阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21~40各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Once a man lost his umbrella. He put an advertisement in the newspaper, __ 21__ without result. So one day he came to one of his friends, a__ 22  _, for help. His friend asked him _ 23  he had written the advertisement.

The man gave it to him, “_ 24  at the London Church a black umbrella.  25 _finds it and returns it will  26  ten pounds.”

His friend  27  a great number of advertisements in newspapers  28  his business. He thought the style of writing was of  29  importance. So he helped him to write in another  30  . The next day, this  31  appeared in the newspaper: “If the man who was seen to   32  an umbrella from the London Church doesn’t want to  33  trouble,  34  will return it to No.20 Broad Street.”

The next morning, the man was very  35  to see in front of the door 36  twelve umbrellas  37  all sizes and colors. His umbrella was also  38  them.

Many of them had notes,  39  said they had been taken by  40  and asked the man not to say anything about the umbrella.

21. A. however                 B. and                  C. or                    D. but

22. A. merchant               B. worker                C. writer                   D. teacher

23. A. why                   B. what                 C. how                    D. which

24. A. Lost                    B. Missed                C. Stolen              D. Bought

25. A. Who                   B. The person             C. Anyone             D. Whoever

26. A. accept                  B. find                  C. receive              D. reward

27. A. had put                 B. has put                C. put                 D. would put

28. A. because                 B. as                     C. since                D. because of

29. A. great                   B. no                   C. any                 D. little

30. A. way                    B. saying                C. language            D. newspaper

31. A. notes                   B. story                   C. advertisement        D. umbrella

32. A. bring                   B. rob                   C. steal               D. take

33. A. get into                 B. make                 C. ask for                      D. get out of

34. A. she                     B. it                     C. who                D. he

35. A. surprised                 B. happy                C. sad                 D. moved

36. A. at least                  B. no more than           C. not more than        D. at most

37. A. with                    B. of                    C. at                 D. in

38. A. between                 B. beside                C. near                D. among

39. A. which                   B. that                   C. where              D. on which

40. A. mistake                  B. chance                      C. accident            D. choice

The government has lost a great deal of _____ because of the large increase in food pries.

A. strength    B. support    C. agreement    D. vote

It seems that politicians around the world are thinking about the health of their countries. While in China, Chen Zhu has announced his plans for a universal（全体的，普遍的）health service and reform across health services. Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, has also announced he is planning to make some changes in our health service.

    The crux（关键）of Mr. Brown's proposals are related to giving the NHS (National Health Service) a greater focus on prevention, rather than just curing patients.

    He is planning to introduce increased screening for common diseases such as heart disease, strokes（中风）, and cancer, for example, breast cancer. In Britain there are 200,000 deaths a year from heart attacks and strokes, many of which might have been avoided if the condition had been known about.

    Initially, the diagnostic (诊断的) tests will be available for those who are vulnerable, or most likely to have the disease. One example is a plan to offer all men over 65 an ultrasound test to check for problems with the main artery (动脉), a condition which kills 3,000 men a year.

The opposition have criticized Mr. Brown's proposals, saying that they are just a trick, and claiming that there is no proper timetable for the changes. They also say that Mr. Brown is reducing the money available for the treatment of certain conditions while putting more money towards testing for them.

    The NHS was founded in 1948, and is paid for by taxation. The idea is that the rich pay more towards the health service than the poor. However in recent years there has been a great increase in the use of private healthcare, because it’s much quicker. NHS waiting lists for operations can be very long, so many people who can afford it choose to pay for medical care themselves.

The underlined word vulnerable in the fourth paragraph probably means ________.

   A. sick     B. weak     C. wounded     D. old

All the following statements are true except that _________.

   A. all people should pay for their healthcare at the NHS.

   B. some people are against the reform of the healthcare.

   C. the writer is likely to come from Britain.

   D. more money will be spent on testing people than before.

Which of the following is the reason for the increasing private healthcare?

   A. People are paying more attention to their own health.

   B. People are well off enough to pay their healthcare.

   C. The NHS was not available for most of the people.

   D. It’s not so convenient for people to go to the NHS for their healthcare.

According to the passage, the purpose of the health reform plan in the UK is to _______  

   A. encourage more private healthcare.

   B.focus on the prevention rather than on curing the patient.

   C. deal with the main artery problems.

   D. fight against the opposition in the UK.

The author of this passage intends to tell us _________.

   A. the NHS should be reformed right away.

   B. more and more people are dying from diseases.

   C. the plan to reform the NHS in the UK.

   D. the criticism of Mr. Brown's proposals.

One of the best-known American writers is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose pen-name is Mark Twain. Born in 1835, Twain grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. Like many other boys of his day, Twain dreamed of traveling on riverboats and of becoming a riverboat pilot(舵手) someday. He used his memories of the life of the river town in his two most famous books, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.

As a young man Twain held many jobs. He was a printer, a gold miner, and for a long time, he was a riverboat pilot. During his pilot days, he adopted(采用) the name Mark Twain. This was something used by the boatmen to mean the water measured two fathoms, or twelve feet, which was deep enough for safe passage.

Finally, Twain became a famous writer. He traveled a great deal, writing and speaking, and was very popular both in the United States and in Europe.

Twain’s style of writing was simple and direct. Among the things he wrote about were superstitious(迷信的) people and people who were easily fooled. He used his unusual gift for humor to write about many things of importance.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens _____________________ .

   A. is the best-known American writer

   B. never left the town of Hannibal, Missouri

   C. is the hero of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer

 D. used Mark Twain as his pen-name

Many boys of that time _________________________ .

   A. wanted to become writers

   B. were anxious to work on a riverboat

   C. just wanted to be passengers on the Mississippi

   D. wished to become friends of Mark Twain.

Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain was probably about _________ .

   A. boys’ life of his day

   B. the life of a riverboat pilot

   C. the life of a river town

   D. Twain’s travel on riverboats

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

   A. Fathom was a unit used by boatmen to measure the depth of the water.

   B. People could be easily amused by Mark Twain’s writing.

   C. Europeans showed little interest in Mark Twain’s writings.

   D. Mark Twain’s books could be easily understood for his style.

The government has lost a great deal of _____ because of the large increase in food pries.

　　A. strength    B. support    C. agreement    D. vote