A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

　　“Forty.”

　　“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

　　“Two months and five days.”

　　“Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

　　“Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”

　　Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

　　“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

　　“You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

　　“But I made a note of it.”

　　“Well... if you say so.”

　　“Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

　　Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

　　“Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

　　“Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

　　I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

　　“Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.

　　I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

　　“For the money. ”

　　“But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”

　　“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

　　“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）—to be such a fool?”

　　Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

　　I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

　　A. a protest　　　　　　　　　　　B. gratitude

　　C. obedience　　　　　　　　　　 D. an explanation

What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

　　A. nervousness in front of her boss

　　B. acceptance of injustice

　　C. shyness when talking about money

　　D. reluctance to express herself

The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

　　A. to be more aggressive

　　B. to be more careful in her work

　　C. to protect her right

　　D. to live independently

At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

　　A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

　　B. his worry about Julia’s future

　　C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

　　D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.

　　A. greedy but honest

　　B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted

　　C. strict but forgiving

　　D. none of the above

Yesterday, after telling my brother, Rhys, and me to stop playing like wild animals, Mom went to take a bath. We were having a pillow fight when 　36 one hit a vase. Mom 　37 the loud crash. Wasting no time, she came 　38 into the room. I was sure that she was going to shout at us, but instead she just knelt by the 39 and began to cry.

　 This made Rhys and me feel pretty 　40 . We went over and put our arms around her, and she explained to us why she was so upset. In the pieces 　41 a broken glass rose, one petal (花瓣)gone, which was given by Dad on their first wedding anniversary. Dad had said that if he ever forgot to bring flowers home 　42 an anniversary in the future, Mom was to look at that one. It was like their love—it would last a 　43 .

　 We began crying, and 　44 to glue it. But Mom said that wouldn’t really fix it. 　45 it had been broken, the 　46 of the “limited edition” had reduced. As Mom 　47 began to pick up the mess, we tried everything we could think of to　 48 her up, but even our best funny faces didn’t 　49 . Tears kept coming down her cheeks. Everything was picked up. Seeing Mom going back to the bath, I 　50 her and put both hands on her shoulders, saying, “All things can be 　51 ，Mom. The only thing that cannot be broken is our 　52 . It’s the only thing that can never be broken. ”

　 Mom hugged me very tightly and 　53 smiled. After dinner that night, Mom glued the petal back onto the rose. Then she softly said, “My rose is truly unique. Its tiny damage reminds me of 　54 more important：the realization that love 　55　 forever. ”

36. A. gradually　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. suddenly

C. surprisingly　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

37. A. caused　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. witnessed

C. heard　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. ignored

38. A. dressing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. shouting

C. flying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. crying

39. A. pieces　　　　　　　　 B. vase　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. pillow　　　　　　　 D. ground

40. A. disappointed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. angry

C. awful　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sensitive

41. A. grew　　　　　　　　 B. lay　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. stood　　　　　　　 D. existed

42. A. for　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. in　　　　　　　　　　 C. from　　　　　　　　 D. by

43. A. decade　　　　　　　 B. year　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. season　　　　　　　　　　 D. lifetime

44. A. offered　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. supported

C. pretended　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. agreed

45. A. Just as　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In case

C. Now that　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Even though

46. A. price　　　　　　　　　 B. wealth　　　　　　　 C. value　　　　　　　　 D. treasure

47. A. skillfully　　　　　　 B. hopefully　　　　　 C. kindly　　　　　　　 D. slowly

48. A. cheer　　　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　　　　 C. light　　　　　　　　 D. get

49. A. smile　　　　　　　　 B. work　　　　　　　　 C. show　　　　　　　 D. say

50. A. prevented　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. stopped

C. kept　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. followed

51. A. destroyed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. mended

C. improved　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. broken

52. A. friendship　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. honesty

C. love　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. happiness

53. A. finally　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. quickly

C. confidently　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

54. A. anything　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. something

C. nothing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. everything

55. A. changes　　　　　　　　　　 B. appears　　　　　　　　　 C. lasts　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. keeps

Never before had I imagined I should have the opportunity to live with so many girls．Would  they 　36　such a single “Hi” from me? I was about to greet my new roommates，　37　they did  not seem to have the same 　38　attention that I had．They just dealt with their own 　39　， sorting out their clothes，and making arrangements for their university life．Thus tranquility（宁静）
became the 　40　atmosphere in the dormitory．
To my surprise，　41　such a situation，I did not feel a sense of 　42　．With time going on，we got to know each other deeper．I was　43　to find that in deep soul we all had great dreams and belonged to the same　44　．
However，not long before the 　45 　was disturbed by my own upset of mind for study pressure．What I was　46　about seemed to have 　47　to do with them and what they were doing and talking about seemed so far away from me．However，one incident changed my 　48　and made me treasure this kind of 　49　better and more confident in our friendship．
One day，when I was leaving the teachers’ office，it was in complete silence and frightening 　50　．At my dormitory gate，I was startled （使惊奇）to find there still 　51 　a little light glimmering in the darkness，so faint but yet so clear．Just under the 　52　of the light，I went to the room without any difficulty．They were in sound sleep，leaving the 　53　light on in the calm world．Tears rolled down my cheeks．
I know 　54　that we all like tranquility，both in environment and in our mind．It is the care that 　55　all the misunderstandings and unpleasantness．

　　A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

　　“Forty.”

　　“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

　　“Two months and five days.”

　　“Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

　　“Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”

　　Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

　　“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

　　“You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

　　“But I made a note of it.”

　　“Well... if you say so.”

　　“Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

　　Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

　　“Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

　　“Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

　　I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

　　“Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.

　　I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

　　“For the money. ”

　　“But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”

　　“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

　　“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）—to be such a fool?”

　　Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

　　I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

　　While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

　　A. a protest　　　　　　　　　　　B. gratitude

　　C. obedience　　　　　　　　　　 D. an explanation

　　What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

　　A. nervousness in front of her boss

　　B. acceptance of injustice

　　C. shyness when talking about money

　　D. reluctance to express herself

　　The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

　　A. to be more aggressive

　　B. to be more careful in her work

　　C. to protect her right

　　D. to live independently

　　At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

　　A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

　　B. his worry about Julia’s future

　　C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

　　D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited