第二节 完形填空（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36-55题所给的A, B, C, D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered a small hotel in Philadelphia(费城). Trying to get out of the   36  , the couple went to the front desk hoping to  37 for the night.
“Could you   38   give us a room here?” the husband asked.
The waiter, a   39   man with a big smile, looked at the couple and   40   that three conventions(大会) would be held in the town and lots of visitors had come here.
“All of our   41   are taken,” the waiter said. “But I can’t send a   42   couple like you 43   into the rain at 1 o’clock in the morning , what’s more, it’s raining hard outside . Would you please be   44   to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite（套房）, but it will be good enough to make you   45   for the night.”
The couple said “ no” politely.
“Don’t   46   me. It is just fine with me,” the waiter told them. They agreed and thanked the waiter later.
The next morning, the elderly man said to the waiter, “You are so __47__ a manager that I think you should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe someday I’ll build   48   for you….” The three of them had a good laugh and the couple then left.
Two years passed. The waiter had almost forgotten it   49   he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and a round-trip   50   to New York was in the letter ,too, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and   51  him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new   52   there, a palace of reddish stone. “That,” said the old man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to   53  .”
“You must be   54  ,” the young man said.
“Of course not,” said the old man. In fact, the name of   55  was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent building was the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young waiter, George C. Boldt became its first manager.
36. A. rain B. sun C. snow D. hunger
37. A. leave    B. work C. stay D. play
38. A. surely   B. possibly C. really   D. freely
39. A. lazy B. bored    C. nervous  D. friendly
40. A. shouted  B. explained    C. believed D. agreed
41. A. hotels   B. desks    C. streets  D. rooms
42. A. nice B. famous   C. rich D. poor
43. A. beyond   B. out  C. up   D. under
44. A. kind B. willing  C. good D. generous
45. A. enjoyable    B. careful  C. hopeful  D. comfortable
46. A. worry about  B. take care of C. make use of  D. carry out
47. A. bad  B. interesting       C. kind            D. confident
48. A. one  B. it   C. them D. those
49. A. after    B. as soon as   C. while    D. when
50. A. ticket   B. bill C. check    D. picture
51. A. led  B. told C. treated  D. invited
52. A. building B. car  C. bedroom  D. place
53. A. live B. sell C. manage   D. rent
54. A. lying    B. joking   C. dreaming D. cheating
55. A. the building     B. the waiter   C. the man  D. the manager