“It’s the best…uhh…What? You don’t want it?...,”the inexpertienced young man uttered,his hope dashed.
“Again,you disappointed me,Andrew.When are you going to learn? You have to be sure and confident. And think how best to make him part with his money. Apply yourself, Son. All your college education will not help if you don’t put your mind to selling. Think on your feet. Use psychology,” Andrew spoke with diffidence overwhelmed by his father’s criticism.
“You’ve been in this shop for six months and you haven’t succeeded in selling a single computer. I tell you what. I’ll give you one more chance. I’ll give you another three more weeks. If you still can’t make one sale, I’ll call in your elder brother to replace you. He will also take over the shop when I retire. There. I’ll just give you one last chance to prove yourself,” said Mr. Whitely, his patience wearing thin.
Andrew’s heart missed a beat. This time he would have to do it. Do or Die! A sense of urgency gripped him. Somehow he must prove himself to his father.
It was now the end of the day and the shop was being closed. The assistant employed by his father, called Mike, chuckled and put his arms round poor Andrew to comfort him,“ Sort it out yourself. It’s gotta come from yourself.” he said.
The shop was located in a bustling shopping center. Andrew left the shop and walked round the complex aimlessly and by chance entered a large bookstore. He glanced at the books and was about to leave when his eyes caught some interesting titles:‘ How to increase your confidence,’‘ The art of communication,’‘How to sell well’amongst others.
The next minute he was out of the store with the shopping bag bugling with books. In his apartment (for he loves separately from his parents and little sister),he settled himself in his easy chair and devoured the contents of the books, one by one. His keen intelligence enabled him to focus the details that matter and pick out the ideas and techniques expounded.In a week his image underwent a transformation. Gone was the stubble that used to give him an untidy image likened to a heroin addict.He was also smartly dressed now. Instead of his usual slurred speech and incoherence ,he spoke with clarity, purpose and forcefulness.He was more convincing and persuasive. Above all, confidence flowed from his being and he seemed to have learned a few tricks of the selling trade. He worked hard at his sales pitch and one day he succeeded in selling a computer. His first sale. He had finally achieved the quota of one sale within the given time frame of three weeks. The job, the shop, was his. He had to thank Mike for it. And now he had to go beyond his first successs and score, consistently and persistently. Nevertheless he had proved himself at last and the future looked bright and promising.
【小题1】
We learn from the story that at the beginning Andrew’s father_________.

--I'm going downtown.

--Come on.________.

A. I'll give you a lift             B. You are welcome

C. Don't do that                    D. Come with me

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister．On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend．I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children．Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with．

I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out．I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing．

It was, I should point out, after 10 p．m．,when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone．“I’ll give him a lesson,” I said． I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with．

Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house． After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here．”

He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, rational（理智的）self． After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers．“Where are the children?” I said．He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake．This was too good to be believed． Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth．

The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts．Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions．They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend．

1.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because         ．   

2.When the author called home that evening, she found that           ．

3.What might the children do that evening?

4.What does the author intend to tell us by the story?

Edgar felt quite excited at the thought of his first swim of the summer. With the sun shining down so strongly, the sea was certain to be warm enough. He walked quickly along the sea-front towards the steps that led on to the sands. He smiled cheerfully at the passersby. He had just smiled and raised his hat to an elderly lady when a man with a camera caught his arm and stopped him. Edgar heard a little buzzing noise from the camera.

“Your photograph, sir, in glorious colour in just one moment if you please,” said the man in one breath. Then the buzzing stopped, and he held the photograph in his hand and was waving it to and fro. In a

moment he handed it over, and Edgar saw the bright blue splash of his shirt half filling the picture.

“Seventy pence, sir,” the man said. “It’s the bargain of your holiday.”

“Seventy pence,” Edgar repeated, mildly. “For this?” He stared at the photographer.

“They’re normally eighty-five, sir, but for a single subject I make a cut-price offer. It’s the best value you’ll get in Chadwell.”

“You’ll have to make a better offer,” Edgar said. It was a good photo though, he thought, so bright and clear. His hat was held high, and he was smiling broadly at the old lady, whose arm and handbag came into a lower corner. He had had no idea that he was being snapped. He thought he was really quite a good-looking chap.

“That’s as good as any studio job that would cost you pounds,” said the cameraman. “It’s better in a way because it’s so natural. Only seventy pence, sir.”

“I’ve never paid so much for a snap in my life. It simply isn’t worth that kind of money. It’s not as if I need the thing. Look, I’ll give you twenty-five.”

 “No, I can’t do that. Each of these instant colour shots costs me 50p — that’s the price of the blank frame, so you see…”

“Criminal, criminal,” Edgar broke in. “You want a profit of forty per cent. Well, not at my expense, I’m afraid. I’ll give you your 50p and that’s that.”

“Let me see, then.” The man suddenly took the photograph out of Edgar’s hand. “I can’t waste any more time with you. It’s 70p or I keep it.”

 “Keep it,” Edgar said. He turned, looked out to the sea, and then walked quickly away.

1.Why do you suppose Edgar was in Chadwell?

A. It was his hometown.

B. He was there on holiday.

C. He was in the making of a film.

D. He was there to have his photograph taken.

2.Edgar smiled at and raised his hat to the lady because ________.

A. he thought he recognized her

B. he wanted the photograph to be amusing

C. she was having her photograph taken

D. he was feeling excited and cheerful

3. The photographer lowered his price to 70p because __________.

A. Edgar wanted to bargain for the photo

B. Edgar couldn’t afford to pay the normal price

C. Edgar was the only person in the photo

D. there was only one copy of the photo

4.What did Edgar think of the photo?

A. He thought it made him look like a criminal.

B. He liked it but thought it was too dear.

C. It annoyed him because he hadn’t expected it.

D. He thought it was a bargain at the price.

5.We can infer from the passage that _______ .

A. Edgar was an indifferent but good-looking man

B. Edgar smiled at the photographer because he was being photographed

C. the photographer was actually a criminal

D. Edgar didn’t buy the snap at length.

Mr Smith was the manager of a hotel in Springfield. One weekend all of the hotels in the city were full because there was a large meeting. Late in the evening three men came into the hotel and asked for rooms. Mr Smith explained that because of the meeting, there were no rooms ready for use. The men were very unhappy because they had no place to stay in.

Mr Smith wanted to help them. He remembered that Room 414, a very small room, was empty. He asked them if they would share a room. The three men agreed. Mr Smith told them that the room would cost $30: $10 for each. Each of them gave Mr Smith $10, and they went up to the room.

Mr Smith soon began to feel sorry. “Thirty dollars is too much for that small room,” he thought. He called one of his men over and said, “Here is $ 5. Bring it to the man in Room 414. I’ve asked too much money for their room.”

The worker took the money from his manager. While he was on his way to Room 414, he started to think, “How can I divide $5? Well, I’ll give each of them only $1 and I keep $2. The men will be happy to get anything back. I’ll make a little money and Mr Smith will never know.” So he returned $1 to each man.

You see, there come a problem, each man had at first paid $10. After the worker returned them $1 each, each man had paid 9. There were three men, $9 x 3 = $27. The worker kept $2 —$27+$2=29. Where is the missing dollar?

Which of the following is True?

A. The large meeting was held in this hotel. B. The three men stayed together in one room.

C. Each of the three men got a small room.        D. Room 414 was the office for Mr Smith.

Where was the missing dollar?

A. There wasn’t any missing dollar at all.    B. It was taken by the worker too.

C. It was taken by the manager Mr Simith.  D. It was taken by the three men themselves.

Put the following sentences in correct order.

a. Three men went into the hotel for a room.      b. Mr Smith felt sorry to have asked for too much.

c. They paid 30 dollars altogether for one room.   d. The worker gave one dollar back to each of them.

e. Mr Smith thought of a small room, still empty.  f. The worker was given 5 dollar to return to them.

A. c→b→e→a→d→f    B. c→d→f→e→a→b  C. a→c→b→e→f→d   D. a→e→c→b→f→d      

What is the best title of this text?

A. The Kind Manager.          B. Three Men Came to the Hotel

C. A Strange Maths Problem  D. $27 + $2 = $29