第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Are you a man or a mouse? When people ask this question they want to know 36  you think you are a 37  person or a coward (懦夫). But you will never really know the answer to this question 38  you are tested in real life. Some people  39  they are brave but when they come face to face with real 40 , they act like cowards. Others think of themselves as cowards, but when they meet danger, they act like 41  .
Lenny had always thought of himself as a 42  person. He got worried before examinations. He worried about his job and health. All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy. 43 , on January 15th, 2002, a plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. Lenny went to the river to see what was happening. He saw a woman in the  44  water. Lenny did not feel afraid. He kept very 45 and did a very dangerous thing. He jumped into the Potomac, 46  to the woman, and kept her head 47  the water. Seventy-eight people died that day. Thanks to Lenny, it was not  48 .
When you are in a very 49  situation and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood. The chemical is called adrenalin.  50  adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and stronger and are 51  to fight or run away. However, when you are absolutely terrified, the body can produce too much adrenalin. When this 52 , the muscles become very hard and you find you 53  at all. You are then paralyzed (使无能为力) with fear. This is 54 when we are very frightened, we sometimes say we’re “petrified”. This word comes from the Greek word “petros”, which means “stone”. We are 55  frightened that we become stonelike.
36. A. how           B. neither         C. whether        D. either
37. A. brave         B. real            C. hard             D. certain
38. A. when         B. until              C. after             D. once
39. A. realize             B. find              C. think             D. agree
40. A. life                    B. question       C. mouse         D. danger
41. A. soldiers            B. mice              C. heroes         D. cowards
42. A. useful              B. brave         C. nervous         D. terrible
43. A. So                 B. Therefore        C. Then            D. Actually
44. A. fresh              B. poisonous       C. warm            D. ice-cold
45. A. nervous              B. calm             C. frightened      D. excited
46. A. went                  B. helped        C. spoke            D. swam
47. A. in                     B. under         C. above            D. from
48. A. an accident     B. a mistake            C. seventy-eight    D. seventy-nine
49. A. dangerous           B. comfortable      C. different        D. favorable
50. A. With               B. Without             C. For             D. Like
51. A. afraid              B. unable        C. ready            D. anxious
52. A. gets             B. disappears       C. happens             D. goes
53. A. needn’t            B. can’t              C. mustn’t         D. shouldn’t
54. A. where                 B. how              C. because         D. why
55. A. really              B. very              C. such             D. so