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

From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.

  A. greedy but honest

  B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted

  C. strict but forgiving

  D. none of the above

By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me   16  . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.
  The morning bell rang. I walked   17  through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces  18  me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to   19  their smiles. Back into the classroom, they   20 , comparing plans for the   21  . I had to remove one student from each arm   22  I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book(点名册) my desk was covered with   23  and gifts followed by a   24  of “Merry Christmas” wishes.
 “Oh, thank you,” I must have  25  a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my   26  mood. It was kind of them to  27  me. After a while, I heard a small nervous   28  say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing   29  by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”
  “Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.
 “Um, could you   30  it now?”
 I gently tore at the paper and tape. “  31  ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament(装饰物), complete with a hook already 32 . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my   33  back.
 Later that day, I sat   34  the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I   35  pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.
【小题1】.

A.excitedB.tiredC.amazedD.relaxed
【小题2】.
.
A.eagerlyB.aimlesslyC.gently D.heavily
【小题3】.
A.watchedB.greetedC.delightedD.warned
【小题4】.
A.returnB.forgetC.ignoreD.refuse
【小题5】.
A.calmedB.settledC.chattedD.argued
【小题6】.
A.studyB.weekendC.vacationD.lesson
【小题7】.
A.beforeB.whenC.afterD.because
【小题8】.
A.lettersB.booksC.chalksD.cards
【小题9】.
A.knowledgeB.collectionC.seriesD.bunch
【小题10】.
A.confirmedB.assessedC.respondedD.explained
【小题11】.
A.pleasedB.lowC.thrilledD.angry
【小题12】.
A.talk aboutB.think ofC.turn toD.connect with
【小题13】.
A.callB.soundC.shoutD.voice
【小题14】.
A.shylyB.bravelyC.rudelyD.sadly
【小题15】.
A.classifyB.collectC.openD.check
【小题16】.
A.CarefulB.DangerousC.PatientD.Hasty
【小题17】.
A.exposedB.adaptedC.adjustedD.attached
【小题18】.
A.treesB.hooksC.giftsD.tears
【小题19】.
A.looking intoB.turning overC.giving awayD.packing up
【小题20】.
A.anxiouslyB.hurriedlyC.delicatelyD.casually

By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me   36  . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.
 The morning bell rang. I walked   37  through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces   38  me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to   39  their smiles. Back into the classroom, they   40 , comparing plans for the   41  . I had to remove one student from each arm   42  I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book(点名册) my desk was covered with   43  and gifts followed by a   44  of “Merry Christmas” wishes.
 “Oh, thank you,” I must have   45  a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my   46  mood. It was kind of them to   47  me. After a while, I heard a small nervous   48  say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing   49  by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”
 “Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.
 “Um, could you   50  it now?”
 I gently tore at the paper and tape. “  51  ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament(装饰物), complete with a hook already   52 . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my   53  back.
Later that day, I sat   54  the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I   55  pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.

【小题1】
A.excitedB.tiredC.amazedD.relaxed
【小题2】
A.eagerly B.aimlesslyC.gently D.heavily
【小题3】
A.watchedB.greetedC.delightedD.warned
【小题4】
A.returnB.forgetC.ignoreD.refuse
【小题5】
A.calmedB.settledC.chattedD.argued
【小题6】
A.studyB.weekendC.vacationD.lesson
【小题7】
A.beforeB.whenC.afterD.because
【小题8】
A.lettersB.booksC.chalksD.cards
【小题9】
A.knowledgeB.collectionC.seriesD.bunch
【小题10】
A.confirmedB.assessedC.respondedD.explained
【小题11】
A.pleasedB.lowC.thrilledD.angry
【小题12】
A.talk about B.think ofC.turn toD.connect with
【小题13】
A.callB.soundC.shoutD.voice
【小题14】
A.shylyB.bravelyC.rudelyD.sadly
【小题15】
A.classifyB.collectC.openD.check
【小题16】
A.CarefulB.DangerousC.PatientD.Hasty
【小题17】
A.exposedB.adaptedC.adjustedD.attached
【小题18】
A.treesB.hooksC.giftsD.tears
【小题19】
A.looking intoB.turning overC.giving awayD.packing up
【小题20】
A.anxiouslyB.hurriedlyC.delicatelyD.casually

The English, as a race, are very different from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, Belgians and Dutch. It is claimed (声言) that living on an island  36  from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the  37  are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has  38  many attitudes and habits which make them  39 from other nationalities.
Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a  40  , shy and reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he  41  well. In the  42  of strangers or foreigners he often seems embarrassed. You have only to walk around a city any morning or evening to  43  the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit  44  their newspapers or have a light sleep in a corner with no one speaking.  45 , to do so would seem most unusual to many foreigners. An Englishman pretending to be giving 46  to overseas visitors, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers”. Obviously , he was not being  47  . There is an unwritten  48 clearly understood code (规则) of behaviour which, if  49  , makes the person immediately suspect(怀疑).
In many parts of the world it is quite  50  to show openly their enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc. The Englishman is somewhat  51  . Of course, an Englishman lacks no deep feelings, in fact , no less deeply than any other nationality, but he tends to display his 52  far less. This is reflected in his use of  53 . Imagine a man making a comment on the great  54  of a young girl. A more emotional man might  55  her as “extremely beautiful,” “precious”, however, an Englishman might just say, “Um, she is all right.” The girl who heard this should not be angry because "not bad" and " all right" very often have the same meaning as "first class" " excellent" and this unique style of language use is common in England.

【小题1】
A.divided B.separatedC.partedD.broke
【小题2】
A.problemsB.arrangements C.reasonsD.differences
【小题3】
A.developedB.gotC.createdD.made
【小题4】
A.differB.separateC.sufferD.vary
【小题5】
A.noisyB.rude C.nobleD.quiet
【小题6】
A.recognizesB.knowsC.sees D.likes
【小题7】
A.frontB.absenceC.lackD.presence
【小题8】
A.look at B.find out C.tell D.keep
【小题9】
A.publishingB.sellingC.readingD.showing
【小题10】
A.In other words B.On the contrary
C.On the wholeD.In fact
【小题11】
A.advice B.performances C.speeches D.way
【小题12】
A.funnyB.greatC.seriousD.careful
【小题13】
A.as well as B.orC.andD.but
【小题14】
A.brokenB.madeC.explainedD.followed
【小题15】
A.enough B.rightC.normalD.impossible
【小题16】
A.proudB.kind C.hard D.different
【小题17】
A.feelingsB.talentsC.giftsD.behaviors
【小题18】
A.action B.language C.time D.life
【小题19】
A.speech B.mark C.beautyD.intelligence
【小题20】
A.speakB.describe C.take D.treat

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