题目内容
______I have seen how he lives, I know why he needs so much money.
A. For B. Now C. Even if D. Because of
B
A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher stressed the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don’t say!” “You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not a proper topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic.” So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was wonderful.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it”. Soon I was interrupted again by his words:“You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t request you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn’t you say ‘you don’t say’?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘really?’ It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions.
Always remember: what the English teachers say is always right to us students.
【小题1】A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because _______.
A.I didn’t have the slightest interest in them |
B.English idioms are not important |
C.My teacher didn’t emphasize the importance of them |
D.I was not careful with English idioms |
A.I had talked too much |
B.he was not interested in the topic |
C.he was only interested in the Great Wall |
D.he had something to tell me |
A.The Englishman left China without seeing the Great Wall. |
B.The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it. |
C.The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide. |
D.The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting. |
A.I felt very silly |
B.the Englishman became a real fool |
C.I thought he had made me a fool |
D.I became more careful in everything |
The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors (债主) were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy (破产).
Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you.” he said. After listening to the executive, the old man said: “I believe I can help you.”
He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying: “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!
“I can settle all my debts in a moment!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe, just knowing it would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business.
With renewed optimism, he made better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big deals. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.” And she led the old man away by the arm.
【小题1】What was the executive worried about?
A.He couldn’t produce enough for the suppliers. |
B.The creditors wouldn’t lend him any money. |
C.His products didn’t sell well. |
D.He might run into bankcruptcy. |
A.The old man had known the executive was in trouble before he came. |
B.The old man’s way of helping the executive worked out well. |
C.The check he wrote was far from enough for the executive. |
D.In fact the old man didn’t want to have his money back. |
A. He was afraid that the bank didn’t have so much money.
B. The check gave him a lot of strength and encouragement.
C. He was uncertain if he could ever pay back the money.
D. He knew the old man wasn’t John D. Rockefeller at all.
A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess Julia to come into my study.
“Be seated, Julia,” I said. “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”
“Forty.”
“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, hmm, you’ve been here two months, so...”
“Two months and five days.”
“Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... You know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays. You only took walks. And three holidays...”
Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but—not a word.
“Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven—nineteen. Take nineteen off...that leaves...hmm...forty one dollars. Correct?”
Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled;she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but—still not a word.
“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer: take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but—forget it. When didn’t I take a loss?! Then, due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave you ten dollars.”
“You didn’t,” sobbed Julia.
“But I made a note of it.”
“Well...if you say so.”
“Take twenty seven from forty one—that leaves fourteen. ”
Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!
“Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”
“Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen...leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is!”
I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.
“Merci(法语,谢谢),” she whispered.
I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger.
“For what, this ‘merci’?”I asked.
“For the money.”
“But you know I’ve cheated you—robbed you! I have actually stolen from you! Why this ‘Merci’?”
“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all. ”
“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you...I’m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you...Is it really possible to be so spineless(懦弱)? Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)—to be such a fool?”
Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression: “It is possible.”
I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little “merci” several times and went out. I looked after her and thought: “How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”
【小题1】While talking to Julia, the writer expected ____________ from her.
A.protest | B.gratitude | C.obedience | D.an explanation |
A.nervousness in front of her boss | B.acceptance of injustice |
C.shyness when talking about money | D.unwillingness to express herself |
A.to be more aggressive | B.to be more careful in her work |
C.to protect her own right | D.to live independently |
A.his understanding of Julia’s anxiety |
B.his worry about Julia’s future |
C.his concern on the living conditions of working-class people |
D.his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited(被剥削的) |
A.greedy but honest | B.ill-tempered but warm-hearted |
C.strict but forgiving | D.honest, kind and worried |
While I was on my way to Walmart, I was greeted by an elder woman who was working at the door as a greeter, I had a return to make so she stopped me and asked to tag my bag. Usually I would have gotten annoyed because I know I don’t steal, so why does my bag need to be tagged? I’d just witnessed someone ahead of me being not so nice, and treating the lady like she was a nobody. I could see this lady looked to be at retirement age, trying to make ends meet. The look on her face and the energy she gave was that of someone afraid and not knowing where they stood in life. Not to mention the person ahead of me who’d just snatched(夺) a bag back from her and stormed off without even saying thank you. I could tell this woman was hurt by that, and no one knows how many people had been treating her that way all day long.
What if she was a grandmother who’d recently taken care of her grandchildren for whatever season? What if her husband she had to support recently fell sick and they couldn’t afford the medical expenses, so she had to go back to work? What if she just lost everything she had in her retirement and now she had to go back to work?
All she wants is to do her job and do it well. All she wants is to serve customers the way she was trained. All she needs is to be appreciated. Can I be that someone she needs, just for the moment?
I looked her in her eyes as she scanned my bag, smiled and said, “Your hair is beautiful and fits you well!” Her face lit up and she smiled back and began to tell me how much easier it is to manage. It was salt-and-pepper hair and was cut in the prettiest style. She handed my bag back, smiled and told me the service desk was straight down to my left. I said “Thank you!”
【小题1】At the door of Walmart, the old woman_____.
A.asked every customer for money to feed her family |
B.was made to welcome customers and check their bags |
C.was asked to keep the door open all the time |
D.worked as guide to give customers direction |
A.became annoyed | B.showed sympathy |
C.was puzzled | D.turned generous |
A.didn’t understand why the old woman did such a job |
B.insisted the old woman should stay at home comfortably |
C.was sure the old woman was respected by people |
D.supposed the old woman might be in trouble for some reason |
A.make the old woman feel appreciated |
B.please her so as not to let her bag tagged |
C.praise her for her hair style and clothes |
D.confirm her hard work and special beauty |