Ⅲ. 完形填空(共10分，每小题1分)

先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳答案。

Long time ago, housework was hard because people didn’t have water or electricity at home. One of the most

26   housework activities was washing clothes. People had to wash their clothes with their hands. They usually took their dirty clothes to a   27   and used rocks, sand and river water to clean them. It was   28   hard work.

For many years, people tried to find easier ways to wash their clothes. Sailors (水手), for example, put their clothes in bags and   29   them into the sea. This way worked quite well because the moving water   30  .

In 1858, the rotary (旋转式的) washing machine was invented,   31   it was difficult to use. The water was cold, so people had to first warm   32   with a fire. After the machine washed the clothes, people had to pull the clean,   33   clothes through a special machine to get the water out of them.

Later, the first electric washing machine was invented. It was more convenient (方便的)   34   it could warm the water. But the clothes were still very wet. The automatic (自动的) washing machine wasn’t invented until 1937. This    35   has changed our lives. Today, washing machines get clothes clean for us while we sit and relax.

(  )26. A. interesting                 B. difficult

C. important                       D. popular

(  )27. A. hotel                         B. farm

C. mountain                 D. river

(  )28. A. hardly                     B. still

C. always                    D. even

(  )29. A. separated                B. turned

C. threw                      D. cut

(  )30. A. helped                        B. lifted

C. stopped                          D. shone