I was always timid（羞怯的）.Being new to the school made me even （1）　 　，so it was surprising I'd （2）　 　to anyone around me.Now I was paying the price﹣to write a five﹣page essay on"Why I Should Not Talk in Class".That would take all night!

After I got home，though.I took my time petting the cat﹣postponing the pain.

When I finally sat down to （3）　 　，I began with the reasons Ms Black would want to hear.Talking kept me and my neighbours from （4）　 　.One paragraph down；now what？I chewed on my pencil.Aha!What if talking were the first step towards life as a criminal？Without the education I was throwing away，I'd turn to theft and go to prison.When I got out，people would say，"She used to talk in class."The pages began （5）　 　.

But when mum got home from work，I was still （6）　 　，"Five pages!That's impossible!"

"Well，you'd better get back to work，" she said."and I want to read it when you're through."

Soon after dinner，I handed the essay to mum.I half expected a（7）　 　﹣at least an"I hope you've learned your lesson". （8）　 　，mum laughed and laughed as she read.

The next day，when Ms Black read the essay to the class，everyone laughed.I could （9）　 　they weren't making fun of me：they laughed because I had the power to tell a funny story.My（10）　 　 still needed some nudging（激发），but I did learn I wasn't shy in print.

（1）

A．

freer

B．

shyer

C．

calmer

D．

happier

（2）

A．

nod

B．

point

C．

listen

D．

chat

（3）

A．

weep

B．

rest

C．

write

D．

read

（4）

A．

learning

B．

playing

C．

planning

D．

laughing

（5）

A．

standing out

B．

flying by

C．

breaking up

D．

checking in

（6）

A．

celebrating

B．

longing

C．

complaining

D．

warning

（7）

A．

lecture

B．

reason

C．

reward

D．

solution

（8）

A．

Therefore

B．

Moreover

C．

Meanwhile

D．

Instead

（9）

A．

hope

B．

imagine

C．

tell

D．

predict

（10）

A．

patience

B．

confidence

C．

tolerance

D．

independence