Life became hard when I was 14. My mother and I moved to New York to 36 my father, who’d moved there to find 37 work when I was three years old. He had a job at a restaurant and only visited us 38 every couple of years.
Before I moved, I knew that people in the US spoke English. But honestly, I didn’t stop to analyze the 39 when I was 40 to leave. Just like I assumed I could easily become a doctor or a lawyer. I assumed that I had the skills to learn English in a few weeks.
When I 41 in the US and started 8th grade at Ditmas Middle School in Brooklyn, everyone was speaking a(n) 42 language I couldn’t understand. I 43 that life had subtitles, like in foreign movies. School was such a serious place here. Sometimes I felt like I was in a geek（呆子） class. The teachers were always 44 my moves so I couldn’t even throw a paper ball at a classmate’s head. And the worst thing was having to read 45
46 after almost seven months of complaining about everything, I realized that complaining didn’t change things. 47 just made my life worse. If I was going to 48 in this new concrete jungle, I had to 49 . I began to learn English by reading newspapers on my own 50 school. After about four months, I started enjoying reading the crime and sports stories. After six months of studying, my teachers 51 my improvement and moved me into a more 52 English class. I could go to the store and ask for things that I wanted to buy without 53 frustration. For the first time I felt like I was living on earth again 54 .I didn’t hear foreign talk. I 55 understand people.
【小题1】A. find B. join C. see D. help
【小题2】A. good-looking B. well-dressed C. better-paying D. highly-thought
【小题3】A. once B. other C. each D. only
【小题4】A. case B. condition C. situation D. state
【小题5】A. packing B. trying C. managing D. arranging
【小题6】A. reached B. entered C. got D. arrived
【小题7】A. strange B. unusual C. standard D. foreign
【小题8】A. hoped B. wished C. expected D. demanded
【小题9】A. staring B. looking C. checking D. watching
【小题10】A. texts B. newspapers C. English D. poems
【小题11】 A. Although B. Even if C. But D. Since
【小题12】A. It B. They C. I D. Things
【小题13】A. live B. study C. survive D. continue
【小题14】A. adapt B. adopt C. adore D. admire
【小题15】A. for B. in C. after D. at
【小题16】A. made B. noticed C. concerned D. remember
【小题17】A. modern B. advanced C. difficult D. convenient
【小题18】A. even B. ever C. some D. any
【小题19】A. if B. though C. ever D. because
【小题20】A. could B. should C. would D. might