阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑.
“Down-to-earth” means someone or something that is honest, practical and easy to deal with. It is   36  to find someone who is down-to-earth. A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to and   37  other people as equals. A down-to-earth person is just the   38  of someone who acts important and proud.
Down-to-earth persons   39  be important members of society, of course.   40  they do not let their importance “go to their heads”. They do not   41  themselves to be better persons than others of less importance. Someone who is filled with his own importance and pride, often without cause, is   42  to have “his nose in the air”. There is   43  way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth.
Americans   44  another expression that means almost the same as “down-to-earth”. The expression is “both-feet-on-the-ground”. Someone with both-feet-on-the-ground is a person with a good   45  of reality. He  46  what is called “common sense”. He may have   47 , but he does not allow them to   48  his knowledge of what is real.
The opposite kind of   49  is one who has his “head-in-the-clouds”. A man with his-head-in-the-clouds is a dreamer whose   50  is not in the real world.
  51 , such a dreamer can be brought back to earth.   52  words from a teacher can usually bring a day-dreaming student down-to-earth..
Usually, the person who is down-to-earth is very   53  to have both feet on-the –ground.   54  we have both our feet on-the –ground, when we are down-to-earth, we act honestly and openly   55  others. Our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong.
36. A.pleasant       B.sad           C.common          D.surprising
37. A.meets          B.welcomes     C.receives        D.accepts
38. A.case           B.kind         C.opposite        D.example
39. A.must           B.may          C.should          D.will
40. A.But            B.So           C.For             D.And
41. A.wish           B.expect       C.desire          D.consider
42. A.said           B.told         C.asked           D.made
43. A.some           B.a            C.no              D.every
44. A.discover       B.find         C.make            D.use
45.A.understanding  B.wish         C.reason          D.expectation
46. A.demands        B.lacks        C.has             D.likes
47. A.fortunes       B.dreams       C.achievements    D.disadvantages
48. A.block          B.protect      C.own             D.gain
49. A.idea           B.people       C.attitude        D.person
50. A.mind           B.life         C.body            D.head
51. A.Always         B.Therefore    C.However         D.Sometimes
52. A.Sharp          B.All          C.No              D.Bad
53. A.possible       B.probable     C.likely          D.able
54. A.Though         B.Since        C.When            D.Unless
55.A.toward          B.for          C.over            D.onto

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.

    The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.

    It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment(公寓房间) in New York City.

    Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series (系列) of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

    People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

   A. want to be as rich as their neighbours

   B. want others to know or to think that they are rich

   C. don’t want others to know they are rich

   D. want to be happy

2.It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.   A. live outside New York City         B. live in New York City

   C. live in apartments                 D. have many neighbours

3. The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.

   A. a person who lives near another      B. people living in an area

   C. an area near the place referred to     D. an area in another town or city

4.According to the writer, it is ________to keep up with the Joneses.

   A. correct       B. interesting         C. impossible       D. good

 

One day I was shopping in a small town in southern California. It was my   21  to be approached by a clerk whose personality clashed(冲突) with mine. He seemed most   22  and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought  23  , and marched angrily out of the store. My   24  toward that clerk and the entire establishment increased with each step.

On the outside, standing by the parking lot, was a dark-skinned young man in his early twenties. His   25  brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, broad smile   26  his face. My attention was immediately arrested. The   27  power of that smile removed all   28  within me, and I found the muscles in my own face   29 responding. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" I remarked, in passing. Then, obeying an impulse(冲动), I   30  . "I really owe you a debt of gratitude," I said softly.

His smile deepened,   31  he made no attempt to answer. A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby. The woman   32  and eyed me inquiringly. "Carlos, he does no speak English," she   33  . "You want I should tell him something?"

In that moment I felt   34  . Carlo’s smile had made a big person of me. My friendliness and good   35  toward all mankind stood ten feet tall.

"Yes," my reply was enthusiastic and sincere, "Tell him what I said, 'Thank you!'"

    "Thank you?" The woman seemed slightly   36  .

I gave her arm a friendly pat   37  I turned to leave. "Just tell him that," I insisted. "He'll understand. I am sure!"

Oh, what a smile can   38  ! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning.   39  , I became smile-conscious, and I practice the   40  diligently, anywhere and everywhere, with everybody.

21. A. misfortune B. luck C. opportunity        D. burden

22. A. helpful B. hardworking C. uncertain D. unfriendly

23. A. something B. nothing C. everything D. anything  

24. A. attitude B. walk C. approach          D. anger

25. A. blank B. painful C. expressive         D. critical

26. A. covered B. twisted C. spread D. wiped

27. A. magic B. shocking C. evil D. dragging

28. A. happiness B. excitement C. bitterness D. sorrow

29. A. unwillingly B. happily C. merely D. slightly

30. A. turned back B. looked ahead C. cut in D. went away

31. A. and B. for C. but D. so

32. A. showed off B. stepped forward C. marched on D. passed by

33. A. hesitated B. volunteered C. responded D. begged

34. A. ignored B. involved C. transformed D. absorbed

35. A. power B. mind C. fortune D. will

36. A. frightened B. frustrated C. discouraged D. confused 

37. A. while B. as C. since D. after

38. A. operate B. run C. do D. attract

39. A. From that day on B. Since then C. Every now and then D. Up till now

40. A. kindness B. art C. work            D. expression

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