二、完形填空
先通读短文，掌握其大意，然后从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。
“This Saturday, we’ll visit cats at the animal shelter. Here are some posters if you’re interested,” said Ms Desai.
Samar’s eyes lit up. He took one. He always wanted a 1, but he couldn’t, because his mum said no.
Ms Desai added, “We’ll 2 to the cats and give prizes to those who improve the most.” Reading aloud was hard for Samar, but he still went there.
“This is Max,” Ms Desai said, handing 3 a gray cat. Samar carried Max toward a chair and started reading. Unlike other cats walking around, Max stayed on Samar’s legs without moving. The cat purred softly, as if it understood 4 Samar was reading.
Samar was amazed. For the first time, reading aloud seemed easy, like sharing a story with a 5. When he got home, he couldn’t stop sharing his day with Dad. “Max is perfect! He likes listening to me!” Samar said 6.
“I’m glad you two are friends,” Dad smiled.
All week, Samar 7 the days. When Saturday finally came, Samar rushed to read to Max again, 8 a worry came to him.
“What if someone adopts (领养) Max?” he asked Dad.
“You have to read to another cat,” Dad replied. Samar 9 his head. “But I don’t want another cat.” He 10 Max so much that he even told his neighbour, Mrs Patel, about him. “Max sounds like an amazing cat,” said Mrs Patel. Samar nodded.
Weeks later, Samar found reading more 11 with Max around. To everyone’s joy, Ms Desai even gave him a 12 as the “Most Improved Reader”.
“I want to show my thanks to Max,” Samar told Dad. But on Saturday, Samar couldn’t 13 Max at the shelter. “Someone must have taken Max home,” Samar thought. His heart sank. Just then, Mrs Patel walked in, 14 Max!
“I adopted Max, Samar,” Mrs Patel said.
Max purred loudly, as if saying, “This is 15!” Samar replied with a big smile.
()1. A. dog B. bird
C. cat D. rabbit
()2. A. tell B. listen
C. sing D. read
()3. A. me B. him
C. her D. them
()4. A. who B. when
C. what D. where
()5. A. friend B. teacher
C. relative D. classmate
()6. A. calmly B. angrily
C. excitedly D. nervously
()7. A. talked about B. worried about
C. put down D. counted down
()8. A. so B. but
C. or D. if
()9. A. shook B. nodded
C. touched D. hit
()10. A. knew B. loved
C. feared D. understood
()11. A. interesting B. useful
C. difficult D. convenient
()12. A. smile B. prize
C. gift D. payment
()13. A. find B. accept
C. own D. refuse
()14. A. hiding B. training
C. holding D. throwing
()15. A. funny B. necessary
C. common D. perfect

1-5 CDBCA 6-10 CDBAB 11-15 ABACD

我们逐空结合上下文语境分析：
1. 根据前文提到要去动物收容所看望猫咪，Samar听到消息眼睛亮了，能看出他一直想要一只猫，选C。
2. 后文提到“Reading aloud was hard for Samar”，说明活动内容是给猫咪朗读，选D。
3. 此处指代Samar（男性），意思是Desai女士把一只灰色的猫递给他，选B。
4. 这个从句表达的是“似乎它明白Samar正在读的内容”，what在从句中作read的宾语，指代阅读的内容，选C。
5. 后文爸爸提到“you two are friends”，说明这次朗读的体验就像和朋友分享故事一样轻松，选A。
6. Samar觉得Max很喜欢听自己朗读，情绪是很兴奋的，所以是激动地说出这句话，选C。
7. 整周Samar都在倒数日子，盼着周六快点到来，count down表示“倒计时、倒数”符合语境，选D。
8. 前半句说Samar冲过去想再给Max读书，后半句说他突然生出担忧，前后是转折关系，用but，选B。
9. 爸爸让他去给别的猫朗读，Samar说自己不想要别的猫，所以是摇头表示拒绝，选A。
10. 他甚至把Max的事告诉了邻居，说明他非常喜爱Max，选B。
11. 有Max在身边陪伴，Samar觉得阅读变得更有意思了，选A。
12. 前文提到“give prizes to those who improve the most”，这里Desai女士给他颁发了“进步最大朗读者”的奖项，选B。
13. 后文提到他以为Max被别人领养走了，说明他在收容所找不到Max了，选A。
14. Patel太太走进来，怀里抱着Max，hold表示“抱着”符合语境，选C。
15. 呼应前文Samar评价Max“perfect”，这里Max发出呼噜声仿佛在说现在的一切都太完美了，选D。