Bill Javis took over our village’s news-agency at a time of life when most of us only wanted to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-a??gency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.

Every day he opened his shop at 6:00 a. m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his doorstep before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the after??noon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his neatest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometimes in the afternoon-, the evening paper landed on the doorway, and at 4 o’ clock Bill reopened his shop. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.

He lived in a flat above the ship, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the af??ternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was aston??ished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the, water. He had no luck, I could, see, but he was making no effort to move. “What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.

For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire en??gine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, "Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right. "

I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.

5. Bill Javis became a news-agent when ________.

A. he need the money.                         B. he decided to take things easy

C. he was quite an old man                 D. he gave up clock-repairing

6. Bill opened the shop so early in the day because ________.

A. he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work

B. the shop had to be open when the morning papers came

C. he was never sure of time

D. it was then that he did a lot of business

7. On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because ________.

A. he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing

B. he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all

C. Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange

D. Bill stayed in his flat

8. From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?

A. The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time.

B. Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep.

C. The writer’s watch was fast.

D. Bill’s clock was wrong; it was old.

单词拼写(共20小题, 每小题1分,满分20分)

76. You can’t turn your dream into r__________ if you just sit there and watch TV all day.

77. A good command (运用能力;掌握) of English e__________ you to communicate with foreign businessmen freely.

78. He missed the bus as a r__________ of getting up too late this morning.

79. It is time for us to take m__________ to stop air pollution in our city now.

80. Cycling is highly b__________ to health and the environment.

81. He seems to have __________ (忽视,忽略) one important fact.

82. I believe the house was __________ (故意地) set fire to, not accidentally.

83. She is so __________ (固执的) that she never listens to other people’s advice.

84. Her tears __________ (流动) freely down her cheeks the moment she heard the sad news.

85. They entered the country __________ (非法地).

86. On this __________, however, it had slowed down considerably.

87. “At the time the murder was __________, I was traveling on the 8 o’clock train to London,” said the man.

88. Six men have been __________ in a mine for seventeen hours.

89. They have been told that rescue operations are __________ smoothly.

90. A pilot noticed a __________ which seemed to be making for a Royal Air Force Station nearby.

91. We had to __________ for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just before the show began.

92. He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood __________ before the microphone.

93. Oil rigs have to be repaired frequently and divers, who often have to work in darkness a hundred feet under water, have been frightened out of their __________ by giant fish bumping into them as they work.

94. He said that someone might be spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep __________ of the strange object.

95. “So do I,” answered the policeman in the same __________.

Lane waited on the bench nearest the bridge, as he had been instructed.. The strong wind blew straight across the river, and he had to put his overcoat closer about him.

He went over his instructions in his mind. The spy would appear at four o’clock. He would talk to Lane for a while, after which he would get up, leaving his newspapers behind. The plans would be found inside.

A distant clock began to strike the hour. As if from nowhere, a man appeared and sat down beside Lane, placing his newspaper on the seat between them. He was thin and middle-aged, and seemed in need of a good meal. He didn’t look like a successful spy, Lane thought. His talk about the weather was uninteresting.

A few minutes later he got up and continued on his way. Lane picked up the paper which lay on the bench, as if he wanted to read the news. He was excited to see the plans, stuck on the center page. At that moment, however, there was a strong gust of wind which lifted the newspaper into the air, like a kite, and blew it into the river.

Which of the following statement is TRUE?

    A. Sitting on the bench, Lane repeated his orders to himself

B. Lane would read about the plans in the newspaper.

C. The man Lane was expecting didn’t arrive on time

D. The man who suddenly appeared was not the one Lane was waiting for.

The spy was going to give Lane some important        .

    A. papers           B. information          C. instructions     D. advice

Lane found the spy very         .

    A. interesting      B. peculiar     C. ordinary     D. well-fed

The spy left the newspaper        .

    A. by the plan  B. by mistake   C. at Lane’s request   D. out of kindness

Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding speeches by native speakers. The following ways might help improve their listening ability.
First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Go on to the second book only after you are sure you understand the first one.
Secondly, stick to one course of study. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more “fashionable”. 
Thirdly, listen to the English news program over the radio from time to time.  Better go through the news stories in the Chinese-language newspaper first. That will make it easy for you to understand the English news on the radio.
Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in “Special English from the V.O.A. or other listening materials of the same level as that of your textbook”.
【小题1】This is a piece of advice to learners of English on how to ________.

A.improve their listening ability
B.read fast
C.write better English and read faster
D.speak correctly
【小题2】If you want to understand the English news program on the radio, you should ________.
A.read the Chinese-language newspaper step by step
B.read again and again the Chinese-language newspaper
C.go through the Chinese-language newspaper first
D.be able to recite the Chinese-language newspaper
【小题3】The author advised that once you have taken up a course, you ________.
A.should stick to it
B.should begin with the last book
C.should take up other courses if they are more fashionable
D.shouldn’t do anything else
【小题4】In this passage, V.O.A. stands for ________.
A.  a book         B. a magazine       C. a text-book      D. a radio station

单词拼写(共20小题, 每小题1分,满分20分)

76. You can’t turn your dream into r__________ if you just sit there and watch TV all day.

77. A good command (运用能力;掌握) of English e__________ you to communicate with foreign businessmen freely.

78. He missed the bus as a r__________ of getting up too late this morning.

79. It is time for us to take m__________ to stop air pollution in our city now.

80. Cycling is highly b__________ to health and the environment.

81. He seems to have __________ (忽视,忽略) one important fact.

82. I believe the house was __________ (故意地) set fire to, not accidentally.

83. She is so __________ (固执的) that she never listens to other people’s advice.

84. Her tears __________ (流动) freely down her cheeks the moment she heard the sad news.

85. They entered the country __________ (非法地).

86. On this __________, however, it had slowed down considerably.

87. “At the time the murder was __________, I was traveling on the 8 o’clock train to London,” said the man.

88. Six men have been __________ in a mine for seventeen hours.

89. They have been told that rescue operations are __________ smoothly.

90. A pilot noticed a __________ which seemed to be making for a Royal Air Force Station nearby.

91. We had to __________ for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just before the show began.

92. He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood __________ before the microphone.

93. Oil rigs have to be repaired frequently and divers, who often have to work in darkness a hundred feet under water, have been frightened out of their __________ by giant fish bumping into them as they work.

94. He said that someone might be spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep __________ of the strange object.

95. “So do I,” answered the policeman in the same __________.

 

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