A Life with Birds

For nearly 17 years David Cope has worked as one of the Tower of London's Yeoman Warders, (1) better known to tourists as beefeaters. David, 64, lives in a three-bedroomed flat right at the (2) top of the Byward Tower, one of the gatehouses. “(3) From our bedroom we have a marvellous view of Tower Bridge and the Thames.” says David.

The Tower of London is famous (4) for its ravens, the large black birds which have lived there for over three centuries. David was immediately fascinated by the birds and when he was (5) offered the post of Raven Master eight years ago he had no (6) hesitation in accepting it. "The birds have now become my life and I'm always (7) aware of the fact that I am (8) maintaining a tradition. The legend says that if the ravens leave the Tower, England will fall to enemies, and it's my job to (9) make sure this doesn't happen!"

David (10) devotes about four hours a day to the care of the ravens. He has grown to love them and the (11) fact that he lives right next to them is ideal. “I can (12) keep a close eye on them all the time, and not just when I'm working.” (13) At first, David's wife Mo was not (14) keen on the idea of life in the Tower, but she too will be sad to leave when he retires next year. “When we look out of our windows, we see history (15) all around us, and we are taking it in and storing it up for our future memories.”

练习：

1. A. more B. better C. sooner D. very

2. A. height B. summit C. peak D. top

3. A. Since B. Out C. From D. Through

4. A. for B. because C. of D. by

5. A. award B. applied C. presented D. offered

6. A. regret B. delay C. hesitation D. choice

7. A. aware B. knowing C. pleased D. delighted

8. A. holding B. maintaining C. surviving D. lasting

9. A. take B. make C. have D. keep

10. A. devotes B. spends C. passes D. provides

11. A. reason B. chance C. opportunity D. fact

12. A. hold B. have C. keep D. put

13. A. Firstly B. First of all C. At first D. First

14. A. interested B. keen C. fond D. happy

15. A. every B. all C. much D. so

参考答案：BDCAD CABBA DCCBB

第一篇 有鸟陪伴的生活

作为伦敦塔的守卫者之一David Cope在那里工作了近17年，被游客们称为beefeaters。David，64岁，生活在Byward塔顶部的一个三居室的单元里，一个警卫室。 David说：“从我们的卧室看去，我们可以看到伦敦塔桥和泰晤士河的一个美好景色。”

伦敦塔以大黑色的鸟—乌鸦而著名，它们已经在那里生活了三个多世纪。David立刻被这种鸟迷住了，当他在八年前被提供乌鸦主人的职位时他毫不犹豫地接受了它。“这种鸟类现在已经成为我的生命，我总是警觉到我在保持一个传统。传说中说，如果乌鸦离开伦敦塔，英国将落到敌人手中，我的工作就是确保这种情况不会发生!”

David每天大约用四个小时的时间来护理乌鸦。他已经爱上了它们，而他紧挨在它们的旁边生活是最佳选择。“我可以在所有的时间内密切关注它们，不仅仅是在工作的时候。”起初，David的妻子Mo对生活在塔里的想法并不热衷，但David明年即将退休，她要离开时也会很伤心。“当我们透过我们的窗口向外看，我们看到历史环绕在我们身边，我们正接受它并为我们未来的记忆存储它。”