For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A. B. C. and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Since my family were not going to be helpful, I decided I would look for one all by myself and not tell them about it till I’d got one.

I had seen an agency （中介机构） advertised in a local newspaper. I rushed out of the __36_ in search of it. I was wildly excited, and as  _37_ as if I were going on the stage. Finding the  38  quite easily, I ran breathlessly through a door which said “Enter without knocking, if you please.”

The simple atmosphere of the office  39  me. The woman looked carefully at me for a while through her glasses, and then questioned me in a low voice. I answered softly. All of a sudden I started to feel rather  40    She wondered why I was looking for this sort of job I felt even more helpless when she told me that it would be  41  to get a job without experience I wondered whether I ought to leave, when the telephone on her desk rang. I heard her say:

“  42 , I’ve got someone in the office at this very moment who might  43  .” She

wrote down a __44  , and held it out to me, saying: “Ring up this lady. She wants a cook   immediately. In fact, you would have to start tomorrow by cooking a dinner for ten people.”

“Oh yes,” said I —  45  having cooked for more than four in my life. I  46  her again and again, and rushed out to the nearest telephone box. I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath, and rang the number. I said confidently that I was just what she was looking for.

I spent the next few hours  47  cook books.

A. bed          B house           C. agency               D. office

A. proud          B. please         C. nervous         D. worried

A. family         B. door            C. place           D. stage

A. calmed         B. excited          C. frightened       D. disturbed

A. encouraged   B. dissatisfied       C. hopeless        D. pleased

A. difficult      B. helpless       C. possible        D. unusual

A. Above all     B. As a matter of fact C.       As a result      D. In spite of that

A. hire          B. accept         C.suit             D. offer

A. letter           B. name          C.note            D. number

A. almost       B. never          C.nearly                D. really

A. answered       B. promised        C.thanked          D. told

A. borrowing     B. buying          C.reading           D. writing

For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A. B. C. and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Since my family were not going to be helpful, I decided I would look for one all by myself and not tell them about it till I’d got one.

I had seen an agency （中介机构） advertised in a local newspaper. I rushed out of the __36_ in search of it. I was wildly excited, and as  _37_ as if I were going on the stage. Finding the  38  quite easily, I ran breathlessly through a door which said “Enter without knocking, if you please.”

The simple atmosphere of the office  39  me. The woman looked carefully at me for a while through her glasses, and then questioned me in a low voice. I answered softly. All of a sudden I started to feel rather  40    She wondered why I was looking for this sort of job I felt even more helpless when she told me that it would be  41  to get a job without experience I wondered whether I ought to leave, when the telephone on her desk rang. I heard her say:

“  42 , I’ve got someone in the office at this very moment who might  43  .” She

wrote down a __44  , and held it out to me, saying: “Ring up this lady. She wants a cook   immediately. In fact, you would have to start tomorrow by cooking a dinner for ten people.”

“Oh yes,” said I —  45  having cooked for more than four in my life. I  46  her again and again, and rushed out to the nearest telephone box. I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath, and rang the number. I said confidently that I was just what she was looking for.

I spent the next few hours  47  cook books.

1.A. bed          B house           C. agency               D. office

2.A. proud          B. please         C. nervous         D. worried

3.A. family         B. door            C. place           D. stage

4.A. calmed         B. excited          C. frightened       D. disturbed

5.A. encouraged   B. dissatisfied      C. hopeless        D. pleased

6.A. difficult      B. helpless       C. possible        D. unusual

7.A. Above all           B. As a matter of fact C.       As a result      D. In spite of that

8.A. hire         B. accept         C.suit             D. offer

9.A. letter           B. name          C.note            D. number

10.A. almost       B. never          C.nearly                D. really

11.A. answered      B. promised        C.thanked          D. told

12.A. borrowing    B. buying          C.reading           D. writing

Singles Day falls on every November 11th, and as the name indicates, this relatively new holiday is one exclusively for people who are still living the single life. I was a bit surprised when I googled “Singles Day” on the Internet, to find that China is the only country in the world that has set aside a special day for singles to celebrate their lives. To find out more about this celebration, please read on.
An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong.
One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the “four columns” card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov 11, or 11/11. In order to commemorate the day, they nicknamed it Singles Day.
Singles Day was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. It got the name Singles Day because the date consists of four “ones”. These college students have since graduated, and carried their university tradition into society. Singles Day is now a special day for all fashionable youths.
The main way to celebrate Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it’s important that each person pay their own fee to show their independence. People also hold “blind date” parties in an attempt to say goodbye to their single lives.
Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. Many attend “blind date” parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning “single” the four “ones” of the date can also mean “only one” as in “the only one for me.” Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only “one” in their heart.
【小题1】Singles Day got its name because _______.

Singles Day falls on every November 11th, and as the name indicates, this relatively new holiday is one exclusively for people who are still living the single life. I was a bit surprised when I googled “Singles Day” on the Internet, to find that China is the only country in the world that has set aside a special day for singles to celebrate their lives. To find out more about this celebration, please read on.

An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong.

One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the “four columns” card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov 11, or 11/11. In order to commemorate the day, they nicknamed it Singles Day.

Singles Day was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. It got the name Singles Day because the date consists of four “ones”. These college students have since graduated, and carried their university tradition into society. Singles Day is now a special day for all fashionable youths.

The main way to celebrate Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it’s important that each person pay their own fee to show their independence. People also hold “blind date” parties in an attempt to say goodbye to their single lives.

Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. Many attend “blind date” parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning “single” the four “ones” of the date can also mean “only one” as in “the only one for me.” Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only “one” in their heart.

1.Singles Day got its name because _______.

A. the persons who play Mahjong are four singles

B. the date consists of four “ones”

C. only single persons celebrate the day

D. it was first celebrated at universities in Nanjing

2.Which of the following is wrong?

A. Singles Day was first celebrated in Nanjing’s universities.

B. Many singles choose Singles Day to say goodbye to their single lives.

C. The only way to celebrate the Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends.

D. It was these college graduated students that carried their university’s tradition into society.

3.We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. the four singles did not get married

B. Singles Day receives great popularity among young people

C. when having dinner, one pays the fee for all his friends

D. on Singles Day many attend parties where blind people were present

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Origin of Singles Day.               B. How to Celebrate Singles Day.

C. Singles Day.                             D. Say Goodbye to Singles Day.

The old shopkeeper led me through to the back of the shop. The room was filled with boxes and photographs of people dressed in old-fashioned clothes, holding packages in their hands.
“Who are these people?” I asked.
“Satisfied customers,” answered young Mr. Hopkins. “We have a very wide choice of items for sale. Whenever I serve a new customer, I always take their picture.” Mr. Hopkins pointed to an ancient camera standing next to one wall. “Now, how can I serve you?” he added.
By this time, I had started to trust Mr. Hopkins and had begun to appreciate the lovely items on sale. I needed to buy Christmas presents for my family and friends, and this seemed to be the perfect place to purchase them. I spent a very pleasant hour being shown the commodities in Mr. Hopkins’shop. No matter what I asked for, Mr. Hopkins found it for me. Finally, I bought an antique jewelry box, a pair of riding boots, a leather-bound edition of the Complete Works of Mark Twain, and a sewing machine.
I was very excited that I had found such a good little shop. I promised Mr. Hopkins that I would come back soon. “I will tell all my friends about your lovely place,” I told the shopkeeper.
“Please do not do that, sir”, said Mr. Hopkins. “This is a special place for special people. You must keep this shop a secret.” Then he took my photograph, and handed me the picture straight away.
“That was quick!” I exclaimed. I looked at the photograph. In the picture I looked proud and excited holding the presents I had bought in Mr. Hopkins’ dusty shop.
On Christmas Day, my friends and relatives were delighted with the presents I had bought for them. For weeks, my brother begged me to show him where to find this wonderful little shop. I finally agreed to take him to London to show him.
When we arrived in London, we walked along Oxford Street, past the department store and found...nothing. The little shop was no longer there. In its place was an empty space being used as a car park. I checked the area again. There was the music shop, and there was the department store. In between should have been Hopkins and Son, but it wasn’t there.
As I was staring at the place where the shop should have been, an old policeman came along. “Are you looking for something sir?” he asked.
I turned and said “I am looking for a little shop called Hopkins and Son. I thought it was here.”
“Oh yes,” said the policeman. “There was a shop here once called Hopkins and Son. It sold all sorts of things, but it was knocked down over 30 years ago.”
I looked again at the place where the shop had been. Then I reached into my pocket and took out the photograph that Mr. Hopkins had taken of me holding my presents in the little shop.
“How strange” I exclaimed.
【小题1】How did the writer like the shop?