Maggie was very glad that James was not a frequent visitor to the house. So far as the children were concerned, they had a mystery about him that stirred their imagination. He stirred Maggie’s anger, however, so that she often said to her husband, “It’s mercy that brother of yours doesn’t come oftener.”

In fact James came once a year, unexpectedly, around eight o’clock in the evening, and he stayed for six hours of close discussion with his brother. His arrival was a signal to the children that their bedtime would be delayed. Not that he ever spoke to them or played with them. He took no notice of them, as if he was unable to see children, at least until the time came for him to go. Instead, after his first greeting and a careless kiss, James took no notice of Maggie either, except to add, “You’ll be getting on with the supper, Maggie.” Such was his regard for her.

Maggie paid him back in her own way. She kept the children up, the four of them, to keep her company, she said, but of course they sang and made a noise and broke the endless sound of James’s voice. Very late, they dropped off to sleep in their chairs. Then, when James was about to go, Maggie woke them up and so more or less forced him to part with four shillings before he left. That gave her some satisfaction, for James, though rich, was mean. He always went home by the last train, just after two o’clock.

Maggie’s children secretly stared at their uncle. They could not forget that he had, in their mother’s words, “lost two wives and taken a third, ” They wondered about those two unfortunate lost ladies. They asked each other what their fate had been, and if neither could ever be found again. James never brought his third wife with him nor ever mentioned her. The children decided that he must be so frightened of losing her that he never allowed her outside the door.

 The underlined word “mercy” in the text most probably means _______.

A. loss      B. wonder

C. lucky thing D. terrible thing

Maggie never prepared anything special for James because _______.

A. he was a man difficult to please

B. she never knew when he was coming

C. she was too busy looking after her children

D. he never stayed long enough for a meal

What do we know about James’ behavior?

A. He was a kind man, with love for the family.

B. He was generous, especially towards his brother.

C. He was anxious to please the family, especially the kids.

D. He was rude to his sister-in-law.

Maggie felt pleased when _______.

A. she paid James the money that she owed him

B. James gave some money to the children

C. she had to wake James up to catch his train

D. James thanked her for the nice supper

The children did not realize that two of James’ wives _______.

A. had been dead    B. suffered from loss of memory

C. had run away from him    D. might appear again one day

阅读理解

　　A well-dressed man enforced a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife's birthday. The price didn't matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examing a nice black one that costs $5,000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.

　　A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality. As she wanted a pair of earrings made. “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it's exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl. ”

　　The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers. offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the adverisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.

　　Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don't like to part with it. ”she said sadly,“I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money . ”

　　The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man's hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.

1．The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ________.

[　　]

A．his wife

B．his mother-in-law

C．his own mother

D．no one

2．He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ________.

[　　]

A．he was very rich

B．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him

C．he was anxious to get it

D．his business had been successful

3．He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ________.

[　　]

A．exactly the same size as the black one

B．exactly the same quality as the black one

C．worth more than $25,000

D．exactly as big and nice as the black one

4．Many people answer the advertisement because they wanted ________.

[　　]

A．to see the perfect pearl

B．to buy some beautiful pearls too

C．to get in touch with the rich man

D．to sell their own pearl at a high price

5．The jeweler couldn't find the man anywhere because ________.

[　　]

A．he died suddenly

B．he happened to be out

C．he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money

D．he wouldn't show up until the jeweler called him a second time

Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes me ￡12,” she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office . “You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me ￡12.”

       Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I’ll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd.”

       The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sun burnt,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

       “Yes,” she answered, shyly. “The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!”

       “That’s fine,” said Harry. “My little girl can’t swim a bit yet .Of course, she’s only three…”

       “I’m four,” the child said proudly. “I’ll be four and a half.”

       Harry turned to the mother. “I remember your ticket, Madam,” he said. “But you didn’t get one for your daughter, did you?”

       “Er, well—” the woman looked at the child. “I mean… she hasn’t started school yet. She’s only four.”

       “A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs …let me see…￡13.50. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe ￡1.50. The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…”

       The woman stood up, took the child’s hand and left the office.  

Harry was worried because ___     .

       A．the woman was angry with him      B．he had not done his work properly

       C．the Jersey timetable was wrong      D．the little girl didn’t have a return ticket

Harry started talking to the little girl       .

       A．because he was in difficulty and did not know what to do

       B．because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl

       C．because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice

       D．when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl

When Harry said, “The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…” he meant that        .

A．they must follow it without other choice ,even though the fault was his

B．he had to be strict with the woman because of the law ,although he didn’t want to

C．the woman had to pay him ￡1.50 and the railway would pay her for the hotel

D．she should pay ￡1.50, but he had made a mistake, she could go without paying

How did the woman feel when she left the office?

    A. angry       B. peaceful     C. embarrassed    D. nervous

         A businesswoman, a mother of four, an international fashion icon（偶像） , a woman committed to making the world a better place for women and children—Queen Rania of Jordan is truly changing the world．

         Rania was bom in Kuwait, in 1970．Shortly after Iraq invaded that country in 1990, her family fled and settled in Jordan．After graduating from a business school, Rania became successful in the business world．

         When she was just 22, she went to a dinner party that changed her life forever．It was there that she met Jordan' s Prince Abdullah．Six months later, Rania and Abdullah had a royal wedding and started a family．

         After the death of her father – in – law, King Hussein, in 1999, Prince Abdullah was crowned King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Rania became the world' s youngest living queen．

         In her role as Queen, Rania has become well known around the world for her charity work and her efforts to improve educational opportunities for girls．She is an outspoken advocate of women' s rights, education reform, and child abuse．She is also well - known for her efforts to remove Western stereotypes （旧观念） about the Muslim world．

         Rania explains that there is a direct relationship between increasing education and eliminating poverty．" You can change the course of a nation through education," she says．" One of the most important things you can do for a girl is empower her with her education．Once she has the education she can then have control over her income, she can change her life, she can have choices．"

         In the future, Rania says, she hopes for a more open and secure world．"We look at problems happening halfway across the world and we think,' Well, that' s their problem．' But it' s not," she says．" When you solve somebody else' s problem, you are solving a problem for yourself, because our world today is so interconnected．"

56．Rania and her family moved to Jordan because ____．

         A．she was engaged to Jordan' s Prince Abdullah

         B．she wanted to attend a business school there

         C．Jordan was a more developed country than Kuwait

         D．the war broke out between Kuwait and Iraq

57．Rania became the world' s youngest living queen when she was ____．

         A．a girl of 22        B．at the age of 23      

         C．in her thirties              D．29 years old

58．In her role as Queen, Rania is more devoted to ____．

         A．her business work    B．girls' education      

         C．fashion shows             D．her family

59．Rania thinks that ____．

         A．women have brought about great changes to the world

         B．education can help a girl find a wealthy husband

         C．in the world today, all countries depend on each other

         D．the Muslim world needs more help from the western countries

60．The text mainly describes Rania as ____．

         A．a caring mother             B．a fashion model

         C．a social activist             D．a smart businesswoman

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.

A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”

The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.

Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”

The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.

1.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.

A. his wife              B. his mother-in–law 

C. his own mother            D. no one

57. He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.

A. he was very rich            B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him

C. he was anxious to get it       D. his business had been successful

2. He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.

A. exactly the same size as the black one

B. exactly the same quality as the black one

C. worth no more than $ 25,000

D. exactly as big and nice as the black one

3. Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.

A. to see the perfect pearl

B. to buy some beautiful pearls too

C. to get in touch with the rich man

D. to sell their own pearl at a high price

4. The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.

A. he died suddenly.

B. He happened to be out

C. He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money.

D. He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time.