Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg．I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there were a whole lot of antique(古董)shops near my home．So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me．I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception(接待)．I was quite wrong．The man wouldn't even look at my chair．
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third, and the fourth－so I decided that my approach must be wrong．
I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind．I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes , not a bad chair．How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds ,” I said．“OK,” he said, “I'll give you twenty pounds．” “It's got a slightly broken leg, ”I said．“Yes I saw that, it's nothing．”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited．“What will you do with it?” I asked．“Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done．” “I'll buy it,” I said．“What do you mean?Y ou've just sold it to me,” he said．“Yes, I know but I've changed my mind．I'm sorry, I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it．” “You must be crazy,” he said．Then suddenly the penny dropped．“ I know what you want．You want me to repair your chair．” “ You're right,” I said．“And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘ Would you mend this chair for me'?” “I wouldn't have agreed to do it ,” he said．“We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble．But I'll mend this for you, shall we say for a five?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused(感到有趣)by the whole thing．
(1)
We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________．
[ ]
A．
was rather impolite
B．
was warmly received
C．
asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair
D．
asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair
(2)
The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________．
[ ]
A．
changed his mind
B．
accepted the offer
C．
saw the writer's purpose
D．
decided to help the writer
(3)
How much did the writer pay?
[ ]
A．
￡5．
B．
￡7．
C．
￡20．
D．
￡27．
(4)
From the text , we can learn that the writer was ________．
Many Americans are turning to Japan, they think, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers．However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find．In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction．In one survey, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education．Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents(答问卷者)listed“to give children a good start academically”as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools．In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices．To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as determination, concentration, and the ability to work as a member of a group．The huge majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents．
Like in America, there is diversity(多样性)in Japanese early childhood education．Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential development．In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools．Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children's chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities．Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens．
(1)
We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________．
[ ]
A．
Japanese parents are more involved in preschool education than American parents
B．
Japan's economic success is a result of its scientific achievements
C．
Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction
D．
Japan's higher education is superior to theirs
(2)
In Japan's preschool education, the focus is on ________．
[ ]
A．
preparing children academically
B．
developing children's artistic interests
C．
developing children's potential
D．
shaping children's character
(3)
Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?
[ ]
A．
They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education．
B．
They can make more group experience grow there．
C．
They can be individually oriented when they grow up．
D．
They can do better in their future studies．
(4)
Free play has been introduced in some Japanese kindergartens in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
broaden children's knowledge
B．
lighten children's study load
C．
train children's creativity
D．
enrich children's experience
(5)
Which of the following statements is true?
[ ]
A．
Most of the Japanese preschools pay much attention to academic instructions．
B．
Very few Japanese respondents don't agree to give children a start academically．
C．
In Japan it is common for parents to teach their children at home．
D．
American respondents don't agree to give children a start academically．
Suppose we built a robot(机器人)to explore the planet Mars．We provide the robot with seeing detectors(探测器)to keep it away from danger．It is powered entirely by the sun．Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times?No．The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any．So we would probably program it to stop its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning．
According to the evolutionary(进化的)theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason．The theory does not deny(否认)that sleep provides some important restorative functions(恢复功能)．It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous．However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us．So we sleep well when we are in a familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent．
The evolutionary theory explains the differences in sleep among creatures．Why do eats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little?Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do．But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep．Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value．Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival(生存)depends on their ability to run away from attackers．
(1)
The author uses the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us ________．
[ ]
A．
the differences between robots and men
B．
the reason why men need to sleep
C．
about the need for robots to save power
D．
about the danger of men working at night
(2)
Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night chiefly to help him ________．
[ ]
A．
keep up a regular pattern of life
B．
prevent trouble that comes looking for him
C．
avoid danger and inefficient labour
D．
restore his bodily functions
(3)
According to the author, we cannot sleep well when we ________．
[ ]
A．
are worrying about our safety
B．
are overworked
C．
are in a tent
D．
are away from home
(4)
Cats sleep much more than horses do partly because cats ________．
[ ]
A．
need more time for restoration
B．
are unlikely to be attackers
C．
axe more active than homes when they are awake
D．
spend less time eating to get enough energy
(5)
Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking．
B．
The study of sleep is an important part of the evolutionary theory．
C．
Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots．
D．
The sleeping pattern of a living creature is determined by the food it eats．
阅读理解：
Several years ago, my parents, my wife, my son and I ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is written on a blackboard．After a wonderful dinner, the waiter set the check in the middle of the table．That’s when it happened：my father did not reach for the check．
Conversation continued．Finally I realized that I should pick up the check!After hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents, after a lifetime of thinking of my father as the one with dollars, it had all changed．I reached for the check, and my view of myself suddenly changed．I was an adult．I was no longer a kid．
Some people mark off(区分)their lives in years, I measure mine in small events．I didn’t become a young man at a particular age, like 16, but rather when a kid who wandered in the streets called me “mister．” These events in my life are called “milestones”(里程碑)
There have been other milestones．The cops(policemen)of my youth always seemed big, even huge, and of course they were older than I was．Then one day they were suddenly realized that all the football players in the game I was watching were younger than I was．They were just big kids．With that milestone gone was the dream that someday, maybe I, too, could be a football player．Without ever having reached the hill, I was over it．
I never thought that I would fall asleep in front of the TV set as my father did．Now it’s what I do best．I never thought that I would go to the beach and not swim, yet I spent all of August at the shore and never once went into the ocean．I never thought that I would appreciate opera, but now the combination of voice and orchestra attract me．I never thought that I would prefer to stay home in the evenings, but now I find myself passing up parties．I used to think that people who watched birds were strange, but this summer I fond myself watching them, and maybe I’ll get a book on the subject．I feel a strong desire for a religious belief that I never thought I’d want, feel close to my ancestors(祖先)long gone, and echo my father in arguments with my son．I still lose…
One day I bought a house．One day－what a day!–I became a father, and not too long after that I picked up the check for my own father．I thought then it was a milestone for me．One day, when I was a little older, I realized it was one for him, too, another milestone．
(1)
The tone established in the passage is one of ________．
[ ]
A．
sad regret
B．
amusement
C．
happiness
D．
deep feeling
(2)
The author mentions the event in the restaurant because ________．
[ ]
A．
that was one of his milestone
B．
he paid the bill but he didn’t want to
C．
he became a father with dollars
D．
that was the last restaurant meal with his parents
(3)
“Then they were suddenly neither．” Suggests that ________．
[ ]
A．
suddenly they became older than I was
B．
suddenly I knew that they was neither bigger nor older than I was
C．
suddenly I realized that I made mistake
D．
suddenly I found myself no longer a kid
(4)
Which of the following best expresses the author’s thinking?
[ ]
A．
One day is worth two tomorrow
B．
To save time is to length life
C．
When an opportunity is lost, it never comes back to you
阅读快车系列答案
afraid. A person with a green thumb