第二节：完形填空 (共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)

请认真阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

A year ago I paid no attention to English idioms,  36_my teacher said again and again that it was important．

    One day, I happened to  37  an Englishman, on the road, and soon we began to  38  ． As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner shook his head, saying, “You don’t say! You don’t say!”  I was  39  , I thought, perhaps this is not a  40  topic. Well, I’d  41  change the topic． So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall?  42 _ the way, have you ever   43  there?”

    “Certainly, everyone back home will  44   me if I leave China without seeing  45 . It was great．” I said, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world． It is a place of   46  ．” Soon I was interrupted again by his words, “  47  !” I couldn’t  48  asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t ask you to do  49  ”, he answered, gently surprised．

    I said, “Didn’t you say ‘You don’t say’?”

    Hearing this, theEnglishman  50   to tears. He began to  51 , “‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘really?’. It is an  52  of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention  53  English idioms．”

    Then I knew I had made fool of   54  ． Since then I have been more  55  with idioms．

36．A．though         B．when                 C．if                  D． as

37．A．look            B．meet                 C．pick up              D． find out

38．A．walk           B．talk                   C．play                 D． go

39．A．pleased         B．angry            C．afraid               D． surprised

40．A．proper         B．strange               C．safe                 D． polite

41．A．to             B．better                     C．not                 D． like

42．A．On             B．In                    C．All                   D． By

43．A．gone           B．visited                C．seen             D． been

44．A．look at         B．think of             C．send for             D． laugh at

45．A．It              B．them            C．anything            D． something

46．A．fun            B．interest            C．business               D． mountain

47．A．Really           B．Good                 C．You don’ t say     D． You are right

48．A．be             B．help                  C．think            D． do

49．A．this            B．so                   C．anything            D． me a favor

50．A．laughed        B．cried                 C．moved               D． came

51．A．explain         B．shout                 C．prove               D． say

52．A．experience    B．expression           C．explanation             D． example

53．A．for          B．to               C．at                    D． in

54．A．me          B．myself                C．him                   D． somebody

55．A．helpful         B．popular           C．careful               D． satisfied

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

You may admire both the romantic love story and the mysterious city of Rome in the movie Roman Holiday. If you are planning to visit Rome, here are some cultural dos and don’ts you should know.

Coffee Etiquette: Italian breakfast consists of pastry and a cup of Cappuccino or shot of espresso. Cappuccino is generally a morning drink and is not drunk after noon by real Italians. A post-dinner espresso, however, is a common practice.

Dinner Rules: Guests are expected to arrive for dinner reservations at least fifteen minutes late. In many restaurants, printed menus are for tourists. Regular patrons know to ask for the daily specials, which typically feature the freshest ingredients. Bread, is rarely together with butter or olive oil.

Drink the Water: Rome has plenty of public water fountains, and real Romans and their dogs always drink directly from them. Many people also refill their water bottle from these fountains.

Mind the Traffic: Unless there's a traffic light, or you are in a crosswalk, don't expect cars  to stop for you. Though crosswalks go first, in a car – crazy city, still you’d better keep cautious and walk cautiously.

Money: Always have some euros with you. Most major hotels, restaurants, and shops take credit cards, but many smaller operations either will either be unwilling to accept them for smaller purchases or do not accept credit cards at all. ATMs are available around the city and at the airports.

About Soccer: Most Italian men are passionate about their soccer. Arm yourself with some knowledge of Italy's soccer scene, and you will find ready conversation partners almost everywhere.

The Romans: The people here love to share their thoughts, opinions and emotions. They are creative, passionate, playful, occasionally rude or vain but always entertaining, and almost always good – humored.

It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire.

He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness.

Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat. 

“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence.

Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”

Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.”

“I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”

Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”

“Isn’t that work?”

Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.”

“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”

“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.”

“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom.

Ben stopped munching his apple.

Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.”

“Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.”

“No, Ben, I’m afraid—”

“I’ll give you all the apple!”

Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys.

Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village.

Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

1.By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.

2.The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________

4.We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her free time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.

As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip (退稿条) from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and ruined hopes can surface.

A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?”

“No”, she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

67. What do we learn form the first paragraph?

A. Now too many entertainments take up too much time.

B. Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities.

C. Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her free time.

D. Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing.

68. What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A. She was constantly under pressure of writing more.

B. Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C. She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

D. Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.

69. Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A. She had won a prize in the previous contest.

B. She wanted to share her stories with readers.

C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

D. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

70. What’s the author’s advice for parents?

A. Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.

B. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.

C. Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.

D. A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.

—Don’t you think Obama is _____ success?

—Yes, I do. He is popular with _____ public in America.