I played a racquetball game against my cousin Ed last week. It was one of the most ___1___ and tiring games I’ve ever had. When Ed first phoned and ___2___ we play, I laughed quietly, figuring on an ___3___ victory. After all, Ed’s idea of ___4___ has always been nothing more ___5___ than lifting a fork to his mouth. ___6___ I can remember, Ed’s been the least physically fit member in the family, and ___7___ proud of himself. His big stomach has always ballooned out between his T-shirt and trousers. Although the family often ___8___ about that, Ed refused to buy a ___9___ T-shirt or to lose weight. So when Ed ___10___ for our game not only with the bottom of his shirt gathered inside his trousers but also with a stomach you could hardly ___11___, I was so surprised that I was ___12___. My cousin must have made an effort to get himself into shape. ___13___, at the point in our game when I’d have predicted(预计) the score to be about 9 to 1 in my favor, it was ___14___ 7 to 9 — and Ed was ___15___. The sudden realization was painful. We ___16___ to play like two mad men. When the score was 16 up, I was having serious ___17___ about staying alive until 21 years old, let alone ___18___ that many points. When the game finally ended, both of us were lying flat on our backs, too tired to ___19___. In a way, I think we both won: I the game, but cousin Ed my ___20___.
1. A. encouraging B. hopeless C. surprising D. regular
2. A. declared B. mentioned C. persuaded D. suggested
3. A. unforgettable B. unexpected C. easy D. early
4. A. exercise B. preparation C. joy D. fitness
5. A. time-saving B. comfortable C. suitable D. effort-making
6. A. As soon as B. As long as C. When D. Since
7. A. strangely B. personally C. reasonably D. eagerly
8. A. cared B. forgot C. quarreled D. joked
9. A. clean B. larger C. straight D. darker
10. A. set out B. got ready C. arrived D. returned
11. A. notice B. admire C. believe D. measure
12. A. nervous B. curious C. careless D. speechless
13. A. After all B. As a result C. Above all D. At last
14. A. mistakenly B. then C. instead D. naturally
15. A. leading B. coming C. waiting D. counting
16. A. pretended B. stopped C. continued D. decided
17. A. thoughts B. doubts C. situations D. problems
18. A. scoring B. completing C. receiving D. keeping
19. A. play B. start C. sleep D. move
20. A. friendship B. respect C. support D. favor
【答案与解析】
本文主要讲述 Ed 的身材变化及他和“我”之间的一场结果出乎意料的网球比赛。
1. C。根据下文描述的比赛过程和结果可知此题选 C 最佳。
2. D。根据语境和 we play 中的动词时态可知，此题应填 D，因为动词 suggest(建议)后的宾语从句通常用“should+动词原形”(should可省略)。
3. C。根据前句说的 I laughed quietly，可推知这应该“是一场很容易(easy)打赢的比赛”。
4. A。比较四个选项，只有 exercise 与比赛、锻炼之类的活动有点联系。
5. D。此处的语境是(注意作者对 Ed 在体力方面的轻视)：Ed 关于 exercise 的想法只不过就像把叉子送到嘴里一样不费力。effort-making 由 make an effort 变来，其意为“费劲”；nothing more than 是习语，意为“不多于”、“与…一样”。
6. B。as long as 有两个意思是：一是作为习语，表示“只要”；二是表示作为自由短语，意为“与…一样长或一样久”。此处的as long as 用作自由短语，as long as I can remember 意为“与我能记忆的一样久”，即“在我的记忆中”或“凭我的记忆”。
7. A。虽然 Ed 体力状况在一家人中最差，但却莫名其妙(strangely)地为自己感到骄傲。
8. D。由于 Ed 太胖，他的肚子就像一只气球，所以家人经常就此开他的玩笑(joke about that)。
9. B。上文讲到 His big stomach has always ballooned out between his T-shirt and trousers(他的大肚子总是像一只气球一样突出在汗衫与长裤之间)，这说明他的 T-shirt 不够大。
10. C。Ed 身材的变化应是在他到来(arrived)之际才能发现。
11. A。此句主要是描述 Ed 身材的变化之大：他的衬衣扎在裤子里，肚子几乎让人看不出来(a stomach you could hardly notice)。
12. D。这里指 Ed 身材变化如此之大，简直令作者惊讶得说不出话来(speechless)。
13. B。因后面的内容讲的正是 Ed 因改变体形而在比赛中曾一度领先的结果，故选 as a result。
14. C。作者原认为会9:1自己领先，而结果却是7:9，故用 instead 表示后者取代了前者。
15. A。下文说 The sudden realization was painful，说明比赛的结果不是像作者的那样自己领先，而是 Ed 领先。
16. C。前面讲比分为 7 to 9，而后面又说比分达到16平，这说明比赛在继续(continued)。
17. B。此处的语境是：当比分达到16平时，我便怀疑自己能否活到21岁——这充分说明比赛的激烈程度以及作者的疲惫程度。
18. A。let alone scoring that many points 的意思“更不用说还要得那么多分”，其中的 that 为副词，相当于 so。
19. D。上文说“当比赛结束的时候，我们俩人平躺在地上”，同时比较四个选项，只有 move 最合语境，即“累得动都不能动”。
20. B。这两句为省略句，其完整形式为：I won the game, but cousin Ed won my respect.