the court．But by the middle of the season，I had found myself (21)it．I didn't like the girls，the coaches，or the competitiveness of the game．I usually(22)to be sick so I could skip practice．

Finally my mom (23)this and told me that if I hated it so much，I should(24)．was she serious？I couldn't quit! My sister never gave up anything，and neither would I．(25)，when I finished the season hating each and every moment，I knew I couldn't (26)to play it anymore．

I turned to my sister，telling her that the (27)of stopping playing basketball seemed weird（奇怪的）(28)it was the only thing I could do．I told her I was(29)of my future，not knowing how to handle the rest of my life and that I needed her (30)．

To my 13-year-old self，this seemed like a big problem，but to my 17-year-old sister，the solution was(31)：take a risk．She asked me to do whatever interested me．So I did．Grade Eight I(32)basketball tryouts，and auditioned（试演）for the (33)of the queen in the school play and that brought me lots of fun．

14 A. goal B. support C. attempt D. decision

15 A. trained B. hit C. moved D. pulled

16 A. rolled down B. pushed against C. pointed at D. held back

17. A. cheered B. cried C. nodded D. joked

18 A. belief B. fun C. respect D. promise

19 A. basketball B. football C. volleyball D. baseball

20 A. equal B. talented C. single D. similar

21 A. ignoring B. improving C. hating D. grasping

22 A. regretted B. forgot C. feared D. pretended

23 A. expected B. admitted C. created D. realized

24 A. search B. prepare C. quit D. wait

25 A. Besides B. However C. Therefore D. Otherwise

26 A. continue B. remember C. refuse D. fail

27 A. memory B. idea C. chance D. record

28 A. if B. until C. though D. since

29 A. proud B. jealous C. confident D. afraid

30 A. donation B. advice C. argument D. impression

31A. extra B. safe C. terrible D. simple

32 A. required B. permitted C. skipped D. followed

33 A. stage B. part C. aim D. action

四、语法填空（本大题共10小题，共20.0分）

　　Studying in a British high school， of course， is a very (34) （enjoy） and exciting experience． Compared with the high school life in China， there (35) （be） quite a few differences between them． For example， the size of classes in British schools is much (36) （small） and the homework is not as heavy (37) what Chinese students get， but it is (38) big challenge for me at first， because all the homework was in English． (39) （Luck）， all my teachers gave me much encouragement． In Britain， students can choose subjects they like， and can also stop (40) （study） some subjects they don't like． Besides， food is different， too． British people like eating dessert at the end of their main meal． I was very lucky (41) （experience） this different way of life． I look back (42) my time in the UK with (43) （satisfy）， and I hope to go back and study in Manchester again．