题目内容
My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me to find a job, so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the underground. They were looking for guards, not drivers. This suited me. I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations. The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors. T.S. Eliot had worked in a bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I’d be a subway guard. I could see myself being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis. Obviously I’d be overqualified but I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges — those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city centre.
The next day I sat down, with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The interviewer sat at a desk. Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed, after a greater or shorter time. Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones. Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes. Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.
I can remember the questions now: “Why did you leave your last job?” “Why did you leave your job before that?” “And the one before that?” I can’t recall my answers, except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter. His closing statement, I thought, revealed (揭示) a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”
Failing to get that job was my low point. Or so I thought, believing that the work was easy. Actually, such jobs — being a postman is another one I still desire — demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that the habitual dreamer is least qualified to give. But I was still far short of full self-understanding. I was also short of cash.
The writer applied for the job chiefly because _________.
A．he wanted to work in the centre of London
B．he could no longer afford to live without one
C．he was not interested in any other available job
D．he had received some suitable training
The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because _________.
A．he often traveled underground B．he had written many poems
C．he could deal with difficult situations D．he had worked in a company
The length of his interview meant that _________.
A．he was not going to be offered the job
B．he had not done well in the intelligence test
C．he did not like the interviewer at all
D．he had little work experience to talk about
What does the writer realize now that he did not realize then?
A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be. B．How difficult it is to be a poet.
C．How unsuitable he was for the job. D．How badly he did in the interview.
It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man was waiting for a ride across the 36 . The wait seemed 37 .
At last he heard the slight, steady rhythm of approaching hooves (马蹄) coming along the frozen path. Anxiously, he 38 as several horsemen came around the bend (转角处). He let the first one 39 . Then another, and another. Finally, as the 40 rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue, the old man 41 the rider’s eye and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passage way by 42 .”
The rider replied, “Sure.” Seeing the old man was unable to 43 his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman got down and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination.
As they neared the tiny but cozy (舒适的) cottage, the horseman’s 44 caused him to ask, “Sir, I notice that you let several other riders go by without making a(n) 45 to get a ride. Then I came up and you 46 asked me for a ride. I’m curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. 47 I had refused and left you there?”
The old man replied, “I’ve been 48 here for some time. I think I know people pretty good.” He continued, “I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no 49 for my situation. But when I looked into your eyes, 50 was evident. I knew, 51 , that your gentle spirit would 52 the opportunity to give me help in my time of 53 .”
Those heartwarming comments 54 the horseman deeply.
“I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man. “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I 55 to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”
With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
A. town B. river C. country D. island
A. meaningless B. useless C. careless D. endless
A. watched B. asked C. waved D. approached
A. come over B. get off C. pass by D. take off
A. coming B. leaving C. next D. last
A. missed B. caught C. avoided D. saw
A. bus B. car C. foot D. horse
A. feel B. push C. lift D. stand
A. honesty B. courage C. enthusiasm D. curiosity
A. choice B. stop C. effort D. scene
A. immediately B. hurriedly C. friendly D. strangely
A. What about B. What if C. How come D. If only
A. in B. out C. around D. beyond
A. concern B. doubt C. chance D. reason
A. meaning B. kindness C. seriousness D. help
A. then and there B. for a moment
C. all of a sudden D. sooner or later
A. offer B. create C. find D. welcome
A. need B. danger C. fortune D. happiness
A. influenced B. excited C. touched D. hit
A. happen B. try C. disagree D. fail
I had once helped a friend of mine run a watermelon stall. I noticed something interesting. Almost every buyer would lift the melon up to their ear，smartly tap it, apparently trying to listen to something. I wondered what they expected to hear.
Finally I could no longer hold back my curiosity and made bold to ask a customer—an elderly gentleman—about this. Hearing my question，he roared with laughter. Then he replied in a selfmocking(自嘲)tone.“Young lady，I have been doing this for more than fifty years. All I know is that everybody would stare at you as if you were a fool if you just pick up the melon and leave！”
Not long after that，my watermelon stall friend unexpectedly sent me an invitation for her wedding，which really surprised me. I asked her, “How come you are seized by a sudden desire to get married? I don't remember ever hearing you mention that yon've got a boyfriend.” She answered while counting money，“Everyone has to get married anyway，so it is better to get married sooner than later.”
I could think of no word to refute(反驳)her. It seems that everybody is living for everybody else and has forgotten the need of their own heart. It may be safe and save a lot of worries by following others' suit in doing things. The use of We or Us will give one a steady and sure sense of pride. But using the pronoun “I” would often give one a guilty conscience.
I find all these things somewhat funny. We have got used to taking cue from(模仿) others and follow their suit. In turn，we also take it for granted that we should judge the right and wrong of others by our own standard. As a matter of fact，this massive practice is still wrong though we all follow others' suit like this, but we feel at ease and, justified simply because this is the way of us, and so we can have an easy conscience because this has been practiced by so many people.
1.The writer probably feels that it is ________.
A．necessary for the buyer to tap the watermelon
B．foolish of the buyers to buy watermelon without tapping it
C．funny that the buyers will tap the watermelons when buying them
D．wise of the elderly gentleman to tap watermelons before buy them
2.The writer uses the example of her friend's decision of getting married to show that ________.
A．her friend took no account of others's feeling
B．her friend decided to marry just to follow the crowd
C．her friend was a person who has strong personality
D．everybody in the world should marry for others
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．It may be safe to follow others' suit in doing things.
B．I was surprised to receive my friend's invitation for her wedding.
C．My experience of helping my friend run a watermelon stall was interesting.
D．The use of We or I will give speakers themselves quite different senses.
4.Which word can replace the underlined word“justified”in the last paragraph?
A．Reasonable. B．Embarrassed. C．Ashamed. D．Nervous.
5.In which section of a magazine can you read the passage?
A．Art and Life B．Sport and Health
C．Culture and Society D．Science and Technology
完形填空：（包括20个小题，每小题1。5分， 共30分）
1.A. town B. river C. country D. island
2.A. meaningless B. useless C. careless D. endless
3.A. watched B. asked C. waved D. approached
4.A. come over B. get off C. pass by D. take off
5.A. coming B. leaving C. next D. last
6.A. missed B. caught C. avoided D. saw
7.A. bus B. car C. foot D. horse
8.A. feel B. push C. lift D. stand
9.A. honesty B. courage C. enthusiasm D. curiosity
10.A. choice B. stop C. effort D. scene
11.A. immediately B. hurriedly C. friendly D. strangely
12.A. What about B. What if C. How come D. If only
13.A. in B. out C. around D. beyond
14.A. concern B. doubt C. chance D. reason
15.A. meaning B. kindness C. seriousness D. help
16.A. then and there B. for a moment
17.A. offer B. create C. find D. welcome
18.A. need B. danger C. fortune D. happiness
19.A. influenced B. excited C. touched D. hit
20.A. happen B. try C. disagree D. fail
