第二节完形填空（共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-50各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Many years ago, I met with much difficulty with my life and work. I felt so  36 that I wanted to give up.

37  , a speech changed me. At the beginning of the speech, the well-known professor held up a $20 bill. In the room of 200 people, he asked, "Who would   38  this $20 bill?" 　　Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He crumpled(弄皱) the 20 dollar note up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the   39   were up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He   40   it onto the ground and started to grind(碾) it into the floor   41   his shoe. He   42   it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends, you have all learned a very valuable  43  . No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it stayed the same in   44  . It was still worth $20.”

　　“Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we   45   and the circumstances that come on our way. We   46   as if we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will   47  lose your value,” he went on,　　“Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those   48   love you. The   49   of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by ...WHO WE ARE.” 　　“You are   50   — don’t ever forget it.”

36. A. optimistic     B. cheerful     C. pessimistic     D. worried

37. A. However     B. Therefore     C. Actually      D. Indeed

38. A. borrow         B. like         C. dream         D. have

39. A. hands        B. people      C. dollars        D. heads

40. A. brought       B. got         C. turned         D. dropped

41. A. through      B. with         C. under          D. in

42. A. broke        B. fed          C. picked         D. carried

43. A. advice       B. news         C. tip            D. lesson

44. A. value        B. note          C. quality        D. number

45. A. thought      B. impressed       C. took          D. made

46. A. find         B. feel           C. look         D. sound

47. A. never        B. ever          C. still          D. hardly

48. A. whom        B. which        C. who          D. whose

49. A. experience    B. pleasure       C. worth        D. difficulty

50. A. common      B. intelligent     C. reliable       D. special

My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.

It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.

I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.

When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.

The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.

1. The writer’s first job was _______.

　 A. to stand down the fairway at a golf course

　 B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation

　 C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields

　 D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them

2. The writer learned that_______ from his first job.

　A. he should work for those who he liked most

　B. he should work longer than what he was expected

　 C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner

　 D. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for

3. _______ gave the writer self-esteem.

A. Having a family of eight people

　 B. Owning his own golf course

　 C. Bringing money back home to help the family

　 D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation

4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

　 A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.

　B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.

　C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.

　D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.

We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects(缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things 　　1 !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe　　　 ___2　 .

These comments may come from stories about us that have been 　3　 for many years—often from 　4　 childhood. These stories may have no 　5　 in fact. But they can set low expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical (操作机械的) skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life.” How did these expectations　 6　 my development? I was never 　7　 to work on cars or be around　 8　 . When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!

Six years later,　 9　 , I was at California University, working on my doctors degree. One of my professors, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do. On the positive side, I　 10　 down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking.” On the　 11　 side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills.”

Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life 　12 and told him about my 　13　 performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “　 14　 is it that you can solve 　 15　 mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”

Suddenly I realized that I didn’t 　16　 from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to 　17　 . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been　 18　 my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true. 　19　 , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost 　20　 we choose.

1. A. away 　　　　　 B. off 　　　　　　　 C. up 　　　　　　　　　 D. down

2. A. them 　　　　 B. myself 　　　　　 C. yourself 　　　　 D. others

3. A. said 　　　　　 B. spoken 　　　　　 C. spread 　　　　　 D. repeated

4. A. as long as 　 B. as far back as 　 C. as well as 　　　 D. as much as

5. A. basis 　　　　 B. plot 　　　　　　　 C. cause 　　　　　　　　　　 D. meaning

6. A. lead 　　　　　 B. improve　　　　　　 C. affect 　　　　　 D. change

7. A. encouraged B. demanded 　　 C. hoped 　　　　　 D. agreed

8. A. means 　　　 B. tools 　　　　　　 C. facilities 　　　　 D. hammers

9. A. therefore 　 B. somehow 　　　 C. instead 　　　　　 D. however

10. A. settled 　　 B. turned 　　　　　 C. took 　　　　　　　　　　 D. got

11. A. passive 　　　 B. active 　　　　　 C. negative 　　　　　 D. subjective

12. A. experiences 　　　 B. trips 　　　　　　　　　　 C. roads 　　　　　　 D. paths

13. A. unexpected B. poor 　　　　　　 C. excellent 　　　 D. average

14. A. When 　　　 B. What 　　　　　　 C. How 　　　　　　　 D. Why

15. A. complex 　 B. advanced　　　　　 C. common 　　　　 D. primary

16. A. arise 　　　　 B. separate　　　　　　 C. suffer 　　　　　 D. come

17. A. believe 　　 B. suspect 　　　　 C. adopt 　　　　　　 D. receive

18. A. weakening B. strengthening 　 C. abandoning 　 D. accepting

19. A. As a result 　　　 B. At the same time C. In addition 　　 D. On the contrary

20. A. anything 　　 B. something 　　 C. nothing 　　　　 D. all

 Brazil has become one of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth, but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil has had better result without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

　　Brazil’s population growth rate has dropped from 2.99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1.93% a year between 1981 and 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2.7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

　　Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (通俗电视连续剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

　　“Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values-not many children, different attitudes towards life, women working,” says Martine. “They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people aware of other patterns of behavior and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.”

1.According to the passage, Brazil has cut back its population growth _____.

2.What can you infer from the passage about many Third World countries ?

3.Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because ______.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best-known film-makers in the world. This gentle-looking and overweight Englishman has connected the   1   audiences with most of the mysterious and frightening films   2   made.

“The 37 Steps”made in 1939 was the  3  which made him famous outside  4  . He receivedお many  5  from Hollywood, where he went to make“Rebecca”. This was the most expensive film he had made,   6   over a million dollars. This was  7  in Britain,  8  the budget（预算）was very small. But as soon as he started on“Rebecca”, the Second World War started. Like many  9  film people, Hitchcock decided to  10  in America, and was sometimes  11  a traitor（叛徒）at home. But he was too old to  12  , and the British film industry had  13  down. He finished“Rebecca”and got  14  first Oscar, for the best film of the year.

He was  15  the first film director to  16  a TV  17  which showed mysterious and frightening stories, called“Alfred Hitchcock presents…”. This was a new   18   , for most of the Hollywood people hated television and didn’t think it was worth trying at all. The audience loved Hitchcock, however, and he made more shows. These shows gave him more   19   to try a new idea and produce more and more mysterious and frightening   20   .

1. A. theatre　　　　　　  B. cinema　　 C. sports　　　　　　　　  D. music

2. A. ever　　　　　　   B. never　　  C. still　　　　　　　　   D. yet

3. A. book　　　　    B. story　　　　    C. play　　　　　　   D. film

4. A. America  　　　　   B. France　　　　  C. Britain　　　　　　  D. Australia

5. A. offers　　　　    B. congratulations　　   C. letters　　　　　　 D. telegrams

6. A. spending　　　　　　 B. costing　　　　  C. talking　　　　  D. wasting

7. A. possible　　　　    B. easy　　   C. impossible　　　　   D. interesting

8. A. why　　　　　　    B. where　　　　    C. there　　　　　　    D. here

9. A. another　　　　　　  B. the other　　　　  C. the same　　　　    D. other

10. A. leave　　　　　　　　    B. stay　　    C. fight　　　　　　　　  D. love

11. A. made　　　　　　    B. forced　　　　  C. called　　　　    D. destroyed

12. A. fight　　　　　　    B. eat　　　　    C. talk　　　　　　 D. sleep

13. A. started　　　　　　   B. begun　　　　  C. closed　　　　 　　 D. put

14. A. her　　　　　　  B. their　　　　　　  C. his　　　　　　　　 D. its

15. A. also　　　　　　    B. both　　　　   C. all　　　　　　　　 D. neither

16. A. become　　　　　　 B. remain　　　　  C. get　　　　　　    D. stay

17. A. station　　　　　　  B. show　　　　    C. factory　　　　　　 D. farm

18. A. idea　　　　　　    B. nation　　　　  C. shape　　　　      D. attention

19. A. chances　　　　　　 B. time　　　　  C. money　　　　　　 D. directions

20. A. plays　　　　   B. stories　　　　　　 C. films　　　　　　   D. problems