2018年高考英语真题分类汇编专题09：完形填空

    During my second year at the city college, I was told that the education department was offering a "free" course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits. I 1 the idea of taking the class because, after all, who doesn't want to 2 a few dollars? More than that, I'd always wanted to learn chess. And, even if I weren't 3 enough about free credits, news about our 4 was appealing enough to me. He was an international grandmaster, which 5 I would be learning from one of the game's 6,I could hardly wait to 7 him.

    Maurice Ashley was kind and smart, a former graduate returning to teach, and this 8was no game for him; he meant business. In his introduction, he make it 9 that our credits would be hard-earned. In order to 10 the class, among other criteria, we had to write a paper on how we plan to 11 what we would learn in class to our future professions and 12, to our lives. I managed to get an A in that 13 and learned life lessons that have served me well beyond the 14.

    Ten years after my chess class with Ashley, I'm still putting to use what he 15 me: "The absolute most important 16 that you learn when you play chess is how to make good 17.On every single move you have to 18 a situation, process what your opponent(对手) is doing and 19 the best move from among all your options."These words still ring true today in my 20 as a journalist.

    Two weeks earlier, my son, Ben, had got in touch. He'd moved to England with his mum when he was three and it had been 13 years since I'd 1 seen him. So imagine my 2 when he emailed me saying he wanted to come to visit me.

    I was 3 ! I arrived early at Byron Bay where we were supposed to 4 . The bay was5 in sunshine, and there was a group of kayakers around 150m off the shore. Getting a little 6 .I realized one kayak（皮划艇）was in 7 . "Something's not 8 !" I took off my T-shirt and 9 into the water. I saw there were two instructors on board and a man lying across the middle. He was 10 violently. Linking arms with one of the instructors. I helped 11 the young man out of the water. He was unconscious and as I looked at his face, something 12 to me. Those brown eyes were very 13 . "What's his name?" I asked the instructor. "Ben," he replied, and immediately I 14 . That stranger was my son!

    The instructors called for an ambulance. 15, after a brief stay in hospital. Ben was well enough to be allowed to 16 and later the family met up for dinner. We chatted about everything and then Ben 17 to me. "I'm just want to say thank you," he said, "You 18 my life!"

    I still can't believe what a 19 it was. I'm just so glad I was there 20 to help my son.

    When most of us get a text message on our cell phone from an unknown person, we usually say "sorry, 1 number!" and move on. But when Dennis Williams 2 a text that clearly wasn't intended for him, he did something 3.

    On March 19, Dennis got a group text 4 him that a couple he didn't know were at the hospital, waiting for the 5 of a baby.

    "Congratulations! But I think someone was mistaken," Dennis 6. The baby was born and update texts were 7 quickly from the overjoyed grandmother, Teresa. In her 8, she didn't seem to realize that she was 9 the baby's photos with a complete stranger. "Well, I don't 10 you all but I will get there to take pictures with the baby," replied Dennis before asking which room the new 11 were in.

    Much to the family's surprise, Dennis stuck to his 12! He turned up at the hospital 13 gifts for the new mother Lindsey and her baby boy. Lindsey's husband was totally 14 by the unexpected visit. "I don't think we would have randomly invited him over but we 15 it and the gifts."

    Teresa 16 a photo of the chance meeting on a social networking website 17 by the touching words: "What a 18 this young man was to our family! He was so 19 and kind to do this." The post has since gained the 20 of social media users all over the world, receiving more than 184,000 shares and 61,500 likes in just three days.

The Homeless Hero

    For many, finding an unattended wallet filled with £400 in cash would be a source（来源）of temptation（诱惑）. But the 1 would no doubt be greater if you were living on the streets with little food and money. All of this makes the actions of the homeless Tom Smith 2 more remarkable.

    After spotting a 3 on the front seat inside a parked car with its window down, he stood guard in the rain for about two hours waiting for the 4 to return.

    After hours in the cold and wet, he 5  inside and pulled the wallet out hoping to find some ID so he could contact（联系）the driver, only to 6 it contained £400 in notes, with another £50 in spare change beside it.

    He then took the wallet to a nearby police station after 7 a note behind to let the owner know it was safe. When the car's owner John Anderson and his colleague Carol Lawrence returned to the car—which was itself worth £35, 000—in Glasgow city centre, they were 8 to find two policemen standing next to it. The policemen told them what Mr. Smith did and that the wallet was 9.

    The pair were later able to thank Mr. Smith for his 10.

    Mr. Anderson said：＂I couldn't believe that the guy never took a penny. To think he is sleeping on the streets tonight 11 he could have stolen the money and paid for a place to stay in. This guy has nothing and 12 he didn't take the wallet for himself；he thought about others 13. It's unbelievable. It just proves there are 14 guys out there.＂

    Mr. Smith's act 15 much of the public's attention. He also won praise from social media users after Mr. Anderson 16 about the act of kindness on Facebook.

    Now Mr. Anderson has set up an online campaign to 17 money for Mr. Smith and other homeless people in the area, which by yesterday had received ￡8,000. ＂I think the faith that everyone has shown 18 him has touched him. People have been approaching him in the street; he's had job 19 and all sorts,＂ Mr. Anderson commented.

    For Mr. Smith, this is a possible life-changing 20. The story once again tells us that one good turn deserves another.

    No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own 1.

    I learned this lesson from a(n)  2 many years ago. I took the head 3job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

    It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the 4 team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn't even practice to 5the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment we were defeated. I couldn't 6 I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to 7 that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were 8me. I had to change my 9about their ability and potential.

    I started doing anything I could to help them build a little  10 .Most important, I began to treat them like 11 .That summer, When the other teams enjoyed their 12 ,we met every day and 13passing and kicking the football.

    Six months after suffering our 14on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to15.Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a 16for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest17my life！

    From the experience I learnt a lot about how the attitude of the leader can 18 the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and19them. I helped them to see themselves 20 ,and they built themselves into winners.

    Winners are made, but born.

    We have all heard how time is more valuable than money, but is it 1 to have too much time?

    I2back in high school I spent most of my day at school since I also 3a team sport. By the time I got home, I only had a few hours to do my homework, and I had to do it4.

    When I got into college, things5.I suddenly found myself out of class before noon time. Because of all this 6time, there was no sense of 7 to do my school work immediately. I was performing this action of waiting until it later became8.Once that happened, I just kept9my studying further and further back in my day. Then I got to the point where I was10really late at night to get my work done.

    One day I 11a former classmate of mine who was  12 a lot of money running a sideline(副业).Since his regular job was 13,I asked him why he just didn't do his sideline full-time. He said without the job, he would 14 have too much time and would just do what I did back in15.He said that if he 16the job, he would lose his 17 to work and succeed.

    So, try  18your time with other work. This is why there is a 19 that if you want something done, ask a 20person to do it.

    Raynor Winn and her husband Moth became homeless due to their wrong investment. Their savings had been 1 to pay lawyers' fees. To make matters worse, Moth was diagnosed（诊断）with a 2 disease. There was no 3, only pain relief.

    Failing to find any other way out, they decided to make a 4 journey, as they caught sight of an old hikers'（徒步旅行者）guide.

    This was a long journey of unaccustomed hardship and 5 recovery. When leaving home, Raynor and Moth had just ￡320 in the bank. They planned to keep the 6 low by living on boiled noodles, with the7hamburger shop treat.

    Wild camping is 8 in England. To avoid being caught, the Winns had to get their tent up 9and packed it away early in the morning. The Winns soon discovered that daily hiking in their 50s is a lot 10 than they remember it was in their 20s. Raynor 11 all over and desired a bath. Moth, meanwhile, after an initial 12, found his symptoms were strangely 13 by their daily tiring journey.

    14, the couple found that their bodies turned for the better, with re-found strong muscles that they thought had 15 forever. "Our hair was fried and falling out, nails broken, clothes 16 to a thread, but we were alive."

    During the journey, Raynor began a career as a nature writer. She writes, "17 had taken every material thing from me and left me torn bare, an empty page at the end of a(n) 18 written book. It had also given me a 19, either to leave that page 20 or to keep writing the story with hope. I chose hope."