
In the United States there was an unusual tale telling of the daughter of a mechanic (技工). One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl 36 to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose. After some time the girl 37 the mother would not return to her eggs and she 38 to take them home. There she carefully 39 the eggs in the heat of a lamp. Several days 40 the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the 41 .
Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother. 42 , to these young geese, the girl was their mother.
As they 43 , the girl was able to 44 her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to 45 . The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when 46 and in her dreams. Later, she had an 47 : She would pilot a plane to guide them in 48 . She asked her father for a plane and he assembled(组装)a small aircraft for her.
Caring about 49 safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself. However, the birds did not 50 or follow him, and 51 slept in the grass.
One day, the girl 52 into the plane, started it and soon left the 53 . Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds 54 flapped(拍打)their wings and 55 . She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following.
| 36. A. managed | B. attempted | C. happened | D. supposed |
| 37. A. realized | B. expected | C. imagined | D. admitted |
| 38. A. helped | B. decided | C. afforded | D. meant |
| 39. A. placed | B. protected | C. treated | D. examined |
| 40. A. ago | B. out | C. later | D. long |
| 41. A. family | B. lake | C. home | D. world |
| 42. A. But | B. Also | C. Thus | D. Still |
| 43. A. increased | B. improved | C. rose | D. grew |
| 44. A. ask | B. lead | C. want | D. allow |
| 45. A. fly | B. race | C. swim | D. sing |
| 46. A. asleep | B. away | C. around | D. awake |
| 47. A. idea | B. opinion | C. explanation | D. excuse |
| 48. A. sky | B. heaven | C. flight | D. plane |
| 49. A. his | B. her | C. their | D. its |
| 50. A. respect | B. remember | C. recognize | D. receive |
| 51. A. so | B. instead | C. hardly | D. too |
| 52. A. climbed | B. looked | C. reached | D. fell |
| 53. A. house | B. floor | C. water | D. ground |
| 54. A. secretly | B. disappointedly | C. patiently | D. eagerly |
| 55.A. looked away | B. set out | C. went by | D. turned back |
简析:这篇短文描述了一个小女孩拣拾了一窝鹅蛋并孵化成小鹅,最后历经辛苦训练幼鹅飞上天的感人故事。也从中反映了作者要人们热爱自然,保护动物,以小女孩为榜样的意图。该文虽有20个空,但对理解没有构成明显困难,属于好读易懂一类的短文。下面简要分析:
36.答案C。happen to do(碰巧做……),根据第一段及固定动词短语较容易选出正确答案。 37.答案A。 38.答案B。 39.protected the eggs(孵蛋),place the eggs(放置这些蛋),所以选前者是因为紧接着的那句话是说,几天之后,破壳孵出幼鹅。40.答案C 41.答案D。 42.答案C。Thus(因此)有承上启下的意思,符合前后的关系。 43.答案D。As they grew,…意思是“随着幼鹅的成长”。 44.答案B。lend sb. to do 表示“带领某人做……”。符合句意。 45.答案A。根据后一句和该段及下一段的描述可知,小女孩为不能使幼鹅飞上天而发愁,选A合理。 46.答案D。不管是“醒着”还是“做梦”,小女孩总在担心幼鹅上天的事。依据前后内容,“做梦”对应的应该是“醒着”。 47.答案A。have an idea意思是“想出了个主意”。 48.答案C。该选项容易和A选项混淆。此处的句意是,小女孩想开飞机带着这群幼鹅在天上翱翔。In flight指“飞翔”,in the sky指“在天上”,请留意,sky前要加顶冠词(表独一无二),in + n.常有“处于某种状态”的含义。如:in peace(和平),in order(秩序井然),in danger(有危险)。有关这种用法请参照拙著《中学英语语法精要》(上海教育出版社)P86。 49.答案B。 50.答案C。该选项容易和D选项混淆。此处表示这些幼鹅不认识小女孩的父亲,因而也不跟着他飞上天。Receive有被动“接受”的含义,这里却表示这些幼鹅“主动”不接受其父亲,用该词就不合适了。 51.答案B。 52.答案A。climb into…“爬进……”的意思,表示小女孩身材之小。其余几个动词和介词into要么不能搭配(reach),要么搭配时不符合文意(look,fall)。 53.答案D。 54.答案D。幼鹅紧随其母是天性,所以用eagerly。55,答案B。set out意思是“动身”,符合句意。
