语气。其他三个选项通常不用在这个句型结构中。

　　14．A.loneliness B．distance

　　C．darkness D．weight

　　解析：选A　由空格前的stress 可知，此处应是与stress相并列的词，再结合上文的companions，此处应填loneliness。宠物是不能减小"距离""黑暗"或"重量"的。

　　15．A.housewives B．children

　　C．grown­ups D．relatives

　　解析：选B　根据下文可知，此处的意思应该是指宠物对孩子们很重要。第17、18空后的"helps a child"有所提示。

　　16．A.action B．trouble

　　C．touch D．love

　　解析：选C　家里的宠物能使人们保持和大自然以及动物世界之间的联系。keep in touch with"和......保持联系"。

　　17．A.die B．suffer

　　C．cry D．fight

　　解析：选A　根据下文中的"helps a child to cope with sorrow"可知，此处指宠物死了。其他选项的意思和文章的意思不吻合。

　　18．A.pay B．ask

　　C．call D．care

　　解析：选D　根据句中的"helps a child to grow up into a loving adult"可知，这里指孩子们学习关心宠物能帮助他们成长为一个富有爱心的人。pay for意为"付款"；ask for意为"要求得到"；call for意为"要求"。

　　C．valuable D．responsible

　　解析：选D　此处的语境是：......会对依靠他的人富有责任心。

　　20．A.fit B．good

　　C．expensive D．bad

　　解析：选B　由上文中的"Rightly we teach children to be good to their pets."可知，B项为正确答案。

　　Ⅱ.阅读理解

　　You don't know what you've got until it's gone. When I bake cookies, I immediately miss them the moment I have eaten the last one. Last summer when I left a summer camp, I didn't realize how great it really was until I got home. What happens, however, when that happens to one of your senses?

A few months ago, I woke up deaf in one ear. I did not pay much attention to it at first.