第二节完型填空（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。答案涂在答题卡上。
Dad is a liar, definitely.
He never tells the truth about anything , or anything that he thinks is bad to me,   36   I emphasize that I don’t  37   hearing these things. He is the kindest man I have ever met, who never ＿38＿ others, as well as the ＿39＿ man, for he’s always hard on himself. Every time I ＿40＿ home from college and asked Dad how his ＿41＿ was getting on, he would always reply, “Oh, couldn’t be ＿42＿!” When I asked my mum the same question on the phone, ＿43＿, she honestly told me every ＿44＿ with Dad’s business. I didn’t blame Dad for his ＿45＿. I felt a deep sympathy for him.
Dad is a miser（吝啬鬼）, undoubtedly.
I hardly see Dad wear ＿46＿ clothes. In fact, his closet is half empty. Even in this half , two-thirds is occupied by Mum’s clothes and the other ＿47＿ belongs to him. I urged him to buy some new clothes, ＿48＿ he simply shook his head, “The old clothes are still good enough.” Were they? I saw ＿49＿ in them!
It ＿50＿ my heart up when I saw Dad cough terribly   51   his hand covering his mouth. When the pains became unbearable, he ＿52＿ took some pills.
So   53   surprised when the day came that Dad got sick. He was lying in bed, and all the family gathered around him. I knelt by his beside, tears filling my eyes.
Dear Dad, you’ve been ＿54＿ yourself too hard, which you should not have. I know I might as well ＿55＿ a river to flow backward as hope to talk you out of working so hard. But I still want to say, “Dad, take better care of yourself!”
36．A．as if  B．but for      C．even though     D．because of
37．A．mean B．mind C．agree D．admit
38．A．prefers     B．laughs      C．helps D．hurts
39．A．noblest     B．cruelest     C．best   D．oldest
40．A．phoned     B．drove       C．went  D．stayed
41．A．health       B．business    C．experiment       D．treatment
42．A．better       B．harder      C．easier       D．healthier
43．A．meanwhile       B．anyway     C．however   D．therefore
44．A．change     B．incident    C．achievement     D．problem
45．A．belief       B．carelessness      C．lies    D．excuses
46．A．old    B．new   C．beautiful   D．cheap
47．A．one-third  B．half   C．thing D．closet
48．A．so     B．but    C．since D．although
49．A．holes B．stains C．hope  D．importance
50．A．woke up   B．warmed to       C．flew to     D．tore up
51．A．in     B．on     C．by     D．with
52．A．still B．again C．simply      D．seldom
53．A．somebody B．anybody   C．everybody D．nobody
54．A．controlling       B．pushing    C．blaming    D．enjoying
55．A．let     B．allow C．expect      D．cause