第二节完形填空(共20小题；每题1.5分，满分30分)

What a blessing to be alive in a wonderful world of unlimited possibilities．After contracting Hodgkin's disease at seven and being given six months to live，I recovered．I’m not dying of cancer．I’m   36  with it ．  37   what comes my way, I don’t have to be afraid any more．

In the second year of high school，the class was scheduled to run the  38  ．Due to the swelling and  39  from surgery on my leg，for two years I hadn't worn shorts and lived in  40 ．Yet that day，I was ready-shorts，heart and mind．When the coach yelled，“Ready．Set．Go!” I ran faster than anyone else for the first 20 feet， 41  to finish first．As we came around the first of four laps，there were students all over the  42 ．By the end of the second and third laps，many of the students had already  43 and were on the ground breathing deeply．By the time I hit the fourth lap，I was   44 ．Then it hit me．I realized nobody had given up．  45 ，everyone had already finished．I cried．12 minutes，42 seconds after starting，I   46  the finish line．I fell to the ground，  47  ．

Suddenly my coach ran up to me and  48 ，yelling，“You did it，Manuel ．You finished，son ．”He looked me   49   in the eyes，waving a piece of paper in his hand．It was my  50  for the day，which I had forgotten．He read it aloud to everyone．It simply said,“I，Manuel Diotte，will finish the mile run tomorrow，whatever  51  come．No  52 or frustration will stop me．  53  capable of finishing，and with God as my strength，I'll finish．” My heart   54  and tears went away．It was then    55  I realized winning is not always finishing first．Sometimes winning is just finishing．

36．A．enduring         B．studying       C．living         D．burdening

37．A．Regardless of     B．As of          C．In terms of    D．Let alone

38．A．game             B．competition    C．match          D．mile

39．A．wounds           B．scars          C．signs          D．treats

40．A．fear             B．surprise       C．anger          D．disappointment

41．A．hoped            B．determined     C．expected       D．longed

42．A．trip             B．school         C．ground         D．track

43．A．quit             B．gone           C．insisted       D．left

44．A．annoyed          B．confident      C．alone          D．lonely

45．A．Otherwise        B．Instead        C．Yet            D．Besides

46．A．ran              B．walked         C．passed         D．crossed

47．A．embarrassed      B．proud          C．amused         D．excited

48．A．sent me up       B．picked me up   C．took me up    D．set me up

49．A．up               B．over           C．straight       D．ahead

50．A．opinion          B．goal           C．belief         D．thought

51．A．can              B．may            C．should         D．must

52．A．hesitation        B．blame          C．pain           D．laughter

53．A．Other than        B．More than      C．Rather than    D．Less than

54．A．lifted            B．broke          C．sank           D．beat

55．A．before           B．when           C．that           D．Since