Over the years, thanks to my life’s obstacles(障碍), I understood the meaning of faith and t

Over the years, thanks to my life’s obstacles(障碍), I understood the meaning of faith and the strong will to survive. It was Hurricane Ike that made me fully     the beauty of our strength and a human’s motivation to     .
Mom had a two-week      in summer. While we enjoyed our holiday in Southeast Texas, we didn’t realize the fact that Ike      cause months and likely years of “labor”. By September 7th, the “eyes of Texas” were watching Hurricane Ike more     , making the typical mad rush for last-minute hurricane     . Two days later, both oil and ice were in      demand.
In the early hours of September 11th, some neighbors were planning to     the storm in their homes,      others were making final preparations to get away. At first, we decided to stay. But that afternoon, the Houston-Galveston area would be on the more      side of the storm. Mom and I packed some of our most      belongings in the car and      the East Texas town of Lufkin.
As Ike pushed farther inland, we     power in Lufkin. On Sunday, our next-door neighbor told us via cell phone that our      had remained well. Our hopes could not have been     . But a few hours later, the neighbors reported that our brick chimney had     , and it was sitting on our living room,      a hole in the roof between two skylights (天窗).
We wouldn’t be allowed to return home      September 17th. I climbed upstairs, and looked toward the hole in the roof which showed a beautiful blue sky.
Without hesitation, I shouted, “Wow! A third skylight!”
My neighbors could not believe I was making jokes      crying, but      is always good medicine. It was with that joke that I knew, given time, everything would be okay.
【小题1】A．observeB．appreciateC．exploreD．improve【小题2】A．workB．apologizeC．recoverD．change【小题3】A．vacationB．journeyC．meetingD．schedule【小题4】A．mustB．mightC．should D．would【小题5】A．closelyB．constantlyC．warninglyD．differently【小题6】A．adventureB．equipmentC．suppliesD．reports【小题7】A．basicB．high C．pureD．neat【小题8】A．get throughB．put awayC．test outD．suffer from【小题9】A．sinceB．whenC．untilD．while【小题10】A．dangerousB．abundantC．peacefulD．awesome【小题11】A．availableB．concreteC．prized D．potential【小题12】A．set outB．headed forC．settled downD．watched out【小题13】A．providedB．reducedC．producedD．lost【小题14】A．gardenB．houseC．poolD．yard【小题15】A．clearerB．wilderC．lowerD．higher【小题16】A．passedB．stoodC．goneD．followed【小题17】A．leavingB．diggingC．fillingD．kicking【小题18】A．by B．before C．untilD．after【小题19】A．in spite ofB．instead ofC．apart fromD．in terms of【小题20】A．faithB．willC．strengthD．laughterB