A man was selling medicine at a fair（集市）．At first he sold bottles of a cure（药剂）for colds（感冒）for just a dollar a bottle．

Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．

Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．

“And now，ladies and gentlemen,” he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever.”?

“And，ladies and gentlemen,” the man continued，“I'm not going to charge you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle. Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle. Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever.”?

Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．

One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it?”

Then another person cried，“Yes，you look as if you're at least sixty years old．?

“Thank you，sir，thank you,” the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine.”?

The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man. One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by, “Is that true？”?he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？”?

“Don't ask me,” the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years.”?

1.What did the man sell at first at the fair？

   A．a cure for colds  

   B．bottles   

C．a cure for old age

D．a medicine that made people live forever 

2.How much did the man charge for the cure for old age？

   A．one dollar a bottle      

   B．twenty-five dollars a bottle

   C．ten dollars a bottle       

D．fifty dollars a bottle

3.What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage？

   A．仆人    B．朋友   C．同伴    D．助手

4.What does this passage really mean？

   A．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive．

   B．The man is not honest，and neither is his assistant．

   C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy．

   D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever．

-- How much did the salesmen ________ for this machine?

-- Almost four hundred dollars.

A. paid            B. charged        C. cost             D. order

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　　For ￡20 this railcard allows you to take a second adult (成人) and up to 4 children for only ￡3 each when you buy single or return tickets. You can travel as often as you like until the card becomes out of date. (200 words.建议阅读时间为3min.)

Which is the best ticket to buy if you live in London and want to go to a small town 80

　　miles away for four days?

　　A. Big City Savers 　 B. Monthly Returns 　 C. Weekend Returns 　D. Family Returns

A man bought himself a ticket of ￡15 and three tickets for his family with a family railcard.

  How much did he pay?

　　A.￡44 　　　　　　B. ￡29 　　　　　　C. ￡24 　　　　　　D.￡15

Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth, so I decided that my approach must be wrong, and I should try another way.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,” “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “ You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “Would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver(五英镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
【小题1】We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer _________.

Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended , as there are a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home . So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and, the fourth-so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes I saw that, it’s nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said.  “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you mend this chair for me’?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a five?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer     .

A．was rather impolite                      B．was warmly received

C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair        D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper     .

A．changed his mind                       B．saw the writer’s purpose

C．accepted the offer                      D．decided to help the writer

3.How much did the writer pay?

A．£5               B．£7               C．£20              D．£27

4.From the text, we can learn that the writer was         .

A．smart             B．careful            C．honest            D．funny