第三節(jié)．完形填空(共20小題；每小題1．5分，滿分30分)

閱讀下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后從21--40各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C和D)中選出最佳選項(xiàng)。     

Greg Mortenson is a mountaineer. In 1993, he   21   but failed to reach K2, one of the most forbidding of the Himalyayan  22  . He staggered(蹣跚) into a tiny village of Korphe in Pakistan, barely alive. The   23   villagers cared for him and fed him back to health. The __24   they showed to a stranger moved Mortenson, and filled him with a' desire to 25   it.

Looking around, he saw that the poor villagers had actually nothing. 26   , he could see the desire of the villagers to   27   their community. For example, they dreamed of 28   for their children. The children received schooling two days a week from a teacher they   29   with another village, because they couldn't   30   to hire one alone. Naturally, the village had no schoolhouse. Moretenson thought it was by building a school   31   he could best express his   32   for their kindness to him. He left,   33   he would return with necessary materials.

However, things didn't go  34   as he had expected. He was a nurse by profession, and wasn't  well   35    It was a struggle for him to raise the $10,000 or so needed to buy the building materials.    36   problems, including his then Cultural   37   of the area led to a series of frustrations. But with his efforts and cooperation of the villagers, he eventually overcame the __ 38  . He fulfilled his promise.

After that he wanted to return to America,build a career and start a family. However, it ba-came clear that a school for Korphe was just the start. There were so many other villagers in Pa-kistan that had the similar needs. The more   39   he became, the more he came to understand the area and the more he realized how important education was. The   40   was that, in the pe-riod of over a decade, 55 schools were built.

21. A. approached     B. paused           C. hesitated          D. attempted

22. A. peaks          B. levels            C. hills              D. slopes

23. A. cold           B. mean             C. kind              D. tiny

24. A. bravery        Ｂ. ability            C.poverty           D.generosity

25. A. receive        B. repay              C. respect         D. recycle

26. A. Besides        B. However         C. Therefore          D. Moreover

27. A. develop        B. visit              C. design            D. increase

28. A. career         B. development      C. education         D. health

29. A. traded          B. worked           C. communicated    D. shared

30. A. help            B. manage           C. decide            D. afford

31. A. that             B. which            C. what              D. if

32. A. sympathy        B. gratitude          C. attitude           D. anger

33. A. adding          B. promising         C. demanding        D. warning

34. A. smoothly        B. badly             C. closely            D. properly

35. A. dressed          B. received           C. respected          D. paid

36. A. Some             B. Others            C. Other             D. Another

37. A. interaction       B. ignorance         C. background       D. difference

38. A. difficulities       B. fears            C. temptations(誘惑)D, shortcomings

39. A. interested        B. rooted            C. involved          D. lost

40. A. result            B. idea              C. cause             D. report

 

One Tuesday evening in the beginning of the fall 1996 semester at Shippensburg University, sirens(警笛) sounded. These sirens were not in celebration; they were a cry to the university that something was wrong. A house, only one block away, was on fire. Nine of the university's students lived there.
From the minute the word got out that help was needed, it seemed like everyone showed up. The victims of the fire were offered endless invitations for housing for the night. The very next day, everyone got into gear to do their part in helping them. Flyers (小傳單) were posted with items that were immediately needed, just to get these students through this next couple of days. Boxes for donations and money jars were placed in every residence hall（學(xué)生宿舍）．
As a residence director，I went before the students in my hall to ask them to do what they could. I knew that college students don't have much, but I asked them to do their best: “Every little bit will help." I really didn't think they could do much. I was proved wrong.
At the hall council meeting the night after the fire, my residents decided to have a wing competition, where each wing of the building would team up to see who could bring In the most donations. I announced that the wing who won would receive a free pizza party.
Thursday evening we announced over the PA system that we were beginning the wing competition. Within minutes, the place exploded. The single large box that I had placed in the lobby (太廳) was over-flowing. We quickly grabbed more boxes, and we watched in amazement as they, too, filled to the brim. Members of the resident assistant staff and I began to count the items. I was astonished by what I saw, and I was inspired by these kids.
When we came to the final tally（得分）, the winners turned to me and announced that they would like to donate their winnings as well. They wanted the victims of the fire to have their pizza party.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I had watched these students jump to action, work tirelessly and donate all that they could. And then, as if that were not enough, they handed over their reward’s was touched and so very proud of them.
【小題1】The writer mainly wanted to      by the story.

A．tell us the suffering of nine of the college students from a fire

B．praise the college students helping the victims selflessly

C．tell us how successful the wing competition was

D．show he was deeply moved by the college students' action

【小題2】The phrase "get into gear" in the second paragraph means      .

A．be eager

B．take action

C．be prepared

D．start working

【小題3】At first, the residence director thought      .

A．it was impossible to expect the college students to donate anything

B．it was easy to collect a lot of donations from the college students

C．the college students would donate not much

D．the college students would donate all the items they had

【小題4】The wing competition was held      .

A．on Tuesday evening	B．on Thursday
C．on Wednesday evening	D．the very next day

【小題5】How did the residence director feel when he saw the brimful boxes?

A．Terrible．

B．Funny．

C．Surprised．

D．Serious

My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(幾率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:

In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
【小題1】It can be learned from the article that ________.

A．the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world

B．a(chǎn) judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal

C．the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich

D．In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery

【小題2】The function of the graph is to ________.

A．show chances that those things take place are fewer

B．support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets

C．indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot

D．say shark attack death will seldom happen this year

【小題3】Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?

A．If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily.

B．Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets.

C．The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country.

D．Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich.

【小題4】The underlined phrase “at play” in the 7^th paragraph most probably means ________.

A．effective

B．ridiculous

C．contradictory

D．a(chǎn)stonishing

【小題5】What do you think is the best title?

A．The Popular Mega Millions Jackpot	B．Lottery is Merely a Trick
C．Mega Million is Like a Shark Attack	D．Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon

We hear with our ears, right? Yes, but scientists have known for years that we also hear with our eyes. In a study published in 1976, researchers found that people combined both auditory cues(聽力提示) and visual ones，like mouth and face movements, when they heard speech.
A new study that looks at a different set of sensory cues adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests such combination is natural. In a paper, Bryan Gick and Donald Derrick report that people can hear with their skin.
The researchers had volunteers listen to spoken syllables. Meanwhile, they connected the volunteers to a device that would blow a tiny puff (氣流) of air onto the skin of their hands or necks. The syllables included “ba” and “pa”, which produce brief puffs from the mouth when spoken, and “da” and “ta,” which do not produce puffs. They found that when listeners heard “da” or “ta” while a puff of air was blown onto their skin, they considered the sounds as “ba” or “pa”.
Dr. Gick said the findings were similar to those from the 1976 study, in which visual cues defeated auditory ones — volunteers listened to one syllable but thought it another because they were watching a video of mouth movements corresponding to the second syllable. In his study，he said，cues from sensory receivers on the skin defeated the ears as well. “Our skin is doing the hearing for us,” he said.
Dr. Gick noted that it would normally be rare that someone actually sensed a puff of air produced by another, although people might occasionally sense their own puffs. “What’s so persuasive about this particular effect,” he added. “is that people are picking up on this information that they don’t know they are using.” That supports the idea that combining different sensory cues is natural.
Dr. Gick said the finding also suggested that other sensory cues might be at work in speech perception(知覺) — that, as he put it, “we are these fantastic perception machines that take in all the information available to us and combine it faultlessly.”
【小題1】“Da” or “ta” were considered as “ba” or “pa” when __________.

A．they were spoken quickly

B．puffs of air were blown onto the listener’s skin

C．they were pronounced using a special device

D．they were made with face movements

【小題2】Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Humans combine different sensory cues through experience.

B．Dr. Gick’s new study is more important than the one in 1976.

C．People sometimes can sense their own puffs when speaking

D．Only auditory and visual cues are at work in speech perception.

【小題3】What is the best title of the text?

A．We Can Hear with Our Skin

B．Our Visual Cues Is Doing the Hearing for Us

C．Facial Expressions Are Important

D．We Are Fantastic Machines

Scores of farms across he country are opening up to overnight guests．The best have all the appeal of a first-rate inn（小旅館） — plus here a moo, there a moo．
Sure, you and your kids have a plan for the theme parks．In the meanwhile, why not make a little hay（干草）? Farm stays are fast becoming the great American alternative to the pre-packaged vacation．
LIBERTY HALL FARM
Rochester, Vt．; 802/767-3926; www．libertyhillfarm．com．Adults $75, teens $50, kids 12 and under $35, including breakfast and dinner; shared baths．
Beth and Bob Kennett run a farm straight out of a storybook．You’ll find Beth in the kitchen, rolling out dough（生面團(tuán)） for a pie．Bob’s busy with other work．Guests sleep in seven sunny bedrooms right in the farmhouse and can participate in any of the farm jobs．Maybe you and your kids won’t be up at 6 am to meet the milk truck, but you can help with the milking twice a day, collect eggs, and pick sweet corn and wild blackberries in season．
HULL-O FARM
Durham, N．Y．; 518/239-6950; www．hull-o．com; Adults $110, kids 10-14 $60, 5-9 $50, 2-4 $35, under 2 free, including breakfast and dinner; private baths．
It started in 1993 as a way to bring in some extra money at a time of falling milk prices．But soon after Frank and Sherry Hull opened their Catskill Mountains dairy farm to overnight visitors, they discovered they loved it．As you drive up, Sherry greets you on the porch（入口處） of the 1825 farmhouse with a cow-shaped cookie jar．Before long your kids are playing around with the cows, sheep, ducks, goats and getting ready for a hayride．
MERAMEC FARM CABINS
Bourbon, Mo．; 573/732-4765; http://www．wine-mo．com Doubles with private bath $75, $10 per additional person．Trail and riding fees extra．
Climb on the back of the Ford pick up and catch up with the herd．One gentle cow named Cricket will even let the kids sit on her back．At the barn（牲口棚） Carol will introduce you to the horses — 15 Missouri Fox Trotters — and lead you on a ride over the hills and down along the spring-fed Meramec River, where everyone swims．Grab a fishing pole and head back to the river．When you have your fill of the wild, try Carol and Dave’s favorite restaurants, within 20 miles of the farm．
【小題1】The underlined sentence in the first paragraph implies that _____．

A．you can enjoy the best cuisine at the first rate restaurant

B．some farms provide country experiences as well as good accommodations

C．farm work is hard, but you can enjoy it a lot, playing with the animals

D．if you want to hear a cow’s cry, please stay on a best farm

【小題2】We can learn from the three ads that ____．

A．Hull-O Farm was not built for overnight visitors

B．Frank and Sherry Hull run a farm out of a storybook

C．kids can sit on a gentle cow’s back on Hull-O Farm

D．you can’t milk a cow if you get up late on Liberty Hill Farm

【小題3】The Browns have a 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter．If they stay on Liberty Hill Farm for one night, how much will they pay?

A．$175．

B．$220．

C．$235．

D．$250．

【小題4】Who will be most likely interested in the webpage?

A．Kids who want to find pleasure in the theme parks．

B．People who expect to be employed on the farm．

C．Those who plan to have family vacations on working farms．

D．Researchers who are interested in raising cows on farms．