Question

    A long time ago, a father was old and sick. He did not have much time to live, and he wanted 1. (give) his sons a good lesson before he died.

Recently, he noticed that his sons 2. (fight) among themselves and seemed unable to agree on anything. The old man feared what would happen after his 3. (die). He was afraid that his sons would begin to argue. “They will disagree about everything,” He thought. “Soon they 4. (be) enemies, each going his own direction.”

He called his sons together in his room. “Bring 5. (I) a bundle (束) of stick,” he asked his servant (仆人). Soon enough, a thick bundle of sticks arrived, tied 6. (close) together. One by one, he gave the bundle to each son, and asked him to break the bundle. One son after another pulled and twisted (拧) with all of his strength (力量), 7. the sticks would not break.

The old man smiled and ordered his servant to untie the bundle of sticks. He handed one stick to each son and said, “Now break the stick.”

Of course, the single stick 8. (break) in two easily. The old father looked at his sons. “Do you understand this lesson?” he asked.

Each son, being intelligent, 9. (understand) the meaning at once. Alone, it is easy for one of them to be harmed. But together, they are strong and can’t be harmed even 10. great forces (势力).

That’s the meaning of the sticking together. In unity, there is great strength.

Answer

1.to give

2.were fighting

3.death

4.will be

5.me

6.closely

7.but

8.was broken

9.understood

10.by

【解析】

文章大意：本文讲述的是一位老父亲在临死前，利用一捆树枝给他的儿子们上了难忘的一课，从而让他们明白了“团结就是力量”的道理。

1.

句意：他想在死之前好好地教训一下他的儿子们。

根据he wanted __1__ (give) his sons a good lesson before he died.可知是他想在临死之前给他的儿子们一个难忘的教训，give sb sth.给某人某物；want to do sth.想要做某事，固定搭配；故答案为to give。

2.

句意：最近，他注意到他的儿子们互相争斗。

根据Recently, he noticed that his sons __2__ (fight) among themselves，可知是他注意到他的儿子们互相争斗，由语境可知句子时态用过去进行时，即was/were+动词的现在分词，主语his sons是复数，用were，fight的现在分词是fighting，故答案为were fighting。

3.

句意：老人担心他死后会发生什么事。

根据The old man feared what would happen after his __3__ (die).可知提示词die死亡，动词；设空处前面有形容词性的物主代词his修饰，所以应用其名词形式death，故答案为death。

4.

句意：不久他们就会成为敌人，各走各的路。

根据Soon they __4__ (be) enemies, each going his own direction.由soon可知句子时态用一般将来时，即will+动词原形，故答案为will be。

5.

句意：“给我拿一捆树枝来。”他对仆人说。

根据Bring __5__ (I) a bundle (束) of stick,可知Bring为动词，后跟代词的宾格形式，I的宾格是me，故答案为me。

6.

句意：很快，一捆粗树枝来了，紧紧地捆在一起。

根据tied __6__ (close) together.可知设空处修饰前面的动词，所以应用close的副词形式，与close所对应的副词是closely紧密地，故答案为closely。

7.

句意：一个接一个的儿子用尽全身的力气拉、扭，但棍子没有折断。

根据One son after another pulled and twisted (拧) with all of his strength (力量), 以及 the sticks would not break.可知前后句之间是转折关系，所以用but连接，故答案为but。

8.

句意：当然，那根棍子很容易就断成了两截。

根据the single stick __8__ (break) in two easily.可知主语the single stick和谓语动词break之间存在被动关系，所以应用被动语态，即be+动词的过去分词，句子时态为一般过去时，且主语为单数，所以be动词用was，break的过去分词是broken，故答案为was broken。

9.

句意：每个儿子都很聪明，立刻明白了意思。

根据Each son, being intelligent, __9__ (understand) the meaning at once.结合上下文，可知句子时态是一般过去时，所以此处应用understand的过去式understood，故答案为understood。

10.

句意：但是他们结合在一起，是强大的，即使是强大的势力也不会伤害他们。

根据But together, they are strong and can’t be harmed even ___10___ great forces (势力).根据语境，可知他们不会被强大的势力伤害，所以此处应填入介词by，意为“被、由”，故答案为by。