use my time here to the best   54  . I wanted to let you know that if you gave me a chance and reconsidered my application, you wouldn’t   55   it.” The words had poured out  56  I could stop them or check their desperate tone.

Mr. Soto looked me over for a minute before he smiled broadly.

“OK, that is the kind of thing we love to hear. Congratulations, you’re in.”

It was so   57   and I asked, “I’m sorry?”

“We want people in the class who want to be here, who will   58   the best of this education. I’m glad you came to talk   59   to me. I’m happy to offer you a position in the Class of 2009.”

The whole experience taught me a lesson: if you truly want something, never, ever   60  .

1.A. attend                   B. study                       C. admit                      D. visit

2.A. everyone          B. anyone                  C. someone        D. no one

3.A. trust             B. pity                    C. anxiety          D. curiosity

4.A. admission          B. imagination             C. restriction        D. rejection  

5.A. ever              B. again                 C. also              D. still

6.A. recognized          B. received                 C. accepted          D. permitted

7.A. writing            B. trying                   C. replying           D. waiting

8.A. lame             B. reasonable               C. painful         D. practical 

9.A. enjoyed            B. comforted            C. stayed             D. buried 

10.A. saying         B. ringing               C. showing          D. reminding

11.A. point            B. conclusion              C. agreement         D. arrangement

12.A. chance                B. motivation         C. degree         D. change  

13.A. refer            B. turn                    C. mean            D. stick

14. A. contribution      B. condition                       C. advantage        D. result 

15.A. suspect                   B. disappoint               C. refuse              D. regret

16.A. as             B. when                 C. until           D. before    

17.A. unbelievable       B. unforgettable           C. unbearable     D. favorable

18.A. take                    B. get                          C. make                D. receive

19.A. patiently                 B. openly                     C. carefully           D. calmly

20.A. get through          B. give up                 C. keep on            D. try out