五、完形填空。
It had been troubling a little boy for long—every time his deskmate could rank 1st in the class, while he only ranked 21st.
At home, he asked his mum, “Mum, am I more than others? I feel I'm as hard-working as my deskmate, but why do I fall behind?” His mum went wordless, not knowing how to explain to her son properly and hurting him at the same time.
In another test, the boy ranked 15th and his deskmate 1st. Back home, he raised the same question. Mum really wanted to tell her son that intelligence is , which means that students ranking 1st are supposed to be cleverer than others. , 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 because she didn't want to put too much stress on him. She needed a answer.
Time went by quickly. Though he made great , 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 to give him an answer.
Now, the boy no longer 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 , 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 while it would take clumsy seagulls longer to complete the process. However, have you noticed that it is clumsy seagulls that finally fly the endless sea and get to the other side? You might be a little slower, but if you trying, you will be the one who will make it!’”
()1. A. foolish B. clever C. careless D. hard-working
()2. A. sometimes B. always C. usually D. seldom
()3. A. continue B. avoid C. start D. risk
()4. A. lost B. announced C. remained D. cancelled
()5. A. low B. common C. high D. different
()6. A. Otherwise B. Moreover C. Besides D. However
()7. A. stopped B. complained C. changed D. replied
()8. A. simpler B. faster C. better D. closer
()9. A. changes B. efforts C. decisions D. differences
()10. A. forgot B. failed C. managed D. tried
()11. A. worries about B. shows off C. deals with D. dreams of
()12. A. sea B. ship C. beach D. plane
()13. A. carefully B. quickly C. noisily D. quietly
()14. A. around B. across C. along D. against
()15. A. suggest B. prefer C. imagine D. keep

1. A 【点拨】根据“but why do I $\underline{2}$ fall behind”可知，小男孩总是比同桌落后，因此怀疑自己笨。故选 A。
2. B 【点拨】根据“I feel I'm as hard-working as my deskmate, but...”可知，此处小男孩认为他和同桌一样努力，但总是落后。故选 B。
3. B 【点拨】根据“hurting him at the same time”可知，母亲想要在恰当地向他解释的同时避免伤害他。故选 B。
4. C 【点拨】根据“1st”可知，同桌依然保持第一名。故选 C。
5. D 【点拨】根据“students ranking 1st are supposed to be cleverer than others”可知，排名第一的学生应该比其他人更聪明，故每个人的智力是不同的。故选 D。
6. D 【点拨】根据“was this answer going to discourage her son”可知，妈妈想给出解释，又害怕伤害孩子，是转折关系。故选 D。
7. A 【点拨】根据“she didn't want to put too much stress on him”可知，妈妈不想给他太大压力，故没有说这句话。故选 A。
8. C 【点拨】根据上文可知，此处表示需要一个更好的答案，要使用比较级。故选 C。
9. B 【点拨】根据“made great”可知，小男孩做出了很大的努力。故选 B。
10. C 【点拨】根据下文可知，妈妈成功想到了一个答案给自己的孩子。故选 C。
11. A 【点拨】根据“because he has entered a top university with 1st ranking”可知，小男孩已经考上了一所顶尖大学，并且排名第一，故他不再担心排名。故选 A。
12. C 【点拨】根据“Do you see the little petrels(海燕) and clumsy(笨拙的) seagulls over there?”可知，此处他们坐在海滩，观察海燕和海鸥。故选 C。
13. B 【点拨】根据“it would take clumsy seagulls longer”可知，和笨拙的海鸥相比，海燕能够快速起飞。故选 B。
14. B 【点拨】根据“get to the other side”可知，到达彼岸需要穿过大海。故选 B。
15. D 【点拨】根据“You might be a little slower”可知，此处指尽管慢一些，但是只要坚持尝试，也能成功。故选 D。

【分析】
做完形填空需先通读全文把握主旨，再结合每个空的上下文语境、词义辨析、逻辑关系逐一解题。例如第1题，根据后文小男孩因总落后怀疑自己的语境，选表“笨”的形容词；第2题结合“as hard-working as but”的转折，选表“总是”的副词；第3题根据妈妈不想伤害孩子的意图，选表“避免”的动词；其余题目同理，需紧扣语境、逻辑和词汇搭配确定答案。
【解析】
1. 结合后文小男孩总落后的语境，他怀疑自己比别人笨，故选A（foolish）。
2. 由“as hard-working as but”的转折可知，小男孩虽努力但总是落后，故选B（always）。
3. 妈妈想在恰当解释的同时避免伤害儿子，故选B（avoid）。
4. 同桌依然保持第一名，故选C（remained）。
5. 根据“排名第一的学生更聪明”可知，智力是不同的，故选D（different）。
6. 妈妈想解释又怕打击孩子，是转折关系，故选D（However）。
7. 妈妈不想给儿子太大压力，所以没说出之前的话，故选A（stopped）。
8. 妈妈需要一个更好的答案，用比较级，故选C（better）。
9. 小男孩做出了很大努力，固定搭配make great efforts，故选B（efforts）。
10. 妈妈成功想到了给儿子的答案，故选C（managed）。
11. 儿子考上顶尖大学后不再担心排名，故选A（worries about）。
12. 他们坐在海滩上观察海燕和海鸥，故选C（beach）。
13. 海燕能快速起飞，和笨拙的海鸥对比，故选B（quickly）。
14. 穿过大海到达彼岸，故选B（across）。
15. 坚持尝试就能成功，固定搭配keep trying，故选D（keep）。
【答案】
1.A 2.B 3.B 4.C 5.D 6.D 7.A 8.C 9.B 10.C 11.A 12.C 13.B 14.B 15.D
【知识点】
完形填空语境理解、词义辨析、逻辑关系分析
【点评】
本文是一篇富有教育意义的完形填空，通过妈妈用海燕与海鸥的例子开导小男孩，传递“坚持努力终会成功”的道理，侧重考查学生对上下文语境的把握、词汇辨析及逻辑判断能力，是初中阶段常见的中等难度题型。
【难度系数】
0.5