阅读下面的短文,从各题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
Once, there was a bus driver in a small village. His job was to take children to school in his red bus. Usually, he would stop at the village centre to pick up the 36. Then he would drive them to a nearby village a few kilometres away, 37 their own village had no school.
Each child 38 99 cents(美分) for the trip every day. Many of the children's parents had no jobs, so it was difficult for them to 39 money. The bus driver realized the problem and 40 it. Then one day he decided to let the children take the bus for free, although his family was living a/an 41 life too. He believed this was a good way to help them. The kind bus driver drove the kids to school every day, sunny or cloudy, rainy or snowy. He made sure they got there 42 and on time. But after a few months, the bus wheels(轮子) became so old that it couldn't work well. Moving around became very difficult. So, all the mums and dads in the village decided to collect enough money to make the 43 work well again.
After their work, it got new wheels to work for a long time. 44, the red bus had a new and beautiful coat of paint.
From this, the bus driver learnt something important—when you are 45 to others, there will always be someone around to help you out.
()36. A. farmers B. parents C. teachers D. children
()37. A. because B. but C. and D. if
()38. A. made B. needed C. followed D. served
()39. A. save B. lend C. record D. use
()40. A. laughed at B. looked after C. thought about D. worked on
()41. A. bright B. magical C. hard D. easy
()42. A. quietly B. slowly C. heavily D. safely
()43. A. school B. bus C. road D. trip
()44. A. Instead B. Also C. Suddenly D. Still
()45. A. rich B. wise C. kind D. polite

36.D 37.A 38.B 39.A 40.C 41.C 42.D 43.B 44.B 45.C

【分析】
做完形填空需先通读全文把握主旨，再逐句分析每个空的语境、逻辑关系及词汇搭配，结合选项排除错误答案，选出最符合文意的选项。本文讲述善良的公交司机免费送孩子上学，后获村民帮助的故事，需围绕“善意与互助”的主线分析每个空。
【解析】
36. 根据前文“take children to school”可知，司机的工作是送孩子上学，因此在村中心接的是孩子，选D。
37. 前句说要开车去几公里外的村子，后句说自己村没有学校，前后是因果关系，用because连接，选A。
38. 句意：每个孩子每天需要支付99美分的车费，need表示“需要”，符合语境，选B。
39. 父母没工作，很难攒钱，save money是固定搭配，意为“攒钱”，选A。
40. 司机意识到问题后思考这个情况，think about表示“思考”，符合语境，选C。
41. 司机免费送孩子，说明自己家生活也困难，hard life表示“艰苦的生活”，选C。
42. 司机确保孩子安全且准时到达，safely表示“安全地”，符合语境，选D。
43. 公交车轮子坏了，村民凑钱修理公交车，bus符合文意，选B。
44. 公交车换了新轮子，还刷了新漆，also表示“还，也”，符合递进关系，选B。
45. 司机对他人友善，就会有人帮忙，kind表示“友善的”，符合主旨，选C。
【答案】
36.D 37.A 38.B 39.A 40.C 41.C 42.D 43.B 44.B 45.C
【知识点】
英语完形填空、词汇辨析、语境理解
【点评】
本文为记叙文，围绕“善意与互助”展开，考查学生对上下文逻辑、词汇搭配的运用能力，难度适中，需结合文章主线分析选项。
【难度系数】
0.6