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。
As usual, it was always cold during the days. Hibury was cut off from the rest of the world because of heavy snow.
It was a cold January in 1925 in North Alaska. The town was cut off on the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch ________ a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious(传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Hibury would be ________ if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick. ________, the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.
How could the medicine get to Hibury? The town’s ________ was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the ________ roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn’t exist yet.
________ January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were ________. Hibury’s town officials came up with a(n) ________. They would have the medicine sent by ________ from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogeled(狗拉雪橇)drivers—known as “mushers”—would ________ it to Hibury in a relay(接力).
The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. ________ he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon’s face was black from the extreme cold.
On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to ________ a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most ________ part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would ________, and so would the sick children of Hibury. But Seppala made it across.
A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point huge piles of snow blocked his ________. He had to leave the trail(雪橇痕迹) to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to ________ the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog, Balto put his nose to the ground, ________ to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Hibury. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to ________. He had found the trail.
At 5:30 a.m. on February 2, Kaasen and his dog ________ in Hibury. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.
Hibury had been ________.
1.A. examinedB. warnedC. interviewedD. cured
2.A. harmlessB. helplessC. fearlessD. careless
3.A. MoreoverB. ThereforeC. OtherwiseD. However
4.A. AirportB. StationC. HarborD. border
5.A. narrowB. snowyC. busyD. dirty
6.A. FromB. OnC. ByD. After
7.A. tiredB. upsetC. paleD. sick
8.A. planB. excuseC. messageD. topic
9.A. airB. railC. seaD. road
10.A. carryB. returnC. mailD. give
11.A. ThoughB. SinceC. WhenD. If
12.A. enterB. moveC. visitD. cross
13.A. shamefulB. boringC. dangerousD. foolish
14.A. escapeB. bleedC. swimD. die
15.A. memoryB. exitC. wayD. destination
16.A. findB. fixC. passD. change
17.A. pretendingB. tryingC. askingD. learning
18.A. runB. leaveC. biteD. play
19.A. gatheredB. stayedC. campedD. arrived
20.A. controlledB. savedC. foundedD. developed
