单选题
When Barack Obama first ran for president, Emma Hamilton was part of the working class. Ms. Hamilton worked as a loader at a factory in Sumter, a(n) 42 city of 40,000 in east-central South Carolina. In July 2008, however, after seven years on the factory floor, she mangled her hand between two heavy rollers. The 43 was to leave her unable to work. She lost her house three years later, in April 2011. She, her 20-year-old son and her dog moved into her teal Chevy van, where they have been living ever since, 44 metal cans during the day and sleeping in a grocery-store car park at night. The assistant, who 45 Ms. Hamilton in hospital, was named Patricia Dunham. Ms. Dunham works at the Excelsior for 37.5 hours each week. At night she works behind the 46 at a fast-food restaurant. She would earn $32,137.50 for working 61.5 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, before tax withholdings. Ms. Dunham has three school-age children and a husband who is unable to work. Mr. Dunham has a prison 47 , and since 2010 he has had periodic seizures that leave him bedridden for days 48 . She and her husband are still paying off a $2,100 49 they had to take out in 2010 to bury Mr. Dunham's mother, and car payments are also a concern. Her medical office is within walking distance of her home, and her shift ends late and the streets are not the safest. These are two snapshots of life on the American margins. Some 15% of Americans live below the 50 line, as Ms. Hamilton does. Many more, like Ms. Dunham, have incomes above the poverty line but nevertheless cannot meet their families' basic 51 needs, and there are signs that their number is growing. A. monthly B. record C. poverty D. beforehand E. loan F. credit G. accident H. assisted I. modest J. routine K. afterwards L. collecting M. counter N. enormous O. checked
问答题
【正确答案】I．modest
【答案解析】 词义辨析题。根据词性，此处应当填入形容词。根据空后的信息city of 40,000 in east-central South Carolina“南卡罗来纳州中东部一个4万人的镇”，按照人口稀少的逻辑，可判断该城市规模较小。而modest除了“谦虚，羞怯”的含义，还有relatively limited or small“相对有限的，狭小的”的释义，a modest city“小镇”，故选modest。
问答题
【正确答案】G．accident
【答案解析】 上下文题。根据词性，此处应当填入名词。上文说she mangled her hand between two heavy rollers.“她的手被卷入两个重型滚筒之间”，下文The ______ was to leave her unable to work.“这次让她无法再继续工作”，很显然是事故所致，答案是accident。
问答题
【正确答案】L．collecting
【答案解析】 语义题。根据语法线索，空前的living和空后的sleeping表明空中的词也是-ing形式。此外，根据段落大意，她和家人因贫穷而一直住在大货车里，在杂货店门口的停车场上过夜，以及词汇线索metal cans，答案可锁定collecting, collect metal cans“拣易拉罐”。
【答案解析】 词组固定搭配题。根据词性，此处应当填入名词。counter的意思就是“商店、酒店、银行等服务柜台”，behind the counter“站柜台”；“(在商店，餐馆或银行)做服务员”He put them to work behind the counter.“他安排他们做服务员”。故At night she works behind the ______ at a fast-food restaurant句意可判断为“每天晚上她会在快餐店站柜台”，可见答案是counter。