The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.

“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.

Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he had been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.

“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.

“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.

Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the telephone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”

“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.

Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs. Higgins finally arrived . She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.

“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.

Mrs. Higgins pulled out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr.Carr?”

The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner, “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again and I will let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’ hand.

Mrs. Higgins thanked the old ma for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”

In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.

His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.

This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

2.What does the underlined word “disarmed” probably mean?

3.What was the mother’s attitude towards Alfred?

4.What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was_______.

5.From the last paragraph, we know Alfred________.

The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.
“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.
Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he’d been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.
“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.
“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.
Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the phone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”
“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.
Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs Higgins finally arrived. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.
“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.
Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr. Carr?”
The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner. “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again, and I’ll let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’s hand.
Mrs. Higgins thanked the old man for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”
In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.
His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.
This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.
“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.
Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he’d been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.
“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.
“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.
Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the phone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”
“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.
Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs Higgins finally arrived. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.
“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.
Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr. Carr?”
The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner. “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again, and I’ll let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’s hand.
Mrs. Higgins thanked the old man for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”
In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.
His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.
This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

The captain of a ship and a merchant（商人）were friends．The merchant had a young son，who wanted to be a sailor（水手），so the captain took him for voyages in his  ．One day when the captain had come from a     with a lot of money，the merchant told him that the price of iron（铁） had    and suggested that he should buy some with his money．“I’ll      it for you in my storehouse   _ you return from your next voyage，and perhaps you’ll get     money．” But while the captain was away，the price of iron went up  _ 60% ，so the merchant sold it and kept the money．When the captain came back，his      friend told him that he was very sorry and the mice had    all the iron． The captain knew that his friend was    lies，but he stayed  _and said，“I knew that you had problems    mice in your storehouse．” After a few days，the captain started     voyage，and when he returned home，he said to the merchant，“I’m very sorry，but  _our voyage a bird came down and carried your son away．” The merchant was very    and said，“Birds cannot carry boys!” “And    can mice eat iron，” answered the captain．The merchant took the captain to a   ，who said，“The merchant must  the captain the money which he got when he   the iron，and then the captain must    the merchant’s son back to him．”

1.A. car       B. cart      C. ship        D. plane

2.A. voyage   B. travel     C. business    D. visit

3.A. fallen    B. raised     C. widened    D. risen

4.A. keep     B. hide      C. hold       D. put

5.A. when    B. since      C. after       D. until

6.A. many    B. more      C. a bit       D. less

7.A. on      B. in         C. to         D. by

8.A. dishonest B. honest     C. real        D. former

9.A. sold     B. borrowed   C. eaten      D. drunk

10.A. talking   B. making    C. telling      D. saying

11.A. friendly  B. calm      C. quiet       D. angry

12.A. about    B. in         C. on         D. with

13.A. another  B. next       C. the other    D. other

14.A. while    B. after       C. during      D. before

15.A. boring   B. puzzled     C. angry      D. afraid

16.A. yet      B. neither      C. so        D. either

17.A. lawyer   B. manager     C. child      D. judge

18.A. return    B. give        C. offer      D. lend

19.A. kept     B. bought      C. sold       D. stole

20.A. bring    B. fetch        C. carry      D. catch

完形填空

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The captain of a ship and a merchant were friends. The merchant had a young son, who wanted to be a 1 , so the captain took him for voyages(旅行) in his ship.

　　One day, when the captain had come from a 2 with a lot of money, the merchant told him that the price of 3 had fallen, and made the suggestion that he would buy some with his money. “I'll 4 it for you in my storehouse 5 you return from your next voyage,” said the merchant, “and perhaps the price will go up and you will be able to sell it and get more money.”

　　But while the captain was 6 , the price of the iron went up very 7 , so the merchant sold it and kept the money. When the captain came back, his 8 friend told him that he was very sorry 9 the rats had eaten all the iron.

　　The captain knew that his friend was telling lies, but he stayed 10 and said, “I knew that you had 11 with rats in your storehouse.” After a few days, the captain started 12 voyage, and when he returned home 13 the end of his voyage, he said to the merchant, “I'm very sorry, but 14 our voyage a bird 15 down and carried your son away.” The merchant was very 16 and said, “Birds cannot carry boys!” “And rats cannot eat iron,” answered the captain. The merchant took the captain to a 17 , who said, “The merchant must 18 the captain the money which he got when he 19 the iron, and then the captain 20 the merchant's son back to him.”

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