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，掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column．She had been a school teacher before she retired（退休），but she needed to keep  36  ．She was even willing to work without pay．She then offered her  37  with a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people．Every day she  38  other old folks like her．By talking with them，she  39  two things．Old people had abilities that were not  40  ． But old people also had some   41   ．She found a new purpose for herself then．
Through the years，she   42  to write stories about people for national magazines．There was now a new  43  ： Old people like herself．She began to write a newspaper column called“Sixty Plus”， which was about   44  old ．She writes about the problems of old people，especially their problems with being  45  ．
Anna Douglas uses her   46  ability to see the truth behind a problem．She understands  47   problems begin．For example，one of her   48  said that his grandchildren  49   the houses as soon as he came to visit．Mrs Douglas  50  some ways for him to understand his grandchildren．
“It's important to know  51  about your grandchildren's world，”says Mrs Douglas．“That means questioning and listening，and   52   is not what old people do best．Say good things to them and about them，”she continues．“Never try to   53  your grandchildren or other young people．Never   54  your opinion．Don't tell them what they should do．  55  ，they have been taught they should have respect for old people．The old should respect them as well．”
36．A．free         B．rich         C．powerful         D．busy
37．A．service       B．money       C．students          D．books
38．A．observed     B．met          C．comforted        D．answered
39．A．recognized    B．followed     C．enjoyed           D．demanded
40．A．studied       B．agreed       C．gave             D．used
41．A．mistakes     B．problems     C．questions         D．characters
42．A．had         B．ought        C．was             D．used
43．A．subject       B．life          C．way             D．plan
44．A．getting       B．respecting    C．employing        D．supporting
45．A．unknown     B．refused       C．misunderstood     D．discouraged
46．A．thinking      B．working      C．writing           D．leading
47．A．that          B．when        C．why             D．whether
48．A．visitors        B．readers       C．listeners           D．friends
49．A．got          B．entered       C．left              D．passed
50．A．invented      B．chose        C．suggested         D．imagined
51．A．everything     B．something    C．anything          D．nothing
52．A．listening       B．speaking     C．pleasing          D．advising
53．A．praise        B．scold        C．trouble           D．encourage
54．A．speak out      B．give up      C．get back          D．stick to
55．A．Commonly    B．Surprisingly   C．Happily          D．Naturally