Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie's feet when Father cleared his throat and began," You'll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We've found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England."
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. "But the lion," he cried, "What about the lion?"
"I'm afraid there's something else I have to tell you," his father said. Looking across at Bertie's mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus(马戏团) owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
"No! You can't send him to a circus!" said Bertie. "People will come to see him. He'll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He'd rather die. Any animal would! " But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father's deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father's rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion's neck. The time had come.
"Be wild now," he whispered. "You've got to be wild. Don't ever come home. All my life I'll think of you. I promise I will." He buried his head in the lion's neck. Then, Bertie clambered down the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion's head.
【小题1】Bertie's mother was sad probably because she ______.

Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie's feet when Father cleared his throat and began," You'll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We've found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England."

His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. "But the lion," he cried, "What about the lion?"

"I'm afraid there's something else I have to tell you," his father said. Looking across at Bertie's mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus(马戏团) owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.

"No! You can't send him to a circus!" said Bertie. "People will come to see him. He'll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He'd rather die. Any animal would! " But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.

Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father's deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father's rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion's neck. The time had come.

"Be wild now," he whispered. "You've got to be wild. Don't ever come home. All my life I'll think of you. I promise I will." He buried his head in the lion's neck. Then, Bertie clambered down the hill and walked away.

When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.

There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion's head.

1.Bertie's mother was sad probably because she ______.

A．had been seriously ill recently

B．had decided to send Bertie to school

C．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie

D．knew Bertie would hate to go to England

2.The underlined word "they" in Para.4 probably refers to ______.

A．some audience     B．other animals       C．Bertie's parents     D．circus owners

3.In the last paragraph, the boy lifted the rifle to ______．

A．kill the lion out of fear

B．threaten the lion back to the wild

C．protect himself from the lion

D．show his anger towards his father

4.The passage intends to show that ______.

A．animal-hunting is popular in Africa

B．parents are sometimes cruel to their children

C．animals usually lead a miserable life in circuses

D．people and animals can be faithful to each other

完形填空（共20小题，每小题 1.5 分，满分 30 分）

    阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选取出适合填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。

 When my son unexpectedly volunteered for the Marines, I was busy writing my novels and giving little thought to the men and women in the army.

  My son, John Schaeffer, recently came home _36__ from the Middle East. He slowly appeared from a broken car; John _37__ all night from a base near Washington, _38__ he had landed the day before. He did not want me to 39___ him there. “I’ll need time to myself,” my son said _40__ calling from Kuwait on the way home.

  I gave my wife a head start. Mother_41__ son, “I was so worried”, Genie said. She pulled away to look up again and again to _42___ he was really there.

  My wife gave me a great gift: _43__ alone with my boy. John was tired and lay _44__ on his bed. I lay down next to him and was grasping his hand the whole time. I just wanted to be certain that the nightmares I’d had about John being killed were _45__ .

  I kept holding my son, the way I _46__ when he was two and came into our bed after a _47__ dream. I asked John if he’d rather sleep than talk, and he said there would be time for 48___ later.

  With the   49___ over, under and around me came incredible tiredness. I slept with his voice dying away. It was the first good _50__ I’d had in months. I woke and John was asleep next to me. Sitting by his bed watching him breathe, I found myself praying and _51__ for all the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives of those who were not coming home. For the first time in my life, I was weeping for _52___.

  Before my son went to war I would never have shed tears for them .My son _53__ me. He taught me that our men and women in uniform are not the _54__”.  They are our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. Sometimes shedding ears for strangers is a holy _55___. Sometimes it’s all we can do.

1.  A. angry    B. excited       C. frightened    D. alive

2.  A. drove    B. was driving   C. had driven    D. would have driven

3. A. where    B. when        C. which        D. who

4.  A. meet     B. congratulate   C. permit       D. accept

5. A. once     B. when        C. unless        D. since

6. A. abolished   B. patted      C. rated        D. embraced

7. A. make sure  B. set down      C. get across     D. make sense

8. A. period     B. chance        C. time         D. moment

9. A. hesitated   B. stretched      C. supporting    D. spreading

10. A. facts      B. truth          C. proofs        D. lies

11. A. used to    B. ought to       C. should        D. must

12. A. happy     B. cheerful       C. scary         D. sleep

13.A. advice     B. discussion     C. talk          D. sleep

14.  A. chat       B. worries       C. meeting       D. curiosity

15. A. conversation B. observation   C. sleep          D. independence

16.  A. crying     B. marching     C. screaming      D. regretting

17.  A. friends    B. neighbors      C. strangers      D. soldiers

18. A. persuaded  B. changed       C. frightened     D. arrested

19. A. another    B. other         C. others         D. one

20.  A. function    B. adventure     C. shame        D. duty

Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick，just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him，his head warm on Bertie’s feet，when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England. ”

His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”

“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you, ” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.

“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “People will come to see him. He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would! ” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.

Bertie felt completely betrayed (出卖). He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels，he crept (蹑手蹑脚地移动) downstairs，took down his father’s rifle (步枪) and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come.

“Be wild now”，he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you. I promise I will. ” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie climbed down the hill and walked away.

When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.

There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth，he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.

1.Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she _____.

A．had been seriously ill recently

B．had decided to send Bertie to school

C．knew Bertie would hate to go to England

D．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie

2.The underlined word “they” in Para. 4 probably refers to _____.

A．other animals      B．some audience     C．Bertie’s parents   D．circus owners

3.In the last paragraph, the boy lifted the rifle to _____.

A．threaten the lion back to the wild           B．kill the lion out of fear

C．protect himself from the lion               D．show his anger towards his father

4.The passage intends to show that _____.

A．animal-hunting is popular in Africa

B．parents are sometimes cruel to their children

C．people and animals can be faithful to each other

D．animals usually lead a miserable life in circuses

Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick，just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him，his head warm on Bertie’s feet，when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England. ”
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”
“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you, ” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “People will come to see him. He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would! ” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed (出卖). He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels，he crept (蹑手蹑脚地移动) downstairs，took down his father’s rifle (步枪) and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come.
“Be wild now”，he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you. I promise I will. ” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie climbed down the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth，he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.
【小题1】Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she _____.