Section B (18 marks)

      Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

      Behind our house is the start of a fascinating trail (小径). This trail is one of the old roads that wind through untold miles of forest. My   36  , Beans, and I walk the trail frequently. Normally, Beans sniffs alongside the trail to follow the smell of a deer track or   37   some cause known only to him.

      Beans is a white dog, quite handsome and very   38 . He not only understands what

we tell him, but also often makes sounds as if he were trying to   39   back.

      One morning, we took a different route, which led us to an unfamiliar trail. I was sure this trail would eventually lead us to our familiar   40  . But, no. We seemed to be far off course. After two hours, I suddenly realized that Beans probably   41   the way home. So I urged, "Beans, take me home." He ran down a new trail. But it merely led to an intersection (岔道口) of trails.

      Soon it became   42   that we were getting nowhere. I began to picture the rest of the day in the   43  , without food or drink. We had walked about ten miles. But Beans seemed totally   44  . The sniffing and exploring was going well for him.

     Finally, we   45   a crossroad near a highway. Lady Luck suggested I should turn left. We did and   46   reached a cottage beside a field. I knocked on the door and explained my situation to an old man. He laughed and then drove us home.

     Since our adventure, I   47   that Beans probably knew all along how to get home.

He was just having too much fan exploring new trails.

36. A. deer             B. dog              C. lady            D. man

37. A. imagine          B. consider          C. explore          D. present

38, A. smart            B. sweet            C. slow            D. shy

39. A. turn             B. kick              C. jump           D. speak

40. A. driveway         B. path             C. crossroad        D. highway

41. A. knew            B. saw              C. showed         D. made

42. A, mysterious        B. ridiculous        C. fascinating       D. apparent

43. A. house            B. forest            C. field            D. cottage

44. A. unconcerned      B. unconscious       C. undecided       D. uncomfortable

45. A. left for           B. went off          C. came to         D. drove toward

46. A. punctually        B. frequently        C. formally         D. shortly

47. A. regretted         B. remembered       C. concluded       D. confirmed

语法填空（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为31 ~ 40的相应位置上。

How should one invest (投资) a sum of money in these days of inflation (通货膨胀)?   31   (leave) in a bank it’ll hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man,  32  a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock (股票) Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways   33  (protect) your savings and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects   34  the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks,   35  I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.

I sometimes wonder   36  a being from another planet report back about our way of life. “The planet Earth   37   (rule) by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face  38  twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it  39  (fast) its young around people’s wrists so that everywhere men go  40  are still under control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves.”

There was great interest when a big hole mysteriously appeared in the middle of a field. Engineers were called in to explain how it had got there. They offered various explanations but were not at all sure how the hole had been caused, it was thought that a large bomb which came suddenly exploded, but it was not possible to prove this. A simple, but highly improbable explanation was offered by a man who declares to know well about “flying saucers”; the strange objects which are round in shape and are said to visit the earth from outer space. The man’s explanation may have been nonsense (胡说八道), but at least it was imaginative. At any rate, it was far more interesting than the one given by the army.
After examining the ground carefully the man declared to have seen special marks on the soil quite near the hole, these, he said, could only have been caused by a flying saucer. Moreover the leaves on some bushes nearby had turned yellow because of a strange hot gas which had come from the saucer just before it landed. Even a small tree some way off appeared to have been burnt slightly. A small piece of metal found in the hole itself gave further proof that a strange object had been there. According to the man, it was quite clear that people from another world had been going around the earth trying to pick up information, when something had gone wrong. Because of this they had been forced to land in a field so that the damage could be repaired. The hole had been caused when the saucer struck the earth, while the strange marks nearby were made when it took off again. This, said the man, was the simplest explanation of how the hole had appeared. Judging from the interest the public took in the matter, there must be quite a few people who secretly believe or hope that this simple explanation is the true one.
【小题1】What aroused public interest?

How should one invest (投资) a sum of money in these days of inflation (通货膨胀)?   31   (leave) in a bank it’ll hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man,  32  a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock (股票) Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways   33   (protect) your savings and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects   34   the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks,   35   I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.

I sometimes wonder   36   a being from another planet report back about our way of life. “The planet Earth   37   (rule) by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face   38   twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it   39   (fast) its young around people’s wrists so that everywhere men go   40   are still under control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves.”

A mysterious illness, referred to as “ a typical phenomena”, has been brought under control, the government said on Wednesday, ______ no cause of it has been made public.

A. though       B. when        C. that        D. because