above me suddenly became thick with bees. Although it was hot, I went cold all over. To run away fast seemed the only thing to do, but my horse was frightened, too. He jumped and kicked out in all directions to get rid of the bees that were attacking him, and then threw me to the ground.
The village was about half a mile away. I began to run. But by now I was covered from head to foot with bees. They crawled all over me, stinging (刺) with terrible pain. I tore them away, but made room for others. Each time I opened my lips for breath, more bees entered my mouth. I could hardly breathe.
Then I reached the village. I ran towards a house that was being built. As soon as the men working there saw the bees, they ran for safety at top speed.
My eyes had completely closed. I fell into a pile of something soft. I pushed myself down into this until my head and shoulders were covered. This made bees angry and they began to attack my legs. I struggled but soon became tired out. The bees had won.
At last I was saved by two clever soldiers. They ran to a pile of dry grass and quickly surrounded me with a thick wall of fire and smoke until the bees were driven away. They remained with me, I later learned, looking after me for the next three hours until a doctor was found and brought.
（ ）38. When the air suddenly became thick with bees, _________.
A. it became cold B. the writer went cold with fear
C. it was rather cold, though fine D. the horse threw the writer to the ground （ ）39. The writer tore the bees away __________.
A. in order to make room for other bees B. but they flew away slowly C. but other bees took the space again D. in order to let his breath out
（ ）40. When the men building the house saw the bees they ran away quickly __________. A. in order not to be attacked by the bees B. to look for something to drive the bees away C. to help the writer to cover his head and shoulders with soft things D. because they were afraid of the writer （ ）41. The two soldiers ___________.
A. built a thick wall to protect the writer B. surrounded the writer to protect him C. looked for the doctors for three hours