选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

     The day for the great balloon competition finally arrived．Every insect in the garden had been    21    hard, and now they were preparing to begin their routines．The balloon competitions were always something really special．

    Each time, the flying insects were favourite   22   to win, because they could seize the balloon strings and fly off in all directions, creating all sorts of   23   in the air．  24 , on this occasion there were some rather unusual insects taking part: a group of ants．Of course,    25   expected that they could do anything special．They were so light that no ant had ever    26   to take part, but it was quite impressive to see all the ants all   27   organized and prepared．

     So the competition began, and the   28   insects took their turns, performing beautiful movements with the balloons．As always, the butterflies left everyone   29   with their twist and turns, and their wonderful colours．When it was time for the ants to perform, it seemed like the competition had already been decided．

     For the   30   time in living memory, the ants shared just one balloon between them, and one by one they climbed up the balloon string,   31   a thin black thread of ants．When all the string was covered, the last ant climbed   32   his teammates to reach the balloon．  33 he got there, he climbed onto the top of the balloon．

     This strange   34   attracted everyone's curiosity, and they were just about to witness the most important   35 : the ant opened his jaws as wide as he could．．．and then he made a violent movement at the balloon with all his strength!

     The result was powerful! The balloon began blowing out its air, flying   36   about, here and there, doing a thousand turns and spins, while the ants made all kinds of beautiful shapes out of the string．

     Of course, that acrobatic(杂技般的) flight   37   with quite a hard landing, but it didn't    38 ．The creativity and teamwork of the ant performance was so   39   that the crowd didn't even have to vote for there to be a winner．

     From then on, in that garden, everyone understood how much could be achieved by working   40 ．In the years to come, the balloon competitions were full of displays carried out by teams, and they put on some wonderful routines; something those individual insects could

never have achieved on their own．

21．A．fighting         B．training           C．functioning     D．living

22．A．speakers         B．organizers   C．candidates       D．producers

23．A．patterns         B．numbers         C．drawings         D．sounds

24．A．Besides         B．Thus             C．Instead         D．However

25．A．anybody       B．somebody         C．everybody       D．nobody

26．A．bothered         B．hesitated           C．refused         D．promised

27．A．quickly           B．terribly           C．perfectly         D．strangely

28．A．special           B．different           C．familiar         D．similar

29．A．amazed         B．disappointed       C．bored           D．blessed

30．A．first             B．second           C．last             D．next

31．A．cutting           B．forming           C．using           D．passing

32．A．with             B．over             C．around         D．through

33．A．Once           B．If               C．Though         D．Until

34．A．idea             B．attitude           C．behavior         D．experience

35．A．effect           B．case             C．condition       D．moment

36．A．weakly           B．madly             C．peacefully       D．carefully

37．A．ended           B．started           C．continued       D．broke

38．A．help             B．work             C．matter         D．tell

39．A．necessary       B．impressive       C．natural         D．important

40．A．alone           B．behind         C．out             D．together

第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题，第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分）

第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸

上将该选项标号涂黑。

A

You have signed on for months of hard work．You're far from home．The pay is bad．The food is worse．You find rare comfort in the simple songs that you and your work mates sing．

This is what a sailor's life was like in the 1800s．The songs sung aboard ships were called sea shanties．You have probably heard a shanty or two yourself．Many of these songs have lasted through the years．They can often be found in surprising places today．

Sea Shanties Then ．．．

Sea shanties were valuable friends to sailors．Some shanties, such as "Blow the Man Down," had lively words and melodies．They broke up the boredom of long trips．Other shanties, including one called "Oh, Shenandoah," had a sadder tone．They helped seafarers express longing and loneliness．Still other shanties, such as "Leave Her, Johnny," let sailors complain about their hard lives．

But the first job of the sea shanty was to help the men work as a team．Ships had sails that were controlled by a system of moving ropes．For many jobs, all of the sailors had to pull on the ropes at once．

When faced with such a job, the shantyman, or song leader, began a tune．The crew joined in on the chorus, and it might have sounded like a playful sing-along．But when the sailors came to a certain beat, they knew it was the signal to pull together with all their might．

Raising or lowering the anchor called for a rhythm with a slow, steady motion．Then, the shantyman would choose a shanty with a slow, steady beat to match the job．Each duty on the sailing ship had its own rhythm and its own kind of song．

．．．and Sea Shanties Now

Sea shanties have been passed down to us in much the same way as folk stories．Long ago, someone came up with a memorable idea and melody．Others repeated the shanty, often adding changes along the way．

Over time, people saw the sea shanty for the treasure it was．Like any treasure, shanties were collected．Many were written down in books．

Where do the old shanties appear now? Today's musical artists love the fun, beauty, and history of these songs．Many musicians, including Bob Dylan and Harry Belafonte, have their own versions of "Oh, Shenandoah．" One group, the Robert Shaw Chorale, recorded a collection of shanties．

In Hollywood, shanties serve as a symbol of the sea．A fisherman sings the shanty "Spanish Ladies" in the film Jaws．The cartoon character Woody Woodpecker whistles "Blow the Man Down" when he finds himself aboard a pirate's ship．

Today, shanties tell us about shipboard life more than one hundred years ago．They help us understand what the working sailor sang and perhaps thought about．

So the next time you're doing a boring task, try making up a tune to go along with it．Time may pass more quickly, and your job may seem easier．Also, you may understand why sailors loved those old songs of the sea．

41．The main purpose of the sea shanty in the 1800s was________．

A．to communicate with passing ships

B．to help sailors work together as a team

C．to allow sailors to complain about the food

D．to give sailors an opportunity to record their music

42．Today, sea shanties are mainly used________．

A．to provide material for musical artists to record

B．to provide a source of music for Hollywood films

C．to help sailors work together aboard modem ships

D．to help people understand the lives of sailors of the past

43．The author uses two subheadings(小标题) within the article in order to_______．

A．compare sea shanties to modem sailing songs

B．describe how popular sea shanties are with musicians

C．compare how sea shanties have been used over the years

D．describe how sea shanties have influenced Hollywood films

44．Which of these topics would most probably be included in this article?

A．The work of sailors today．

B．The cost of sailing ships in the 1800s．

C．Other sailing duties that were made easier by sea shanties．

D．Some music studios where sea shanties are recorded today．

 45．According to information in the article, a movie director today would most likely use a     shanty________．

A．to make a scene about sailors more realistic

B．to give a musician a chance to record the song

C．to make the crew's daily chores pass more quickly

D．to express the loneliness of making a film away from home