(08·江西)

The three youths leaned over the metal rails along the sea-wall and watched a few fishermen pull in their nets．About thirty metres away, a boat pulled alongside the slippery steps leading

  36   to the sea．

“Hey, look!” exclaimed Rahim．“Those two men are   37   heavy rocks．I thought we no longer do muscle labour in this technological   38   ”．

“You don’t    39    a crane（起重机）to unload less than a dozen rocks, do you?” smiled Joshua.

“But those men don’t    40    to have muscles at all.” said Michael, rather surprised. Joshua smiled.

“They are    41    labourers who know how to spread the weight of the rocks they

  42  ．See how the man positions the rock just at the slope of his   43  ．Some of the rock’s weight is set   44   his head, some on the right hand and some on the left hand．His body isn’t bent．His legs are well  45  .”

“You’re right, Josh．He may have a small build．  46    he certainly well knows his job．Dear me! And to think we have been studying   47   ! ” Rahim thought about all that was happening．Suddenly, he said, “Technology won’t   48   the human being completely, it appears．”

“I don’t think it will．”   49    Joshua．“You can harvest a crop of potatoes or wheat with one of those large, multi-purpose tractors, but you   50    use that equipment to harvest tea leaves and tomatoes, will you?”

“You can get a computer to    51    multiple-choice assessments, but you cannot get the computer to produce or assess essays, can you?” asked Michael．

“Well, the washing machine leaves my shirt collar quite as   52    as ever — that’s domestic technology for you! ” said Rahim．

“One day, perhaps, there won’t be anybody    53    who can carry a large rock the way those men do．It’s not going to be a very   54    world, I’m afraid.” sighed Michael．

“You’re too much of a pessimist (悲观主义者），Mike.” said Joshua．“    55   will always be other things that will make the world exciting．”

36．A．through                 B．across                C．down                         D．up

37．A．loading                 B．unloading              C．covering                D．uncovering

38．A．way                   B．revolution             C．process                 D．era

39．A．ask                    B．expect               C．attempt                 D．hope

40．A．happen                 B．fail                  C．have                   D．seem

41．A．ambitious              B．experienced           C．potential               D．energetic

42．A．take                  B．fetch                   C．carry                  D．bring

43．A．shoulder               B．back                  C．chest                 D．arms

44．A．on                    B．against                 C．toward                D．under

45．A．supported             B．grasped                C．placed                 D．strengthened

46．A．but                   B．however               C．so                     D．therefore

47．A．chemistry             B．physics                 C．biology                 D．psychology

48．A．control                B．affect                C．remove                 D．replace

49．A．agreed                B．proposed              C．refused                 D．denied

50．A．can’t               B．mustn’t             C．won’t                D．needn’t

51．A．point out               B．take out               C．hand out               D．print out

52．A．dirty                  B．clean                 C．old                    D．new

53．A．caught                 B．arranged              C．left                   D．convinced

54．A．exciting                B．mysterious            C．technological         D．modern

55．A．That                  B．This                 C．They                  D．There