It was getting dark. Paul looked out of the window and sighed(叹气). Dad said he would come home by 5:30, but it was almost 7:00. Even if Dad came back, it wouldn't be much fun playing 31 in the dark. Paul walked into his room and threw his baseball into the corner. He tried to do some homework, but couldn't.

　　The phone rang at about 8:00. It was Dad: "Paul, I 'm 32 , but I couldn't play baseball with you tonight. I have to finish my work at the office. Maybe we can play this weekend. Oh no. How about next weekend? ..."

　　Paul couldn't understand why Dad was so 33 . He threw himself into the sofa and soon fell asleep. His book was still opened to the first page.

　　The next day at school, Paul didn't hand in his homework and 34 a test. Mrs. Green, his teacher, asked him to stay after school. "Paul, you didn't do your homework. You didn't pass the test and only got a D. This isn't like you. What's wrong?"

　　Paul just sat there 35 ."Paul, if you don't want to talk, I will. I know that something's worrying you, but you have to get it out. You need to tell someone."

　　As Paul walked home, he thought of what Mrs. Green said. Maybe he didn't do his homework because he wanted to get his dad's 36 . He knew Mrs. Green was right. He decided to take her advice.

　　When Paul got home, he 37 his dad. But there was no answer. Then it went to voicemail(语音信箱). Paul began talking: "Dad, I can't play with you next weekend. I've got lots of problems with my homework. Also, I really don't want to spend another day looking out of the window and waiting. Whenever you 38 our plans, Dad, it hurts me. It's not too late to rebuild our relationship, but we have to start small. Maybe you can help me with my 39 sometime. Dad, I love you."

　　As Paul ended the call, he felt much relaxed. He didn't know whether his dad would be different, but it didn't matter. He himself 40 . He expressed his feelings to the right person. He has a clear head as he was doing his homework that evening.

　　31. A. baseball B. cards C. chess D. toys

　　32. A. lucky B. sorry C. surprised D. pleased

　　33. A. famous B. helpful C. lazy D. busy

　　34. A. made B. missed C. failed D. chose

　　35. A. cheerfully B. comfortably C. hopefully D. quietly

　　36. A. attention B. message C. praise D. trust

　　37. A. saw B. thanked C. called D. greeted

　　38. A. prepare B. break C. follow D. question

　　39. A. choice B. homework C. speech D. decision

　　40. A. regretted B. complained C. insisted D. changed

　　31.【答案】A

　　【解析】考查名词。通过后文"threw his baseball into the corner"得出此题应选择baseball，故选A。cards表示纸牌、卡片，chess表示棋，toys表示玩具。

　　32.【答案】B

　　【解析】考查形容词。通过后文"but I couldn't play baseball with you tonight"可知父亲无法和儿子一起打球而感到抱歉，故选B。lucky表示幸运的，surprised表示吃惊的，pleased表示高兴的。

　　33.【答案】D

　　【解析】考查形容词。通过上文"I have to finish my work at the office"可知父亲因工作繁忙无法陪儿子玩耍，同时儿子无法理解父亲为什么那么忙，故选D。famous表示著名的，helpful表示有帮助的，lazy表示懒惰的。

　　34.【答案】C

　　【解析】考查动词。通过下文"You didn't pass the test and only got a D"可知Paul考试不及格，故选C。made表示做到，missed表示错过、想念，chose表示选择。

　　35.【答案】D

　　【解析】考查副词。通过后文"If you don't want to talk"可知Paul是安静地坐在那里，故选D。cheerfully表示高兴地，comfortably表示舒适地，hopefully表示有希望地。

　　36.【答案】A

　　【解析】考查名词。通过上文父亲没空陪他，故导致Paul想要以不写作业的方式来吸引父亲的注意力,故选A。message表示信息，praise表示赞扬、赞美，trust表示信任。

　　37.【答案】C

　　【解析】考查动词。通过后文"It went to voicemail(语音信箱)"可知是给父亲打电话，故选C。saw表示看见，thanked表示感谢，greeted表示问候。

　　38.【答案】B

　　【解析】考查动词。通过上文可知父亲没有遵守与儿子的约定，下文中"It hurts me"更确定父亲没有遵守约定，故选B。break，此处译为不遵守，属于对熟词僻意的考查。prepare表示准备，follow表示听从、跟从，question表示质疑。

　　39.【答案】B

　　【解析】考查名词。通过上文"Paul didn't hand in his homework"中的homework，同时运用名词复现的方法，故选B。choice表示选择，speech表示演讲，decision表示决定。

　　40.【答案】D

　　【解析】考查动词。通过上文"He didn't know whether his dad would be different, but it didn't matter"可知but表示转折，故选择D。changed表示改变。regretted表示后悔，complained表示抱怨，insisted表示坚持。