广东省中山市华侨中学2014届高三上学期第二次模拟考试（英语）
I. 语言知识及应用（共两节，满分45分）
第一节 完形填空（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1-15各题所给的ABC和D项中，选出最佳选项，并填写在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage (按揭), credit cards and success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us 1 chasing the same thing.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart. I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $56. I 2 the countryside for some place I could rent for the 3 possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road over the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was 4 , full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and 5 a corner to camp in.
The locals knew nothing about me, but slowly, they started teaching me the 6 of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began sticking around to 7 . They started to teach me a belief in a 8 American Dream -- not the one of individual achievement but of 9 .
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were 10 for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place. Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my 11 with my neighbors.
Four years later, I moved back into 12 . I saw many people were having a really hard time, 13 their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to 14 a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house, but over time I’ve had nine people come in and move on to other places. We’d all be in 15 if we hadn’t banded together.
The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It’s not so much about what I can get for myself; it’s about how we can all get by together.
