8．A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow（乌鸦） was jumping around．The crow watched them with disdain（鄙视）．
"You have no flying skills at all!"he said to the swans．"All you can do is to move your wings．Can you turn over in the air？No，that's beyond you．Let's have a flying competition．I'll s
how you what real flying is!"
One of the swans，a strong young male，took up the challenge．The crow flew up and began to show his skills．He flew in circles，performed other flying tricks，and then came down and looked proudly at the swan．
Now it was the swan's turn．He flew up，and began flying over the sea．The crow flew after him，making all kinds of comments（评价） about his flying．They flew on and on till they couldn't see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides．The crow was making fewer and fewer comments．He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air，and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water．
The swan pretended not to notice，and said，"Why do you keep touching the water，brother？Is that another trick？"
"No，"said the crow．He knew he had lost the competition．"I'm in trouble because of my pride!If you don't help me，I'll lose my life…"
The swan took pity on him，and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach．
51．What's the correct order of the following events？C
a．The crow showed off its flying skills．
b．The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it．
c．The crow laughed at the swan's flying．
d．The crow followed the swan and got into trouble．
e．The crow challenged the swans and a strong young swan accepted it．
A．e，c，d，a，b
B．a，e，c，d，b
C．c，e，a，d，b
D．e，a，d，c，b
52．What does the underlined word"exhausted"in Paragraph 4mean？A
A．Tired．
B．Angry．
C．Frightened．
D．Regretful．
53．Why did the crow keep touching the water？B
A．It was showing another flying skill．
B．It was struggling to keep itself from falling into the water．
C．It was thirsty and wanted to drink some water．
D．It was enjoying itself by doing so．
54．What can we infer（推断） from the passage？D
A．The crow didn't know flying．
B．Flying skills were useless．
C．The swan saved the crow because they were good friends．
D．The swan was better at long-distance flying than the crow．
55．What does the story tell us？A
A．Pride goes before a fall
B．The early bird catches the worm．
C．No pains，no gains．
D．Practice makes perfect．
分析 一对天鹅飞落在一个沙滩上，有一只乌鸦正在跳跃．乌鸦很鄙视的看着天鹅．
"你已经不能飞了．"他对着天鹅说．"你能做的只是动动翅膀、你能在天空翻转吗？不，你不行了．我们来比赛吧，我会向你展示真正的飞翔．"
其中一只强壮的年轻的公的天鹅接受了挑战．乌鸦飞起来展示自己的技能．他飞着转圈，表演其他的飞行技巧，然后下来骄傲的看着天鹅．
现在轮到天鹅了．他飞起来，开始飞过大海．乌鸦飞着跟随着他，对天鹅的飞行做各种评价．他们一直飞，知道他们看不见陆地，四周只有水．乌鸦的评论越来越少．他是如此的筋疲力尽以至于他发现待在天上是如此的累，不得不挣扎着让自己不掉落到水里．
天鹅装作没看见，说到："为什么你一直接触着水面，另一个技巧？"
"不"乌鸦说到，他知道他输了比赛"因为骄傲，我陷入麻烦中！如果你不帮助我，我就会失去生命…"
天鹅同情他，将他放在他的肩膀上飞回沙滩．
解答 51：答案：C．故事排序题．根据短文描述，可知首先是天鹅接受了挑战，然后乌鸦跟随者天鹅遇到麻烦，再就是乌鸦向天鹅求救，最后天鹅很同情乌鸦并救了它的命．故选C．
52：答案：A．词义猜测题．联系下文that he found it hard to stay in the air，and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water．可知此处exhausted指的是劳累，筋疲力尽的意思．故选A．
53：答案：B．细节理解题．根据联系前文and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water．描述，可知乌鸦这样做的原因是为了不让自己落水．故选B．
54：答案：D．推理判断题．根据这篇短文中的乌鸦是在长途飞行中输给了天鹅．可见天鹅比乌鸦更善于长途飞行．故选D．
55：答案：A．主旨大意题．根据I'm in trouble because of my pride!可知这篇短文中骄傲的乌鸦由于骄傲，挑战天鹅，最后被它瞧不起的天鹅救了命，从而告诉我们骄傲使人落后的道理，故选A．
点评 归纳主旨大意：
（1）寻找具体段落的中心思想的方法是：找出每小段的主题句．
主题句通常有这样的特点：
①有一个话题（topic）；
②有阐述控制性概念，偶尔也可在一段中间；
③有的文章无明显主题句，主题句隐含在段意之中．这就需要读者进一步加工概括了．
（2）寻找整篇文章的中心思想的方法建立在寻找具体段落中心的基础上的．
应观察全文的结构安排，理解文章浓墨重笔写的"重心"，考虑文章组织材料及支撑性细节是服务于什么的，分析故事的发展结局都是围绕什么中心大意来安排的．
