What I noticed first about my new parrot, Chico, was that he couldn’t fly. His wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the
1 just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I took Chico outside. I sat him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him
2 . At first he seemed
3 . He walked back and forth on the branch looking anxious or nervous. He didn’t even flap his wings in an attempt to fly. Somehow he knew he was
4 .
One day Chico got especially excited . He paced back and forth and made an incredible amount of
5 . Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started
6 flapping his wings for the first time ever － then he lifted off the
7 like a space shuttle! I was amazed and
8 . Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been
9 until the moment was ripe for escape!
Two days later Chico
10 . First I tried to trick him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his
11 and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him
12 every day the weather was nice if he did come back.
13 , he flew onto my shoulder.
From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him out early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The
14 lasted for two months before suddenly Chico became
15 . The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the neighborhood. Within a few days he died.
I was very sad. The
16 crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what
17 is there in being a bird if you can’t fly?
Chico made his first break for
18 on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a
19 when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don’t
20 , what will be the purpose of your life?
| 小题1: | | A．floor | B．earth | C．scene | D．road |
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| 小题2: | | A．smarter | B．healthier | C．happier | D．stronger |
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| 小题3: | | A．disappointed | B．determined | C．frightened | D．confused |
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| 小题4: | | A．incapable | B．disabled | C．wrong | D．stupid |
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| 小题5: | | A．noise | B．progress | C．energy | D．consideration |
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| 小题6: | | A．slowly | B．gently | C．madly | D．gracefully |
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| 小题7: | | A．ground | B．tree | C．cage | D．branch |
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| 小题8: | | A．moved | B．shocked | C．delighted | D．excited |
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| 小题9: | | A．struggling | B．pacing | C．flying | D．waiting |
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| 小题10: | | A．left | B．returned | C．survived | D．recovered |
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| 小题11: | | A．cage | B．feather | C．chain | D．food |
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| 小题13: | | A．As usually | B．At that moment | | C．Once in a while | D．At the same time |
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| 小题14: | | A．action | B．attempt | C．routine | D．effort |
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| 小题15: | | A．active | B．injured | C．sad | D．ill |
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| 小题16: | | A．fact | B．concern | C．thought | D．detail |
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| 小题17: | | A．sense | B．mistake | C．interest | D．problem |
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| 小题18: | | A．life | B．freedom | C．fun | D．food |
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| 小题19: | | A．break | B．holiday | C．chance | D．look |
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| 小题20: | | A．keep yourself busy | B．cheer yourself up | | C．let yourself down | D．set yourself free |
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