【正文】 talking. Whether it was hurting someone’s feelings, or having carelessly told a secret, the incident could have been avoided had I closed my mouth sooner. So I decided to practice the power of quiet. To take this step, I needed to understand how people could sit fortably in a group and not talk. Why does my husband feel pletely content to say nothing in a conversation? He’s highly intelligent and has wonderful opinions but he’ll sit quietly and just listen. Even when he’s asked a pointed question, he’ll answer with few words while still municating effectively. What a talent! Can you imagine being happy just listening? In surveying those I know who talk less than I do, I got two answers—they either didn’t feel confident enough to speak up, or they just didn’t feel the need to participate in the conversation. Of course there were other reasons for not talking, but these were the two most popular answers. The first one didn’t work for me. I’ m just fine letting people know what I think about them, and hopefully it will make the conversation much more interesting. The second one didn’t work either. I do feel the need to participate. I feel it physically like an electrical pulse through my body。s the most important thing in life? People39。s College London. He leaves the world a much better place. Edwards started his experiments as early as the 1950s, when he had just finished his PhD in geics. At that time, much of the public viewed testtube babies as scary, according to Mark Sauer, a professor at Columbia University, US. Edwards and his colleague Patrick Steptoe faced opposition from churches, governments and media, not to mention attacks from many of their fellow scientists. People said that we should not play God and we should not interfere with nature, Edwards once told Times. He said that he felt quite alone at the time. But Edwards was a fighter, and he believed in what he was doing, said Sauer. Without support from the government, the two struggled to raise funds to carry on. And in 1968 they finally developed a method to successfully fertilize human eggs outside the body.[來源 :Zx x k .Co m] The first testtube baby was born on July 25, 1978. Her name was Is Louise Brown. Despite people39。 clinic. Nowadays, Reuter’s reports, some million other testtube children exist. Edwards received a Nobel Prize in 2020 and was knighted (封為爵士 ) by Queen Elizabeth the following year. Before his death, Edwards was still in touch with Louise. He is like a granddad to me, she said in an interview with the Daily Mail. He is a granddad to millions, in fact. 28. What’s the article mainly about? A. The first testtube baby. B. A new era in medicine. C. The inventor of IVF technology. D. The changes IVF technology has brought. 29. The writer quoted Peter Braude to _________. A. show how difficult it was for Edwards to do his work B. describe what kind of person Edwards was C. explain why he is loved by all children D. ment on his achievement 30. The underlined word opposition in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to _________. A. attack B. support C. test D. influence 31. What is the correct order of events in Edwards39。選項中有兩項為多余選項。 My husband and I were enjoying wandering through the stores in a shopping center. We went into a shop that sold 41 items in hopes of finding a few lastminute 42 gifts. The pleasant smell of handmade soaps teased our 43 as we walked through the door. As I walked through the store, I 44 a wooden plaque(匾牌 ) hanging on a wall. I turned to take a 45 look and remembered nodding my head “yes” at the message printed on the plaque. Moving on, I enjoyed looking at other items some salesmen in Santa Clauses in the store carried, 46 found myself being drawn back to the plaque. Standing in front of the plaque, I felt a little like a child who, when 47 the sandbox, finds some 48 treasure: a shiny coin or a lost toy. Here among the other handmade items, I foun d a very 49 , yet hearttouching treasure hidden in a message. A message I needed. “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,” the plaque said, “It’s about learning to 50 in the rain.” How often in our daily lives have we put 51 on our happiness? When we get the house 52 , then we can be happy. When things 53 down with the kids, then we’ll be able to do more together. There is so 54 joy at present when we are uncertain about when we will make it. Looking at the plaque, I found myself unknowingly living the plaque’s message. I 55 off my shoes and stockings in a light 56 and began walking 57 through the water. Maybe my neighbors thought that I had lost my 58 wisdom, but I don’t care. For in that moment, I was alive. I wasn’t worried about bills, the future or any other daytoday cares. The plaque now hangs in my living room. I walk past many times each day and frequently pause to ask myself “So, am I dancing in the rain?” I think I am, I know I try to. I’m 59 taking time to pause and recognize and be grateful for the blessings that are all around me. One step 60 , I am learning to dance in the rain. 41 . A. secondhanded B. exchanged C. handmade D. wholesale 42. A. birthday B. Christmas C. lover D. children 43. A. noses B. eyes C. minds D. mouths 44. A. chose B. noticed C. recognized D. touched 45. A. greed y B. soulful C. quick D. second 46. A. but B. and C. so D. or 47. A. looking through B. referring to C. digging through D. adjusting to 48. A. unfortunate B. unbelievable C. unexpected D. unusual 49. A. late B. secret C. new D. simple 50. A