I am a person who does not like to wait．I don' t like lines, being put on hold when making a phone call, arriving at an appointment to find that my companion will be delayed and of course, I don * t like waiting rooms．

However, I realize that my agony(痛苦） will not be good for me, as an increasingly, crowded world can only mean one thing—more waiting．

Owing to this, I have taken a measure and decided to turn my disappointment to productive ends．In short, I am looking for what I call "waiting in line books"．

These are books that contain material designed for being read in shortened words, so there is no extended story line to lose track of．Another requirement is that they be small enough to slip neatly into my back pocket．

The other day I went to the supermarket．Convinced that the rain would keep most people away, I was surprised to see that the place was crowded with shoppers．Every checkout was open—and jammed! But I could take out my pocket book and go to work．

The more the world demands that I wait, the more I learn from my waiting library．Look at these titles: One Hundred Things Every American Should Know; The Poetry of Robert Frost; Living Thoughts of Leading Thinkers; Still More Toasts．I have learned interesting and enriching things and much knowledge from these books．

On a recent visit to the general store, I placed my order at the counter along with six or seven other people．The one female employee seemed to have her hands full as she rushed about．"Just be patient," she said to me．

No problem．I quietly opened my dictionary of prose （散文） and poetical quotations． Perhaps the other customers regarded me as a bookish, lonely soul．But little did they realize that I was enjoying the company of Shakespeare, Thoreau, Homer and Ben Johnson．

1.According to the passage, the world ______．

A．needs to produce many materials to use	B．is becoming more and more crowded
C．loses tracks of story line increasingly	D．is crowded with shoppers everywhere

2.How did the author overcome his agony of waiting?

A．By reading books designed to be read in shortened words．

B．By arriving early for an appointment．

C．By taking measures to produce some books for readers．

D．By keeping most people away from the supermarket for some reasons．

3.Which of the following can't be carried in the author's pocket?

A．One Hundred Things Every American Should Know

B．The Poetry of Robert Frost

C．Living Thoughts of Leading Thinkers

D．Homer and Ben Johnson

4.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．The author succeeded in changing his agony into fun．

B．The author was a bookish and lonely soul.

C．Six or seven employees in the store were busy in rushing about．

D．There were fewer customers in the supermarket on rainy days．

 

A mouse looked through a hole in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package； what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!
Running to the farmyard，the mouse shouted，warning everyone，“There is a mouse trap in the house，there is a mouse trap in the house．”The chicken，with her head high，glared at the mouse and said，“Shut up．Little Ugly．This is a great concern to you，but it has nothing to do with me：I can’t be troubled by it．”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him．“There is a mouse trap in the house．”“I am so sorry，Mr Mouse，”said the pig sympathetically，“but there is nothing I can do about it but pray；you are always in my prayers．”
The mouse turned to the cow，who said，“A mouse trap，am I in great danger，huh?”
Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone．
That very night a sound was heard through the house，like that of a mouse trap catching its prey．The farmer’wife rushed to see what was caught．In the darkness，she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught．The snake bit the farmer’s wife．The farmer rushed her to the hospital．She returned home with a fever．It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever，so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient．His wife’s sickness continued，so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock．To feed them，the farmer killed the pig．The farmer’s wife did not get well，in fact，she died，and so many people came for her funeral．The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat．
So next time when someone is facing a problem，don’t say that it has nothing to do with you．
【小题1】We could see from the passage that the mouse was          ．

A．good at cheating others	B．dishonest
C．kind and warm-hearted	D．foolish

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．The others help the farmer kill the cow．

B．The mouse trap was very practical．

C．The pig is more friendly than the other animals．

D．The farmer’s family had no friends at all．

【小题3】What can we learn from the story?

A．Traps can always cause chain reactions．

B．It is better to be safe than to be sorry．

C．Sometimes when the least of us is threatened，we all might be at risk．

D．To keep the balance of nature is the duty of us all．

A mouse looked through a hole in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!
　　Running to the farmyard, the mouse shouted, warning, “There is a mouse trap in the house; there is a mouse trap in the house.” The chicken with her head high, said, “Shut up, Little Ugly. This is a great concern to you, but it has nothing to do with me; I cannot be bothered by it.”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse,” said the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; you are always  in my prayers.”
　　The mouse turned to the cow, who said, “A mouse trap; am I in great danger, huh?”
So the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone.
　　That very night a sound was heard through the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
She returned home with a fever. It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever, so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. 　　The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow killed to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So next time someone is facing a problem, don’t say that has nothing to do with you.
【小题1】We could see from the passage that the mouse was______.

A．good at cheating others	B．dishonest
C．kind and warm-hearted	D．foolish

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The others helped the farmer kill the cow.

B．The mouse trap was very practical.

C．The pig is more friendly than the other animals .

D．The farmer’s family had no friends at all

【小题3】What can we learn from the story?

A．Traps can always cause chain reactions

B．Sometimes when the least of us are threatened, we all might be at risk.

C．It is better to be safe than to be sorry.

D．To keep the balance of nature is the duty of us all.

A mouse looked through a crack(缝隙) in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!

Running to the farmyard, the mouse shouted, warning everyone, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house.”

The chicken, with her head high, glared at the mouse and said, “Shut up. Little Ugly. This is a great concern to you, but it has nothing to do with me; I can’t be troubled by it.

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so sorry, Mr. Mouse,” said the pig sympathetically, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; you are always in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow, who relied, “ A mouse trap, am I in great danger, huh?”

Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone.

The very night a sound was heard through the house, like that of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever, so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat.

So next time when someone is facing a problem, don’t say that it has nothing to do with you. Remember: when the least of us is threatened, we all might be at risk.

1.We could see from the passage that the mouse was _____.

A．good at cheating others	B．honest
C．kind and warm-hearted	D．foolish

2.Which of the following is False according to the passage?

A．The others help the farmer kill the cow.

B．The mouse trap was very practical

C．The pig is more friendly than the other animals.

D．The farmer’s family was very poor and they had no friends

3.What can we learn from the story?

A．Better safe than sorry

B．Traps can always cause chain reactions

C．To keep the balance of nature is the duty of us all

D．What you think impossible to happen to you might come at you unexpectedly

 

To the Editor,

    I have been reading your newspaper, the Hometown Gazette, for the past two years, ever since I moved to Smithville. We moved here from New York City, so I am accustomed(习惯的) to reading excellent newspapers such as The New York Times . In fact, we still have the Times delivered on Sundays. The entire family enjoys reading the recipes（食谱） in the magazine, as well as the Styles section.

The Times is great, but the Gazette is another story. I’ve never read an article that doesn’t contain at least three or four spelling or grammatical errors. For instance, in last week’s issue you misspelled the word “secretary”, used a singular verb with a plural noun, and used “it’s” as a possessive (所有格). And that was just in the lead story! In case you never went to elementary school, “it’s” means “it is ”.It’s also a possessive adjective!

It’s a pity that this tiny little hick(乡下) town has only one newspaper, because I’d like to have an alternative(替换物) to the rag you publish. I find it hard to believe your news stories. If you can’t spell correctly. How can you get your facts right?

I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest for some time. Please cancel my subscription(订阅). And buy yourself a dictionary.

 

                                                    Sincerely,

                                                    Jane Z, Jones

Which phrase from the passage shows the writer’s prejudice(偏见)?

   A. get this off my chest

   B. three or four spelling or grammatical errors

   C. tiny little hick town

   D. reading the recipes in the magazine

The author’s tone in this passage can best be described as                 

   A. happy        B. angry       C. sympathetic(同情的)         D. objective

Which statement of the following is not true according to the passage?

   A. The writer once lived in New York City, so he was used to reading the Times.

   B. The entire family enjoys reading the Styles section in the mafazine.

   C. The writer has long been planning to express his dissatisfaction with the local newspaper

   D. It is obvious that the editors of the newspaper are not very careful about their work.