题目内容：

I Was Forced to Find My Gifts

I was a pretty typical 17-year-old with a strong interest in painting when something happened. One Sunday, I went to an old swimming hole and dove in. I     something under the water head-on and broke a couple of vertebrae（椎骨）of my neck.

For five months I stayed at the hospital, feeling like a     to my family. My self-image was instantly     . I was described with terms like “disabled” or “crippled.” I was angry and

     after I failed so many times at some     task---dropping something on the floor and trying to get it back up again.

Near the end of my stay in the hospital, my doctor almost forcibly tied a     to my hand. He had seen my paintings I’d done before and    me to paint. Fortunately, I found that I

  had this artistic ability left. It was like a big weight had been     . At least I could do something worthwhile again, and it became a     part of my recovery.

After I left the hospital, I stayed at home, feeling desperately     . It seemed like I was cut off from     . No one can get along     love and acceptance. So that fall, I started at the University of Texas, majoring in graphic design.

One day a man happened to see one of my paintings. He had a great     for it and asked if I ever did art shows. So I was given a(n)     . Much to my surprise, I found that people liked my paintings and would pay for them. That was about 11 years ago. Today, 1,500     have carried my work.

It was the art that provided the     for me to get up every morning and do something,

     sitting in front of the television. Society has such     expectations of the disabled person, so it’s very easy to get sucked into a dependency routine --- you know, the “give me” kind of attitude. And that’s what I take the most     in --- the fact that what I’m doing today is well received all over.

 

1.A. saw   B. hit   C. touched  D. picked

2.A. burden  B. failure   C. joke    D. patient

3.A. improved  B. created  C. changed  D. judged

4.A. helpless  B. careless  C. nervous  D. tired

5.A. difficult  B. special   C. simple   D. important

6.A. bandage  B. towel   C. rope   D. paintbrush

7.A. allowed  B. taught   C. ordered  D. encouraged

8.A. already  B. still   C. even   D. always

9.A. gained  B. carried   C. lifted   D. measured

10.A. vital   B. strange  C. boring   D. different

11.A. lonely  B. weak   C. frightened  D. guilty

12.A. success  B. classmates   C. society   D. treatment

13.A. in   B. for   C. behind   D. without

14.A. sympathy B. fondness    C. talent      D. responsibility

15.A. exhibition B. challenge  C. permission  D. message

16.A. hospitals  B. galleries  C. schools   D. families

17.A. imagination B. chance   C. motivation  D. curiosity

18.A. instead of B. apart from  C. due to   D. but for

19.A. high   B. low   C. enough  D. unrealistic

20.A. power  B. pride   C. comfort  D. advantage