At the beginning of the school year, each student would be given a special job. And they should be ____1____ for it the whole term. Rita, a quiet and hard-working girl, hoped for an exciting task, like taking care of the class plants. ____2____, she received a small box with sand and a small ant.

____3____ the teacher kept saying that this task was very special, Rita could not help feeling upset. However, she decided to do her best with her new duty. She began to study and ____4____ the ant, learning about its habitat (栖息地) and needs. She made the box a comfortable home for the ant, and it grew much bigger than anyone ____5____.

Rita’s efforts caught the attention of her science teacher, Mr Thompson. He turned her work into a class project, and Rita became the class ____6____ on ants. Her hard work helped the whole class know about ant behavior and habitats. They even built a small ant farm in the classroom to ____7____ the ant closely.

As the school year progressed, Rita’s classmates became more interested in the ant project. They started asking her questions and observing the ant’s behavior themselves. Rita felt ____8____ to share her knowledge and see her classmates so interested. She even gave a report to share her findings with the whole school during the science fair.

When the ____9____ of the year arrived, the school recognized (表彰) Rita’s class as the best of the year. They praised Rita for her hard work and turning a small duty into something big. Rita learned that every task, no matter how ____10____, could make a big difference. She also learned that sometimes the most unexpected things can lead to great success.

1.1.

A responsible

B thirsty

C thankful

D

解析：选A。be responsible for 对…… 负责。开学分配任务，学生要全程负责。thirsty 口渴；thankful 感激。 句意：整个学期他们都要对此负责。

2.2.

A So

B Besides

C Instead

D

解析：选C。Rita 期待照料植物，取而代之她拿到养蚂蚁的盒子。So 所以；Besides 此外。 句意：相反，她拿到一个装有沙子和一只小蚂蚁的盒子。

3.3.

A If

B Since

C Although

D

解析：选C。although 引导让步状语从句：虽然老师说任务很特别，但 Rita 还是难过。If 如果；Since 自从 / 因为。

4.4.

A look for

B care for

C wait for

D

解析：选B。care for 照顾；look for 寻找；wait for 等待。后文说给蚂蚁打造舒适家园，所以是照料蚂蚁。

5.5.

A expected

B showed

C advised

D

解析：选A。expect 预料、预想；show 展示；advise 建议。蚂蚁长得比大家预料的更大。

6.6.

A artist

B expert

C collector

D

解析：选B。expert 专家；artist 艺术家；collector 收藏家。全班都向她学习蚂蚁知识，所以她成了蚂蚁方面的班级专家。

7.7.

A catch

B watch

C draw

D

解析：选B。watch 观察；catch 抓住；draw 绘画。搭建蚂蚁农场，目的是近距离观察蚂蚁。

8.8.

A sorry

B tired

C proud

D

解析：选C。proud 自豪；sorry 遗憾；tired 疲惫。分享知识，大家感兴趣，内心感到自豪。

9.9.

A end

B start

C middle

D

解析：选A。the end of the year 学年末尾；start 开头；middle 中间。学期结束学校进行表彰。

10.10.

A important

B difficult

C small

D

解析：选C。再微小的事情也能有大影响。important 重要的；difficult 困难的。no matter how small 无论多么微小。