本篇大意是：木匠约翰给主人公的妻子做了一个小饭桌，结账时的账单上把成本费17.00、油漆料钱1.50、工价8.00和日期10一起相加，多计价10元，结果被主人发现了，但他并没有直接批评多要钱的木匠，只是诙谐地说：“月底30日做比月初10日做，还要贵些，是不是？”而且只付了木匠应得到的26.50元钱．很明显，本篇比上篇更难些，因上篇中主人公怀特和厂家双方处理的问题是直接的，直言不讳，而本篇中的主人公却是明人做暗事，肚内藏机关，木匠虽然诡谲，主人却更机灵，一眼看穿了木匠的把戏，但他处理问题颇有技巧，既解决问题，不多花钱，又不搞得很僵，双方不快，体现了现代生意场中的交往策略和洽谈风格．我国正在建设社会主义市场经济，这是法制化、规范化的市场经济，反对不正当的竞争．此文有一定的现实意义，文中的内容联系着当代的社会生活，通过英语试卷，同样可以检验学生：的审视能力．

　　Our village carpenter(木匠), John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill(账单) for the job.

　　My wife said to me, quietly, “That's his ninth cup of tea today.” But she said, in a loud voice, “It's a beautiful table, dear, isn't it?”

　　“I'll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said.

　　John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:

　　When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It's been a fine day, hasn't it? Quite sunny.”

　　“Yes,” I said. “I'm glad it's only the 10th of November.”

　　“Me, too,” said John. “You wait-it'll be a lot colder by the end of the month.”

　　“Yes. Colder-and more expensive! Dining tables will be ￡20 more expensive on November 30th, won't they, John?”

　　John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.

　　“If it isn't too much trouble, John,” I said, “please add it up again. You can forget the date.”

　　I paid him ￡26.50 and he was happy to get it.

1．Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill?

A Because he didn't want the writer to go through the bill carefully.

B．Because it was really a fine day.

C．Because he wanted the writer to check the bill carefully.

D．Because he wanted to tell the writer what the weather was like.

2．Why did the writer say that dining tables would be ￡ 20 more expensive on November 30th?

[　　]

A．Because it was difficult to make dining tables in cold weather.

B．Because paint would be more expensive.

C．Because the cost of wood would be more expensive.

D．Because he thought John would almost certainly add the date to the cost of the dining table.

3．The writer thought John would ask for ________ if he made a dining table on the last day of November.

[　　]

4．When the writer gave him the money, John was happy because ________.

[　　]

A．he got what he should get for his work

B．he got much more money for his work

C．he got the money easily

D．he didn't have to add up the costs again

5．From the story we know that ________.

[　　]

A．John made a mistake in the bill

B．John tried to fool the writer in order to get more money for his work

C．John had written out the bill before the writer got home

D．John still wanted to get ￡36.50 for his work in the end

　　Hi！亲爱的朋友们，你们好！我是定冠词the，用在名词前，我的意思是“这(些)、那(些)”。我们冠词家族人丁稀少，但是作用可不小。我只有两个姐妹a和an。她们通常表示“一个(位、件……)”，用于单数可数名词前。我的性情有些古怪，你想了解我吗？

　　1　我喜欢演奏乐器，所以我常常出现在乐器前。如：play the piano/guitar(弹钢琴/吉他)等。

　　2　我经常和世界上独一无二的事物在一起，为此我非常自豪。如：the sun/moon(太阳/月亮)等。

　　3　我还喜欢帮助一些形容词、分词，与它们一起来表示一类人或事物。如：the old(老人)、the rich(富人) 等。

　　4　我没事时就喜欢和姓氏的复数形式闲聊人家一家子的情况。如：the Greens(格林一家)等。

　　5　我还喜欢和序数词一起强调数字的顺序，但当序数词前有形容词性物主代词等修饰限定时，我就会赶快逃走，销声匿迹。如：This is my eleventh birthday．(这是我的第十一个生日。)等。

　　注意：当我和序数词一起表示日期时，我经常躲起来，但如果在of短语中，我就一定会露面。如：May(the)first＝May 1st＝the first of May(五月一日)。

　　1　我不喜欢和科学名词在一起。如：math(数学)、English(英语)等。

　　2　我对球类运动不感兴趣，你在球类运动前根本找不到我。如：play basketball/soccer(打篮球/踢足球)等。

　　3　我还有个坏毛病——挑食，三餐饭前从来找不到我的影子。如：eat breakfast/lunch(吃早餐/中餐)等。

　　你了解定冠词the的生活习性了吗？赶快来找我吧！

请根据定冠词的“生活习性”填空，不需要填的地方打“×”。

1．He usually eats ________ dinner at 6:00 p. m..

2．Let's go and play ________ volleyball now.

3．She can play ________ violin very well.

4．We can speak ________ English and Chinese.

5．We should help ________ poor in the world.

6．My birthday is ________ 23rd of March.

7．I usually go to ________ school at 7:00 in ________ morning.

8．September is ________ ninth month of a year.

9．________ Greens live in China now.

10．I like to stay at ________ home and watch TV.