It was getting dark. Paul looked out of the window and sighed(嘆氣). Dad said he would come home by 5:30, but it was almost 7:00. Even if Dad came back, it wouldn't be much fun playing 31 in the dark. Paul walked into his room and threw his baseball into the corner. He tried to do some homework, but couldn't.

　　The phone rang at about 8:00. It was Dad: "Paul, I 'm 32 , but I couldn't play baseball with you tonight. I have to finish my work at the office. Maybe we can play this weekend. Oh no. How about next weekend? ..."

　　Paul couldn't understand why Dad was so 33 . He threw himself into the sofa and soon fell asleep. His book was still opened to the first page.

　　The next day at school, Paul didn't hand in his homework and 34 a test. Mrs. Green, his teacher, asked him to stay after school. "Paul, you didn't do your homework. You didn't pass the test and only got a D. This isn't like you. What's wrong?"

　　Paul just sat there 35 ."Paul, if you don't want to talk, I will. I know that something's worrying you, but you have to get it out. You need to tell someone."

　　As Paul walked home, he thought of what Mrs. Green said. Maybe he didn't do his homework because he wanted to get his dad's 36 . He knew Mrs. Green was right. He decided to take her advice.

　　When Paul got home, he 37 his dad. But there was no answer. Then it went to voicemail(語音信箱). Paul began talking: "Dad, I can't play with you next weekend. I've got lots of problems with my homework. Also, I really don't want to spend another day looking out of the window and waiting. Whenever you 38 our plans, Dad, it hurts me. It's not too late to rebuild our relationship, but we have to start small. Maybe you can help me with my 39 sometime. Dad, I love you."

　　As Paul ended the call, he felt much relaxed. He didn't know whether his dad would be different, but it didn't matter. He himself 40 . He expressed his feelings to the right person. He has a clear head as he was doing his homework that evening.

　　31. A. baseball B. cards C. chess D. toys

　　32. A. lucky B. sorry C. surprised D. pleased

　　33. A. famous B. helpful C. lazy D. busy

　　34. A. made B. missed C. failed D. chose

　　35. A. cheerfully B. comfortably C. hopefully D. quietly

　　36. A. attention B. message C. praise D. trust

　　37. A. saw B. thanked C. called D. greeted

　　38. A. prepare B. break C. follow D. question

　　39. A. choice B. homework C. speech D. decision

　　40. A. regretted B. complained C. insisted D. changed

　　31.【答案】A

　　【解析】考查名詞。通過后文"threw his baseball into the corner"得出此題應(yīng)選擇baseball，故選A。cards表示紙牌、卡片，chess表示棋，toys表示玩具。

　　32.【答案】B

　　【解析】考查形容詞。通過后文"but I couldn't play baseball with you tonight"可知父親無法和兒子一起打球而感到抱歉，故選B。lucky表示幸運的，surprised表示吃驚的，pleased表示高興的。

　　33.【答案】D

　　【解析】考查形容詞。通過上文"I have to finish my work at the office"可知父親因工作繁忙無法陪兒子玩耍，同時兒子無法理解父親為什么那么忙，故選D。famous表示著名的，helpful表示有幫助的，lazy表示懶惰的。

　　34.【答案】C

　　【解析】考查動詞。通過下文"You didn't pass the test and only got a D"可知Paul考試不及格，故選C。made表示做到，missed表示錯過、想念，chose表示選擇。

　　35.【答案】D

　　【解析】考查副詞。通過后文"If you don't want to talk"可知Paul是安靜地坐在那里，故選D。cheerfully表示高興地，comfortably表示舒適地，hopefully表示有希望地。

　　36.【答案】A

　　【解析】考查名詞。通過上文父親沒空陪他，故導(dǎo)致Paul想要以不寫作業(yè)的方式來吸引父親的注意力,故選A。message表示信息，praise表示贊揚、贊美，trust表示信任。

　　37.【答案】C

　　【解析】考查動詞。通過后文"It went to voicemail(語音信箱)"可知是給父親打電話，故選C。saw表示看見，thanked表示感謝，greeted表示問候。

　　38.【答案】B

　　【解析】考查動詞。通過上文可知父親沒有遵守與兒子的約定，下文中"It hurts me"更確定父親沒有遵守約定，故選B。break，此處譯為不遵守，屬于對熟詞僻意的考查。prepare表示準(zhǔn)備，follow表示聽從、跟從，question表示質(zhì)疑。

　　39.【答案】B

　　【解析】考查名詞。通過上文"Paul didn't hand in his homework"中的homework，同時運用名詞復(fù)現(xiàn)的方法，故選B。choice表示選擇，speech表示演講，decision表示決定。

　　40.【答案】D

　　【解析】考查動詞。通過上文"He didn't know whether his dad would be different, but it didn't matter"可知but表示轉(zhuǎn)折，故選擇D。changed表示改變。regretted表示后悔，complained表示抱怨，insisted表示堅持。