第二节 完形填空 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
All the World Asks
On my first day in a college classroom, I felt like an overgrown child returning to civilization after having been lost in the forest for thirty years. There I sat,  36  enough to be a father to most of the students in the room,   37   unconfident enough to be their baby brother. We were crowded elbow (肘部) to elbow, listening to a  38  who looked even younger than the students. I felt uncomfortable and out of place as the professor carefully  39  what she expected us to learn.
As I listened, I couldn't help but  40  of my own oldest daughter who was now beginning her first year in  41 , just like me. I remembered how hard I had tried to help build self-confidence in her and my other children. So why did I suddenly feel like a scared  42  myself'? When I walked out of that classroom, I had serious  43  about my ability to make it  44  college. Not until late that night did my thinking  45 . It was a long-distance  46  from my daughter, my fellow college freshman, that did the trick. She spoke on the phone about the doubts, worries and anxieties she was  47 . She was certain that she'd never  48  at college. How  49  her worries sounded!
In my most confident parental  50 , I said, “Doing your best is all the world   51 .” The next day in class, those words still repeated in my head. When the professor raised a  52  for the class, nobody, including me,  53  to answer. When I looked around at the  54  and uncertainty on the young faces in that room, I knew  55  what I had to do: my best. That's all the world asks. So I raised my hand, and the professor called my name. I spoke.
36. A. big               B. tall                   C. old                    D. strong
37. A. and           B. so               C. or             D. yet
38. A. professor            B. teacher                C lecturer           D. instructor
39. A. showed            B. explained              C. designed         D. offered
40. A. think              B. speak                     C. talk             D. hear
41. A. school             B. office                C. classroom         D. college
42. A. father              B. parent                 C. child           D. son
43. A. fears          B. doubts                C. opinions         D. ideas
44. A. over              B. on                    C. with                   D. through
45. A. stop               B. turn                  C. change                 D. continue
46. A. call                B. talk                   C. report           D. discussion
47. A. obtaining           B. gaining                C. experiencing   D. feeling
48. A. fail              B. succeed                C. win            D. pass
49. A. common            B. ordinary               C. regular                 D. familiar
50. A. sound             B. whisper                C. word           D. voice
51. A. hopes              B. asks                  C. wants           D. expects
52. A. request             B. problem               C. question          D. demand
53. A. dared              B. preferred               C. tried                   D. prepared
54. A. sorrow            B. joy                   C. fear            D. anger
55. A. exactly             B. roughly               C. gradually               D. certainly