Because of his wife ________ there, I said nothing about it.

[　　]

Because of his wife ________ there, I said nothing about it.

[　　]

It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.
A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a waiter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.
By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.
I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.
I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.
Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, “Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”
“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”
“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.
“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.
【小题1】The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.

A．in the morning

B．at noon

C．in the afternoon

D．in the evening

【小题2】 The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.

A．his appearance

B．his family

C．the way he talked and behaved

D．his wife

【小题3】 The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.

A．to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine

B．to collect some stories and poems from a writer

C．to look for good writers for his magazine

D．to visit his old friend Azalea Adair

【小题4】 Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.

A．was worn by a military officer	B．was a new gray coat
C．was an old yellow raincoat	D．had only one button left

【小题5】 From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.

A．wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there

B．knew the place and was concerned about the narrator

C．would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there

D．must have lived in the neighbourhood before

It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.

A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a waiter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.

By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.

I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.

I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.

Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, “Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”

“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”

“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”

861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.

“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.

1.The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.

A. in the morning   B. at noon    C. in the afternoon    D. in the evening

2. The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.

A. his appearance   B. his family    C. the way he talked and behaved  D. his wife

3. The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.

A. to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine

B. to collect some stories and poems from a writer

C. to look for good writers for his magazine

D. to visit his old friend Azalea Adair

4. Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.

A. was worn by a military officer      B. was a new gray coat

C. was an old yellow raincoat         D. had only one button left

5. From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.

A. wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there

B. knew the place and was concerned about the narrator 

C. would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there

D. must have lived in the neighbourhood before

 

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was shocked to discover it was a mousetrap.

Returning to the farmyard, the mouse warned in a loud voice, “There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a major concern to you, but it is of little significance to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s mousetrap in the house!” The pig showed sympathy, but said, “I am so sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there’s nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s none of my business.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient （配料）

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

And so, the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

1．Which statement best fits the theme of this passage?

      A．Our lives are woven together for a reason.

       B．Don’t poke your nose into others’ affairs.

       C．Stay away from danger, and you’ll be safe.

       D．When a mouse runs across the street, everyone cries, “Kill it!”

2．Which of the animals first suffered death?

       A．Chicken              B．Pig                      C．Cow                   D．Mouse

3．Which is similar in meaning to the underlined word “slaughtered”?

       A．cooked                B．served                 C．beaten                 D．killed

4．According to the last paragraph, what situation does the writer hope to see most?

      A．Humans must stay in harmony with animals.

       B．Animals, including the mouse, should be well protected.

       C．Seeing others in trouble, we should lend a hand.

       D．We mustn’t associate with those who behave like the mouse.