二、完形填空。
阅读短文，从A、B 、C、D四个选项中选出一个可以填入相应空白处的最佳答案。
Cai Lun was a famous inventor in ancient China. He lived nearly 2,000 years ago and always 15 how to make people’s life easier. At that time, people 16 something on bamboo or silk. Bamboo was heavy, and silk was 17. Only a few people could use them, which made Cai Lun think hard to find a better kind of paper to write.
Cai Lun 18 the plants around him carefully every day, like bark (树皮), grass and trunks (树干). He tried many making methods but suffered lots of 19 at first. Some people laughed at him, but he never gave up. He 20 kept on trying different new materials to make things to write, and he even asked smart people for help.
Cai Lun’s family and friends always 21 him not to give up. After many years of
hard work, Cai Lun finally made better paper 22. The paper was light, cheap and easy to write on.
When people used the new paper, they all 23 Cai Lun for his great work. Later, his paper-making method 24 all over the world. He really changed the world with his wisdom and efforts.
()15. A. focused on B. looked for
C. depended on D. took after
()16. A. wrote B. read
C. listened D. sang
()17. A. cheap B. colorful
C. expensive D. heavy
()18. A. admired B. observed
C. believed D. protected
()19. A. success B. hope
C. joy D. failures
()20. A. seldom B. hardly
C. still D. never
()21. A. stopped B. encouraged
C. prevented D. asked
()22. A. suddenly B. luckily
C. exactly D. successfully
()23. A. admired B. doubted
C. forgot D. controlled
()24. A. proved B. ran
C. spread D. changed

15. A 16. A
17. C expensive意为“昂贵的”，符合当时丝绸属于贵重物品的情形。
18. B observed意为“观察”。句意为“他每天仔细观察身边的植物”。
19. D 20. C 21. B
22. D successfully意为“成功地”。句意为“经过多年努力和多次失败后，他终于成功地造出了纸”。
23. A 24. C

【分析】做完形填空需先通读全文，把握文章主旨（本文讲述蔡伦改进造纸术的过程），再结合上下文语境、词汇词义及固定搭配，逐一分析每个空的选项，排除不符合逻辑的答案，最终选出最佳选项，确保文章通顺合理。
【解析】
15. 考查动词短语辨析。focused on意为“专注于”；looked for意为“寻找”；depended on意为“依靠”；took after意为“长得像”。根据语境，蔡伦专注于让人们的生活更轻松，故选A。
16. 考查动词词义辨析。wrote意为“写”；read意为“读”；listened意为“听”；sang意为“唱”。当时人们在竹子或丝绸上书写，故选A。
17. 考查形容词词义辨析。cheap意为“便宜的”；colorful意为“多彩的”；expensive意为“昂贵的”；heavy意为“重的”。前文提到竹子重，结合常识丝绸价格昂贵，故选C。
18. 考查动词词义辨析。admired意为“钦佩”；observed意为“观察”；believed意为“相信”；protected意为“保护”。蔡伦每天仔细观察身边的植物（树皮、草等）来研究造纸，故选B。
19. 考查名词词义辨析。success意为“成功”；hope意为“希望”；joy意为“快乐”；failures意为“失败”。他尝试了很多方法，但一开始遭受了很多失败，故选D。
20. 考查副词词义辨析。seldom意为“很少”；hardly意为“几乎不”；still意为“仍然”；never意为“从不”。虽然有人嘲笑他，但他仍然继续尝试，故选C。
21. 考查动词词义辨析。stopped意为“停止”；encouraged意为“鼓励”；prevented意为“阻止”；asked意为“询问”。他的家人和朋友鼓励他不要放弃，故选B。
22. 考查副词词义辨析。suddenly意为“突然”；luckily意为“幸运地”；exactly意为“确切地”；successfully意为“成功地”。经过多年努力，他最终成功造出了更好的纸，故选D。
23. 考查动词词义辨析。admired意为“钦佩”；doubted意为“怀疑”；forgot意为“忘记”；controlled意为“控制”。人们使用新纸后，都钦佩他的伟大发明，故选A。
24. 考查动词词义辨析。proved意为“证明”；ran意为“跑”；spread意为“传播”；changed意为“改变”。他的造纸方法传遍了全世界，故选C。
【答案】15.A 16.A 17.C 18.B 19.D 20.C 21.B 22.D 23.A 24.C
【知识点】完形填空语境理解、动词词义辨析、动词短语辨析
【点评】本文以中国古代发明家蔡伦改进造纸术为主题，贴近学生的历史常识，考查词汇在具体语境中的运用，要求学生结合上下文逻辑和词义辨析解题，是一篇适合初中阶段的完形填空练习，能帮助学生巩固词汇和阅读理解能力。
【难度系数】0.5