完形填空

　　You have probably heard of homing pigeons, which usually appeared in war. From 3,000 B．C．to the present, homing pigeons have 1 as postmen. They have been especially useful for carrying messages 2 war. The telegraph is not 3 to carry about. Sometimes only the little pigeon can take a message where it ought to go.

　　In 1870, when the Prussians surrounded the city of Paris, the city was cut off from all the 4 means of communication. The people 5 many different ways of sending news. One way was to let go small balloons carrying mail.

　　 6 of course, they only drifted 7 the wind carried them. Often they landed inside the enemy’s lines. Even balloons large enough to carry a pilot could hardly be well controlled.

　　It was pigeons that in the end. solved the 8 . Homing pigeons were brought into 9 . Soon they were carrying letters far and wide. The enemy bought 10 to catch pigeons, but the little postmen could fly faster than their 11 . Strangely enough, pigeons played an important 12 in war.

　　During World War I every army unit had a group of pigeons 13 . Many of them wore honored. Among them 14 an American pigeon with a French name Char Ami, which meant “dear friend”. A group of U.S. soldiers were surrounded by the enemy. They had no food and no bullets. They nearly died of 15 . There was little hope for them. Cher Ami made his way 16 the bullets and succeeded. At once planes 17 to drop food and ammunition (军火) to them. With their strength 18 , the soldiers fought back to their own army and got saved.

　　 19 can pigeons carry the message? There were various methods. Usually the message is put into a little glass tube. The tube is tied to the leg or hidden under 20 or hung around the neck.

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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各题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　I went to Beijing this National holiday, and it was an interesting experience of my life.

　　My friends told us that taking the “hard　 36　 ”to Beijing would be really terrible. So we didn’t know what to　 37　. But we were pleasantly surprised when we finally boarded the

　 38　 , which was relatively modern and　 39　 . During the 14 - hour ride we ate peanuts and talked. It was not　 40　 at all.

　　It was morning when we arrived. We stepped out of the railway station, having sat in hard seats and not getting much　 41　 . However, We had energy, First we tried to get teturn tickets to Shanghai, but the tickets seller　 42　 us that tickets would not be on　 43　 for another two days. We were a little worried about getting　 44　 , but we made up our minds to　 45　 for the hotel to put our bags down. After fighting our way　 46　 the“ gypsy”taxi drivers that tried to　 47　 us one hundred yuan for the ride, we found a taxi and it　 48　 cost us thirty yuan to get　 49　 we had planned to go. When we reached the hotel, there was a window for airplane and train tickets.　 50　 the man behind the counter could get tickets that day, which we

　 51　 . The most important lesson about China I ever　 52　 , is to get someone to do your work for you, and it seems to work out much　 53　 . We were not able to get tickets, but the

　 54　 agents（代理）could.

While in Beijing we saw a lot of places of interest, most of which were very　 55　 . It was fun to be with thousands of people in one place, There aren’t any words to describe it.

36．A. chair                       B. bed                         C. seat                         D. bench

37．A. provide                   B. expect                     C. happen                    D. think

38．A. plane                             B. bus                         C. ship                        D. train

39．A. quick                             B. clean                       C. simple                     D. long

40．A. bad                         B. good                       C. easy                        D. hard

41．A. trouble                    B. food                        C. sleep                       D. help

42．A. promised                 B. informed                 C. advised                    D. persuaded

43．A. time                        B. show                       C. duty                        D. sale

44．A. behind                    B. out                          C. through                   D. back

45．A. start                        B. ask                          C. look                        D. pay

46．A. towards                   B. into                         C. across                      D. past

47．A. offer                       B. charge                     C. bargain                    D. share

48．A. even                       B. still                         C. also                         D. only

49．A. what                       B. which                      C. where                      D. how

50．A. Somehow                B. However                 C. Therefore                D. Otherwise

51．A. wouldn't                  B. couldn't                   C. shouldn't                  D. needn't

52．A. learned                    B. taught                     C. offered                    D. heard

53．A. harder                     B. earlier                     C. later                        D. easier

54．A. business                  B. transport                  C. travel                             D. hotel

55．A. interesting                      B. crowded                  C. famous                    D. noisy

It was a time_______ the killer whales helped the whalers catch the baleen whales.

1. A.
   when
2. B.
   that
3. C.
   then
4. D.
   which

When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter（炼铜厂），and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest．One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area．Paul knocked him down．From then on, something happened inside him.

Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office．He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back．The answer from that big industry was “No”.

Paul then went to college to study the science of plants．Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren't any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds．It would be a waste of his life to try to do it．Everyone knew that, he was told．Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted．

Paul later got married and had some kids．But his dream would not die．And then one night he did what he could with what he had．As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote．Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.

And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass．For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense．Slowly rabbits appeared．Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.

Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has．It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.

When Paul was a boy，______________.

       A．he had decided never to leave his hometown

       B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter

       C．no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution

       D．he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area

Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants？

       A．Because he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself.

       B．Because he was interested in planting trees since he was young.

       C．Because he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him.

       D．Because he thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive.

What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?

       A．That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland.

       B．That his normal work and life would be greatly affected.

       C．That no one would like to join him in the efforts.

       D．That he had to keep everything he did secret.

The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because___________.

     A．they realized the importance of environmental protection

     B．What Paul was doing moved them

     C．Paul persuaded them to help him

     D．they had legal pressure

The message of the passage is that _____________.

       A．action speaks louder than words

       B．perseverance（持之以恒）will work wonders

       C．God helps those who help themselves

       D．many hands make light work

— ________ do you think it was ________ made Jane so cross?

—Being looked down upon in public yesterday.

A. When; who       B. Who; that

C. Which; what      D. What; that