第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
One Sunday morning my mother walked into my room. “_ 36  !” she said, proudly holding up a yellow  37  with black and white stripes. “I made it just for you. What do you think?”
I   38  my tongue. How could I tell Mom it was the most hideous one I had ever seen?
“It’s perfect for   39  ,” my mother continued. “I  40  someone had made a dress like this for me.”
41  you can’t wear it, I thought. But I knew Mom had spent a lot of time on the dress. Only the world’s most   42  daughter would refuse. reluctantly（不情愿的）. I put it on.
All through church I prayed, Lord, let me get out of here __43   anyone seeing me. Especially Dennis Pearce, the boy I had a crush on. He was one of the cutest (bright) guys at Neptune High. Although we were in some of the same classes, Dennis had   44  taken any notice of me.
At the end of the service I  45   for the door. But I had to wait on the   46  while my parents chatted with their friends. Just a little while longer… Then   47  the corner of my eye I saw the Pearce approaching.    48  I could escape, Dennis was right beside me.
I started gabbing a mile a minute, hoping if I kept it   49   he wouldn’t notice my horrible dress. “I am going to college in September,” I said.
“That’s great,” Dennis replied. “I got   50  to the police academy.”
“Wow!” I said. Somehow I kept the conversation going. Soon we were walking to the parking lot together. The next thing I knew Dennis had first asked me  51  .
We courted through college, and eventually got married. Months after our wedding I asked Dennis if he remembered the day   52   he had first asked me out.
“You bet I do,” he said. “You were always 53 in school, almost standoffish (coldhearted). I didn’t think you’d be much fun. But you were so animated (lively) when we talked on the church steps, I wanted to get to know you better.” Maybe that   55   yellow dress wasn’t  55  I would have chosen, but that day it was the perfect dress for me.
36. A. Strange       B. Surprise        C. Interesting     D. Puzzled
37. A. dress         B. coat           C. skirt          D. hat
38. A. beat          B. held           C. bit           D. caught
39. A. the party      B. church         C. school        D. your birthday
40. A. hope         B. expected       C. wish          D. wished
41. A. Too beautiful   B. Too big        C. Too small      D. Too bad
42. A. ungrateful     B. lovely          C. considerate    D. responsible
43. A. beyond      B. before          C. until          D. without
44. A. never         B. sometimes      C. frequently     D. ever
45. A. made        B. ran            C. escaped       D. walked
46. A. steps         B. gate           C. door          D. bench
47. A. within        B. out of         C. beside         D. off
48. A. Until        B. After           C. Not until       D. Before
49. A. on          B. back           C. in            D. up
50. A. agreed      B. accepted        C. permitted      D. allowed
51. A. my telephone   B. my address      C. out          D. in
52. A. that          B. which          C. on when       D. \
53 A. quiet        B. calm           C. silent         D. still
54. A. blue -white striped                B. black and white stripes
C. zebra-striped                    D. dark-white-striped
55.A. what        B. which         C. that            D. One

________had the worker who was badly injured in that accident stopped breathing and died________ doctors arrived.

　　A.Almost; when           B.Hardly; when             C. Not; until         D.Hardly; before

_____________ bad-tempered at times, he is still respected by all the students.

A．In spite of         B．Even if            C．Not until          D．Despite

---When did he meet his wife for the first time？

---It was _________ he came back from Africa that year _________ he met his wife.

A. when; then        B. not until; that C. not; until       D. only; when

Everyday, 340 million people speak it. One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world’s population will be using it. What are we talking about? That global language—English.

The English language started in Britain in the 5th century. It is a mixed language. It was built up when German. Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication.

Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean . Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India. Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong.

But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English. Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about "burgers". "fries" and "milkshakes". Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English. We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!

English is a messy (杂乱的) language. Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chatroom". Also included are words that teenagers use. Who does not know "cool", "OK" and “hello” ?

Other languages also influence English. Many English words come from French. Words like "cafe" and expressions like "c'est la vie" (that is life) are all part of the English language. On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping". German words are also part of English. Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language.

Recently, British people have become interested in "yoga". But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India.

The English language has a history of  ______.

A. over 2000 years B. over 500 years   C. over 1500 years      D. over 1000 years

The underlined expression “thanks to ” can be replaced by ______.

A. because of         B. thankful to    C. not until             D. as if.

Which of the following statements is true about the language of English ?

A. It has been changing all the time.

B. It has borrowed words from all the other languages.

C. French words are used by the English because dictionaries have French words.

D. Singers and film stars have the greatest influence on language.

Many countries and regions use it for politics and business except______.

A. the USA    B. Nigeria      C. the Philippines     D. Norway