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，然后从36—55题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。

If you have a watch, don't repair it! I know it   36  . Once I had a beautiful watch. And this watch   37   perfect time. But one night it happened that I forgot to   38   it up. Next morning I went to a watchmaker as I wanted my perfect watch to   39   by the exact time. The watchmaker examined my watch and said: "The regulator (校准器) is to be pushed up   40   your watch is four minutes   41  ."

I tried to stop him, tried to   42   him understand that my watch kept perfect time, but he did not listen to me and pushed the regulator.

My beautiful watch began to gain time. It   43   faster and faster day by day. By the end of the second month it   44   all the clocks and watches of the town far behind.

What did I have to do? To take it to another watchmaker to be regulated. I expected him to regulate the watch immediately   45   he asked me to come in a week's time. When at last I took my watch from him it began to   46   down. And I began to be late for trains, business appointments and even missed my dinners.

Now I went to   47   watchmaker. While I waited for him to repair my poor watch, he  48 it to pieces and said that he could finish this work   49   three or four days. I could do nothing but   50  . That time my watch went for half a day and then stopped.

So I kept   51   my watch from one watchmaker to another for a considerable period of time.

And as a result of it the cleverest man in the world could not   52   the time by my watch. The thing was getting   53  . My watch had   54   two hundred dollars originally but I paid for repairs more than two hundred. At last I decided to buy   55   watch, which I did.

36．A．for reality      B．for truth       C．for certain    D．for certainty

37．A．kept          B．told           C．observed            D．struck

38．A．turn          B．wind          C．pick          D．put

39．A．be turned      B．be taken        C．be put        D．be set

40．A．as          B．as if     C．when      D．if

41．A．fast         B．slowly         C．faster        D．slow

42．A．get                 B．persuade        C．make        D．explain

43．A．gained       B．lost        C．went          D．won

44．A．had remained         B．had left         C．had stayed    D．had fallen

45．A．however     B．and            C．but                 D．therefore

46．A．go          B．walk           C．slow                D．take

47．A．the third     B．the second      C．the first      D．the fourth

48．A．broke         B．took           C．tore          D．cut

49．A．after          B．before          C．over                D．in

50．A．to agree       B．agree          C．agreeing             D．agreed 

51．A．taking       B．bringing        C．carrying             D．fetching

52．A．recognize      B．tell            C．know        D．understand

53．A．seriously     B．pleasant       C．badly       D．serious

54．A．spent      B．took        C．cost        D．paid

55．A．another  B．the other        C．one   D．one more