完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was  36  and when I was 14 he said, “You’re never going to be   37   but a failure.”
After five years of   38  jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl. It was the best   39   that could have happened to me. I   40   I wanted to do something positive (积极地) with my life because I wanted to prove to   41   that what people said about me was   42 . Especially her mother, who had said to me, “Let’s   43   it, you’ve failed at everything you’ve ever done.”  So I tried hard with my  44   and went to college. My first novel (小说)  45   while I was at college.
After college I taught during the   46   in high schools and attended evening classes at London University, where I got a    47   in history. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of  48   that job to write full time   49   I was offered a part-time job at Leeds University. I began to feel proud of myself —  50   was a working--class boy who’d   51   school early, now teaching at the university.
My writing career (职业) took off when I discovered my own style. Now I’m rich and   52 , have been on TV, and met lots of film stars.   53   what does it mean? I   54   wish all the people that have put me down had  55  : “I believe in you. You’ll succeed.”
36. A. bright                       B. useless                             C. simple                             D. hopeful
37. A. anything                  B. something                      C. everything                    D. nothing
38. A. low                           B. poor                                 C. good                               D. useful
39 A. support                             B. happiness                       C. surprise                         D. thing
40. A. admitted                 B. decided                       C. planned                         D. told
41. A. me                           B. them                                C. her                                   D. it
42. A. wrong                   B. right                               C. stupid                         D. faulty
43. A. see            B. know                     C. understand                D. face
44. A. experiment     B. practice                   C. writing                     D. composition
45. A. came on        B. came in                   C. came out                   D. came back
46. A. day            B. night                      C. month                    D. year
47. A. graduation      B. pass                     C. degree                   D. success
48. A. giving in         B. giving back                    C. giving out                  D. giving up
49. A. while          B. if                                 C. when                      D. or
50. A. there          B. here                                C. it                         D. that
51. A. left            B. attended                 C. changed                  D. graduated
52. A. tired           B. calm                      C. nervous .                  D. famous
53. A. And            B. But                      C. However                  D. Well
54. A. just            B. exactly                  C. so                        D. very
55. A. praised          B. said                      C. answered                  D. advised