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第二节完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
It was New Year's night. An aged man was standing at a window. He   36   his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were  37   like white lilies （百合花） on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he threw them on the earth, where a few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain destination—the   38  . He had already passed sixty of the   39   leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but error and regret. Now his health was poor, his mind   40  , his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of  41  .
The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the   42   moment when his father placed him at the   43  to the two roads-one leading to a peaceful, sunny place,
44  with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft, sweet songs;   45   leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless,  46   poison flowed instead of water and where devils（恶魔） and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.
He saw the lights fading away in the darkness, and these were the days of his   47   life; He saw a star fall from the sky and disappeared, and this was the  48   of himself. His    49   , which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered on life together with him. But they had   50   to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year's night.
The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had taught him and   51   to God for his good. But he chose the   52
way. With shame and grief he   53   no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and    54   a despairing effort, he   55   out a cry, "Come back, my early days! Come back!"
36. A. closed   B. lifted  C. opened       D. fixed
37. A. floating       B. flashing      C. hanging      D. shining
38. A. house   B. tomb   C. church       D. birthplace
39. A. dreams B. moments    C. incidents    D. stages
40. A. strange B. pale    C. blank  D. shallow
41. A. allowances   B. comforts    C. experiences D. memories
42. A. serious  B. awful  C. tough  D. desperate
43. A. end      B. entrance     C. origin D. base
44. A. mixed   B. occupied    C. satisfied     D. covered
45. A. other    B. the other    C. another      D. one more
46. A. which   B. that     C. whose D. where
47. A. accustomed  B. rewarded    C. wasted       D. pleased
48. A. symbol B. fate     C. future D. outcome
49. A. satisfaction   B. success       C. regret  D. happiness
50. A. lost their heart     B. devoted their attention  C. made their way     D. given their way
51. A. prayed  B. attached     C. adjusted     D. turned
52. A. ordinary      B. unfamiliar  C. wrong D. difficult
53. A. would   B. could  C. should D. dared
54. A. in  B. with    C. for      D. by
55. A. burst    B. gave   C. shouted      D. carried