III. Cloze (15 points)
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words marked A,B,C and D. Fill in each blank with the word that best fits the context.
When I was younger, I thought that boys and grown men shouldn’t cry. The tears were signs of being __36__, which a man isn’t supposed to be.
But later, I discovered that courage isn’t all about trying to keep all the pain in check and trying to hide the__37__.
My 18-year-old sister eloped(私奔) and with it, I saw how weak my father’s heart was. We were used to seeing him as a(n) __38__ father.
For three days he wouldn’t talk. He would just sit __39__ outside our house in the dark. On the fourth night, I sat beside him and __40__ him to tell me what he feels about everything.
It has been years since I have laid my hand on my father’s shoulder as we have drifted apart (疏远) farther and farther while I was __41__ up. That night though, I sensed my father trying to __42__ his pain and I wanted him to be able to let it out. We all have cried over what happened except him.
The simple touch and my words, “Dad, it’s not your __43__”, broke my father’s dam(水闸). In the darkness, he began to cry. I __44__ his shoulders shaking as he whispered, “__45__ did I go wrong? All I ever wanted was for my children to grow up right. Why couldn’t your sister wait?”
I understood then why he __46__ to be in the dark. __47__ being there, he hoped to spare his family of a father’s pain. His tears, __48__ we didn’t see them before that night, were there all the same.
I saw his __49__, that night when my father cried with my hand on his shoulder, and __50__ his pain.
36. A. weak B. poor C. sad D. honest
37. A. secrets B. tears C. opinions D. qualities
38. A. hard-working B. easy-going C. kind-hearted D. strong-willed
39. A. quietly B. impolitely C. gently D. carefully
40. A. reminded B. asked C. ordered D. suggested
41. A. bringing B. giving C. growing D. turning
42. A. forget B. reduce C. control D. bear
43. A. character B. daughter C. fault D. duty
44. A. noticed B. felt C. heard D. imagined
45. A. How B. What C. When D. Where
46. A. preferred B. managed C. stayed D. agreed
47. A. For B. On C. By D. Of
48. A. if B. because C. until D. though
49. A. condition B. pain C. courage D. trouble
50. A. understood B. remembered C. touched D. respected
