第二节 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a freelance (self-employed) writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not. He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a(n) 21 typewriter and settled down to work.
After a year or so, however, Alex began to 22 himself. He found it is difficult to earn his living by 23 what he wrote. But Alex determined to put his dream to the test— 24 it meant living with uncertainty and fear of 25 . This is the Shadowland of hope, and 26 with a dream must learn to live there.
One day Alex got a call, "We need a (n) 27 , and we're paying $6,000 a year." $6,000 was 28
money in 1960, It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more.  29 , he could write on the side.  30 the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something 31 his senses. He had dreamed of being a 32 —full time. "Thanks, but no," Alex said 33 . "I'm going to stick it out and write."
After Alex got off the phone, he 34 everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents. Alex put the cans and cents into a 35 bag, saying to himself, "There's everything you've made of yourself so far."
Finally his work was 36 in 1970. Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that 37 writers ever experience. The shadows had turned into limelight.
Then one day, Alex 38 a box filled with things he had owned years before.  39 was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents. Suddenly he 40 himself working in that cold storage room. It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland.
21．A．used                              B．priceless                       C．excellent                      D．expensive
22．A．trust                              B．doubt                            C．regret                           D．hate
23．A．buying                           B．reading                         C．selling                           D．appreciating
24．A．What if                          B．Now that                      C．As if                               D．Even though
25．A．failure                           B．success                         C．loss                                D．perspiration
26．A．someone                      B．nobody                          C．anyone                          D．none
27．A．writer                            B．boss                               C．assistant                      D．manager
28．A．little                               B．false                              C．real                                D．high
29．A．Still                                 B．Therefore           C．However                      D．Besides
30．A．If                                     B．Because                       C．As                                   D．But
31．A．destroyed           B．struck                            C．hurt                               D．cleared
32．A．dancer                          B．writer                            C．driver                            D．assistant
33．A．hurriedly                       B．slowly                            C．firmly                   D．hesitantly
34．A．pulled out           B．pulled apart                 C．pulled down                 D．pulled back
35．A．plastic                           B．paper                            C．cloth                              D．metal
36．A．published                     B．completed          C．written                         D．punished
37．A．poor                               B．few                               C．famous                         D．great
38．A．picked                           B．searched                      C．found                   D．sought
39．A．Outside                         B．Below                            C．Above                            D．Inside
40．A．reminded                     B．pictured                        C．described                     D．called