阅读理解

　　Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 　　1　　．”

　　Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 　　2　　, but consider the sky and the sea．　　3　　 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 　　4　　．”

　　Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 　　5　　 into the world．”

　　Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 　　6　　, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 　　7　　, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 　　8　　 to any of you．”

　　Red could stand it 　　9　　 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 　　10　　 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”

　　Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．

　　The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 　　11　　．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 　　12　　．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 　　13　　, drawing close to one another for comfort．

　　In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 　　14　　yourselves, each trying to dominate　　15　　．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 　　16　　?Join hands with 　　17　　 and come to me．”

　　Doing as they were told, the colors 　　18　　 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 　　19　　 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 　　20　　 one another．

完型填空

Two minds with a single thought！

　　The young fisherman is thinking of a way to cross the stream without getting his 　　1　　 wet．The engineer is thinking of a 　　2　　 to get automobiles across the river without getting their wheels wet．You know the answer to 　　3　　 problems：a bridge．

　　The fisherman's bridge doesn't take 　　4　　 to build．Just place a board across the little stream and you 　　5　　 If the board is strong enough and if the fisherman doesn't 　　6　　 too much, all will be well．

　　Will the engineer 　　7　　 the same kind of bridge? You know he 　　8　　 and you know why．Automobiles are much heavier than 　　9　　 The river is much 　　10　　 than the stream．A long wood bridge just won't 　　11　　．It isn't strong enough．It would 　　12　　 and break under its own weight．The fisherman's problem is very 　　13　　．However, the engineer's is not．

　　But don't 　　14　　 sorry for the engineer．He doesn't have to 　　15　　 the very beginning with a long board．People have been thinking about bridges for thousands of years．They have designed many types of bridges．Each bridge is suited to its special 　　16　　．The engineer can choose the type best suited to the river and the 　　17　　 nearby．

　　What choice does he have, and why is one 　　18　　 than the others? One way for you to find out is to make a few bridges out of cardboard．They won't be strong enough to 　　19　　 a five-ton truck, but you will find out some of the main 　　20　　 of bridge design by doing some experiments．

完形填空

　　Night after night, my mother came to my bed, even long after my childhood years．She would 　　1　　 down and push my long hair out of the way, and then kiss my forehead．

　　I don't remember when it first started 　　2　　 me－her hands pushing my hair that way, for they felt work－worn and rough 　　3　　 my young skin．Finally, one night, I shouted out at her, “Don't do that any more－your hands are too rough!” she made no 　　4　　 and left quietly．

　　But never again did my mother do it with that familiar expression of her 　　5　　．

　　With the passing years, my 　　6　　 returned to that night time after time．By then I 　　7　　 my mother's hands and her goodnight kiss．Sometimes the incident seemed very 　　8　　, sometimes far away, but always it was 　　9　　 in the back of my mind．

　　The years have passed, and I'm not a little girl any more．Mom is in her seventies, and those hands I once 　　10　　 to be so rough are still doing things for me and my family．

　　Now, Mom no longer has Dad and lives 　　11　　．One night on Thanksgiving Eve, I found myself 　　12　　 to her house to spend the night with her．As I slept in the bedroom of my youth, a familiar hand hesitantly ran across my face to 　　13　　 the hair from my forehead．Then a 　　14　　, ever so gently, touched my forehead．I burst into tears．

　　In my memory, thousands of times, I 　　15　　 the night my young voice complained．Catching Mom's hand in hand, I told her how 　　16　　 I was for that night．I thought she'd remember 　　17　　 I did．But Mom didn't know what I was talking about．She had already forgotten and 　　18　　 long ago．

　　That night, I fell asleep with a new 　　19　　 for my gentle mother and her caring hands．And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was 　　20　　 to be found．