Question

When I first met my new parrot, Chico, his wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the earth just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I would take Chico outside. I ________  him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him happier. At first he seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking ________ . He didn’t even flap his wings in an/a ________  to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable.

One day Chico got especially excited. He paced back and forth and made an ________ amount of noise. Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started ________ flapping his wings for the first time ever—then he lifted off the ________ like a space shuttle! I was amazed and ________. Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been waiting until the moment was ripe for ________!

Two days later Chico returned. First I tried to ________ him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his ________ and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him out every day if the weather was nice as long as he did come back. ________, he flew onto my shoulder.

From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him ________ early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The routine lasted for two months ________ suddenly Chico became ________. The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the ________. Within a few days he died.

I was very sad. The ________ crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what ________ is there in being a bird if you can’t fly?

Chico made his first ________ for freedom on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a ________ when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don’t set yourself free, what will be the ________ of your life?

1.A. brought    B. seated    C. caught    D. chased

2.A. comfortable    B. painful    C. patient    D. anxious

3.A. attempt    B. stage    C. journey    D. path

4.A. serious    B. first    C. incredible    D. accessible

5.A. slowly    B. gently    C. madly    D. gracefully

6.A. ground    B. branch    C. window    D. house

7.A. moved    B. shocked    C. delighted    D. excited

8.A. patience    B. exchange    C. rescue    D. escape

9.A. trick    B. fasten    C. seize    D. expect

10.A. cage    B. chain    C. food    D. feather

11.A. At last    B. As usual    C. Once in a while    D. In the meantime

12.A. out    B. off    C. away    D. alone

13.A. until    B. while    C. since    D. although

14.A. active    B. weak    C. annoying    D. miserable

15.A. forest    B. community    C. countryside    D. neighborhood

16.A. fact    B. thought    C. concern    D. detail

17.A. problem    B. meaning    C. interest    D. mistake

18.A. relief    B. willingness    C. communication    D. breakthrough

19.A. breath    B. look    C. holiday    D. chance

20.A. success    B. purpose    C. contribution    D. importance

Answer

1. B

2. D

3. A

4. C

5. C

6. B

7. B

8. D

9. A

10. A

11. A

12. A

13. A

14. B

15. D

16. B

17. B

18. D

19. D

20. B

【解析】

本文讲述了一只鹦鹉为了自由而努力飞翔。虽然最后鹦鹉被传染上疾病死了，但是作为一只鸟不会飞行又有什么意义呢？由此说明我们人类也应该有生活的目的，有自己的追求，并为之努力。

1.考查动词。我让它落座在一根树枝上。brought带来；seated落座；caught捕捉；chased追捕。

2.考查形容词。由At first he seemed confused.可推知，鹦鹉在树枝上来来回回的走，看起来很紧张。comfortable舒适的；painful痛苦的；patient有耐心的；anxious焦虑的。

3.考查动词。它甚至都没有拍一下翅膀，尝试飞行。attempt尝试；stage举行；journey旅行；path小路。in an attempt to do sth.试图做某事，是固定短语。

4.考查形容词。它踱来踱去，发出很大的难以置信的噪音。acute严重的；initial最初的；incredible难以置信的；accessible易接近的。只有incredible可以修饰amount。

5.考查副词。它第一次开始疯狂地拍打翅膀。slowly慢慢地；gently温柔地；madly疯狂地；gracefully优雅地。

6.考查名词。然后，它从树枝上起飞。ground地面；branch树枝；window窗口；house房子。根据第一段中I ___1___him on a branch of a tree提示，是从树枝上起飞。

7.考查形容词。由I was amazed可知，我很震惊。moved感动的；shocked震惊的；delighted高兴的；excited兴奋的。

8.考查名词。根据前面his feathers had been growing back可知，Chico的翅膀长回来了，所以它是在等待逃跑的时机成熟。patience耐心；exchange交换；rescue营救；escape逃跑。

9.考查动词。由but he would not come near me.可知，起初，我企图用食物哄骗它回来。trick哄骗；fasten锁紧；seize抓住；expect期望。

10.考查名词。然后我拿出它的笼子，把它收起来。cage笼子；chain枷锁；food食物；feather羽毛。

11.考查固定短语。由First，Then，Finally可知，这里填At last。最后，它飞到了我的肩膀上。At last最后；As usual像往常一样；Once in a while偶尔；In the meantime与此同时。

12.考查固定短语。从那天开始，只要天气好，我就会让它出去。let out放出。

13.考查连词。这个惯例持续了两个月，直到Chico突然变得很虚弱。until直到；while然而；since自从；although尽管。

14.考查形容词。由The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the ___15___.可推知，Chico应该是突然变得很虚弱，因为它被感染了一种病。active积极的；weak虚弱的；annoying讨厌的；miserable悲惨的。

15.考查名词。兽医告诉我，它从周围的鸽子那里感染了疾病。forest森林；community社区；countryside农村；neighbourhood周围。

16.考查名词。这个想法萦绕在我的脑海中，如果我不让它自由地飞，它现在还活着。fact事实；thought想法；concern关心；detail细节。

17.考查名词。但是作为一只鸟不会飞行又有什么意义呢？problem问题；meaning 含义；interest兴趣；mistake错误。

18.考查名词。在四月份的一个星期一的下午，Chico为自由做出了第一次突破。relief安慰；willingness乐意；communication交流；breakthrough突破。

19.考查名词。当条件适合，你也可以抓住机会。breath呼吸；look看；holiday 假日；chance机会。

20.考查名词。如果你不让自己自由，那么你生活的目的是什么呢。success成功；purpose目的；contribution贡献；importance重要。