It had been a pleasantly warm day, without much wind, and with enough cloud to prevent the heat of the sun becoming too great. Charles had spent a long time studying the   36   of the water in the boat, and had discovered that, by evening, it had   37   very slightly. This, it would seem, must mean that the boat was not   38   water, which was fortunate, because any attempt to empty it out suggested greater 39   than he felt equal to. One other immediate problem had   40   his thoughts for a few moments. This was the problem of Harcourt. Charles realized that he   41   put poor Harcourt in the sea. It should be simple matter and take no more than a few seconds. Charles arranged in his mind exactly   42   it could most easily be done, but his body did not react to the   43   of his mind. Charles told himself that it was his badly burnt hands that were the trouble. And there was nothing to be done about them except not    44   them.

But then, suddenly, almost without knowing how he did it, Charles moved, stood up, bent   45   the body of poor Harcourt, lifted it and let it slip as   46   as possible into the sea. Afterwards he stood in the stern（船尾）of the boat for a long time, watching the color of the sea   47   and the sky become increasingly farther off with the coming of the night. In a curious way he felt strangely happy. The problem of his   48   had not yet begun to trouble him.

After a time Charles’s returning interest in   49   showed itself in the simple form of hunger. With some difficulty,   50   the water in the boat, he    51   its stores and found food and water in air-tight tins. He also found a neat package wrapped in green oiled silk. He unwrapped it and found maps. Neat, beautifully designed and   52   , spotlessly new, they   53   his knees and he was   54   alone in a world of water. At that moment these clean official maps, correct in every detail, were as   55   as the sound of a human voice, as cheering as a candle in darkness.

36. A. level     B. temperature                C. amount           D. colour

37. A. risen    B. fallen          C. sunk               D. emptied

38. A. taking on     B. taking over            C. taking up       D. taking in

39. A. success       B. effort                    C. hope             D. space

40. A. held            B. interrupted            C. taken              D. tied

41. A. was able to B. was to                C. shouldn’t              D. couldn’t

42. A. when   B. where                   C. how                  D. why

43. A. bottom        B. suggestions           C. brain               D. middle

44. A. mention       B. warm                     C. clean                 D. use

45. A. down       B. over                   C. forward          D. into

46. A. light            B. gently                 C. smoothly           D. fast

47. A. deeply     B. deep                     C. deepen              D. deeper

48. A. rescue     B. hands                 C. boat                       D. escape

49. A. working      B. studying               C. living           D. watching

50. A. except     B. in spite of            C. instead of        D. owing to

51. A. exploited     B. exploded               C. examined         D. explained

52. A. written      B. printed                 C. published          D. hidden

53. A. lay down     B. lay across           C. lay in                D. lay about

54. A. especially    B. suddenly                 C. no longer          D. no less

55. A. comforting B. interesting               C. frightening        D. admiring