It must
have been around nine o'clock when I drove back home from work because it was
already dark. As I came
near to the gates I turned off the head lights of the car so as to prevent the
beam from swinging (摆动) through
the window and waking Jack, who shared the house with me. But I needn't have done so. I noticed that his light was still on,
so he was awake anyway—unless he had fallen asleep while reading. I put the car away and went up the
steps.
Then I
opened the door quietly and went to Jack's room. He was in bed awake, but he didn't even turn towards me.
“What's
up, Jack﹖” I asked.
“For God's
sake, don't make a noise,” he said.
The way he
spoke reminded me of someone in pain who is afraid to talk in case he does
himself serious injury.
“Take your
shoes off, Neville,” Jack said.
I thought
that he must be ill and that I had better give way to him to keep him happy. “There is a snake here,” he explained. “It's asleep between the sheets. I was lying on my back reading when I
saw it.I knew that moving was
out of the question. I could
not have moved even I'd wanted to.” I
realized that he was serious. “I was
depending on you to call a doctor as soon as you came home,” Jack went on. “It has not bitten me yet but I dare
not do anything to upset it. It might wake
up. I'm sick of this,”
he said.“I took it
for granted that you would have come home an hour ago.”
There was
no time to argue or apologize for being late.I looked at him as encouraging as I could and went to telephone
the doctor.
1.When he
got home, Neville found that _____.
A.Jack had fallen
asleep while reading B.Jack had been reading for some time
C.Jack's light was not
turned off D.Jack was ready to answer the doctor
2.The
underlined phrase in Paragraph 6 means _____.
A.impossible
B.no
problem C.no doubt D.without difficulty
3.Which of
the following is NOT true according to the passage﹖
A.Neville and Jack
lived in the same house.
B.Neville thought that
Jack had fallen ill.
C.Neville really believed
that Jack was not making a joke.
D.Neville refused to
argue or to make an apology for being late.
4.The
reason why Neville thought that Jack must be ill is that Jack ____.
A.asked Neville to take
off his shoes
B.made a gesture to show
the presence of the snake
C.was afraid to upset
the snake sleeping between the sheets
D.behaved strangely as
if he were badly hurt
5.According
to the passage, Neville should have been home at ____.
A.7 p.m. B.8 p.m. C.9 p.m.
D.6 p.m.