完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

One day in summer I stepped into a tiny coffee shop to drink a cup of black coffee. As I entered, I found a very old woman bent   1.   a table near the door. Her back was so   2. twisted(弯曲) by some sadness that her face nearly  3.  the table-top. I sat down facing her two tables away.

    "Poor woman," I thought. "What does she  4.  life? Why does God let people live so 5.  past their prime(黄金时期)?"

As I thought,   6.   aged lady entered the shop and sat down with her. Soon the two of them were talking about    7.  . They talked of how little the shop had  8.   in 70 years... In minutes the two of them were   9.   with laughter.

    I looked again at the   10.  woman, then in the mirror on a nearby wall,   11.  a picture of  myself.

    I was wearing a dirty shirt. She was well dressed in white, gold rings on her fingers.

    I was in   12.   spirits. She was laughing, smiling.

    I was putting the  13.    of my life together. She had millions of wonderful   14.   to recall.

    She was   15.    the day with a good friend. I was   16.   worried about getting old. She was old but it wasn't  17.  her.

    As I left the shop, I thought of my   18.   questions about God letting people live past their prime. Why, that woman was more  19.   and more sensitive than I was.    20.   has not bent her spirit. But I am always filling my mind with something unpleasant.

 21. A. to              B. on           C. over                 D. toward

 22. A. heavily             B. badly            C. slightly             D. hardly

 23. A. struck              B. reached      C. stuck           D. touched

24.A. get out of        B. get off      C. get away with        D. get into

 25. A. hard                B. long             C. slowly          D. rapidly

 26. A. other               B. the very         C. another         D. a certain

 27. A. bright future       B. recent history   C. the present day      D. childhood days

 28.A. changed          B. improved         C. rebuilt              D. developed

  29. A. jumping            B. trembling        C. burning         D. running

  30. A. older              B. poor             C. first                D. younger

31. A. watching        B. taking       C. searching       D. catching

  32. A. high               B. low          C. good            D. sad

33. A. dreams             B. pages            C. pieces          D. hopes

34. A. affairs           B. sufferings       C. incidents            D. memories

35. A. spending           B. enjoying         C. sharing         D. wasting

36. A. certainly         B. completely   C. naturally            D. secretly

37. A. hurting            B. choking      C. defeating            D. beating

38. A. funny         B. foolish      C. serious         D. curious

39. A. alive              B. strong       C. useful               D. powerful

40. A. Wealth           B. Life             C. Time             D. Age

 He stepped into the dark cave, _______ high above his head.

A. holding a burning stick             B. held a burnt stick

C. holding a burnt stick                      D. held a burning stick

In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

But Roebling refused to listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again.

"We told them so", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish to chase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

1._ What did most people think about Roebling's idea to build the bridge?

A. It would never become a reality.          B. Washington was not experienced enough.

C. It would take a lot of time.              D. Finding the money would be impossible. 

2._The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) is closest in meaning to '______'.

  A. unpleasant    B. scared    C. amazed    D. determined

3._ Which of the following shows the correct order of the events that happened in the story?

   a. Roebling convinced his son.

   b. Washington found a new way to communicate.

   c. They hired the crew.

d. The bridge was completed.

   e. Roebling wanted to build a bridge.

   f. There was a tragic accident.

A. e, a, c, f, d, b     B. e, a, f, b, c, d    C. e, f, a, b, c, d    D. e, a, c, f, b, d　　

4._ What can we learn about Washington's wife?

A. She knew sign language very well.

B. She was devoted to her husband.

C. She developed a code to communicate with her husband.

D. She helped her husband design the plan.

5._ What does the story tell us?

  A. Success will come with the passing of time.

  B. Struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

  C. Even the most distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude.

  D. The people who make a difference in our life should be remembered forever.

Against the supposition that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

    This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over the next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

    This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

    Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧） levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

    “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in the amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicted, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

46. According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may __________.

A. result in a warming climate     

B. cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

C. lead to a longer fire season             

D. protect the forests and the environment there

47. The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT __________.

A. large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere

B. the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase

C. snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space

D. ashes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun

48. Earlier studies about northern forest fires __________.

A. analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

B. indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

C. suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

D. suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

49.The underlined phrase “soak up” in the last paragraph most probably means __________.

A. released         B. absorbed       C. created      D. distributed

50. From the passage we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may __________.

A. warm the climate as the supposition goes

B. allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

C. destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

D. help to gain more energy rather than release more energy