Dear editor,

　　One day last month after I received my salary, I went shopping with my little son. 1 in the crowded store, I had my wallet stolen. And my whole salary was 2 with it.

　　I was so angry that I almost lost 3 of myself. What 4 I do? We were not very rich. The money was really not a 5 sum 6 my family, it would affect our life greatly. How could I tell my wife?

　　I felt very sad and even 7 for losing the money when I got back home. To make 8 for my unforgivable mistake, I 9 all my strength to give our house a thorough cleaning and then prepared a wonderful meal and cooked a special dish my wife loved to please her.

　　When she came home, I 10 a smile to 11 her. She was surprised to see the neat house and delicious meat. We sat 12 the table and began to eat. I told my story 13 . She did not respond. It was as if she had not heard my words.

　　“I’ve lost my salary,”I murmured to her again.

　　“I 14 .”She did not shout at me as I bad expected. She did not lose her 15 . 16 I was afraid she was trying hard to 17 her anger.

　　A moment later, my wife was still silent and seemed to be 18 her favourite dish At last I could not help asking,“I’ve lost the money. Why not shout at me?”

　　She raised her eyes, looking at me and 19 ,“Oh, on the contrary, I’m thinking about 20 to comfort you. It’s the thief who is to blame.”

I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone,“ Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”

At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.

I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?

She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room — if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”

Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room.

After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

1.Why did the author shout at the telephone?

2.What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

3.What made the author laugh?

4. What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?

Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy. Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
　Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away. If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
【小题1】Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually ________.
A.an expression of happiness      B. a way of warning
B.an expression of anger          D. a way of greeting
【小题2】What is a bird’s “territory”?

I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone,“ Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room — if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.
【小题1】 Why did the author shout at the telephone?

Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son’s soccer team. It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, and my son’s team was in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement.

With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son’s teammate, Mickey O’Donnell. With “Kick it!” echoing across the playground, Mickey turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted. O’Donnell had scored!

Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total hush. You see, Mickey has Down syndrome(综合症) and for him there was no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored.

The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted, “I scored! I scored! Everybody won! Everybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, “Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal.

Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, “It was a tie. Everybody won.”

The underlined word “hush” in paragraph 3 means ________.

A. cheer.        B. cry            C. laughter            D. silence

What did the author worry about when Mickey scored and hugged his son?

　　A. The result of the match would fail his son.

B. His son would shout at Mickey for his goal.

　　C. Mickey would again hug the opposing players.

D. His son would understand Mickey’s wrong goal.

It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

　　A. both teams liked and respected Mickey

B. both teams were thankful to Mickey for his goal

　　C. Mickey didn’t mind though his goal was wrong

D. Mickey was a kind-hearted boy and hoped everybody won

The purpose of the author in writing the passage is _____.

　　A. to tell a joke to make readers laugh

B. to suggest we should not mind losing

　　C. to show enjoying a game is more than winning a game

D. to present his son’s fine qualities of understanding others