完形填空

　　I met Connie the day she was admitted to the Hospice Ward(安养院的病房),where I 　　1　　 as a volunteer．Her husband, Bill, stood 　　2　　 nearby as she was removed from the gurney to the hospital bed．Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight 　　3　　 cancer, she was quick-minded and 　　4　　．We got her settled in, and then asked if she needed 　　5　　．

　　“Oh, yes,” she said, “Would you please show me how to use the TV? I 　　6　　 the soaps so much and I don’t want to get 　　7　　 on what’s happening．”Connie was a romantic．She loved soap operas(肥皂剧), romance novels and movies with a good 　　8　　 story．As we became familiar, she confided how 　　9　　 it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her “a silly woman”．

　　“Oh, I know Bill loves me,” she said, “but he has 　　10　　 been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me．”She 　　11　　 and looked out of the window at the trees in the courtyard．“I’d 　　12　　 anything if he’d say ‘I love you’, but it’s just not in his 　　13　　．”

　　One day, 　　14　　 coffee in the cafeteria, I got him on the 　　15　　 of women and how we need romance in our lives; how we love to get sentimental cards and love letters．

　　“Do you tell Connie you love her?” I asked, and he looked at me 　　16　　 I was crazy．

　　“I don’t have to,” he said．“She knows I 　　17　　!”

　　“I’m sure she knows,” I said, 　　18　　 over and touching his rough, carpenter’s hands, “but she needs to hear it, Bill．She needs to hear what she has 　　19　　 to you all these years．Please think about it．”

　　We walked back to Connie’s room．Bill 　　20　　 inside, and I left to visit another patient．Later, I saw Bill sitting by the bed．He was holding Connie’s hand as she slept．

阅读理解

　　The incident took place on Sunday, the 25th of June．On that particular day, a south wind had been gusting(劲吹)on and off all morning．It was not strong enough to cause us any concern, so we carried on our daily work, not suspecting what was about to happen．

　　The storm gave us very little warning．Black clouds loomed over the distant horizon(地平线)so suddenly that we were taken by surprise．Even then, we were not really worried, as the clouds seemed to be moving over our house and towards the distant mountains．Then, just as the clouds had moved inland, the wind suddenly swung around in a full circle and we were facing a major storm．

　　Instantly, we were busily preparing for the worst．The whole family had experienced such a storm before and everyone remembered the damage it had caused to stock and crops．There was very little we could do about the crops．But we needed to protect the animals in case the river flooded again．My older brother called his sheep-dog and began driving our small flock of sheep to higher ground above the river．If the river flooded, they should be safe there．

　　In the meantime, my father was mending a shed roof that had partly fallen down after many years of fine service．

　　If the tin flew off, it could damage the house．My younger brother began hurriedly carrying firewood under the shelter．My job was to help Mum board up the windows．If the storm developed into a cyclone(旋风), the boards would protect the glass．

　　The storm raged for four hours, pouring more rain on us than we had seen in the last five years．As expected, the river broke its banks and came slowly up towards the house and the stock．

　　Then, just as we were beginning to lose hope, the storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun．The animals were safe, and the roof was still nailed on．“All’s well that ends well, ” said my mother．

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Two weeks before Christmas, mother told me we were going to my grandmother’s house for the holiday．Grandma and Uncle Henry lived on a farm some 15 miles out of town．They had no electricity or running water and 　　1　　 what I considered the “good things” in life．They 　　2　　 made no plans for Christmas．When Christmas Eve arrived, mom told me in her best “I-mean-it” voice to 　　3　　 all the decorations(装饰物)from our tree．She packed those up, 　　4　　 all the trimmings(材料)for a 　　5　　 turkey dinner．

　　Christmas morning 　　6　　 perfectly, with the sun shining brightly across a fresh blanket of snow．　　7　　 I sulked(生气)silently in the backseat of the car as we made our 　　8　　 to grandma’s．This was going to be the 　　9　　 Christmas ever!

　　Grandma was 　　10　　 to see us as we walked up to her door．“What on earth are you doing here?” she stammered．“We weren’t expecting 　　11　　．It’s Christmas, and I don’t even have a turkey to cook for you．”“I knew 　　12　　,”Mom said as we set boxes of goodies on the kitchen table．“That’s 　　13　　 we brought one with us．”“We 　　14　　 have a tree,” Mom insisted．“　　15　　, what will we do with all these decorations?”

　　Uncle Henry quickly caught mom’s spirit．He called me to join him, and we found a perfect Christmas tree in the woods．Soon the house 　　16　　 fresh and piney as we decorated the tree, and the day 　　17　　 a festive air．The turkey dinner was very good, too．I was actually beginning to enjoy this unusual Christmas Day!

Dessert was forgotten 　　18　　 mom came out with the final surprise－a flaming(燃烧的)pudding!“Merry Christmas, mother,” Mom said．“Dear me!” Grandma gasped．“I haven’t seen a flaming pudding since I left England before I was married．”Tears of 　　19　　 filled her eyes．

　　I could not keep the tears 　　20　　 my eyes, either．I knew then that mom had also given me the best Christmas present ever－she had taught me what a beautiful thing it is to give．