完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
As a young man, Al was a skilled artist．He had a wife and two fine sons．One night, his oldest son developed a serious stomachache．Thinking it was only some   36   intestinal （肠内的）disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously．But the boy   37   suddenly that night．
Knowing the death could have been   38    if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al's emotional health became worse under the huge burden(重负) of his   39     .To make matters worse his wife   40   him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son．The hurt and pain of the two   41   were more than Al could handle, and he   42   to alcohol(烈酒)．In time Al became an alcoholic.
43___ the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he   44   — his home, his land, his art objects, everything．  45   Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room．
When I heard of Al's death, I thought that Al's life was a complete   46 ．
As time went by, I began to reconsider my earlier judgment．I knew Al's now   47   son, Ernie．He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known．I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free   48   of love between them．I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere．
I hadn't heard Ernie talk much about his  49__．One day I worked __50_ my courage to ask him．"I'm really _51__ by something," I said．"I know your father was  52   _ the only one to raise you．What on earth did he do that you became such a special person?"
Ernie sat quietly and _53__ for a few moments．Then he said, "From my earliest _54_ as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ' I love you, son．' "
Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to __55_ Al as a failure．He had not left any material possessions behind．But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known．
36．A．certain          B．common           C．rare          D．basic
37．A．dead             B．passed away      C．starved       D．worsened
38．A．cured            B．prevented          C．forbidden     D．saved
39．A．disease            B．debt              C．guilt        D．duty
40．A．left               B．scolded            C．quarreled     D．forgave
41．A．disasters           B．adventures         C．conflicts      D．situations
42．A．got                B．drank             C．turned       D．sank
43．A．As               B．Though            C．Because      D．If
44．A．needed            B．shared             C．benefited      D．owned
45．A．Eventually         B．Gradually          C．Therefore     D．Meanwhile
46．A．trouble            B．hardship            C．failure       D．waste
47．A．teen               B．adult               C．old         D．adolescent
48．A．win               B．fall               C．space         D．flow
49．A．mother            B．brother              C．father         D．child
50．A．up              B．with              C．on            D．through
51．A．worried           B．puzzled             C．interested      D．attracted
52．A．especially          B．basically            C．hardly      D．specially
53．A．argued            B．searched             C．analyzed        D．thought
54．A．thoughts           B．ideas               C．minds        D．memories
55．A．treat              B．call                C．judge        D．feel

Vienna－In spite of Iraq’s decision to stop oil deliveries, the 11- nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries（OPEC）will not increase production to make up the shortfall, ministers decided Tuesday in Vienna.

    The 11 oil ministers decided to meet again on July 3 to discuss the effects of the Iraq temporary stop. The organization’s president, Charkid Kheria of Algeria, said after the meeting that stocks were high and prices were stable, so quota increases were not necessary.

    The E.U. Commission has expressed concern about Iraq’s output stop. A speaker said OPEC had to take all possible measures to keep or lower the oil price.

    Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Nuaimi had earlier said there would not be any shortfall of oil in the market. The organization had already taken steps to fill the gap, he said. OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez added that the period of Iraq’s output stop was not known, so other exporters were not going to lift quotas yet. If the market was destabilized (使……动摇), a suitable response could be made.

    Iraq on Monday stopped shipments of crude oil to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the oil-for-food programme by only a month, instead of the normal six-month renewal. Just before the Vienna meeting, oil prices had gone up, with a barrel of OPEC crude oil selling for 27.05 dollars, up from 26.81 dollars last Friday. North Sea oil was at 29.26 dollars Monday evening.

    OPEC wants the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars and achieved that with cuts in January and March that reduced 2.5 million barrels per day off quotas(配额).

Iraq made the decision to stop oil deliveries because ___________.

    A. oil price is too low in international market.

    B. The U.N. Secretary Council has decided to shorten the time of extension of the oil-for-food programme

    C. Many oil wells were destroyed during the war in the late 1980s

    D. It couldn’t get enough money to develop its economy

The attitude the E.U. Commission took towards Iraq’s output stop is ________.

    A. active       B. concerned        C. cold        D. surprised

The 11 oil ministers decided to meet on July 3 so that _________.

    A. they can persuade Iraq to continue oil production

    B. they can have a talk with the U.N. Security Council

    C. they can have a discussion about the effects of Iraq’s temporary output stop

    D. they can make up their minds to increase oil production

The main idea of the passage is ________.

    A. the oil prices in the world were stable though Iraq has stopped oil deliveries

    B. OPEC has controlled the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars

    C. OPEC will not increase oil production to make up the shortfall that caused by Iraq

    D. Oil is connected with people’s daily life

It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.
Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure.
Al Herpin died at the age of 95. 
41.The main idea of this passage is that _______
A. everyone needs some sleep to stay alive
B. people can live longer by trying not to sleep
C. large numbers of people do not need sleep
D. a person was found who actually didn't need any sleep
42.The doctors came to visit Herpin, expecting ______
A. to find out whether his sleeplessness was really true
B. to find out why some old people didn't need any sleep
C. to find a way to free people from the need of sleeping
D. to cure him of his sleeplessness
43. After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin ____
A. needed no sleep at all              B. needed some kind of sleep     
C . was too old to need any sleep       D .often slept in a chair
44.One reason that might explain Herpin' s sleeplessness was ______
A. his mother's injury before he was born
B. his magnificent physical condition
C. that he had gradually got rid of the sleeping habit
D. that he hadn't got a bed
45.Al Herpin' s condition could be regarded as ______
A. a common one       B. very healthy     C. one that could be cured    D. a rare one

It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true ? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.

Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day. They never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.

The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason ? No one could be sure. Herpin died at the age of 94.

The main idea of this passage is that _______.

A. large numbers of people do not need sleep

B. a person was found who actually didn't need any sleep

C. everyone needs some sleep to stay alive

D. people can live longer by trying not to sleep

The doctors came to visit Herpin, expecting to _______.

A. cure him of his sleeplessness　　

B. find that his sleeplessness was not really true

C. find a way to free people from the need of sleeping

D. find out why some old people didn't need any asleep

After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin _______.

A. was too old to need any sleep                 B. often slept in a chair

C. needed no sleep at all                      D. needed some kind of sleep

One reason that might explain Herpin's sleeplessness was _______.

A. that he hadn't got a bed　

B. that he had gradually got tired of the sleeping habit

C. his mother's injury before he was born　　　　

D. his magnificent physical condition

It doesn’t matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That’s what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.

    Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.

    The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by his strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him a lot of questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain this question. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure.

Herpin died at the age of 94.

The doctors came to Herpin’s home in order to __________.

       A. treat him for his illness

       B. find the reason why some old people didn’t need any sleep.

       C. get some proof to show his sleeplessness was not really true.

       D. help him to have a rest in some day.

After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin ________.

         A. needed some kind of sleep.

         B. needed no sleep at all.

         C. was too old to need any sleep.

         D. often slept in a chair.

Al Herpin’s condition could be regarded as ___________.

       A. an unusual one                 B. a common one

       C. very healthy                     D. very funny

The main idea of this passage is that ____________.

       A. large numbers of people do not need sleep

       B. everyone needs some sleep to stay alive

       C. people can live longer by trying not to sleep at all

       D. a person was found who actually didn’t need any sleep