We lost s__________ of him in the crowd.

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.

Have you ever heard anyone say “It’s raining cats and dogs”? It means “It’s raining hard!”

   But sometimes cats and dogs do drop from the sky! Here’s how it happens.

   Not so long ago, a country far away had many large rats. The people there said, “ We need cats!” So cats were sent to them by airplane. But the country had many mountains. It was hard for an airplane to land. So the cats came down by parachute(降落伞). Did the cats like the ride? They didn’t say they didn’t! And today they are still catching rats!

In another country far away, there is snow the year around. People sometimes got lost in it.

    “We need big dogs!” the people said, “The dogs could find people lost in the snow. The dogs could help bring them home. Where can we get big dogs?”

A man across the sea had big dogs to sell. “I will send dogs to you,” he said. “ I have some very big ones. They can find people lost in the snow.”He sent the dogs by airplane.

   But the airplane did not land in the snow. The dogs came down by parachute ---- you guessed it !Did the dogs like the ride? They didn’t say they didn’t! And today they are well and happy.They find anyone who gets lost in the snow. Then they help him get home. Good dogs!Remember it, so you can say, “ Yes, it does rain cats and dogs sometimes. They came down by parachute!”

1.The underlined word “ it” In Paragraph  2  refers to __________.

   A．the weather

   B．the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

   C．the saying “It’s raining hard.”

   D．the fact that real cats and dogs drop from the sky.

2.Cats and dogs drop from the sky because ______.

   A．there are many mountains in the country.

   B. it snows the year around in the country.

   C. was hard for a plane to land in the two countries.

   D. coming down by parachute could save money.

3.The main purpose of the passage is to _________________.

   A．tell the readers cats and dogs do drop from the sky

   B．tell the readers of a new meaning about an old saying.

   C．show cats and dogs are our good friends.

   D．show parachute is an important

 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..

完型填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41-60各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
I ran into a stranger as he passed by. “I’m so sorry!” was my reply. Then he said, “Excuse me too… I wasn’t   41   watching for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I. Then we went   42   our way after saying goodbye.
But at   43  , a different story is told. How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later in the kitchen, as I   44   the meal, my daughter walked up to me, very still. When I turned, I      45   knocked her down. “Get out of the way!” I shouted with a frown (皱眉). She stepped away silently, with her little heart   46  . I didn’t realize how rudely I had spoken.
That night, when I lay   47   in bed, God’s quiet voice spoke to me and said, “While    48   with a stranger, you are calm and polite, but with those you love, you are QUICK to excite… Go look around on the kitchen floor, you’ll find some flowers there by the   49  . Those are the flowers she brought for you. She   50   them herself — pink, yellow, and your favorite blue. She stood there quietly and you never saw the   51   in her eyes.”
By this time, I felt sad and small and now my own tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt (跪) by her   52  . “Wake up, my,” I said. “Are these the flowers you picked up for me?” She smiled, “I found them out by the tree, I   53   them in a napkin（纸巾）, just for you. I knew you’d like them, especially the   54  .” I said, “I am so sorry that I missed them today… And I   55   have fussed (大惊小怪) at you that way…”
And she whispered, “Mommy, that’s OK… I still love you   56  .” I hugged her and said, “I love you, too and I LOVE the flowers.”
Do you know that: if you die tomorrow, the   57   you are working for could easily replace you in a matter of days. But the family you leave   58   will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into our   59   than into our families--- an unwise investment (投资) indeed.
Remember that   60   =" (F)ATHER" + (A)ND + (M)OTHER + (I ) + (L)OVE + (Y)OU.
41.   A.    ever B.    even C.    just  D.    right
42.   A.    to    B.    in    C.    on    D.    for
43.   A.    school     B.    work       C.    home      D.    office
44.   A.    cooked    B.    had  C.    ate   D.    took
45.   A.    already    B.    hardly     C.    rudely     D.    nearly
46.   A.    lost  B.    missed     C.    beaten     D.    broken
47.   A.    asleep      B.    awake     C.    afraid      D.    alive
48.   A.    dealing    B.    meeting   C.    going      D.    talking
49.   A.    floor       B.    kitchen    C.    window   D.    door
50.   A.    grew       B.    bought    C.    picked     D.    fetched
51.   A.    tears B.    expressions     C.    smiles     D.    joy
52.   A.    desk B.    bed  C.    body       D.    knees
53.   A.    wrapped  B.    covered   C.    put   D.    help
54.   A.    pink B.    yellow     C.    blue D.    black
55.   A.    needn’t    B.    shouldn’t C.    mustn’t   D.    can’t
56.   A.    indeed     B.    besides    C.    anything  D.    anyway
57.   A.    company B.    country   C.    place       D.    state
58.   A.    for   B.    with C.    behind     D.    to
59.   A.    books      B.    loss  C.    meal       D.    work
60.   A.    RESPECT      B.    WARMTH      C.    FAMILY D.    FRIEND