完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中,选出可以填人空白处的最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

There are reasons why a middle-aged woman who has been away from the work for her children’s sake decides to go back to work. The  16 reason for me was: years ago my job was that of a bookkeeper(会计)----- it was then that I worked for  17  , and now with my children working, I wanted to do something  18  , something new and exciting.

Money wasn’t too important now, as my husband made a very  19  living for us. But what should I do? What sort of   20  should I look for? I knew I needed to be  21  as to what I became involved with. I am not a "quitter"(容易放弃的人) and so I hoped to  22  becoming responsible to an employer in a job that might turn out to be a mistake for me.

While I made painful efforts thinking over what to do, I was  23  of a past incident where I needed to replace my original engagement ring  24  the gold was wearing thin. My husband and I shopped and shopped for one,  25 we went, even when we were on vacation.  26  this nonstop searching got my poor  27  to ask, "Just what kind of ring do you want, what exactly are we looking for?" My reply was, "I honestly don’t  28, but when I see the correct setting, I will know it." That was the  29  I felt about the new career I wished to start; I didn’t have an exact idea as to what I wanted to do, but knew there was a perfect fit for me, if I would  30  be patient.

Fortunately, that summer while I  31  my twenty-fifth high school class reunion(重聚), I heard a former classmate  32  what she did for a living. She was a travel agent, and she and her husband had just  33 from a trip to Hawaii where they acted as guides for a group of travelers. WOW, that  34  like fun, considerably more fun and exciting than being a  35  : I know what to take up!

16. A. possible                  B. obvious             C. believable              D. good

17. A. money                B. fun                   C. children                   D. employers

18. A. valuable              B. reasonable         C. worthy                     D. different

19. A. interesting           B. comfortable              C. successful             D. meaningful

20. A. pleasure                     B. place                 C. job                     D. man

21. A. careful                B. useful           C. joyful                 D. painful

22. A. finish                 B. miss                  C. avoid                       D. forget

23. A. recalled                     B. reminded           C. warned                    D. robbed

24. A. where                 B. while                C. if                D. as

25. A. nowhere             B. somewhere        C. wherever                  D. everywhere

26. A. Actually              B. However           C. Finally                     D. Once

27. A. children                     B. classmates         C. employer                  D. husband

28. A. care                    B. know                C. understand            D. find

29. A. way                    B. time                  C. style                        D. thought

30. A. really                 B. ever                  C. just                          D. certainly

31. A. joined                 B. left                   C. started                  D. attended

32. A. complaining        B. explaining         C. describing            D. considering

33. A. returned                     B. rested                C. came                        D. stayed

34. A. looked                B. seemed              C. sounded                   D. felt

35. A. travler                B. wife                  C. employer                  D. bookkeeper

London Underground

The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system was born.

The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3. 7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day.  Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.

40. What led the British government to build the London Underground？

A.  Traffic jams and pollution.

B.  Population and pollution.

C.  Overcrowding and traffic jams.

D.  The poverty and subway problems. 

41. How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem？

A.  It made the tunnels larger.

B.  It put fans in the tunnels.

C.  It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. 

D.  It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train.

42. The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.

A.  be troublesome         

B.  become popular and fashionable

C.  keep up with           

D.  seize

43. Which of the following is TRUE？

A.  To relocate the workers’ homes outside London，the government built the subway.

B.  There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened.

C.  The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic.

D.  There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened.