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，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

At the age of forty­five，my usually well­ordered life became full of changes.After twenty­two years of working in a __36__，a plan to use less staff __37__ the unemployment of over one hundred people，I being one of them.

My once secure future became __38__.However，I was not a single parent，__39__ the family did not depend only on my income.My motto has always been “Change is good;change is progress”，but when it __40__ my livelihood，I had to change it to “__41__ change and make the most of it.”From the beginning，I __42__ to look at this matter not as __43__ luck，but as a welcome opportunity.I refused to become sorry;__44__，I actively planned to do something new and different.

Having a positive attitude made all the __45__ in the way I pursued (追求)the future.First，I decided to __46__ to college and graduate many years later than I should have.Doing this at my age took more than a little __47__.Not being a graduate had __48__ held me back in my career in the bank，but now it was a personal goal I longed to __49__.With a lot of determination，I went to evening classes and became an adult __50__.In the class，I became more and more confident.During this time，I __51__ that no matter what life throws in our way，personal growth never stops.

The second thing I did to improve my inner­self was to reevaluate(重新评估)my __52__ life.It used to be filled with endless and meaningless events.But now，my heart and life are completely around people I __53__.

The loss of my job led to some __54__ changes in my life.Revisiting the past made __55__ for the future.I realize that I have accepted the change and am making the most of it.

【解题导语】　生活中充满了变数，作者通过自己的经历告诉我们要接受并善于利用这些改变。

36.A.factory   B.company

C.bank   D.school

解析：选C。根据第三段中的in my career in the bank可知，作者曾在一家银行工作。

37.A.set aside   B.led to

C.made up   D.took off

解析：选B。失业是裁员带来的结果，故选led to(引起，导致)。

38.A.clear   B.bright

C.boring   D.uncertain

解析：选D。作者失业后，未来变得“不确定(uncertain)”，与secure形成对比。

39.A.so   B.or

C.if   D.but

解析：选A。由句意可知the family did not depend only on my income是I was not a single parent的结果，故用so。

40.A.destroyed   B.improved

C.affected   D.offered

解析：选C。但是当改变“影响(affected)”到作者的生活时。

41.A.Make   B.Accept

C.Bring   D.Collect

解析：选B。根据文章最后一句中的I have accepted the change可以看出，作者的人生格言变成：接受并充分利用改变。

42.A.chose   B.considered

C.happened   D.pretended

解析：选A。作者从开始就“选择(chose)”把这次改变看作是一次机遇。

43.A.special   B.rare

C.bad   D.good

解析：选C。注意前后句not...but...构成的对比，作者并没有把发生的事看作“不幸(bad luck)”，而是把它当作一次良机。

44.A.besides   B.instead

C.anyway   D.however

解析：选B。后一分句与become sorry意思相反，故选instead，表示“取而代之的是”。

45.A.difference   B.decision

C.effort   D.use

解析：选A。有一种积极的态度在作者追求未来生活的道路上起了很大的作用。make all the difference的意思是“起大作用，大有作为”。

46.A.attend   B.turn

C.return   D.admit

解析：选C。根据本句提到的graduate many years later than I should have可知，作者决定“返回(return)”大学，完成早该完成的学业。

47.A.time   B.risk

C.chance   D.courage

解析：选D。下文的With a lot of determination提示，像作者这样的年龄作出这样的决定是需要很大的“勇气(courage)”的。

48.A.sometimes   B.ever

C.always   D.never

解析：选D。后面的转折连词but提示前句为一个双重否定句，意思是：没有大学文凭并没有影响我在银行的职业生涯。

49.A.find   B.arrive

C.achieve   D.discover

解析：选C。这是一个人人期望“达到(achieve)”的目标。

50.A.student   B.teacher

C.manager   D.monitor

解析：选A。前面提到作者想返回学校完成学业，这里是指作者去了夜大，成为一名成人“学生(student)”。

51.A.hoped   B.realized

C.believed   D.suggested

解析：选B。通过上课作者越来越自信，同时也“意识到(realized)”，不管在人生的旅途中会遇到什么，个人的成长是永无止境的。

52.A.new   B.daily

C.future   D.past

解析：选D。根据reevaluate和最后一段的Revisiting the past可以判断，作者完善自我的第二件事是重新评估“过去的(past)”生活。

53.A.care for   B.join in

C.stand for   D.look at

解析：选A。现在作者的心和生活完全是围绕着自己所“关心(care for)”的人。

54.A.normal   B.positive

C.confident   D.unsure

解析：选B。通读全文可以看出，作者已经把失业看成了人生的另一次机遇，失业让作者的生活发生了一些积极的改变。第三段的Having a positive attitude也是提示。

55.A.change   B.progress

C.room   D.promise

解析：选C。make room for意思是“为……腾出空间”。作者通过回顾过去为未来作了更充分的准备。

第三部分　阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

A

Paula and Rory Ward have five kids，three dogs，and a rabbit.When the house is very noisy，Megan，one of the children，is quietly inventing.A year ago，the 10­year­olds had to design an anti­smoking poster for a school project.Rather than a poster，she came up with the idea of creating something that shows the average amount of tar(尼古丁) a smoker collects from just four packs of cigarettes.

“I like people to play with things more than read and write，”she says.So she researched her idea on the Internet，found a company in China that could make it，saved up her pocket money and got her idea made.

Paula says her daughter“thinks differently”：Ideas jump into her mind.After she got sunburnt on holiday，Megan invented a small plastic bracelet (手镯) that changes color in the sun，telling you when to put on sunscreen (防晒霜).Several sunscreen companies have expressed an interest in the idea.She also came up with an idea to make a ball filled with water to stop the dog from feeling thirsty.“But we didn’t do anything with it，”says Paula.

Then she pulls out a picture of a special fishing rod (钓鱼竿) she has designed.“There is a camera on the hook (钩)，”she explains，“and the screen is on the handle，and it shows you if you’ve caught a fish or not.”

Megan doesn’t want to go to university.She keeps her pink­and­cream bedroom tidy.Paula is amazed and a bit confused by her daughter.“Everything has to be in a certain order，”Paula says.“Her brothers and sisters go_with_the_flow，but with Megan，it’s ‘What time will that be happening?’or‘Where am I being picked up from today?’”

【解题导语】　本文主要介绍了一个10岁小女孩不断发明创造的故事。

56.From Paragraph 2，we can infer that Megan ________.

A.is not willing to go to school

B.likes to play with her brothers sand sisters

C.prefers making something by herself

D.is good at reading and writing

解析：选C。推理判断题。从第二段的I like people to play with things more than read and write以及后面她着手从网上寻找信息，最终使得产品得以批量生产等可知，Megan喜欢自己动手制作一些东西。故答案选C项。

57.What did Megan invent after she got sunburnt on vacation?

A.The anti­smoking poster.

B.The ball providing water for thirsty dogs.

C.The fishing rod telling whether you’ve caught a fish.

D.The bracelet telling when to put on sunscreen.

解析：选D。细节判断题。结合第三段可知答案选D项。

58.The underlined phrase“go with the flow”probably means “________”.

A.set an example to others

B.do what most people usually do

C.follow the fashion closely

D.do something differently from others

解析：选B。词义推测题。根据后面的but with Megan...把Megan与她的兄弟姐妹作比较可知，他们做事都按部就班，随大流。故答案选B项。www.

59.According to the passage，which of the following about Megan is TRUE?

A.She would like to keep everything in order.

B.She is quite the same as her other four brothers and sisters.

C.Her mother Paula doesn’t want her to go to university.

D.Her parents always help her invent something special.

解析：选A。细节理解题。由第三段第一句以及最后一段可看出，Megan喜欢将事情安排得井然有序，故A正确;由末段Paula的话可看出，Megan与她的兄弟姐妹很不同，B项错误;由末段第一句可知，Megan不想读大学，而非Megan的母亲不想让她读大学，C项错误;由第三段末句以及文中Megan母亲的话可看出，Megan的父母并没有帮助她搞发明，D项错误。

B

More than half of Americans do not take all their vacation days，even though they think they need one more holiday.And nearly a third of workers who take a break check their e­mails from the boss every other day and some even keep in touch hourly.

“We’re workaholics(工作狂)’，”said Samuel Nahmias.“From a general perspective，this has a lot to do with the economic situation in the US.More and more people are unemployed.”

With jobless numbers reaching 9.6 percent，people who have jobs seem to be unwilling to take time off.“It_is_not_a_great_picture and that affects vacations.People are not going on vacation as much and those who are going on vacation are being more selective about where they are going.”Nahmias explained.

Unlike European countries where four or more weeks of holiday each year is normal,27 percent of people questioned in the poll said they had 6 to 10 days of annual leave and 20 percent had less than 3 days.With more people on unemployment lists in America，those still with jobs are facing more responsibility at work，which is reflected in their lack of time off.

The majority of workers who did not take time off mentioned too many responsibilities or stress at work，while some people said they simply did not have time to plan a holiday.“People are more conscious of what they are doing and when they are going on vacation because they don’t want to look bad in this situation，”Nahmias explained.

Technology is also playing a part with smartphones enabling workers to keep in contact in ways that were not possible before.It has to do with technology and the level of concern about what is going on in the office.

【解题导语】　本文主要讲述了当前高失业率让美国人不敢休假的现实。

60.Americans don’t take all their vacation days because ________.

A.they devote themselves to the whole work

B.they are afraid that they may lose their jobs

C.they are asked to keep in touch with their bosses

D.they aren’t in need of holidays at all

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据第二段的More and more people are unemployed.可推知美国人不敢休假的原因是在经济环境不景气的情况下，他们害怕失业。

61.What does Nahmias mean by saying the underlined words in Paragraph 3?

A.Travelling makes people unwelcome.

B.People are unwilling to go on short vacations.

C.The economic situation remains at a low point.

D.People are more selective about places of interest.

解析：选C。细节理解题。由第三段的With jobless numbers reaching 9.6 percent，people who have jobs seem to be unwilling to take time off可知，美国失业率升高，以及第二段的表述可推断，Nahmias的意思为“经济持续低迷”。

62.We can infer from Paragraph 4 that ________.

A.Unemployment rate is higer in America than that in Europe

B.European economic situation is better than that in America

C.Americans are more hard­working than Europeans

D.More people are losing their jobs in Europe