We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.

       It stood outside a furniture shop. “Buy it,” she said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof-rack(车顶架). I’ve always wanted one like that.”

       What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy too.

       As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

       After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake(超车)?”

       Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers(警官)inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me．

       “Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help now?”

       I didn’t quite understand. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You’ve been very kind. I live just down the road.”

       He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. “Well, well,” he said and laughed. “It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was——er, something else.”

       My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a bookshelf, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.

1. From the story we know that_________.

       A. the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife

       B. the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all

       C. the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife

       D. the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife

2. What made the writer think that carrying furniture was “a good idea”?

       A. He could drive slowly and it was safe．

       B. Other drivers would let him go first．

       C. His wife could use a new bookshelf．

       D. He could save a lot of money and time．

3. Why were the police and other drivers so kind to the writer?

       A. Because they thought the writer liked studying very much and needed  

a bookshelf．

       B. Because they didn’t think it was polite to overtake a car with a

bookshelf on it．

       C. Because they thought somebody in the writer’s family had died and he

needed help．

       D. Because they thought it was dangerous to carry a bookshelf on a car．

4. Why did the writer’s wife begin to laugh?

       A. Because now she knew what mistake the police had made．

       B. Because at last her husband understood why the police had driven to

the church．

       C. Because the officer was always looking at the flowers and the

bookshelf．

       D. Because the police had helped them a lot．

We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers．Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way we had to stop at the traffic lights and there my wife saw the bookshelf．

It stood outside a furniture （家具）shop．"Buy it，" she said at once．"We’ll carry it home on the roof rack（车顶行李架） I’ve always wanted one like that "

What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer，and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack．It was tall and narrow，quite heavy too．

As it was getting darker，I drove slowly．Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening．The police even stopped traffic to let us through．Carrying furniture was a good idea ．

After a time my wife said，"There’s a long line of cars behind．Why don’t they overtake?"

Just at that time a police car did overtake．The two officers inside looked at us seriously when they went past．But then，with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic．The police car stopped at our village church．One of the officers came to me．

"Right，sir，"he said "Do you need any more help now?"

I didn’t quite understand "Thanks，officer，" I said．"You’ve been very kind．I live just down the road"

He was looking at our things：first at the flowers，then at the bookshelf．"Well，well，" he said and laughed．"It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was ~ eh something else "

My wife began to laugh．Suddenly I understood why the police drove here．They had mistaken the bookshelf for a coffin（棺材）

I smiled at the officer．"Yes，it’s a bookshelf，but thanks again．" I drove home as fast as I could．

（    ）1．From the story we know that ______

A．the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife

B．the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all

C．the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife

D．the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife

（    ）2．What made the writer think that carrying furniture was "a good idea"?

A．He could drive slowly and it was safe

B．Other drivers would let him go first

C．His wife could use a new bookshelf

D．He could save a lot of money and time

（    ）3．The underlined word“overtake”most probably means______．

A．to catch up with                                         B．to pass after catching up with

C．to take by surprise                                    D．to keep up with

（    ）4．Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons why the police officers mistook the bookshelf for a coffin?

A．The writer was driving slowly                      B．There were many flowers in their car

C．The bookshelf was tall and narrow               D．There were many ears behind us

Buster Brown was a thief and a good one too，he thought． He’d never been caught by the police because he never took chances．He was always prepared for any unforeseen event or emergency.
Confidently，he stood outside the house of his intended victim(受害者)and read the sign on the front gate of the house．“Don't worry about the dog—be aware of the owner!” it said．Buster smiled and found his way in．
The house looked quite normal outside，but inside it was very exotic with fascinating objects on display．As he began putting them into his bag，a dog came into the room．It stopped when it saw Buster，then wagged its tail madly and went over to him，licking his outstretched hand．  "Good boy，” Buster whispered． “What a great guard dog you are—trying to lick me to death.” Satisfied he'd made friends with the dog，Bluster began to wander round the house，choosing items to put in his bag．His skilled eye picked out only the best antiques(古董)：a pair of silver candleholders，a silver tea-and-coffee service，etc．．His new friend，the dog，sat and watched，as if wondering what was happening．
“Well，boy，” Buster whispered，finally．“That might do．Any more and I won't be able to carry it!” He swung the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on, nearly blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his hand.
"You're a very silly person," the figure in the doorway said, his voice dry and dust. As the man came closer, Buster could see he was well dressed. His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.
"You should have taken more notice of the sign outside," the man rasped. "I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars for 20 years. Fancy trying to rob the house of the world's greatest fortune-teller!"
【小题1】Why was Buster so confident?

Buster Brown was a thief and a good one too，he thought. He’d never been caught by the police because he never took chances.He was always prepared for any unforeseen event or emergency.
Confidently，he stood outside the house of his intended victim(受害者)and read the sign on the front gate of the house.“Don't worry about the dog—be aware of the owner!” it said.Buster smiled and found his way in.
The house looked quite normal outside，but inside it was very exotic with fascinating objects on display.As he began putting them into his bag，a dog came into the room.It stopped when it saw Buster，then wagged its tail madly and went over to him，licking his outstretched hand.  "Good boy，” Buster whispered. “What a great guard dog you are—trying to lick me to death.” Satisfied he'd made friends with the dog，Bluster began to wander round the house，choosing items to put in his bag.His skilled eye picked out only the best antiques(古董)：a pair of silver candleholders，a silver tea-and-coffee service，etc..His new friend，the dog，sat and watched，as if wondering what was happening.
“Well，boy，” Buster whispered，finally.“That might do.Any more and I won't be able to carry it!” He swung the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on, nearly blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his hand.
"You're a very silly person," the figure in the doorway said, his voice dry and dust. As the man came closer, Buster could see he was well dressed. His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.
"You should have taken more notice of the sign outside," the man rasped. "I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars for 20 years. Fancy trying to rob the house of the world's greatest fortune-teller!"

1. 1.

   Why was Buster so confident?

   1. A.
      He was not afraid of dogs.
   2. B.
      He knew the owner of the house lived alone.
   3. C.
      The house had no security alarm.
   4. D.
      He had never been caught by the police.
2. 2.

   Which of the definitions is closest in meaning to the word "exotic" in the third paragraph?

   1. A.
      Messy and untidy.
   2. B.
      Rich and expensive.
   3. C.
      Foreign and unusual.
   4. D.
      Comfortable and calming.
3. 3.

   How did Buster decide which objects to take?

   1. A.
      He took those that were easy to carry in his bag.
   2. B.
      He took only the best antiques.
   3. C.
      He took those that he knew he could sell easily.
   4. D.
      He looked for silver objects.
4. 4.

   What punishment waits for Buster Brown?

   1. A.
      A long prison sentence.
   2. B.
      A prison sentence with hard labor.
   3. C.
      A heavy fine.
   4. D.
      Community service for 20 years.

In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23-year-old son, Daniel．In a few hours he would be flying to France to   1   a different life．It was a transitional（过渡的） time in Daniel’s life．I wanted to  2   him some words of significance．But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the   3   time I had let such moments pass．

       When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten．He asked, “What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?” Then he walked     4     the steps of the bus and disappeared inside．The bus drove away and I said nothing．A decade later, a similar  5   played itself out．I drove him to college．As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him  6    and confidence as he started this new stage of life．Again, words   7   me．

       Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those   8   opportunities．How many times have I let such moments   9   ? I don't find a quiet moment to tell him what they have   10  to me．Or what he might want to face in the years   11  ．Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything．

       What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him?   12   as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter．My father and I loved each other．Yet, I always   13   never hearing him put his    14   into words．Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten．Why is it so   15   to tell a son something from the heart?

       My mouth turned dry, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly．“Daniel,” I said, “If I could have picked, I would have picked you．” That's all I could say．He hugged me．For a moment, the world  16  , and there were just Daniel and me．He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn't understand what he was saying．All I was   17   of was the stubble（短须） on his chin as his face pressed    18   mine．What I had said to Daniel was   19  ．It was nothing．And yet, it was    20     ．

1．A．experience         B．spend              C．enjoy                 D．shape

2．A．show                 B．give               C．leave                 D．instruct

3．A．last                  B．first                    C．very                  D．next

4．A．upward            B．into                C．down               D．up

5．A．sign                B．scene          C．scenery             D．sight

6．A．interest              B．instruction      C．courage            D．direction

7．A．failed              B．discouraged                                     C．struck        D．troubled

8．A．future               B．embarrassing                                    C．obvious    D．lost

10．A．counted            B．meant              C．valued             D．eared

11．A．forward            B．before             C．ago                D．ahead

12．A．But                 B．And           C．Instead            D．So

13．A．wondered          B．regretted             C．minded            D．tried

14．A．views               B．actions                                         C．feelings           D．attitudes

15．A．important            B．essential           C．complex           D．hard

16．A．disappeared         B．changed                                        C．progressed       D．advanced

17．A．sensitive            B．convinced         C．aware              D．tired

18．A．by                  B．against         C．on                   D．with

19．A．clumsy            B．gentle               C．absurd             D．moving

20．A．none            B．all                C．anything         D．everything