Poor Martin lost his work and was trying to find a job. One day he read in the newspaper that a man was   1    to work in a zoo. He was very    2    and went to the boss who told him that their monkey had just died and it would be two months    3    they could get another one, so they wanted him to take the monkey’s place.?

As soon as he heard this, Martin got angry and shouted， “You want me to take the place of a monkey! Take this place yourself. You look more like a monkey than I do.”  “Don’t expect it like that,”  said the boss, “I know you don’t like a monkey, but we’ll   4     you up.”  Martin thought about it for a while. Though he didn’t like the idea, he had to make a living after all. So he    5    the job in the end.?

The next day Martin started to work. It wasn’t so   6    .The only thing he didn’t like was the tiger in the cage next to him. But , as there were strong bars(铁栏杆)   7     them, he soon got used to (习惯)his neighbor.?

One afternoon he climbed up to the top of the bars. Suddenly he missed his footing and fell not on his own side of the bars, but into the tiger’s cage. That great animal was asleep at the time, but the noise of Martin’s fall woke him up. Martin had to   8     the bars again quickly to get back into his own cage. He tried to get up, but he had hurt his feet so badly that he couldn’t move. He hid(藏)his face in his hands so as not to see the tiger coming. The next few seconds seemed like hours. Then he    9     the tiger whispering(低语)in his ear. “ Don’t be    10    , old man. I’m in the same boat as you.”  ?

1. A. told　　　　    B. paid　　　　   C. wanted　　　　    D. chosen?

2. A. sad　　　　    B. worried　　　　 C. surprised　　　　   D. glad?

3. A. before　　　　  B. since　　　　   C .after　　　　　　  D. ago?

4. A. pick　　　　   B. dress　　　　    C. bring　　　　　　  D. give?

5. A. took　　　　   B. gave　　　　    C. loved　　　　　　 D. lost?

6. A. good　　　　   B. clean　　　　    C. bad　　　　　　   D. nine?

7. A. behind　　　　  B. among　　　　  C. before　　　　    D. between?

8. A. climb　　　　   B. lift　　　　 　　C. move　　　　　　 D. jump?

9. A. saw　　　　    B. heard　　　　    C. made　　　　    D. thought?

10. A. angry　　　　  B. sad　　　　　　 C. unhappy　　　　  D. afraid

 

Have you ever had an embarrassing（尴尬的）experience ?Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences．We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection．

Tony：

My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university．I had just started teaching in a Liverpool secondary school．One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring．I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine．I quickly washed，dressed，jumped into my car and rushed to school．When I arrived，the students had already gone into class．I didn’t go to the office"，but went straight into class．After two or three minutes the students began laughing，and I couldn’t understand why !Suddenly I looked down and understood．I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!

Henry：

    The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had。happened two years ago．After seeing a film．my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town．Then we decided to take a walk along the street．The street was very busy and we started holding hands．Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window，and stopped．I started looking at some watches in the next window．After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand．There was a loud scream，and a woman slapped my face．I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand．I'd taken the hand of a complete stranger!

James：

    My wife and I had decided to buy a new house，and I’d made an appointment to see our bank manager．I’d never met him before and I was a bit nervous．I went into town in my car and I was lucky enough to find a parking space outside the bank．I’d just started reversing（倒车）into the space when another car made its way into it．I was irritated !I opened my window and shouted at the man in the car．He ignored me and walked away．It took me：twenty minutes to find another space．As soon as I had parked the car。I rushed back to the bank．I was ten minutes late for my appointment．I went to the manager’s office，knocked and walked in．The manager was sitting behind his desk．He was the man who had taken my parking space!

1．Tony arrived at school late that morning because __________

    A．he couldn’t find his shoes                  B．his alarm clock didn’t ring

    C．he washed and dressed slowly           D．his car went wrong on the way

2．The students began laughing when they saw Tony __________．

    A．wearing a wrong shoe                B．carrying an alarm clock

    C．looking down suddenly                 D．rushing into the classroom

3．Henry and his wife held hands _________．

    A．at the cinema    B．in the shop    C．at the restaurant D．along the street

4．Henry was embarrassed because he _________．

    A．slapped the woman in the face

    B．took the hand of a complete stranger

    C．heard his wife screaming in the street

    D．knocked over some watches in the shop

5．James went into town to ______________．

    A．put money in the bank                B．look for a job

    C．meet the bank manager                 D．buy a new car

6．The underlined word“irritated”probably means“___________”．

    A．angry           B．nervous               C．worried           D．embarrassed

7．The best picture for each story is ___________ ．