73. All I get is a busy signal(信号)when I dial his number.

72. This jacket is a real bargain(便宜)　 at such a low price.

71. Excuse me,　 but I’ve no cash(现金) at hand. Can I pay by cheque?

　　 School was over and I was mentally and physically tired. I sat at the very front of the bus because of my　 36　 to get home. Sitting at the front makes you　 37　　 out like a shiny coin in a pile of dull pennies.

　　 Janie, the driver, tried to break the　 38　 atmosphere by striking the match of　 39　 . I tried to mind my manners and　　 40　 listen, but usually I was too busy thinking about my day. On this day,　 41　　 , her conversation was worth listening to.

“My father’s sick”, she said to no one in　 42　 . I could see the anxiety and fear in her eyes. With a sudden change of attitude and interest, I asked, “What’s wrong with him? ”

　　 With her eyes wet and her voice tight from　 43　 the tears, she responded, “Heart trouble. . . ”Her eyes lowered as she　　 44. “I’ve already lost my mum, so I don’t think I can stand losing him. ”

I couldn’t respond. I was　 45　　 . My heart ached for her. I sat on the old, smelly seat thinking of the great　 46　 my own mother was thrown into when my father died. I saw how hard it was,　　 47　　 still is, for her, I wouldn’t like anyone to go　 48　　 that.

　　 Suddenly I realized Janie wasn’t only a bus driver. That was　 49　　 her job. She had a whole world of family and concerns too. I had never thought of her as　 50　　 but a driver.

I suddenly felt very　 51　 . I realized I had only thought of people as　 52　 as what their purposes were in my life. I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver. I had judged her by her job and brushed her off as　 53　　 .

　 For all I know, I’m just another person in　 54　 else’s world, and may not even be important. I　 55　 not have been so selfish and self-centered. Everyone has places to go, people to see and appointments to keep. Understanding people is an art.

36. A. anxiety　 　　　　　B. determination

C. decision　　　　　　　　 D. attempt

[解析]选A。从文章一开始可以看出，放学了，“我”筋疲力尽，因此坐在汽车的前面，显然是因为“我”渴望回家。

37. A. find　　　 B. make　 C. think　 D. stand

[解析]选D。根据下文“like a shiny coin in a pile of dull pennies”可知应填stand。stand out意思为“引人注目，突出”。

38. A. unpopular　　 B. uncomfortable

C. unusual　　　　　　 D. unforgettable

[解析]选B。根据上下文可知，此处填uncomfortable, 意为“不舒服的气氛”。unpopular“不流行的”；unusual“不寻常的”；unforgettable“难忘的”。

39. A. fire　　　　　　 B. topic

C. conversation　　　 D. discussion

[解析]选C。司机通过点燃交谈的火花打破不舒服的气氛

40. A. politely　　　 B. devotedly　　　 C. carelessly　　　　 D. sincerely

[解析]选A。根据下文“but usually I was too busy thinking about my day”可知作者并不是在专心地听，只是出于礼貌。故选politely礼貌地；devotedly“专心地”；carelessly“粗心地”；sincerely“真诚地”。

41. A. however　　　 　　 B. therefore　 　　　 C. thus　　　　 D. otherwise

[解析]选A。表示转折，且前有逗号，故选however。

42. A. surprise　　　 B. common　　　 　C. silence　　　　 D. particular

[解析]选D。in particular意思为“特意地，特别地”。in surprise“吃惊地”；in common“普遍地”，不符合题意。

43. A. fighting　　　 B. avoiding　　　 C. clearing　　　　 D. keeping

[解析]选A。嗓音发紧是因为Janie在尽量克制住不让眼泪掉下来。因此用fighting较为合适。

44. A. told　　　　 B. lasted　 　　　　C. repeated　　　　 D. continued

[解析]选D。根据上文可知，此处应填continued, 意为“继续说”。

45. A. for sure　　　　 B. at ease　　　　 C. in shock　　　　 D. in despair

[解析]选C。for sure意为“确信地”；at ease意为“安逸，自由自在”；in shock意为“震惊，大为惊讶”。

46. A. mercy　　　　　　 B. pain

C. pity　　　　　　　　　　　 D. disappointment

[解析]选B。“我”想到父亲去世给母亲带来的痛苦，另外几个词均不符合语境。

47. A. but　　　 B. yet　　　　　　 C. and　　　　　　 D. or

[解析]选C。表示并列。本句意思为：我看得出痛苦对她来说是多么的巨大并且现在仍然一样。

48. A. over　　 B. round　 C. through　　　 D. without

[解析]选C。go through表示“经历”。

49. A. almost　　　　 B. nearly C. ever　　 　　　 D. just

[解析]选D。那仅仅是她的工作。

50. A. something　　　　　 B. anything

C. nothing　　　　　　　　　　 D. everything

[解析]选B。never. . . anything but意思为“仅仅”。

51. A. sad　　　　　 B. embarrassed

C. selfish　　　　　　 D. worried

[解析]选C。根据上文“I had never thought of her as anything but a driver”可见我是多么的自私。

52. A. far　　　　　 B. long　　　　　 C. much　　　　　 D. well

[解析]选A。as far as表示程度。

53. A. unfit　　　　　　　　　 B. unselfish

C. unnecessary　　　　　 D. unimportant

[解析]选D。我仅从她的工作来判断她并且漠视她，把她看作不重要的人物。

54. A. everyone　　　 B. someone　　　 C. anyone　　　　 D. no one

[解析]选B。在某些其他人的世界里，我也许仅仅是另一个人，甚至不重要。

55. A. need　　　　 B. may　　　　 C. can　　　　　 D. should

[解析]选D。此句意思为“我本不应该如此自私，以自我为中心”。

35. He was a little boy, but he___as if he was an adult.

A. moved　　　　 B. watched　　　　 C. behaved　　　　 D. changed

[解析]选C。后半句句意为：但是他的行为像成年人。behave行为，行动。

34. The old man____all his books to the children in the village school.

A. gave up　　　　　　 B. gave away

C. gave off　　　　　　 D. gave in

[解析]选B。考查give词组。give up放弃；give away赠送，分发，泄露；give off发出，放出；give in屈服，投降。句意为：那位老人把他所有的书都赠送给了山村学校的孩子们。

33. Paul jumped to his feet and pretended ____very hard when his boss came.

A. to work　　　　　　 B. to be working

C. working　　　　　　 D. to have worked

[解析]选B。考查动词的用法。pretend后只能接不定式，且根据语境when his boss came可知他假装正在工作，故用不定式的进行时态。