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题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。

If you have a watch, don't repair it! I know it   36  . Once I had a beautiful watch. And this watch   37   perfect time. But one night it happened that I forgot to   38   it up. Next morning I went to a watchmaker as I wanted my perfect watch to   39   by the exact time. The watchmaker examined my watch and said: "The regulator (校准器) is to be pushed up   40   your watch is four minutes   41  ."

I tried to stop him, tried to   42   him understand that my watch kept perfect time, but he did not listen to me and pushed the regulator.

My beautiful watch began to gain time. It   43   faster and faster day by day. By the end of the second month it   44   all the clocks and watches of the town far behind.

What did I have to do? To take it to another watchmaker to be regulated. I expected him to regulate the watch immediately   45   he asked me to come in a week's time. When at last I took my watch from him it began to   46   down. And I began to be late for trains, business appointments and even missed my dinners.

Now I went to   47   watchmaker. While I waited for him to repair my poor watch, he  48 it to pieces and said that he could finish this work   49   three or four days. I could do nothing but   50  . That time my watch went for half a day and then stopped.

So I kept   51   my watch from one watchmaker to another for a considerable period of time.

And as a result of it the cleverest man in the world could not   52   the time by my watch. The thing was getting   53  . My watch had   54   two hundred dollars originally but I paid for repairs more than two hundred. At last I decided to buy   55   watch, which I did.

36．A．for reality      B．for truth       C．for certain    D．for certainty

37．A．kept          B．told           C．observed            D．struck

38．A．turn          B．wind          C．pick          D．put

39．A．be turned      B．be taken        C．be put        D．be set

40．A．as          B．as if     C．when      D．if

41．A．fast         B．slowly         C．faster        D．slow

42．A．get                 B．persuade        C．make        D．explain

43．A．gained       B．lost        C．went          D．won

44．A．had remained         B．had left         C．had stayed    D．had fallen

45．A．however     B．and            C．but                 D．therefore

46．A．go          B．walk           C．slow                D．take

47．A．the third     B．the second      C．the first      D．the fourth

48．A．broke         B．took           C．tore          D．cut

49．A．after          B．before          C．over                D．in

50．A．to agree       B．agree          C．agreeing             D．agreed 

51．A．taking       B．bringing        C．carrying             D．fetching

52．A．recognize      B．tell            C．know        D．understand

53．A．seriously     B．pleasant       C．badly       D．serious

54．A．spent      B．took        C．cost        D．paid

55．A．another  B．the other        C．one   D．one more

It’s all hot air!

For hundreds of year, human beings have been deeply interested in the idea of flying, but it was only in the eighteenth century that a piece of practical equipment was designed to achieve this aim. The French brothers Montgolfier observed that paper bags filled with smoke tended to rise. From these small beginnings, they developed the first hot air balloon, and the first manned balloon flight took place at Versailles in 1783.

Almost at once, ballooning became very popular, but it was the gas balloon which became more widely used than the hot air balloon. The gas balloon in turn was replaced by the airship, which gave way to the more reliable aeroplane at the beginning of the twentieth century. But the hot air balloon never died out completely, and during the 1960’s, using new materials and a safer method of producing hot air, it actually took off again.

By the 1980’s, marketing managers had realized that balloons made wonderful advertising boards and soon the skies were full of brightly colored and excitingly shaped advertisements for everything from butter to shoes.

Ballooning is an uncertain activity. Take-off is entirely determined by the local weather conditions. “Safety first!” is the strict rule and pilots who ignore it have short flying careers. Preparing the balloon for flight needs teamwork. The same team will follow the balloon as it flies in order to get it back when it lands, and no one is sure where the balloon will land exactly. The pilot carries out a last-minute check before flying and briefs the passengers. Nothing should be forgotten, as important objects left on the ground are difficult to pick up from 300 meters.

The flight itself takes place silently, interrupted by the very loud noise from the gas burner as more hot air is put into the balloon envelope. Soon, even nervous passengers begin to enjoy the feeling of floating gently over the countryside, admiring the interesting patterns of roads and fields below. There is a feeling that problems have been left behind on the ground. There is a sense of freedom.

Landing can sometimes be uncomfortable, depending on wind speed and ground, but as long as the passengers hold on tight and stay in the basket, there is little danger of injury and every chance that they will want to repeat the experience.

1．Which of the following is correct according to the order of their appearance in history?

       A．hot air balloon, gas balloon, aircraft, airship

       B．hot air balloon, gas balloon, airship, aircraft

       C．gas balloon, hot air balloon, airship, aeroplane

       D．gas balloon, hot air balloon, aeroplane, airship

2．According to the article, balloons are used for ________.

       A．advertising and education                      B．competition and transporting goods

       C．entertainment and scientific research      D．entertainment and promoting products

3．What can we know from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?

       A．People are not sure of where the balloon will land.

       B．It’s necessary to get well prepared before the flight.

       C．It’s important to take as few things as possible to fly.

       D．People should be informed how high the balloon will rise.

4．What does the author think of traveling in a hot air balloon?

       A．Dangerous.      B．Frightening.      C．Enjoyable. D．comfortable.