完形填空：

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．

　The cold afternoon sunlight made long shadows behind the trees along the road． Sam Higbee 　1　 the gate of the Higbee Place and 　2 　his tractor (拖拉机) into the field．

　Things had been moving 　3 　． Only the night before, the Higbee 　4 　had at last stopped quarrelling for long enough to agree on a 　5 　price． John Farnham, the real-estate agent (房地产代理商), had 　6　 a hurried trip to see Higbee the next morning． Within a few hours Higbee had looked round the place again, the agreement had been 　7 　, and he had put his horses into one of the Higbee fields． Now he was 　8 　to plough (犁地)． He'd work until midnight, or 　9 　if the didn't get too 　10 　．

　Out in the center of the field the old house was 　11 　the big trees． A dusty road ran 　12 　the field to the house from the gate． 　13 　Higbee had no use for the big old house． The 　14 　would cost more than the place was 　15 　．

　He lowered the 　16 　and started the tractor． 　17 　he ploughed the rich black earth 　18 　out in smooth furrows (犁沟)． Low dark clouds moved past overhead, and in the west the 　19 　sun turned the lower parts of the clouds red．

　The　20 　of the tractor's motor was unchanging, and watching the furrows sent Sam into a dream-like 　21 　He didn't notice the time 　22 　． When it got dark, he 　23 　the headlight and kept going． The 　24 　night air caused sharp pain to his face and hands, but his 　25 　remained fixed on the piece of ground between the grass and the ploughed earth．

NEW YORK (AP) — In a report, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47 percent of U.S. adult Internet users have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine.
That is more than twice the 22 percent of users who did in 2002, but Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden was surprised that the growth wasn’t higher than it had been expected.
　　“Yes it’s doubled, but it’s still the case that there’s a big chunk of Internet users who have never done this simple act of connecting their names with search engines,” she said. “Certainly more and more people have become aware of this, but I don’t know it’s necessarily kept pace with the amount of content we post about ourselves or what others post about us.”
About 60 percent of Internet users said they aren’t worried about the extent of information about themselves online, although they are increasingly concerned over how that data can be used.
Americans under 50 and those with more education and income were more likely to self-Google---in some cases because their jobs demand a certain online persona(形象).
Meanwhile, Pew found that 53 percent of adult Internet users admit to looking up information about someone else, famous people not included.
　　Often, it’s to find someone they’ve lost touch with. But looking up information about friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbors also was common.
Although men and women equally searched for online information about themselves, women were slightly more likely to look up information about someone they are dating.
　　In many cases, the search is not harmful, done to find someone’s contact information. But a third of those who have conducted searches on others have looked for public records, such as bankruptcies(破产) and divorce proceedings. A similar number have searched for someone else’s photo.
　　Pew also found that teens were more likely than adults to limit the range of people who can see their information at an online hangout like Facebook or News Corp.’s MySpace, contrary to conventional wisdom.
　　“Teens are more comfortable with the applications in some ways, (but) I also think they have their parents and teachers telling them to be very careful about what they post and who they share it with,” Madden said.
【小题1】 Mary Madden was surprised at the result that ______.

A．see what they are doing	B．find someone they have lost touch with
C．have a look at their photos	D．know their personal affairs

When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored(发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
【小题1】“Talk of the town” means　　　.

A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing

B．it made Tom look taller

C．the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B．People are always disappointed during war time.

C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D．People should be married when they are small children.