阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意, 然后从1—25各题所给的四个选项中, 选出一个最佳答案。

    China is one of the oldest countries in the world. She has a　　 1 of over forty-four thousand years. No one is　　 2 where the first people 3 came from. Yes, we know that bones of some of the　　 4 people have been found near Beijing, the capital of China, and near the Yellow River,　　 5 runs across North China 6 a huge dragon (龙) and　　 7 its way from west to east. There are many　　 8 about how the world began and who the first kings　　 were. One story tells of how ten suns shone in　　 9 and how Hou Yi shot down 10 of them. Another story tells about how Huang Di, the Yellow　　 Emperor (皇帝), 11 Tsi You and united different parts of the country　　 into one 12 . The ancient Chinese did a lot of wonders,　　 13 was the Great Wall. It came 14 in the 220's B.C. It took many years to build.　　 Seeing the Great wall,which is 15 enough for ten soldiers to march　　 16 along its top. You can't help 17 how all the work was done　　 18 .

    People in ancient times 19 in magic (魔法) used to say that　　 Emperor Qin Shihuang 20 across the mountains 21 magic horse. The wall　　 22 under him as he went along. Wherever the horse　　 23 its foot heavily, a watch-tower appeared. But the wall was not made by　　 24 . It was made 25 and lives of thousands of men.

We took the bus from the suburb every early morning that summer 3 years ago. One of the passengers was a small   36  man who took the bus to the centre for senior citizens every morning. He walked with a stoop (佝偻) and a sad look on his face when he, with some difficulty,   37  the bus and sat down alone behind the driver. No one ever paid very much attention to him.

　　Then one   38   morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled before he sat down. The driver 39  guardedly. The rest of us were silent. The next day, the old man boarded the bus energetically,   40  and said in a loud voice: “And a very good morning to you all!” Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured “Good morning,”  41  . The following weeks we were more alert (留意的). Our friend was now dressed in a nice old suit and a wide out-of-date   42 . The thin hair had been carefully combed. He said good morning to us every day and we  43  began to nod and talk to each other.

　　One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver   44  smilingly and asked:“Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?”and he nodded shyly and said yes. The other passengers   45  and clapped at him. Charlie bowed and waved the   46  before he sat down on his seat. Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower. Some of the   47  passengers began bringing him flowers for his bouquet(花束).

The summer went by, and    48   was closing in, when one morning Charlie wasn't waiting at his usual    49 . When he wasn't there the next day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or —   50  — on holiday somewhere.

One day, we learned from the staff working in the centre for senior citizens that the elderly   51  was fine, but he hadn't been coming to the   52   that week. One of his very close friends had died at the weekend. They   53  him back on Monday. How silent we were the rest of the way to work.

　　The next   54   Charlie was waiting at the stop, stooping a bit more, a little bit more grey, and without a tie. He seemed to have shrinked（缩小）again. Inside the bus was a  55 . All of us sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands.