It is ten o’clock in the morning but he is still ________.
  A. in the bed    B. at the bed   C. in bed        D.on bed

John had to go to work. So he set off half an hour 36 than usual and arrived at the library before anybody else. The 37 to come was Mr. Steele, who thought, “This must be a wonder. John is 38 the first here. If he came as 39 as this every morning, he would get a lot more 40 done.” John began to get on with his work and by half past nine he had 41 all the postcards he had to write. It was a quarter to ten, and Mary had not arrived 42. He wondered 43 she was ill or if she had taken the day 44. But Mr. Steele came and 45 him if he knew where Mary was. If she were ill, she would 46, he said. It’s not like her. She’s usually 47. John said that he had no 48 where Mary was. But 49 the door opened and there was Mary. She was looking very 50 and tired. She apologized to Mr. Steele and explained that she had been 51 most of the night. She hadn’t 52 to sleep until five in the morning and had overslept. Mr. Steele was very 53 and suggested that she take the day off. She 54 him and said she would stay, but she 55 said a word for the rest of the morning. John, on the other hand, was feeling happy so at one o’clock he suggested to Mary that they go and have lunch together, and she agreed.
【小题1】..

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

　　You may think that English dictionaries have been used for many, many centuries. In fact, an English dictionary like the kind you use today wasn't made until the time of the Qing Dynasty. Three men did most of the important early work on dictionaries：Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster, and James Murray. These men spent nearly all of their lives trying to collect words for their dictionaries. For them, it wasn't only a job; it was a wonderful journey. The largest dictionary in the world is the Oxford English Dictionary, or OED for short. The idea for this dictionary came from an important meeting in Britain in 1857. Twenty－two years later, Oxford University asked James Murray to be the editor of its new dictionary.

　　Murray had never been to college. At the age of fourteen, he left his village school in Scotland and taught himself while working in a bank, hater he became a great teacher. After Oxford gave him the job, Murray had a place built in the garden behind his house to do his work. Part of it was one meter underground. In winter it felt like a barn, he had to wear a heavy coat and put his feet in a box to keep warm. Every morning, Murray got out of bed at five o'clock and worked several hours before breakfast. Often he would work by candle light into the evening. Murray hoped to finish the new dictionary in ten years. But after five years, he was still adding words for the letter A! Then others went to work with Murray, including his two daughters. He worked on the dictionary until he was very old. Forty－four years later, in 1928, other editors finished it. It included more than 15, 000 words in twelve books. And you thought your English dictionary was big!

1．The first English dictionary like we are using today ________.

[　　]

A．was edited in China in the Qing Dynasty

B．has been used for many centuries

C．was completed by James Murray

D．was made in the 20th century

2．What's the meaning of the underlined sentence?

[　　]

A．The editors liked their jobs very much.

B．Making dictionaries was more than their job, it took their whole lives to complete the tasks.

C．Editing dictionaries was like taking a wonderful journey.

D．It was only a job for the editors to make dictionaries.

3．Which of the following statements about the Oxford English Dictionary is NOT true?

[　　]

A．It was completed by James Murray and some other people.

B．It was decided to make such a dictionary in 1857.

C．The dictionary was completed twenty－two years after it was decided to be made.

D．It took James Murray more than 5 years to add words to letter A.

4．In the last paragraph, “barn” probably is ________.

[　　]

A．a hotel to live in

B．a nice house to look at

C．a place for animals to stay in

D．a room to keep cold out

5．The main purpose of writing this passage is to ________.

[　　]

A．tell us why the first English dictionary was made

B．introduce who James Murray was

C．tell us how the first English dictionary was made

D．introduce us three people－ Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster, and James Murray

Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.

Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometime in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.

He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.

“What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.

For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.”

I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.

1．Bill opened the shop so early in the day because ___________.

A．he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work

B．the shop had to be open when the morning papers came

C．he was never sure of the time

D．it was then that he did a lot of business

2．You might say “hard luck” to someone who __________.

A．has just heard some very good news

B．is less fortunate than he or she ought to be

C．puts great effort into whatever he or she tries

D．fails through his or her own fault entirely

3．On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because ________.

A．he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing

B．he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all

C．Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange

D．Bill stayed in his flat

4．From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?

A．The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time.

B．Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep.

C．The writer’s watch was fast.

D．Bill’s clock was wrong; it was very old.