Can you imagine walking across a stage in front of 300 wearing a swimsuit? This is my ___21___as a competitor in the Miss Teen Massachusetts Pageant.
As soon as I was___22___as a contestant I began preparing, though the pageant (盛会) was months away. I had to___23___my classes with extracurricular activities, and___24___ the pageant. I barely has time to breathe!___25___, I did the best I could.
I’d always dreamed of___26___in a beauty pageant. Although I didn’t win, I had a great time. It took___27___to cross a stage in a swimsuit and those heels, walking like a model and smiling at so many people. It gave me the guts to try other___28___. I improved my interviewing skills, met a lot of great people, and learned how to put on a___29___.
The week after the beauty pageant, everyone___30___how I had done. I always told them___31___I didn’t place, it was a terrific experience. It’s not a breeze to tell everyone that you didn’t___32___. After the experience, I realized that it is not necessarily the ___33___ that determines what you take from an experience, it is the quality of the experience, the memories, and what you___34___along the way.
Most ___35___, I was aware that you should always reach for your dreams, because ___36___you will never know what could have been. If I hadn’t___37___the pageant, I would always wonder. Now, looking back, I will be___38___ with everything I’ve accomplished, I took the initiative to strive for my dreams and___39___life along the way. I’ll no longer let opportunities pass by me, but___40___all my goals and dreams, no matter how big or small.
21. A. dream B. experience C. success D. ambition
22. A. defeated B. accepted C. questioned D. refused
23. A. fill B. improve C. balance D. compare
24. A. preparing for B. laying off C. making for D. setting off
25. A. Thus B. Instead C. Besides D. However
26. A. speaking B. competing C. swimming D. sharing
27. A. time B. energy C. courage D. patience
28. A. things B. trips C. jobs D. competitions
29. A. smile B. coat C. position D. parade
30. A. shrugged B. wondered C. proved D. judged
31. A. if B. since C. because D. although
32. A. recover B. improve C. fear D. win
33. A. process B. script C. outcome D. struggle
34. A. suspend B. gain C. expect D. allocate
35. A. commonly B. luckily C. naturally D. significantly
36. A. yet B. still C. also D. otherwise
37. A. entered B. missed C. won D. finished
38. A. irritated B. fascinated C. content D. concerned
39. A. find B. show C. enjoy D. ignore
40. A. pursue B. set C. compile D. remember
答案
21. B 22. B 23. C 24. A 25. D 26. B 27. C 28. A 29. A 30. B 31. D 32. D 33. C 34. B 35. D 36. D 37. A 38. C 39. C 40. A
解析
【21题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。句意：这是我在马萨诸塞州青少年小姐选美比赛中的经历。A. dream梦想；B. experience经历；C. success成功；D. ambition 雄心。句中的This指代上文“Can you imagine walking across a stage in front of 300 wearing a swimsuit?”穿着泳衣在300人面前走过舞台的经历。故选B项。
【22题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：虽然离选美比赛还有好几个月的时间，但我一被录取为参赛者就开始准备了。A. defeated 击败；B. accepted 接受、认可；C. questioned 怀疑；D. refused 拒绝。根据下文的“as a contestant I began preparing”可知，作者作为参赛者准备，说明作者是被接受参赛的。故选B项。
【23题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：我必须平衡我的课程和课外活动，并准备选美。A. fill填充；B. improve 改善；C. balance 平衡；D. compare 比较。根据下文“I barely has time to breathe!”可知，作者时间很紧张，因此要平衡课程和课外活动。故选C项。
【24题详解】
考查动词短语辨析。句意：我必须平衡我的课程和课外活动，并准备选美。A. preparing for 为……做准备；B.laying off解雇；C. making for导致；D. setting off 出发。根据上文“I began preparing”可知，作者很早就准备选美比赛。故选A项。
【25题详解】
考查副词词义辨析。句意：然而，我已经竭尽全力了。A. Thus 因此；B. Instead相反；C. Besides此外；D. However然而。根据上文“I barely has time to breathe!”可知，作者时间紧迫，但是仍然尽力准备。故选D项。
【26题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：我一直梦想着参加选美比赛。A. speaking 说话；B. competing比赛；C. swimming游泳；D. sharing分享。根据下文“Although I didn’t win, I had a great time.”可知，作者参加了比赛。故选B项。
【27题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。句意：穿着泳衣和高跟鞋，像模特一样走路，对着那么多人微笑，跨越舞台需要勇气。A. time时间；B. energy精力；C. courage 勇气；D. patience 耐心。根据下文“to cross a stage in a swimsuit and those heels, walking like a model and smiling at so many people”推断出穿泳衣，高跟鞋，对人微笑是需要勇气的。故选C项。
【28题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。句意：这给了我尝试其他事情的勇气。A. things事情；B. trips旅行；C. jobs工作；D. competitions 比赛。根据下文“I improved my interviewing skills, met a lot of great people, and learned how to put on a 9 ”可知，作者提高了面试技巧，认识了很多优秀的人，还学会了其它东西，因此，是尝试了其他事情。故选A项。
【29题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。句意：我提高了我的面试技巧，遇到了很多很棒的人，学会了如何面带微笑。A. smile微笑；B. coat外套；C. position 职位；D. parade游行。根据上文“I improved my interviewing skills”可知，作者提高了面试技巧，可得出作者学会了面带微笑。故选A项。
【30题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：选美比赛后的一周，每个人都想知道我的表现如何。A. shrugged耸肩；B. wondered 想知道；C. proved证明；D. judged 裁决。根据下文“I always told them…”可知，其他人想知道作者的表现如何。故选B项。
【31题详解】
考查连词词义辨析。句意：我总是告诉他们，虽然我没有取得名次，但是这是一个极好的经历。A. if如果；B. since自从；C. because因为；D. although 虽然。根据下文“I didn’t place, it was a terrific experience”可知，没有取得名次与极好的经历之间为让步关系。故选D项。
【32题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：告诉大家你没赢不是件容易的事。A. recover恢复；B. improve改善；C. fear恐惧；D. win获胜。根据上文“I didn’t place”可知，作者没有获胜。故选D项。
【33题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。句意：这次经历之后，我意识到，决定你从一段经历中获得什么的不一定是结果，而是经历的质量，回忆，以及你一路上获得的东西。A. process过程；B. script脚本；C. outcome 结果； D. struggle斗争。根据上文“I improved my interviewing skills, met a lot of great people, and learned how to put on a 9 ”和“I didn’t place”可知，作者没有取得名次，但是收获很多。故选C项。
【34题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：这次经历之后，我意识到，决定你从一段经历中获得什么的不一定是结果，而是经历的质量，回忆，以及你一路上获得的东西。A. suspend暂停；B. gain获得；C. expect期望；D. allocate分配。根据上文“…what you take from an experience”，可知作者从此次经历中收获很多。故选B项。
【35题详解】
考查副词词义辨析。句意：最重要的是，我意识到你应该一直追求你的梦想，因为要不然你永远不会知道会发生什么。A. commonly普通地；B. luckily幸运地；C. naturally自然地；D. significantly 重要地。根据下文“I took the initiative to strive for my dreams”可知，作者主动为自己的梦想而奋斗，可得出作者认为最重要的是追求自己的梦想。故选D项。
【36题详解】
考查副词词义辨析。句意：最重要的是，我意识到你应该一直追求你的梦想，因为要不然你永远不会知道会发生什么。A. yet但是；B. still仍然；C. also而且；D. otherwise否则，要不然。根据上文“I was aware that you should always reach for your dreams”可知，只有追求自己的梦想才能知道会发生什么，否则你永远不会知道会发生什么。故选D项。
【37题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：如果我没有参加选美，我会一直好奇它。A. entered报名参加；B. missed 错过；C. won获胜；D. finished完成。根据首段第二句“This is my experience as a competitor in the Miss Teen Massachusetts Pageant.”可知，本文讲述是作者参赛后的感悟。故选A项。
【38题详解】
考查形容词词义辨析。句意：现在，回顾过去，我将满足于我所取得的一切，一路上我主动去争取我的梦想，享受生活。A. irritated 生气的；B. fascinated着迷的；C. content 满足的；D. concerned 关心的。根据上文“…it was a terrific experience”可知，作者满足于所取得的一切才能认为这是一次极好的经历。故选C项。
【39题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：现在，回顾过去，我将满足于我所取得的一切，一路上我主动去争取我的梦想，享受生活。A. find发现；B. show显示；C. enjoy享受；D. ignore忽视。根据and并列的上文“strive for my dreams”可知，此处为享受生活。故选C项。
【40题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。句意：我将不再让机会从我身边溜走，而是追求我所有的目标和梦想，无论大小。A. pursue追求；B. set设置；C. compile编写；D. remember记得。根据上文“strive for my dreams”可知，作者决心追求自己的梦想。故选A项。