It was a bright spring afternoon when Fieda told me she wouldn’t need me any more. I had

It was a bright spring afternoon when Fieda told me she wouldn’t need me any more. I had just finished my four-hour work －36 up and down the stairs of her three-storey home, cleaning the floor and washing the dishes. She was 37 jeans and a sweater, sitting at the table I had just 38 . a pile of papers spread around her. Her husband’ 39 was going to be reduced by thirty percent. And they were trying to live as if it had 40 happened. I felt sorry for her. but I also felt a sense of 41 .
I had been cleaning Freda’s house for five years and had 42 an unexpected relationship with the family. It was not just 43 I had become an expert at scraping（刮掉）dirt stuck to their wooden floor, 44 that I had learned exactly how to place toys on the girls’ beds. It was 45 than that, for I felt I had become a part of their 46 .Freda stayed at home with the kids, 47 I would often see her in the morning 48 them to school. And I’d be there when they 49 home at lunch for sandwiches and piano practice. I had 50 them grow up. Now I was tired, but the 51 thing was that I still wanted to keep scraping away the dirt and dust for the family.
I left Freda’s house that day, wondering about the 52 of my relationship with my clients（主顾）. Who am I 53 them? As a matter of fact, I’m 54 an employee － the lowest kind of employee. But I’m also a trusted 55 of the family. I can’t help worrying about what happens around me.
36.A.stepping B.coming C.jumping D.moving
37.A.hanging B.making C.wearing D.changing
38.A.cleaned B.washed C.swept D.brushed
39.A.duty B.money C.work D.pay
40.A.already B.seldom C.never D.yet
41.A.regret B.surprise C.fear D.loss
42.A.started B.developed C.improved D.broken
43.A.why B.what C.that D.which
44.A.but B.and C.or D.for
45.A.less B.least C.more D.most
46.A.life B.story C.activity D.experience
47.A.as B.so C.since D.however
48.A.taking B.bringing C.meeting D.calling
49.A.left B.returned C.went D.marched
50.A.found B.noticed C.watched D.realized
51.A.possible B.great C.proper D.strange
52.A.meaning B.nature C.result D.importance
53.A.for B.to C.with D.at
54.A.hardly B.certainly C.probably D.merely
55.A.member B.person C.relative D.companion36.D 37.C 38.A 39.D 40.A 41.D 42.B 43.C 44.C 45.C

(答案→)36.D 37.C 38.A 39.D 40.A 41.D 42.B 43.C 44.C 45.C 解析：36．解析：move意为“移动”，move up and down the stairs表示来回上下楼梯。根据上文所提供的情景I had just finished my four-hour work可判断出作者原来的工作是每天四个小时在一座三层楼里来回上下楼梯打扫卫生、洗刷餐具。step意为“走；跨步”，上楼：step upstairs；下楼：step down stairs。come意为“来到”。jump意为“跳”。37．解析：wear意为“穿着，戴着，挂着，佩着，带着”，指穿衣的状态，也可指戴着(手套、鞋袜、手表、眼镜、戒指、首饰等)。表示她穿着牛仔裤和毛衣。hang意为“悬挂”。make意为“制造”。change意为“改变”。38．解析：clean意为“把……擦干净”，I had just cleaned是定语从句，作the table的定语，表示她正坐在我刚刚擦干净的桌子旁。wash意为“洗”，指用水清洗。sweep意为“扫除，打扫”，用于表示打扫房间或擦地板。brush意为“刷”，指用刷子把……刷干净。39．解析：pay意为“报酬”，指她丈夫的报酬将下降30%。duty意为“责任”。money意为“钱”。work意为“工作”。40．解析：already意为“已经”，表示已经发生的动作或存在的状态。as if意为“好像”，后接虚拟语气，表示本来没有发生，而好像发生了。表示在Freda丈夫的报酬下降前，他们就生活得好像报酬已经下降那样节省。seldom意为“不常；很少；难得”。never意为“从不”。yet意为“然而”。41．解析：loss意为“损失”，根据短文最后一句话I can’t help worrying about what happens around me.可判断出由于Freda丈夫的报酬下降，作者的工作很可能难以保住，所以她有一种受到损失的感觉。regret意为“遗憾，抱歉；后悔，悔恨；痛惜，惋惜”。surprise意为“吃惊”。fear意为“恐怖，畏惧”。42．解析：develop意为“发展”，指事物由小到大，由弱到强的变化过程。表示由于作者在Freda家中已经工作了五年，相互之间建立了一种意想不到的关系。start意为“开始”。improve意为“改善”。break意为“破坏”。43．解析：that引导表语从句，在从句中只起连接作用，不充当任何成分。表示这种关系的建立不是因为作者擅长于刮去木地板上的脏物。why引导表语从句表示原因，即表示作者为什么擅长刮去木地板上的脏物。所以不能作为答案。并且，当主语是it时，要用because引导表语从句。what引导表语从句时，在从句中作主语、宾语或表语。which引导表语从句时，在从句中作主语、宾语、表语或定语，意为“哪一个”。44．解析：or意为“或者”，用于否定句连接两个以上的同等成分表示完全否定。but意为“但是”，连接并列句，表示转折与对比关系。and在否定句中连接两个或两个以上的同等成分时，表示部分否定。for意为“因为”，附带说明理由。45．解析：more than意为“不仅仅是”，表示作者与Freda一家建立特殊关系的原因不仅仅是由于她活干得出色，而是因为她感觉自己已经成为这个家庭的成员。less意为“更小的，较小的，更少的，较少的”。least意为“最少”， most意为“最多”，都不与than连用。46．解析：life意为“生活”，表示作者已成为Freda生活的一部分。story意为“故事”。activity意为“活动”。experience意为“经历”。47．解析：so意为“因此”，表示两个句子之间是因果关系。表示作者之所以经常看见Freda送孩子上学的原因是她呆在家里照看孩子。as和since意为“因为”，引导原因状语从句。however意为“然而”，表示转折时，要用逗号与句子隔开。48．解析：take意为“拿走，带走”，指把某人或某物从说话人处拿走或带走，由近至远。take sb to some place表示“带某人到某地”，即表示看见Freda送孩子们去上学。bring意为“带来”，指从别处拿(带)某人或某物到说话人处，由远及近。move意为“移动”。call意为“给……打电话”。49．解析：return意为“回来”，根据下文中的at lunch可判断出他们放学回家。leave意为“离开”。go意为“去”，go home指从学校回家，但这篇短文讲述了孩子们去上学又回家的两个动作。march意为“行进”，常用于表示部队行军。50．解析：watch意为“注视”，指全神贯注地观看、观察或注视事物的活动、变化或发展。watch them grow up表示“看着他们长大”。find意为“发现”。notice意为“注意到”。realize意为“意识到”。51．解析：strange意为“奇怪的”，作者被辞退了，但仍然想为这个家庭打扫卫生，这的确是一件奇怪的事。possible意为“可能的”。proper意为“合适的”。52．解析：nature意为“本质”，表示作者在离开Freda的家时，她在考虑着她与Freda一家关系的本质是什么。meaning意为“意思”。result意为“结果”。importance意为“重要性”。53．解析：to意为“对于”，表示自己对于Freda一家是什么关系。for表示“对于”时，常用于it is … for … to do sth结果中。54．解析：merely意为“单；只；纯粹；全然”，根据作者的身份可以判断出她仅仅是一名佣人。hardly意为“几乎不”。certainly意为“的确，无疑，一定，必定”。probably意为“可能地”。55．解析：member意为“成员”。由于作者在Freda家中作了五年佣人，与他们一家建立了特殊的关系，作者觉得自己已经成为Freda生活的一部分，成为他们家的一员。person意为“人”。relative意为“亲戚”。companion意为“伙伴”。

这下我知道了