完形填空

　　The famous British inventor George Stephenson was born in 1781 and died in 1848．One of his 　　1　　 important inventions was the train．He 　　2　　 his first train when he was forty-four years old．When he was experimenting with the 　　3　　 engine on the train, he met with 　　4　　 from the government, the newspapers and the gentlemen in the country．They said that the noise and the smoke would 　　5　　 cows, horses and sheep, that the 　　6　　 would burst or that the hot coals from it would 　　7　　 their houses．At that time, 　　8　　 people believed what they said．

　　George Stephenson 　　9　　 the people that the train could go on small 　　10　　, could pull carriages 　　11　　 goods and passengers and there was 　　12　　 to them．It was a very 　　13　　 matter for him to 　　14　　 them believe．However, after 　　15　　, he was able to do it; and the first train that 　　16　　 by Stephenson himself 　　17　　 what he had said．

　　The first day 　　18　　 the people along the way 　　19　　 the noises of the train 　　20　　 and saw it running quickly to them, they ran back home as quickly as they could and closed their doors tightly, for they thought it a genius(妖怪)．They did not dare to come out until it had passed．

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The famous British inventor George Stephanson was born in 1781 and died in 1848．One of his 　　1　　 important inventions was the train．He 　　2　　 his first train when he was forty-four years old．When he was experimenting with the 　　3　　 engine on the train, he met with 　　4　　 from the government, the newspapers and the gentlemen in the country．They said that the noise and the smoke would 　　5　　 cows, horses and sheep, that the 　　6　　 would burst or that the hot coals from it would 　　7　　 their houses．At that time, 　　8　　 people believed what they said．

　　George Stephanson 　　9　　 the people that the train could go on small 　　10　　, could pull carriages 　　11　　 goods and passengers and there was 　　12　　 to them．It was a very 　　13　　 matter for him to 　　14　　 them believe．However, after 　　15　　, he was able to do it; and the first train that 　　16　　 by Stephanson himself 　　17　　 what he had said．

　　The first day 　　18　　 the people along the way 　　19　　 the noises of the train 　　20　　 and saw it running quickly to them, they ran back home as quickly as they could and closed their doors tightly, for they thought it a genius．They did not dare to come out until it had passed．

完形填空

　　Some myths are stories told since ancient times to explain the causes for natural happenings．The Greek myth that explains why there are changes of 　　1　　 is about Demeter, the goddess of the harvest．She had a daughter, Persephone, whom she loved very much．Hades, god of the underworld, fell in love with Persephone, and he asked Zeus, the 　　2　　 of the gods, to give Persephone to him as his 　　3　　．Zeus did not want either to disappoint Hades or to upset Demeter, so he said he would not agree to the marriage, but neither would he 　　4　　 it．Hades, therefore, decided to take the girl without 　　5　　．When Persephone was picking flowers in the garden, he seized her and took her to the underworld．When Demeter 　　6　　 what happened to Persephone, she became so 　　7　　 that she caused all plants to 　　8　　．People were in 　　9　　 of starving．But Demeter was determined not to let crops grow 　　10　　 her daughter, Persephone, was returned to her．　　11　　, still not wanting to disappoint Hades, decided upon a condition for Persephone’s 　　12　　．She could go back to her mother if she had not 　　13　　 anything while she was in the underworld．Demeter 　　14　　 it because she did not know that Persephone had eaten several pomegranate(石榴)seeds in the underworld．When Zeus 　　15　　 this, he agreed that Persephone could spend part of the year with her 　　16　　, but he added that since she had eaten the seeds, she must spend part of the year in the underworld．And so it 　　17　　 that when Persephone is in the underworld, Demeter is sad and therefore 　　18　　 not let the crops grow．

　　That is 　　19　　 we have winter when plants do not grow．When Persephone returns, Demeter is 　　20　　, it is spring, and plants begin to grow again．