四、完形填空。
It had been troubling a little boy for long—every time his deskmate could rank 1st in the class, he only ranked 21st.
At home, he asked his mum, “Mum, am I more
1 than others? I feel I'm as hard-working as my deskmate, but why do I
2 fall behind?” His mum went wordless, not knowing how to explain to her son properly and
3 hurting him at the same time.
In another test, the boy ranked 15th and his deskmate
4 1st. Back home, he raised the same question. Mum really wanted to tell her son that intelligence is
5, which means that students ranking 1st are supposed to be cleverer than others.
6, was this answer going to discourage her son? Thank goodness she did not open her mouth.
There were many times she wanted to tell her son, “Your father and I used to be excellent. Why aren't you just as clever as we are?” She
7 because she didn't want to put too much stress on him. She needed a
8 answer.
Time went by quickly. Though he made great
9, he was still unable to keep up with his deskmate. To reduce the stress on her son, Mum decided to take him to the sea. During the trip, she finally
10 to give him an answer.
Now, the boy no longer
11 his rankings because he has entered a top university with 1st ranking. Later he mentioned that valuable experience, “When my mother and I were sitting on the
12, she pointed to the front and said, ‘Do you see the little petrels(海燕) and clumsy（笨拙的） seagulls over there? When the waves(海浪) come near, little petrels can rise
13 while it would take clumsy seagulls longer to complete the process. However, have you noticed that it is clumsy seagulls that finally fly
14 the endless sea and get to the other side? You might be a little slower, but if you
15 trying, you will be the one who will make it!’”
(
A
)1. A. foolish B. clever C. careless D. hard-working
(
B
)2. A. sometimes B. always C. usually D. seldom
(
B
)3. A. continue B. avoid C. start D. risk
(
C
)4. A. lost B. announced C. remained D. cancelled
(
D
)5. A. low B. common C. high D. different
(
D
)6. A. Otherwise B. Moreover C. Besides D. However
(
A
)7. A. stopped B. complained C. changed D. replied
(
C
)8. A. simpler B. faster C. better D. closer
(
B
)9. A. changes B. efforts C. decisions D. differences
(
C
)10. A. forgot B. failed C. managed D. remembered
(
A
)11. A. worries about B. shows off C. deals with D. dreams of
(
C
)12. A. sea B. ship C. beach D. plane
(
B
)13. A. carefully B. quickly C. noisily D. quietly
(
B
)14. A. around B. across C. along D. against
(
D
)15. A. suggest B. prefer C. imagine D. keep
