A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess(女家庭教师)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, um, 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 neglect (疏忽), Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also 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 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 !”

  While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

  A. a protest           B. gratitude

  C. obedience           D. an explanation

  What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

  A. nervousness in front of her boss

  B. acceptance of injustice

  C. shyness when talking about money

  D. reluctance to express herself

  The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

  A. to be more aggressive

  B. to be more careful in her work

  C. to protect her right

  D. to live independently

  At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

  A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

  B. his worry about Julia’s future

  C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

  D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored (发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
56. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Charles’ parents supported him and performed together with him.
B. Charles was found and hired by the famous showman.
C. Charles put lots of advertisements to arouse interest.
D. Charles’ success was largely due to Mr. Barnum’s help.
57. Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by an eight-foot-tall person probably because ______________.
A. the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing
B. it made Tom look taller
C. the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted
D. the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller
58. The underlined words “talk of the town” in the second paragraph from the bottom means ______________.
A. it was in the newspaper                       B. people spread bad rumors about it
C. it was the most popular topic                    D. it was discussed in a city meeting
59. What does the author think about Tom’s wedding?
A. It helped people cheer up in a dark time.              B. People gave it too much of their attention.
C. It was funny and ridiculous.                         D. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

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