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，掌握其大意，从短文后所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Like most people , I was brought up to look upon life as a process of getting. It was not until in my late thirties that I made this important   36  :giving-away makes life so much more exciting. You need not worry if you  37  money.

This is how I  38  with giving-away. If an idea for improving the window display of a neighborhood store  39  to me, I step in and make the suggestion to the  40  .If an accident takes pace, the  41  of which I think the local police could use, I  42  him up and tell him about it, though I am mot in  43  here. One discovery I made about this world is to give  44  getting something back, though the  45  often comes in an unexpected form.

One Sunday morning the local post office delivered an important  46  letter to my home, though it was  47  to me at my office. I wrote the postmaster a note of  48  .More than a year later I needed a post-office box for a new business I was  49  .I was told at the window that there were  50  boxes left, and that my name would have to go on a long  51  list. As I was about to  52  , the postmaster appeared in the  53  . "Wasn't it you that wrote us that letter a year ago about delivering a special delivery to your home?" I said it was. "Well, you certainly are going to have a box in this post office  54  we make one for you. You don't know what a letter like that means to us. We usually get  55  but complaints."

36. A. decision B. research      C. speech          D. discovery

37. A. earn       B. lack      C. spend  D. steal

38. A. experienced  B. connected   C. combined     D. agreed

39. A. happens         B. flashes          C. sticks   D. leads

40. A. postmaster   B. headmaster         C. storekeeper         D. policeman

41. A. story      B. damage        C. challenge     D. material

42. A. call          B. hold      C. break   D. pick

43. A. need       B. trouble         C. common       D. charge

44. A. within    B. without        C. for        D. before

45. A. process B. goal      C. return  D. concern

46. A. curious  B. immediate   C. special D. heavy

47. A. realized B. addressed   C. forgotten     D. brought

48. A. invitation        B. apology        C. instruction   D. appreciation

49. A. dealing  B. providing      C. operating     D. starting

50. A. enough  B. some   C. no         D. more

51. A. admitting       B. relating        C. examining    D. waiting

52. A. leave      B. shout   C. guess   D. conduct

53. A. window B. doorway       C. library  D. yard

54. A. in case   B. now that      C. even if         D. as if

55. A. anything         B. everything   C. nothing         D. something

 

In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell , but actively taking part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve fluency.

    Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology, business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J. Stemberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as “the ability to produce work that is both new (original） and appropriate(applicable to the situation ） ”. This definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it correctly and properly. Mot scholars say there are two types of creativity: big “C” creativity and small “c” creativity. Big “C” creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small “c” creativity refers to everyday level thinking that can be used in any situation our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way.

1. The underlined words “waiting for the bell ” in the first paragraph probably means______.

A. longing for a phone call      B. hoping to have a bell

C. expecting the end of the class   D. waiting to speak in the class

2.It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were _____.

A. popular   B. useful   C. scientific    D. Creative

3.When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are ________.

A creative in the sense of big “C” creativity.

B. creative in the sense of small “c” creativity..

C. not creative in the sense of big “C” creativity..

D. not creative in the sense of small “c” creativity.

4.The main purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. show how useful the book is

B. explain what creativity is

C. discuss how one can be creative

D. tell what teaching aims at

 

  In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell , but actively taking part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve fluency.

Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology, business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J. Stemberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as “the ability to produce work that is both new (original) and appropriate(applicable to the situation ) ”. this definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it correctly and properly. Mot scholars say there are two types of creativity: big “C” creativity and small “c” creativity. Big “C” creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small “c” creativity refers to everyday level thinking that can be used in any situation our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way.

The underlined words “waiting for the bell ” in the first paragraph probably means______.

A. longing for a phone call        B. hoping to have a bell   

C. expecting the end of the class    D. waiting to speak in the class

It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were _____.

 A. popular    B. useful    C. scientific     D. creative   

When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are ________.

A creative in the sense of big “C” creativity.

B. creative in the sense of small “c” creativity..

C. not creative in the sense of big “C” creativity..

D. not creative in the sense of small “c” creativity.

The main purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. show how useful the book is.

B, explain what creativity 

C. discuss how one can be creative 

D. tell what reaching aims at 

阅读下面短文，请根据短文后的要求进行答题。（请注意问题后的字数要求）

Have you ever heard of exploding Easter eggs? Cascarones are eggshells（蛋壳） filled with confetti (五彩纸屑) and topped with tissue paper they’re colorful, but watch out! A friend might break a cascaron over your head, showering you with rainbow-colored confetti!

Cascarones may have come from China, where the eggshells were filled with talcum powder (爽身粉) and given as gifts. Marco polo brought them to Italy in the late thirteenth century. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these eggs were used at European weddings and dances.

Empress Carlota, wife of Emperor Maximilian, introduced the eggs to Mexico during her husband’s rule from 1864 to 1867. The talcum powder became perfume（香料，香水）, and the eggs were called cascarones, from the Spanish words for “shell”, cascara, and “to crack or burst”, cascara.

Cascarones symbolize new life and a new season. The egg represents creation, and the tissue paper, cut in many spring colors, represent multicolored flowers in green grass. When a cascarone ___________ over people’s heads, the “gate of heaven” is opened, showering people with good fortune.

In the late 1960s and early 170s, cascarones appeared in the United States with the growing Mexican-American population. Children’s author and artist Carme Lomas Garza wrote in her book In MY Family, “On Easter Sunday, we would sneak up on our brothers, break the cascarones on their heads, and rub the confetti into their hair. However, no one would feel annoyed. Instead, we found a lot of fun.”

Today you can find cascarones at most festivals. They are also popular at school fairs, art shows, and other festive gatherings in the United States. Cascarones may have changed forms and functions as they traveled the world, but they’re guaranteed to bring you a good time.

76. What does the word “they” refer to (in the last line)? ( one word)

____________________________________________________________________________

77. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 4 with proper words.

____________________________________________________________________________

78. List the traveling route of cascarones. (no more than 5 words)

___________—___________ —___________—____________

79. How did Carmen Lomas Garza feel about her experiences with cascarones?(no more than 3 words)

____________________________________________________________________________

80. What’s the author’s purpose of writing Paragraph 4? (no more than 10 words)

_________________________________________________________________________

 (09·湖北C篇)

When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices（装置）tell the time—which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.

But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others—apparently including some distinguished men of our time—are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £250.000 for a piece.

This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions—but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?

If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.

Watches are now classified as “investments”（投资）. A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly? £350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from? 15, 000 to? 30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It’s a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up-—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when of fashion. Prices may keep going up—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that? £350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Times.

59 The sales of watches to young people have fallen because they__________.

A. have other devices to tell the time

B. think watches too expensive

C. prefer to wear an iPod

D. hame no sense of time

60. It seems ridiculous to the writer that_______________.

A. people dive 300 metres into the sea

B. expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones

C. cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones

D. expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell

61. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?

A. It targets rich people as its potential customers.

B. It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.

C. It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.

D. It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.

62. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Timex or Rolex?

B. My Childhood Timex

C. Watches? Mot for Me!

D. Watches—a Valuable Collection