二、完形填空
One year, after our New Year's family dinner, we all made plans to do something special in the coming year. Dad had a really good one. He was going to learn ice skating. He said that was his
7 for many years.
There is a canal in our city. A canal is a man-made river where boats
8 in summer. But in winter, it freezes (结冰) over and becomes a
9 outdoor skating rink. Dad walked on the canal every
10
and watched people skate. He
11 how people were able to stand on the skates on a slippery ice surface (滑的冰面).
He never thought he would learn to skate
12. He thought he was too old and might break a bone
13 he fell. But that New Year's Day, Dad took us to the canal.
We helped him
14 his skates. I showed him how to stand on the ice. My sister told him to keep his body low so he wouldn't fall. Dad listened carefully to our
15. Watching him walking like a toddler (学步小孩), we
16.
After the first ten minutes, Dad could stand on his skates. Thirty minutes later, he began to move across the ice
17.
We spent the rest of the day on the canal, having fun
18 Dad skate. At the end of the day, he could skate, but mostly on his left foot. He pushed himself forward with his right foot, gliding (滑行) on his left foot through the fast-moving crowd (人群) of
19.
From that day on, Dad went skating more often than anyone else in our family. For the first few
20
, he could only glide on the one foot—a funny skating style that made us laugh. By the time the Mid-Winter Festival began, he had become a
21 skater.
Now, we spend a lot of time skating on the canal together. It's fun for our family.

(
) 7. A. habit
B. work
C. dream
D. nature
(
) 8. A. travel
B. follow
C. break
D. shape
(
) 9. A. noisy
B. wonderful
C. soft
D. tidy
(
) 10. A. spring
B. summer
C. autumn
D. winter
(
) 11. A. knew
B. noticed
C. heard
D. wondered
(
) 12. A. myself
B. himself
C. ourselves
D. themselves
(
) 13. A. if
B. till
C. because
D. before
(
) 14. A. put away
B. put on
C. put off
D. put up
(
) 15. A. questions
B. answers
C. tips
D. songs
(
) 16. A. cried
B. shouted
C. fought
D. laughed
(
) 17. A. slowly
B. wisely
C. quietly
D. clearly
(
) 18. A. watching
B. hearing
C. finding
D. making
(
) 19. A. drivers
B. dancers
C. skaters
D. gardener
(
) 20. A. hours
B. weeks
C. months
D. years
(
) 21. A. colourful
B. careful
C. special
D. skillful