One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the   36 _, the couple went to the front desk hoping to  37 for the night.
“Could you   38  give us a room here?” the husband asked.
The clerk, a   39  man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and   40  that there were three conventions(大会) in town.
“All of our   41  are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a   42  couple like you 43  into the rain at 1 o’clock in the morning. Would you please be   44  to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite（套房）, but it will be good enough to make you  45  for the night.”
The couple said no politely.
“Don’t   46  me. It is just fine with me,” the clerk told them.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe someday I’ll build   47  for you.” The three of them had a good   48 .
Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten it   49  he received a letter from the old man. It recalled(使回忆) that stormy night and contained a round-trip（双程的）   50  to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and   51 him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34^th Street.
He then pointed to a great new   52  there,  a palace of reddish stone. “That,” said the old man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to   53_ .”
“You must be   54 ,” the young man said.
“I am sure I am not,” said the old man, the name of   55  was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk, George C. Boldt became its first manager.

 One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the   36 _, the couple went to the front desk hoping to  37 for the night.

“Could you   38   give us a room here?” the husband asked.

The clerk, a   39   man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and   40   that there were three conventions(大会) in town.

“All of our   41   are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a   42   couple like you 43   into the rain at 1 o’clock in the morning. Would you please be   44   to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite（套房）, but it will be good enough to make you   45   for the night.”

The couple said no politely.

“Don’t   46   me. It is just fine with me,” the clerk told them.

As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe someday I’ll build   47   for you.” The three of them had a good   48  .

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten it   49   he received a letter from the old man. It recalled(使回忆) that stormy night and contained a round-trip（双程的）   50   to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and   51  him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34^th Street.

He then pointed to a great new   52   there,  a palace of reddish stone. “That,” said the old man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to   53_ .”

“You must be   54  ,” the young man said.

“I am sure I am not,” said the old man, the name of   55   was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk, George C. Boldt became its first manager.

1.A. rain             B. anger          C. snow           D. hunger

2. A. leave           B. go             C. stay           D. look

3. A. surely          B. possibly       C. really         D. freely

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the   36  , the couple went to the front desk hoping to  37 for the night.

“Could you   38   give us a room here?” the husband asked.

The clerk, a   39   man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and   40   that there were three conventions(大会) in town.

“All of our   41   are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a   42   couple like you 43   into the rain at 1 o’clock in the morning. Would you please be   44   to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite（套房）, but it will be good enough to make you   45   for the night.”

The couple said no politely.

“Don’t   46   me. It is just fine with me,” the clerk told them.

As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe someday I’ll build   47   for you.” The three of them had a good   48  .

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten it   49   he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and put in a round-trip   50   to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and   51  him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34^th Street.

He then pointed to a great new   52   there, www..com a palace of reddish stone. “That,” said the older man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to   53  .”

“You must be   54  ,” the young man said.

“I am sure I am not,” said the old man, the name of   55  was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk, George C. Boldt became its first manager.

36. A. rain      B. anger  C. snow   D. hunger

37. A. put out B. put off       C. put up D. put down

38. A. surely   B. possibly     C. really  D. freely

40. A. shouted B. explained   C. believed     D. agreed

41. A. hotels   B. desks  C. streets D. rooms

42. A. nice      B. famous       C. rich    D. common

43. A. beyond B. off      C. out     D. under

44. A. kind     B. willing       C. good   D. generous

45. A. enjoyable     B. helpful       C. grateful      D. comfortable

46. A. worry about B. take care of       C. make use of       D. come up with

47. A. one      B. it C. them   D. those

48. A. sleep    B. meal   C. laugh  D. talk

49. A. after     B. before C. while  D. when

50. A. ticket    B. bill     C. check  D. questionnaire

51. A. invited  B. told    C. treated       D. led

52. A. building       B. car      C. bedroom    D. place

53. A. live      B. sell     C. manage      D. rent

54. A. lying    B. joking C. dreaming    D. cheating

55. A. whose   B. which C. whom D. who

A press report stating that Microsoft has restarted talks to buy Yahoo's search business for 20 billion U. S. dollars. "It has no basis in fact," the San Francisco Chronicle said on Monday.

The Times of London reported on Sunday that the deal under discussion would put former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and Ross Levinsohn, a former president of Fox Interactive Media, in charge of Yahoo. The report also said executives (管理人员) at both companies had agreed to the broad terms of a deal.

In fact, there are no current talks between the two companies. The Chronicle quoted an executive at one of the firms who requested his name to be kept secret as saying. Furthermore, the 20-billion-dollar price mentioned in the Times of London article for Yahoo's search business appears questionable given that the market capitalization (资本总额) for all of Yahoo is 16 billion dollars, said The Chronicle.

Yahoo and Microsoft had had on-again, off-again talks over several months earlier this year about a 47. 5-billion-dollar takeover, and later a proposal focused only on Yahoo's search business. Discussions regarding both plans collapsed without an agreement.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said repeatedly that he is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo, but that he is open to some sort of partnership involving their respective search businesses.

Brad Williams, a Yahoo spokesman, said Sunday "We don't comment on rumors." Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, declined to comment.

Yahoo's shares have plummeted since Microsoft withdrew its 33-dollar-a-share acquisition offer earlier this year, leaving people to think that discussions would eventually be restarted. Yahoo's shares closed Friday at 11. 51 dollars, nearly one-third of the original offer.

1. From this passage, we can know that ______.

  A. Microsoft has given up buying all of Yahoo but its search business 

  B. Microsoft has already taken over the whole company of Yahoo

  C. the market capitalization for all of Yahoo is over $ 20 billion

  D. the market capitalization for all of Microsoft is only $ 6 billion

2. What is the author trying to convince readers of in the third paragraph?

  A. Yahoo and Microsoft are talking about takeover.

B. Microsoft is buying Yahoo’s search businesses for $ 20 billion.

C. Yahoo would like to sell its search businesses to another company.

D. There are no current talks between Yahoo and Microsoft.

3. What does the underlined word “plummet” in the passage most probably mean?

  A. develop rapidly      B. increase quickly      C. fall quickly     D. keep balanced

4. You can find this passage most probably in ______ .

  A. an entertainment website       B. an economical newspaper

  C. a sports magazine              D. a biological dictionary

A press report stating that Microsoft has restarted talks to buy Yahoo's search business for 20 billion U. S. dollars. "It has no basis in fact," the San Francisco Chronicle said on Monday.
The Times of London reported on Sunday that the deal under discussion would put former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and Ross Levinsohn, a former president of Fox Interactive Media, in charge of Yahoo. The report also said executives (管理人员) at both companies had agreed to the broad terms of a deal.
In fact, there are no current talks between the two companies. The Chronicle quoted an executive at one of the firms who requested his name to be kept secret as saying. Furthermore, the 20-billion-dollar price mentioned in the Times of London article for Yahoo's search business appears questionable given that the market capitalization (资本总额) for all of Yahoo is 16 billion dollars, said The Chronicle.
Yahoo and Microsoft had had on-again, off-again talks over several months earlier this year about a 47. 5-billion-dollar takeover, and later a proposal focused only on Yahoo's search business. Discussions regarding both plans collapsed without an agreement.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said repeatedly that he is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo, but that he is open to some sort of partnership involving their respective search businesses.
Brad Williams, a Yahoo spokesman, said Sunday "We don't comment on rumors." Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, declined to comment.
Yahoo's shares have plummeted since Microsoft withdrew its 33-dollar-a-share acquisition offer earlier this year, leaving people to think that discussions would eventually be restarted. Yahoo's shares closed Friday at 11. 51 dollars, nearly one-third of the original offer.

1. 1.

   1. From this passage, we can know that ______.

   1. A.
      Microsoft has given up buying all of Yahoo but its search business
   2. B.
      Microsoft has already taken over the whole company of Yahoo
   3. C.
      the market capitalization for all of Yahoo is over $ 20 billion
   4. D.
      the market capitalization for all of Microsoft is only $ 6 billion
2. 2.

   2. What is the author trying to convince readers of in the third paragraph?

   1. A.
      Yahoo and Microsoft are talking about takeover.
   2. B.
      Microsoft is buying Yahoo’s search businesses for $ 20 billion.
   3. C.
      Yahoo would like to sell its search businesses to another company.
   4. D.
      There are no current talks between Yahoo and Microsoft.
3. 3.

   3. What does the underlined word “plummet” in the passage most probably mean?

   1. A.
      develop rapidly
   2. B.
      increase quickly
   3. C.
      fall quickly
   4. D.
      keep balanced
4. 4.

   4. You can find this passage most probably in ______ .

   1. A.
      an entertainment website
   2. B.
      an economical newspaper
   3. C.
      a sports magazine
   4. D.
      a biological dictionary