第二节：完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并将答案写在答题卡上。

After their business trip, John and Mary returned, eager to see their lovely children. As they drove into their home town feeling glad to be back, they noticed 21  , and they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a  22  in flames. Mary said, “Oh, well, it isn’t our fire, let’s go home.”

But John 23  closer and screamed, “That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn’t be 24  work yet, maybe there is something we could do. ” It has nothing to do with us, Mary 25 .

But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror-stricken to see the whole house in 26  . A woman on the lawn was screaming, “The children! Get the children!” John 27  her by the shoulder saying, “Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are!” “In the 28 ,” cried the woman, “down the hall and to the left. ”

In spite of Mary’s disagreement John 29  for the basement which was full of smoke and 30  hot. He found the door and two children. 31 he left he could hear some more sobbing. He 32  the two badly frightened children into 33  arms and started back asking how many more children were down there. They told him 34  more and Mary grasped his arm and screamed, “John! Don’t go back! It’s 35  ! That house will fall down any second. ”

36  he ran into the smoke-filled hallway and at last he found both children. As he climbed up the 37 stairs, the thought went through his mind that there was something strangely 38 about the little bodies next to him, and at last when they came out into the  39  and fresh air, he found that he had just  40 his own children.

The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.

21．A．direction       B．mistake          C．smoke       D．danger

22．A．plant        B． home           C．store           D．kitchen

23．A．ran          B．walked              C．rode        D． drove

24．A．off         B．at                C． to                D．on

25．A．whispered   B． disagreed          C．nodded        D．required

26．A．flames     B．pieces             C．ruins          D．silence

27．A．pushed      B．greeted           C． seized          D．stopped

28．A．hall       B．department         C．house          D． basement

29．A．went      B． rushed            C．asked           D．reached

30．A．heavily     B．terribly            C．partly           D．slightly

31．A． As       B．If                 C．Since            D．Unless

32．A．comforted  B．protected          C．recognized       D． delivered

33．A．cheering   B．freezing           C．suffering           D． waiting

34．A．many            B．several           C．two                 D．three

35．A．foolish     B． dangerous            C．practical           D．painful

36．A．But        B．So               C．Instead            D．Therefore

37．A．wide       B．dirty             C．final               D． endless

38．A．particular    B．familiar         C．interesting          D．fortunate

39．A．car         B．crowd            C． sunlight           D．arms

40．A． found     B．     rescued       C．lost               D．Missed

Dear son,

The day that you see me old and I am already not in good health, have patience and try to understand me.

If I get dirty when eating, if I can not dress, have patience and remember the hours I   31   teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I   32  the same things thousand and one times, do not   33   me, listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story   34   you got to sleep. When I do not want to have a   35  , neither shame me nor scold me. Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I   36  , in order that you wanted to bathe. When you see my   37   little about new technologies, give me the necessary time and do not look at me with your mocking(嘲弄) smile. I taught you   38   to do so many things: to eat food, to dress well, to confront life…. When at some moment I lose the memory or the   39  of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you   40   to me.

If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well   41   I need to and when not. When my   42   legs do not allow me to walk, give me your   43  , the same way I did when you gave your first   44  . And when someday I say to you that I do not want to   45   any more ---- that I want to rest forever, do not get ___46__. Someday you will understand.

Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived. Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the   47   thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you. You must not feel sad, angry or impotent(无可奈何) for seeing me   48   you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when you   49   living. Help me to walk, help me to end my way with love and  50  . I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.

I love you, Son

Your father

1.                A．paid           B．spent           C．cost D．took

2.                A．praise          B．think           C．repeat   D．criticize

3.                A．interrupt       B．disturb         C．look D．avoid

4.                A．when          B．after           C．since D．until

5.                A．rest           B．word           C．shower   D．sleep

6.                A．discovered      B．invented        C．noticed   D．assumed

7.                A．knowing        B．fearing         C．enjoying  D．consulting

8.                A．what           B．when          C．how D．why

9.                A．news          B．attitude         C．material  D．thread

10.               A．talking         B．listening        C．responding D．appealing

11.               A．where         B．how           C．that  D．when

12.               A．tired           B．short          C．long  D．strong

13.               A．leg            B．ear            C．hand D．mind

14.               A．step           B．pace           C．laugh D．cry

15.               A．talk            B．live            C．write D．sleep

16.               A．careful         B．interested      C．calm  D．angry

17.               A．last            B．first           C．best  D．most

18.               A．near           B．behind         C．below D．against

19.               A．made          B．started         C．earned    D．found

20.               A．mercy         B．care           C．excuse    D．patience

Lightning flashed through the darkness over Sibson’s bedroom skylight（天窗）.Sibson was shaken by a clap of thunder ____21___ he knew what was happening. The storm had moved directly _____22____ his two-story wooden house. Then he heard the smoke alarm beeping.
Sibson rushed down the stairs barefoot to     23     ; he opened the door to the basement（地下室）, and flames      24     out. Sibson ran back upstairs to call 911 from his bedroom. “I felt      25      because the room had a separate outdoor stairway,” he explains.
But the phone didn’t work, and when he tried to go down the outdoor stairway, he was      26     by a wall of flames. Sibson realized he was trapped（困住）.
Sibson’s house was three kilometers      27     the main road and was so well hidden by trees that he knew calling for help would be     28     .
Up a hill nearby lived Sibson’s neighbor, Huggons. He was lying in bed when something like a smoke alarm      29     his ears. He jumped out of bed, took his     30     and flashlight, and headed down the hillside toward the    31    . That was when he saw the rolling heavy smoke.
Huggons dialed 911, and the operator warned him not to    32   the house. But Huggons said, “There is no way I am going to listen to Sibson    33    and die in that fire.”
“Anyone there?” Huggons called out. Then he heard “Help! I’m trapped!” coming from the second floor balcony（阳台）. He entered the house, but soon had to run back to catch his     34    .
After one more    35   inside the house, Huggons gave up and     36   around back.
The wind parted the smoke just     37    for him to catch sight of Sibson. But there was no way to get to him. He    38   the flashlight into the woods and noticed a ladder. He took it over to the balcony and     39    Sibson down just as the second floor of the house fell off.
Sibson is still     40    when he tells the story. “ I was alone that night,” he says. “Then I heard the most beautiful sound in my life. It was Huggons.”

About a year ago, I went to stay at a Detroit hotel. I didn’t want to  21  too much money with me, so I asked the desk clerk to put a hundred-dollar bill in the safe for me.
The next morning, 22 , the clerk said that he knew nothing about my money. I didn’t have any proof 23  I had given the man the money. There was clearly nothing left to do but go to the 24 lawyer.
The lawyer 25 me to return to the hotel with him and give another hundred dollar bill to the desk. So we did. An hour later, I went 26 to the desk and asked for my money.  27 I had the lawyer as an eyewitness to the 28 hundred dollar bill, the clerk could not say he  29  nothing about it.
Another hour later, I put the second part of the lawyer’s 30 into action. This time both the lawyer and I went to the hotel to 31 for the hundred-dollar bill once again, and  32  the clerk insisted that he had given  33  to me, I said it was not true. The lawyer said to him, “ I  34  this gentleman give you a hundred-dollar bill. If you don’t hand it 35  immediately, I will be forced to call the  36 ”. The clerk realized he had been 37 , so he gave me back the first hundred-dollar bill.
“ I don’t know  38  to thank you enough for  39  my money back.” I said to the lawyer. And what do you suppose he answered? He said, “ Oh, don’t  40  me. That will be one hundred dollars, please.”

More than a third of the babies born this year could receive a 100th birthday message from whoever happens to be on the throne in the second decade of the 22nd century, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It forecasts that 35% of the 826,000 people born in 2012 will live to become centenarians.

But a long life is not unalloyed good news. David Sinclair, head of policy and research at the International Longevity Centre UK, warned that for many the future may mean social isolation(隔离）as they live longer than friends and members of their families.

"It is of course good news that so many more people are living longer," he said, "but there is a big 'but¹. We will be older, but in worse health, and at high risk of living alone. The other problem is that we are very poor at forward planning. We deal with the problems that are under our noses, but even problems two or three years away seem quite distant enough to put off. When you're talking about forecasts for a time half a century away and more, I see no evidence that we are putting in place the measures to deal with it."

This year there will be 14,500 centenarians in the UK, a number which is expected to increase to 110,000 in 2035.

Women have higher life expectancies than men at every age: the likelihood of a girl born this year reaching her century is estimated to be 39%; for boys the figure is 32%.

The estimated number of female centenarians has risen from 500 in 1961 to more than 10,000 in 2010，a figure which is projected to reach 71,000 by 2035 and 276,000 by 2060.

Men are also living far longer, although their numbers are far fewer. There were an estimated 92 male centenarians in 1961 and just below 2,000 in 2010.

1.The underlined word centenarians probably means people who_____.

A. are born this year B. live longer than their friends

C. are in poor health D. are a hundred or more years old

2.From what David Sinclair said, we can learn_____.

A.he doesn't believe so many people are living longer

B. the older we are, the more likely we are to live alone and in poor health

C.the people who are good at forward planning are likely to live longer

D.too distant planning is not always necessary for most of us

3.Which of the following statement is true?

A.About 289，100 people born in 2012 will live to 100.

B.More men will reach their century than women in the future.

C.The number of the female centenarians was 1,000 in 1970s

D.More than 600 people reached their century in 1961.

4.What does this passage mainly talk about?

A.A long life is not always good news.

B.A long life also means social and physical isolation

C.In the future, more people will live to 100 in the UK.

D.It is good to live to 100.