I've always loved pigeons(鸽子). Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and start   16  them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoilt(破坏) our 17 a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I  18  carried on. I learnt so much about them that I could  19 a good racer anywhere and I bought some beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of   20 .
You see, people are prepared to pay big prices if they get to know that your pigeons are 21 big prizes.
My wife had been changing her  22  to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite   23  of all the prizes we’d won. Then there was the travelling, which she liked. You see some one has to take the pigeons a  24  way off and set them free. Some of the   25  were really nice. I never travelled. I used to like to wait at home and see them come in. They’ve got this wonderful sense of  26 , which can bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes   27  storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the great   28 . Then I'd watch them  29  round and come down onto the landing shelf. I'd look at my watch and think, “My goodness, that’s a good  30 . ”And I'd take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to  31  what time he’d arrived. Then my wife would  32 up and say, “Has he arrived yet?” Then we would work out if we’d won   33 .
Then last year we had a   34 ! All of them got some sort of flu and  35 . It was terrible. I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第36至第55小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

I’ve always loved pigeons （鸽子）. Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and started __36___ them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoiled our ____37___a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I ___38___ carried on. I learned so much about them that I could ___39____ a good racer anywhere and I bought beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of ___40_____.

You see, people are prepared to pay big prices if they get to know that your pigeons are ___41____ big prizes.

My wife had been changing her ___42____ to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite ___43____ of all prizes we’d won. Then there was a lot of travelling, which she liked. You see, someone has to take the pigeons a __44____ way off and release(释放) them. Some of the ___45___ were really nice. I never travelled. I used to like to wait at home and see them come in. They got the wonderful sense of __46____, which could bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes ___47___ storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the great ___48____. Then I’d watch them __49___ round and come down onto the landing shelf, I’d look at my watch and think, “ My goodness, that’s a good ____50__ .” And I’d take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to ___51___ what time he’d arrive. Then my wife would ___52___up and say, “Has he arrived yet?” Then we would work out if we’d win___53___.

However, last year we had a ___54____! One of them got some sort of flu and died; then they all ___55____. It was terrible; I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.

 36.  A. racing      B. understanding     C. selling       D. flying

 37.  A. dream      B. work            C. life          D. hobby

 38.  A. just        B. even            C. almost        D. hardly

 39.  A. notice      B. learn            C. imagine      D. recognize

 40.  A. living       B. fun             C. money       D. change

 41.  A. losing       B. winning         C. giving       D. making

 42.  A. subject      B. decision         C. relation      D. attitude

 43.  A. proud       B. fond             C. careful      D. sure

 44.  A. different     B. long            C. short         D. far

 45.  A. distances    B. activities         C. trips         D. movements

 46.  A. direction     B. sight            C. hearing       D. touch

 47.  A. over        B. across            C. with         D. through

 48.  A. heaven      B. mountains        C. cloud         D. sky

 49.  A. turn         B. dance           C. circle         D. whistle

 50.  A. beginning    B. time             C. day          D. look

 51.  A. write        B. record           C. count         D. memory

 52.  A. come        B. show            C. phone        D. cheer

 53.  A. again        B. finally           C. only          D. accidentally

 54.  A. disadvantage  B. chance           C. problem       D. disaster

 55.  A. flew down    B. came down        C. let out        D. gave out

 I've always loved pigeons(鸽子). Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and start   16  them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoilt(破坏) our 17 a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I  18  carried on. I learnt so much about them that I could  19 a good racer anywhere and I bought some beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of   20 .

You see, people are prepared to pay big prices if they get to know that your pigeons are 21 big prizes.

My wife had been changing her  22  to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite   23  of all the prizes we’d won. Then there was the travelling, which she liked. You see some one has to take the pigeons a  24  way off and set them free. Some of the   25  were really nice. I never travelled. I used to like to wait at home and see them come in. They’ve got this wonderful sense of  26 , which can bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes   27  storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the great   28 . Then I'd watch them  29  round and come down onto the landing shelf. I'd look at my watch and think, “My goodness, that’s a good  30 . ”And I'd take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to  31  what time he’d arrived. Then my wife would  32 up and say, “Has he arrived yet?” Then we would work out if we’d won   33 .

Then last year we had a   34 ! All of them got some sort of flu and  35 . It was terrible. I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.

20..

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. One family between us and the ticket counter made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The children were standing in line, two-by- two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns（小丑）, elephants and other acts they would see that night.

The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."

The ticket lady told him the price. The wife's head dropped, and the man leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?"

The ticket lady again told him the price.

The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."

The man knew what was going on. He wasn't begging for money but certainly appreciated the help in a difficult, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, and he replied, "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn't go to the circus that night, but we didn't go without.

56.   The underlined word “jabbering”( in Para 1) can be best replaced by “        ” .

A. imagining     B. talking     C. expecting     D. asking

57.   When the ticket lady told the price, the wife        .

A. hardly hear    B. hardly understand    C. was disappointed    D. was relaxed

58.   Which of the following words can be best used to describe the writer’s father?

A. Honest.        B. Kind.        C. Wise.        D. Faithful.

59.   We can infer from the last paragraph that?

A. The author and his father returned home with regret.

B. The author and his father were unhappy about missing the circus.

C. The author and his father were very happy with helping a man in a circus.

D. The author and his father returned home with another kind of joy and comfort.

第二节 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项， 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Once, my father and I were standing in the line to buy tickets for the circus.   36  , there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.

This family made a big impression on me.  There were eight children, all probably under 12. Their clothes were not   37  , but they were clean. The children were   38  , all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents,   39   hands. They were excitedly jabbering (喋喋不休地说) about what they would see.

One could   40  they had never been to the circus before. It   41   to be a highlight of their young lives.

The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He   42   responded, “Please let me buy   43   children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.” The ticket lady   44   the price. The mother’s head   45  , and her lip began to quiver (抖动). The father leaned a little   46   and asked, “How much?”

The ticket lady quoted the price   47  . The man didn’t have enough money, Seeing what happened, my dad put his hand in his pocket,   48   a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not rich in any sense of the word!) Then he reached down,   49   the bill and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your   50  .”

The man knew what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout   51   certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking   52  . He looked into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s   53   in both of his, and with a tear running down his   54  , he replied, “Thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

My father and I went back to our car and   55   home. We didn’t go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without.

36. A. Immediately B. Finally       C. Hopefully D. Suddenly

37. A. expensive  B. cheap  C. plain   D. bad

38. A. badly-behaved     B. polite  C. well-behaved    D. lovely

39. A. holding       B. shaking      C. putting      D. waving

40. A. know    B. understand  C. feel    D. sense

41. A. advised B. recommended    C. promised         D. allowed

42. A. lowly         B. honestly    C. bravely      D. proudly

43. A. six      B. eight C. ten     D. two

44. A. answered    B. quoted       C. spoke       D. said

45. A. dropped       B. bent   C. shook       D. nodded

46. A. nearer B. harder C. tighter       D. closer

47. A. too      B. again C. as usual      D. as well

48. A. turned out   B. handed out        C. pulled out D. put out

49. A. picked up    B. took up     C. sent up      D. made up

50. A. trousers       B. clothes       C. children     D. pocket

51. A. and      B. but     C. or     D. so

52. A. situation      B. condition   C. surrounding       D. position

53. A. hand  B. arm  C. leg     D. shoulder

54. A. head     B. mouth       C. cheek       D. nose

55. A. went     B. got    C. drove       D. walked