第三部分  阅读理解 （共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.

“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast. “And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”

George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.

Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.

Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?

George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.

“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”  

1. George and Richard were ______ at school.

A. roommates   B. good friends   C. competitors   D. booksellers

2. How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?

A. He envied（嫉妒） Richard’s marriage.

B. He thought of Richard from time to time.

C. He felt lucky with no rival in town.

D. He was guilty of Richard’s death.

3. George got information about Richard from ______.

A. the wrapping paper of a book 

B. the latter’s rivals Dylans

C. a rare first edition of a dictionary 

D. a dictionary collector in Australia

4. What happened to George and Richard in the end?

A. Both George and Richard became millionaires.

B. Both of them realized their original ambitions.

C. George established a successful business while Richard was missing.

D. Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success

 Now, in our country free medical treatment covers sickness of mind as well as ______sickness.

A. ordinary          B. average           C. regular            D. normal

 ____ annoys me that Kim never returns the book she borrows.

  A. It        B .What          C . As       D. That 

 –Shall we meet at 6:00 or at 6:30?

-__________.

  A. At any time.                               B. Yes, at 6:30.

  C. Well, either time will do.                    D. Any time is OK.

. Only when you ______ what you have learned to practice ______ say you have made it.

A. adapt; you can          B. apply; can you    C. use; you can     D. adopt; can you

 The bank is reported in the local newspaper_____ in broad daylight yesterday.

A. being robbed            B. having been robbed

C. to have been robbed         D. robbed

As we all know, the Internet will let people have _____ to huge amounts of information from their own homes. 

     A. entrance    B. access                             C. way                     D.  means

 With the help of high technology in the past few years, electronic business ______  to bank industry and travel industry.

A. applied      B. have applied     C. had been applied    D. has been applied

 -- How are things with you, Bill?

   -- ______________  .

       A. You are welcome.                B. That’s very kind of you.

       C. I am terribly busy these days.   D. I am glad to meet you here.

—Which of these two electronic dictionaries do you like better ?

    —   _____ . They are both expensive and of little use .

 A．Neither  B．All  C．Both  D．None