(07·宁夏、海南、全国Ⅰ)

In the United States there was an unusual tale telling of the daughter of a mechanic （技工）. One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl  36   to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose. After some time the girl   37   the mother would not return to her eggs and she   38   to take them home. There she carefully   39   the eggs in the heat of a lamp. Several days   40   the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the   41  .

Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother.   42  , to these young geese, the girl was their mother.

As they   43  , the girl was able to   44   her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to   45  . The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when   46   and in her dreams. Later, she had an   47  : She would pilot a plane to guide them in   48  . She asked her father for a plane and he assembled（组装）a small aircraft for her.

Caring about   49   safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself. However, the birds did not   50   or follow him, and   51   slept in the grass.

One day, the girl   52   into the plane, started it and soon left the   53  . Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds   54   flapped（拍打）their wings and   55  . She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following.

36. A. managed           B. attempted            C. happened        D. supposed

37. A. realized            B. expected             C. imagined        D. admitted

38. A. helped             B. decided              C. afforded         D. meant

39. A. placed             B. protected             C. treated          D. examined

40. A. ago               B. out                  C. later            D. long

41. A. family             B. lake                 C. home           D. world

42. A. But               B. Also                 C. Thus            D. Still

43. A. increased          B. improved             C. rose             D. grew

44. A. ask               B. lead                  C. want            D. allow

45. A. fly               B. race                  C. swim            D. sing

46. A. asleep            B. away                  C. around          D. awake

47. A. idea              B. opinion                C. explanation      D. excuse

48. A. sky               B. heaven                C. flight           D. plane

49. A. his               B. her                    C. their           D. its

50. A. respect            B. remember              C. recognize       D. receive

51. A. so                B. instead                C. hardly          D. too

52. A. climbed           B. looked                 C. reached         D. fell

53. A. house             B. floor                  C. water           D. ground

54. A. secretly            B. disappointedly          C. patiently        D. eagerly

55. A. looked away        B. set out                 C. went by        D. turned back