My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can’t be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying, “What do you want? Take my wallet,” but at the time I thought of nothing.

I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house --- Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen’s voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy’s head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy, and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn’t crouch(蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.

I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help!” at eight o’clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in!” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy’s screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.

The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely, “Please go and eat. We’re O.K.”

I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn’t change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?

People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were ill-tempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the gunmen. “Typical,” said one policeman when we couldn’t even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn’t think that would be much help.

The policemen were matter-of-fact about the whole thing. The thin one said, “That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you’re told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.

Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys,” he said. “If you had gone into the house with them…” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” --- he twisted his head toward me – “and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look,” said the fat policeman kindly, “there’s no right or wrong in the situation. There’s just luck.”

All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time --- no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There’s only luck. The next time I might end up dead.

And I’m sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they’re fooling themselves.

1. When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window, ______.

A. she felt very annoyed              B. she lost consciousness

C. she felt very much nervous          D. she lost the power of thinking

2.What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?

A. Jeremy’s fighting                B. The author’s screaming

C. Their neighbour’s brave action      D. The police’s arrival

3.When the author called for help, the neighbors didn’t come out immediately because ______

A. they were much too frightened

B. they were busy preparing dinners

C. they needed time to find baseball bats

D. they thought someone was playing a trick

4.The author was happy to see the neighbors go because ______.

A. she hated to listen to their empty talk

B. she did not want to become an object of pity

C. she was angered by their being late to come to her help

D. she wanted to be left alone with Jeremy to get over the shock

5.The police were rather angry because ______.

A. the author was not hurt and gave a false alarm

B. they thought it was a case of little importance

C. the author and Jeremy could not tell the police anything

D. the gunmen had already fled when they arrived on the scene

6.What the author wants to tell us is that______.

A. neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty

B. the police are not reliable when one is in trouble

C. security is impossible as long as people can have guns

D. preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice

Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7:34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch．We should have arrived at Liverpool at 9:19, but due to a typical London fog, the train had to move along so slowly that it wasn’t until 10:30 that it got there．In spite of our late arrival, Joan, my wife’s sister, decided that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London while we went shopping．It was only after her sister had disappeared into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should meet for lunch．Since I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a problem．There seemed to be nothing we could do except taking a taxi to the Tower of London, and try to find her there．Needless to say, we didn’t find her.
It was now one o’clock, and the concert began at 2:30．“Perhaps she will think of waiting outside the concert hall,” suggested my wife hopefully．By this time the fog was so thick that road traffic had to stop, and the only way to get there was by underground railway．Hand in hand we felt our way along the road to where we thought the nearest station should be．An hour later we were still trying to find it．Just as I was about to lose my temper completely when we met a blind man tapping his way confidently through the fog．With his help we found Tower Hill tube station just fifty yards down the road.
By now it was far too late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2:30, so we decided to return to Cambridge．It took seven long hours instead of the usual two to make that journey．Nor were we able to get any food and drink on the train．Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten, opening the door to the sound of the telephone bell．It was Joan; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for concert, and had had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the hotel where she decided to stay for the night．Now she was ringing to discover whether we had had an equally successful day.
1．Why was Joan separated from her sister and her brother-in-law?
A．they could not see each other because of the fog.
B．Joan had not seen Crown Jewels.
C．They planned to do different things until lunch time.
D．The writer didn’t want to go to the concert.
2．What did the writer plan to do in the afternoon?
A．Go to the concert.                      B．See the Crown Jewels.
C．Return to Cambridge.                    D．Go shopping.
3．The reason why they didn’t all meet for lunch was that _______.
A．They lost their way in the fog
B．they forgot to make necessary arrangement
C．they waited at different places and didn’t meet each other
D．the couple couldn’t find the underground station
4．It’s quite clear that for Joan the trip to London had been ________.
A．spilt by the fog                      B．quite tiring  
C．rather disappointing               D．very enjoyable

Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7:34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch. We should have arrived at Liverpool at 9:19, but due to a typical London fog, the train had to move along so slowly that it was not until 10:30 that it got there. In spite of our late arrival, Joan, my wife’s sister, decided that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London while we went shopping. It was only after her sister had disappeared into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should meet for lunch. Since I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a problem. There seemed to be nothing we could do except taking a taxi to the Tower of London, and try to find her there. Needless to say, we didn’t find her.
It was now one o’clock, and the concert began at 2:30. “Perhaps she will think of waiting outside the concert hall,” suggested my wife hopefully. By this time the fog was so thick that road traffic had to stop, and the only way to get there was by underground railway. Hand in hand we felt our way along the road to where we thought the nearest station should be. An hour later we were still trying to find it. Just as I was about to lose my temper completely when we met a blind man tapping his way confidently through the fog. With his help we found Tower Hill tube station just fifty yards down the road.
By now it was far too late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2:30, so we decided to return to Cambridge. It took seven long hours instead of the usual two to make that journey. Nor were we able to get any food and drink on the train. Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten, opening the door to the sound of the telephone bell. It was Joan; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for concert, and had had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the hotel where she decided to stay for the night. Now she was ringing to discover whether we had had an equally successful day.
【小题1】 Why was Joan separated from her sister and her brother-in-law?

完形填空

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。

　　Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7:34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch. Although we arrived at Liverpool Street Station at 10:30, Joan 1 that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London 2 we went shopping. It was only after her sister had 3 into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn't decided where we should 4 her for lunch. 5 I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a 6 . There seemed to be nothing we could do but take a taxi to the Tower of London. However, we didn't find her.

　　It was now one o'clock, and the concert would begin at 2:30.“Perhaps she'll 7 waiting outside the concert hall,”said my wife hopefully. By this time the fog was so thick that the road traffic had to 8 , and the only way to get there was 9 underground railway. Hand in hand we 10 our way along the road to where we thought the 11 station should be. An hour later we found Tower Hill Station.

　　By now it was far 12 late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2:30. So we decided to 13 to Cambridge. It took seven long hours instead of two as usual to 14 that journey. 15 were we able to get any food and drink on the train. Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten. 16 the door, we heard the sound of the telephone bell. It was Joan; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for the concert, and had had a wonderful 17 at a restaurant near the hotel where she had decided to stay at night. Now she was 18 us to discover 19 we had had an equally 20 day.

1．

[　　]

A．hoped　　　　　　B．decided

C．suggested　　　　　D．wanted

2．

[　　]

A．during　　　　　B．when

C．since　　　　　　D．before

3．

[　　]

A．hidden　　　　　　B．run

C．disappeared　　　　D．entered

4．

[　　]

A．see　　　　　　B．meet

C．wait　　　　　　D．call

5．

[　　]

A．Though　　　　　B．When

C．Since　　　　　　D．For

6．

[　　]

A．chance　　　　　　B．subject

C．matter　　　　　　D．problem

7．

[　　]

A．mind　　　　　　B．forget

C．insist on　　　　　D．think of

8．

[　　]

A．finish　　　　　　B．begin

C．stop　　　　　　D．start

9．

[　　]

A．with　　　　　　B．on

C．by　　　　　　D．through

10．

[　　]

A．made　　　　　　B．pushed

C．found　　　　　　D．felt

11．

[　　]

A．nearby　　　　　　B．near

C．nearer　　　　　　D．nearest

12．

[　　]

A．too　　　　　　B．very

C．quite　　　　　　D．so

13．

[　　]

A．walk　　　　　　B．drive

C．ride　　　　　　D．return

14．

[　　]

A．do　　　　　　B．make

C．get　　　　　　D．have

15．

[　　]

A．So　　　　　　B．Hardly

C．Nor　　　　　　D．Thus

16．

[　　]

A．Opening　　　　　　B．Knocking at

C．Closing　　　　　　D．Going to

17．

[　　]

A．breakfast　　　　　　B．lunch

C．afternoon tea　　　　　D．dinner

18．

[　　]

A．asking　　　　　　B．thinking

C．ringing　　　　　　D．wanting

19．

[　　]

A．why　　　　　　B．how

C．where　　　　　　D．whether

20．

[　　]

A．busy　　　　　　B．successful

C．free　　　　　　D．sad