“Well，” he said，“when they are very    39    and much smaller，we use the same size rope to tie them.At that age，it's enough to hold them.As they grow up，they are used to   40   that they cannot break away.They believe the rope can  41   hold them，so they never try to break free.”

My friend was amazed.These animals could at any time break free， 42   because they believed they couldn't，they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants，how many of us go  43   life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something，simply because we  44  at it once before? How many of us are being held back by old，outdated   45   that no longer serve us?

36.A.clear    B.necessary   C.interesting   D.important

37.A.business   B.time    C.duty    D.reason

38.A.try    B.continue   C.remember   D.refuse

39.A.strong   B.sleepy   C.young   D.tired

40.A.guessing   B.believing   C.proving   D.regretting

41.A.ever    B.even    C.never    D.still

42.A.but    B.and    C.or    D.so

43.A.across   B.into    C.through   D.over

44.A.failed   B.laughed   C.aimed   D.looked

45.A.dreams   B.instructions  C.beliefs   D.chances

四、阅读理解(20小题;每小题2分，共40分)

阅读下面四篇语言材料，然后按文后要求做题。

A

A hare was very popular with the other animals who all said they were her friends.But one day she heard the hounds(猎犬)getting close and hoped to escape them by the aid of her many friends. So，she went to the horse，and asked him to carry her away from the hounds on his back.But he refused，because he had important work to do for his master. He felt sure that all her other friends would come to help her.

She then came to the bull，and hoped that he would repel the hounds with his horns (角).The bull replied，"I am very sorry，but I have an appointment with a lady;but I feel sure that our friend the goat will do what you want." The goat，however，feared that his back might do her some harm if he took her upon it.The sheep，he felt sure，was the proper friend to ask for help.

So she went to the sheep and told him the situation.The sheep replied，"Another time，my dear friend. I do not like to have anything to do with it，as hounds have been known to eat sheep as well as hares."