第二节语法填空（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为31 ~ 40的相应位置上。
How should one invest (投资) a sum of money in these days of inflation (通货膨胀)?   31   (leave) in a bank it’ll hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man,  32  a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock(股票) Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways   33   (protect) your savings and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects   34  the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks,   35   I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.
I sometimes wonder   36   a being from another planet report back about our way of life. “The planet Earth   37  (rule) by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face   38   twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it   39  (fast) its young around people’s wrists so that everywhere men go   40   are still under control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves.”