An old man had been working for many years for a town. His job was to clear away natural waste from the pool water in the hills, which made up the lovely river flowing through the town nearby. Quietly and 36 , the old man guarded the hills, 37 the leaves and branches, and cleaned up the dirt that would have 38 and polluted the fresh flow of water . The town soon became a popular attraction for tourists. Elegant swans (天鹅) floated along the clear river and the view was so beautiful 39 words.
Years passed. One evening the town 40 met. As they reviewed the budget, one man’s 41 caught sight of the salary 42 being paid to the seldom seen keeper of the river. He asked , “Who is the old man? Why do we 43 to employ him? No one in town ever 44 him. For all we know, the strange keeper of the hills isn’t doing his job. His position isn’t 45 any longer.” Then they voted to 46 the man.
For several weeks, nothing changed….
By early autumn, the trees began to 47 their leaves. Small branches broke off and fell into the pools of the hills, 48 the flow of the shining water. One afternoon, someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown 49 in the river. A few days later, the water was much 50 . Within another week, an oily something covered some sections of the water along the banks, and a terrible 51 was soon sensed. Swans left and so did the 52 . The only thing that was now visiting the village was disease and sickness.
Quickly, the 53 town mittee called a special meeting. Realizing their huge error in 54 , they rehired the old keeper of the river again, and within a few weeks, the river began to clear up. Swans and tourists came back again and new life returned to the small town in the Alps.
Never ignore the seeming smallness of a task, job or life. They may all make a 55 .
【小题1】A．regularly B．suddenly C．naturally D．actually【小题2】A．cutB．burnedC．removedD．selected【小题3】A．carried B．pouredC．changedD．blocked【小题4】A．beyondB．withC．inD．after【小题5】A．officeB．association C．department D．mittee【小题6】A．eyeB．careC．handD．mind【小题7】A．list B．form C．figureD．account【小题8】A．promise B．continue C．stopD．tend【小题9】A．visits B．hires C．tells D．sees【小题10】A．powerful B．important C．necessary D．suitable【小题11】A．find B．fire C．supportD．forgot【小题12】A．lose B．miss C．fall D．grow【小题13】A．pulling B．speeding C．slowing D．pushing【小题14】A．fish B．color C．flower D．leaf【小题15】A．deeperB．cooler C．warmer D．darker【小题16】A．sound B．smell C．waveD．taste【小题17】A．managersB．passengers C．villagers D．tourists【小题18】A．embarrassedB．annoyedC．discouraged D．diappointed【小题19】A．arrangementB．assignmentC．judgement D．amusement【小题20】A．suggestionB．differenceC．progress D．decisionA
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(答案→)A
解析：文章讲述的是一个老人通过自己的日常工作让一个池塘非常的干净，环境非常好，野生物和游客也经常来，后来当地的委员会错误地解雇掉了这个老人，导致了环境的恶化，后来他们意识到了问题的所在，请回了老人，让环境又恢复了以往的美丽。
【小题1】A 上下文，根据上文An old man had been working for many years for a town可知，他肯定是经常性的，默默无闻地守护着这座小山，去除一些树叶或者树枝，清理可能会阻塞或者污染河水的脏东西。
【小题2】C 同上 remove意为移除，
【小题3】D 同36，block意为阻挡
【小题4】A 常用搭配，beyond words意为无法用言语表达，此处意为景色非常的美，让人找不出合适的词来形容。
【小题5】D 上下文，根据后文可知这里指的是当地的管理委员门会面了，mittee意为全体委员，根据后面的 they voted to也可以看出
【小题6】A 上下文，根据后面的caught sight of 可知，是一个人的眼睛，看到了这个很少被看到的河流守护者的薪资。
【小题7】C 同上，salary figure意为薪资
【小题8】B 句意理解，为什么我们要继续雇用他，
【小题9】D 上下文，根据上文的seldom seen keeper of the river可知，很少有人看到过他
【小题10】C 上下文，根据上文的the strange keeper of the hills isn’t doing his job可知，他根本就没做什么事情，所以他的工作是不需要的，即C
【小题11】B 上下文，根据上文可知，委员认为这个老人的工作是不需要的，因此他们投票决定辞掉这个老人。
【小题12】A 上下文，根据上一句的By early autumn可知秋天树要开始落叶了，即lose leaves，或者leaves fall.
【小题13】C 上下文，根据上文的 Small branches broke off and fell into the pools of the hills可知，树枝掉落到池塘了，导致水流变慢。
【小题14】B 根据yellowish-brown可知，他们看到的是河里有点黄棕色
【小题15】D 上下文，此处指的是上文降到的黄棕色变的越来越深了
【小题16】B 上下文，根据上文的an oily something covered some sections of the water along the banks可知，水被阻挡在了一起，时间长了就会变质，发出难闻的味道
【小题17】D 上下文，根据上文的The town soon became a popular attraction for tourists可知，有很多游客来参观，现在天鹅走了，游客也走了
【小题18】A 上下文，根据上文可知，委员辞掉了那个老人，现在导致环境恶化，所以他们感到很尴尬。
【小题19】C 句意理解，他们最大的问题是判断出现了问题。
【小题20】B 词组搭配，make a difference意为有影响。