完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Today we had an American family, the Robinsons, for Sunday dinner. Mr. Robinson is my mother’s co-worker.

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson and their two young    came at about 6:00 PM. Mrs. Robinson gave Mum a bunch of fresh flowers,   color,freshness and their good will. Mum did the   

and it was left to ourselves to get to know each other. I soon  on well with the two girls Judy and Annie.

Mrs. Robinson was much    than her husband. There was a moment of embarrassment when Granny asked about her    . Mum was about to apologize      Mrs. Robinson laughed and said it was quite all right and that she had been in    long enough to know it was the Chinese custom. She      told us that she was 32, though her husband was 52.

And of course they entirely    the dinner. Like a perfect Chinese hostess, Mum and especially Granny    stuffing(填) them with food and urging them to eat and to drink, apologizing all the time that it’s a homely meal.   , Mrs. Robinson said to Mum, “In the West any hostess would be proud of such a feast instead of apologizing for it, and we don’t urge the guests to eat or drink.     so many good things before me, I certainly don’t need any urging. The problem is how to prevent    overeating owing to your keeping putting food into my bowl.” We

all    laughter at that.

When they      to leave, they thanked us not only for the excellent dinner, but for giving them such a nice     . Besides, they insisted on giving every one of us a hug and a   , which did embarrass me. But I think Granny was really     when they kissed her.

It’s surprising how a little good will on both sides can   language and cultural barriers.

   A. sons         B. babies           C. daughters            D. friends

   A. bringing     B. taking           C. fetching         D. adding

   A. decoration       B. direction        C. introduction     D. instruction

   A. made         B. went         C. talked               D. got

   A. older            B. younger      C. thinner              D. taller

   A. marriage     B. belief           C. age              D. salary

   A. while            B. when         C. but              D. and

   A. Britain          B. Canada       C. America          D. China

   A. honestly     B. gradually        C. excitedly            D. loudly

   A. prepared     B. tasted           C. enjoyed          D. swallowed

   A. continued        B. remained     C. suggested            D. kept

   A. However      B. Besides      C. Therefore            D. Instead

A. For         B. With         C. Over             D. As

   A. themselves       B. herself          C. ourselves            D. myself

A. broke out       B. gave off     C. burst into           D. set out

   A. came         B. hurried      C. got              D. rose

   A. day          B. time         C. meal             D. gift

   A. smile            B. word         C. kiss             D. hand

   A. touched      B. interested       C. attracted            D. encouraged

   A. change       B. improve      C. damage           D. break

Cannes will rock to the sound of a cancan dance this year when Moulin Rouge by the Australian director Baz Luhrmann opens the French film festival （电影节） in May. The musical stars Nicole Kidman as a singer, and John Leguizamo as the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It will be competing for the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize. The festival runs to May 21.

The American actor Tommy Lee Jones, 54, has married his longtime girlfriend, Dawn Maria Laurel, 36, in a private wedding in San Antonio. "It wasn’t a big to-do, ‘said Fred Biery, a U. S. District Judge who performed the service. He refused to discuss things further. "These are very private people," he said.

Loretta Lynn is being treated for a very bed cold in Tennessee and will miss several appearances. The country singer, 65, was admitted to a hospital near her home in Hurricane Mills. "She is in good condition, but the doctors are watching her closely," a spokeswoman said.

The French-Algerian singer Enrico Macias was named a United Nations peace messenger. Enrico joins eight other people who act as goodwill envoys （使者） for the United Nations, among them are the writer Elie Wiesel and the basketball player Magic Johnson.

73. We can learn from the text that Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is ______

       A. a figure in a film          B. a dancer in a show

       C. a country singer                    D. a prize winner

74. We know from the text that_______.

       A. Moulin Rouge won the top prize in a film festival

       B. Loretta Lynn is under the doctors’ care

       C. eight people serve as the UN goodwill envoys

       D. Fred Biery was Tommy Lee Jones’assistant

75. This text most probably appears in_____.

       A. a book on film stars         B. a film review in a magazine

       C. a newspaper              D. a notice

　The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

　　As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （预担的义务）, self - improvement.

　　Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

　　Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

　　Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .

　　A. he is reluctant to take on family responsiblilities

　　B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

　　C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

　　D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

　Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

　　A. a moral duty

　　B. a thankless job

　　C. a rewarding task

　　D. a source of inevitable pain

From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

　　A. hatred　　　　　　　　　　　　B. misunderstanding

　　C. prejudice　　　　　　　　　　　D. ignorance

To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

　　A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

　　B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

　　C. put up with pain under all circumstances

　　D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office，a street urchin(顽童) was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car，Paul？” he asked．

Paul answered，“Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you anything？Boy，I wish…” He hesitated Of course， Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.

“I wish,” the boy went on，“that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car？”

“Oh yes，I’d love that.”

After a short ride，the boy turned and with his eyes shining，said，“Paul，would you mind driving in front of my house？”

Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are？ the boy asked．

He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled（残疾） brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There it is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.

The street urchin was very surprised when ________．

A．Paul received an expensive car          B．Paul told him about the car

C．he saw the shining car                 D．he was walking around the car

From the story we can see the urchin ________．

A．wished to give his brother a car

B．wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s

D．wished Paul could be a brother like that

The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ________．

A．to show his neighbors the big car        B．to show he had a rich friend

C．to let his brother ride in the car           D．to tell his brother about his wish

We can infer（推断）from the story that ________．

A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin

B．the urchin had a deep love for his brother

C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother

D．the urchin’s wish came true in the end

The best name of the story is _________．

A．A Christmas Present                 B．A Street Urchin

C．A Brother Like That                 D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

Welcome to my Message Board!
Subject Slimming down classics?
Mr. Handsome 2007-5-12&24 AM	Orion Books,which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics(经典著作)，is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L.Tolstoy,M.Mitchell and C.Bronte.Now,each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to   40   per cent of the original,with words,sentences,paragraphs and,in a few cases,chapters removed.The first six shortened editions,all priced at ￡6.99 and advertised as great reads “in half the time”,will go on sale next month,with plans for 50 to 100 more to follow.The publishing house believes that modern readers will welcome the shorter versions.
Mr. Edwards 2007-5-12 9:40 AM	Well,I’m publisher of Orion Group.Thanks for your attention,Mr.Handsome. I must say,the idea developed from a game of “shame”in my office.Each of us was required to confess(承认)to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading.I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times.One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping(跳读)Jane Eyre.We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones. As a leading publishing house,we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions.They are still there if you want to read them.
Ms.Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM	I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk. Mr.Edwards,I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air.I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina,because it’s just so long.I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.I am looking forward to more shortened classics!
Mr. Crockatt 2007-5-124:38 PM	I’m from the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell. In my opinion,the practice is completely ridiculous.How can you edit the classics?I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work,and that is why you have to develop as a reader.If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina,then fine.But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing.

According to the message board,Orinon Books_______.

A.opposes the reading of original classics

B.is embarrassed for cutting down classics

C.thinks cut-down classics have a bright future

D.is cautious in its decision to cut down classics

In Mr.Edwards’ opinion,Orion Group is shortening classics to_______.

A.make them easier to read

B.meet a large demand in the market

C.increase the sales of literary books

D.compete with their original versions

By describing the shortened classics as “a breath of fresh air”,Ms.Weir_______.

A.speaks highly of the cut-down classics

B.shows gailty of the original classics

C.feels guilty of not reading the classics

D.disapproves of shortening the classics

Mr.Crockatt seems to imply that_______.

A.reading the classic works is a confusing attempt

B.shortening the classics does harm to the original

C.publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job

D.editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs