I met the old man at a cafe．“Did you hear the radio news yesterday?” he asked me．“No,” I replied．“Anything exciting?” “Exciting? NO! Something very sad．A group of hungry dogs killed and ate my best friend．”
“Oh, dear!” I cried．“How did it happen?” “He was working on the hillside when the dogs attacked him．When he didn't return, I went to the hillside and found…” “His body?” I asked．The old fellow drank half of his coffee．“No．I told you they were hungry dogs, didn't I? The big bones were lying every where．But they found this．” He pushed open a match box he was holding in his hand．In it was a man's thumb, lying on some white bloody material．
“This is my friend's right thumb．The dogs ate the rest of him”．The old man began to cry．He finished his coffee quickly and left the cafe．I drank mine and called the waiter．“I'll pay the gentleman's bill．His poor friend－how terrible!” “You've heard the news?” The waiter laughed．“Sure．There's a hole in the bottom of the match box．He put his own thumb through the hole．The blood is red ink, I believe．Is the story worth a cup of coffee, sir?” “But he held the box in his right hand．” “Yes, but listeners look into the box．They just can't take their sight off that terrible thing．” “And when he tells the story, he gets free cup of coffee!” I said, laughing．“Yes, sir, but only from strangers who come to this town, and, of course, he does us no harm!”
(1)
We can learn from this passage ________．
[ ]
A．
the writer came to the cafe for the first time
B．
the old man made a living by telling jokes in the cafe
C．
the writer had known about the old man before
D．
what had happened to his best friend made the old man mad
(2)
Having heard the old man's story, the writer ________．
[ ]
A．
couldn't help laughing immediately
B．
showed great mercy upon him
C．
didn't believe him at all
D．
bought the old man another cup of coffee
(3)
It turned out that the thumb in the match box was actually ________．
[ ]
A．
the right thumb of his best friend
B．
the thumb he stole from the dead body of an unknown person
C．
something made of bloody white materials
D．
his own right thumb
(4)
The waiter hadn't let out the truth of the old man's story earlier because ________．
[ ]
A．
he was nobody but the best friend of the old man
B．
the old man wouldn't pay for his coffee if he did
C．
the waiter hadn't seen through the old man's trick
D．
the old man helped the cafe in some way
(5)
As suggested by the passage, what might happen in the end?
[ ]
A．
The writer refused to pay the old man's bill．
B．
The writer decided to make the trick known to the public．
A few days ago I asked my son's 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(从事)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－that 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(压榨)the weak in this world !”
(1)
What shocked the writer was Julia's ________．
[ ]
A．
nervousness in front of her boss
B．
acceptance of injustice(不公平)
C．
shyness when talking about money
D．
unwilling to express herself
(2)
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(侵略的)
B．
to be more careful in her work
C．
to protect her right
D．
to live independently
(3)
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(同情)for the mental state of the weak
(4)
From the story, we can tell that Julia's employer was ________．
[ ]
A．
greedy(贪婪)but honest
B．
ill - tempered but warm - hearted
C．
strict but forgiving
D．
none of the above
阅读理解
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 1 ．”
Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 2 , but consider the sky and the sea． 3 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 4 ．”
Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 5 into the world．”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 6 , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 7 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8 to any of you．”
Red could stand it 9 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 10 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”
Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．
The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 11 ．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 12 ．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 13 , drawing close to one another for comfort．
In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 14 yourselves, each trying to dominate 15 ．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 16 ?Join hands with 17 and come to me．”
Doing as they were told, the colors 18 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 19 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 20 one another．
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