The incident took place on Sunday，the 25th of June. On that particular day，a south wind had been gusting(劲吹) on and off all morning. It was not strong enough to cause us any concern，so we carried on our daily work, not suspecting what was about to happen.
The storm gave us very little warning. Black clouds loomed over the distant horizon(地平线) so suddenly that we were taken by surprise. Even then，we were not really worried，as the clouds seemed to be moving over our house and towards the distant mountains. Then，just as the clouds had moved inland，the wind suddenly swung around in a full circle and we were facing a major storm.
Instantly，we were busily preparing for the worst. The whole family had experienced such a storm before and everyone remembered the damage it had caused to stock and crops. There was very little we could do about the crops. But we needed to protect the animals in case the river flooded again. My older brother called his sheep-dog and began driving our small flock of sheep to higher ground above the river. If the river flooded，they should be safe there.
In the meantime，my father was mending a shed roof that had partly fallen down after many years of fine service. If the tin flew off，it could damage the house. My younger brother began hurriedly carrying firewood under the shelter. My job was to help Mum board up the windows. If the storm developed into a cyclone(旋风)，the boards would protect the glass.
The storm raged for four hours，pouring more rain on us than we had seen in the last five years. As expected，the river broke its banks and came slowly up towards the house and the stock..
Then，just as we were beginning to lose hope，the storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The animals were safe，and the roof was still nailed on. “All’s well that ends well ,”said my mother.
56.When the black clouds appeared suddenly in the distance, .
A. the family were surprised B. they were extremely worried
C. they were preparing for the worst D. they faced the storm bravely
57.“There was very little we could do about the crops” indicates that .
A. little damage would be done to the crops B. they had everything ready for the crops
C. they felt unable to protect the crops D. the crops should be safe enough there
58. The underlined word “ stock” in the third paragraph refers to .
A. money owned by the family B. goods for sale
C. supplies for family use D. farm animals .
59.It can be inferred from what the mother said that ·
A. they had no damage at all B. everything went beyond their expectation
C. everything was under control D. the family could have suffered a greater loss56. A 57. C 58. D 59. D
网友回答
(答案→)56. A 57. C 58. D 59. D
解析：
56．解析：这是一道细节推断题。从第二段第二句“Black clouds loomed over the distant horizon so suddenly that we were taken by surprise.”可知，A选项正确。
57．解析：这是一道判断题。这句话翻译成汉语是“对于庄稼，我们能做的很少”，四个选项中只有C的意思符合，因此C正确。
58．解析：这是一道推测题。这句话提到了storm会对stock and crops产生伤害。后面先说了crops，然后讲到了对animals的保护。由此可知，stock指的是animal，因此选D。
59．解析：这是一道推断题。从文中来看，河水漫过河堤，不可能没有伤害，因此A不正确；河水漫过河堤是As expected，因此B也不正确；而C的内容显然不符合。从最后一段来看，如果暴风雨不突然停止的话，我们将遭受更大的灾难。因此D正确。