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

　　—Shall I open the window to let some fresh air in?.

　　　　—No, ______.

　　　　A. I'd rather not　　　　　　　　　　B. I'd rather you not

　　　　C. I'd rather you didn't　　　　　　　 D. I'd like not to

—Is the experiment easy?

　　　　— ________ . I’ll just do my bit.

　　A. I think so　　　　　　　　　　　B. Certainly

　　C. Not a little　　　　　　　　　　 D. Anything but

“We’ve been good friends for so many years. And I don’t think you meant to do that ...” I said to myself， looking at Jack， my friend who was running across the  　36　  field.

How I wish I could join them！ But it was impossible because of the pain in my left foot， caused by Jack.

I first met Jack in a football match in the elementary school. When my team looked as if we were 　37　 ， Jack， who was watching， volunteered to join us. He was so confident and skilled that we won. From then on， Jack and I often played together and became best friends.

But something happened before an important football match between Class Six and my class. My class had so many good players that we had to  　38　  the best ones. Jack and I were in  the same  team. The match was close in the first half. I saw my chance and was ready to score a goal. Suddenly， Jack  　39　  me. He slid to stop the ball， but collided  with my left foot. I knew I had lost the chance to score and was  　40　  the field. But what really hurt me was that Jack didn’t say sorry.  And when some of my teammates said he did it on purpose to  　41　  me from scoring， I felt even  　42　.

Now I stand here， with tears in my eyes. I don’t want to  　43　  those words but I don’t know how to persuade myself they are  　44　 . Then everything changes when Jack scores and wins！ How excited I am！

 While I am still  　45　  in excitement， someone pats my shoulder. It is Jack， with a smile on his face. “I’m sorry that you can not join in because of my  　46　  . But you see， Jason， we beat them！ No matter whether you joined in or not， you’ve made a contribution. Come on， let’s celebrate！” Suddenly， I am  　47　  by the players. The sunshine is so bright that I close my eyes. Riding high above my teammates， I feel so happy. And I know the  friendship  between Jack and me will last forever.

1.A. basketball        B. volleyball      C. badminton      D .football

2.A. lost                     B .winning         C. leading       D. beaten

3.A. replace         B. award            C. decide on         D. call in

4.A. ran into          B. ran to          C .ran across        D. ran away

5.A. sent away            B. carried off       C. stuck to        D. hold on

6.A. break              B. interrupt       C. make              D. keep

7.A. amused            B. comfortable     C. depressed         D. scared

8.A. believe         B. say               C. deny           D. hear

9.A. right               B. false                C. true                D. bad

10.A. lost                   B. fallen              C. caught         D. drawn

11.A. score             B. pride               C. reason          D. carelessness

12.A. raised up        B. pulled away    C. picked up        D. pushed off

 

My nephew's 10-year-old son came for a visit one hot，July weekend. I persuaded him to　 inside and joined him in a game. After　 for an hour, I suggested that we relax for a while. I fell into my favorite recliner（躺椅）to let my neck muscles relax. He'd slipped out of the room and I was catching a few enjoyable moments of peace and quiet.

    "Look，Alice，”he said　 as he ran over to the chair where I was sitting"I found a kite. Could we go outside and 　 it?"

    Glancing out a nearby window, I noticed it was　 outside.“I'm sorry, Tripper,.” I said, sad to see his 　 eyes. "The wind is not blowing today. The kite won't fly.”

    The　 10-year-old replied,“I think it's windy enough. I can get it to fly,”he answered as he ran out to the back door 　 Up and down in the yard he ran, pulling the kite 　 to a small length of string. He ran back and forth，as hard as his ten year-old legs would carry him, looking back　 at the kite behind. After about ten minutes of unsuccessful determination, he came back in.

    I asked, "How did it go?"

    "Fine，”he said, not wanting to admit 　 ．“I got it to fly some”

    As he walked past me to return the kite to the closet shelf, I heard him say under his breath, "I guess I'll have to wait for the　 ．”

    At that moment I heard another Voice speak to my 　 . "Alice, sometimes you are just like that. You want to do it your way instead of waiting for the Wind.，，

    And the voice was right. We usually want to use our own efforts to 　 what we want to do. We wait for the Wind only after we have done all we can and have exhausted（耗尽） our own　  ．We must learn how to rely on Him in the first place!

1.A. live     B. study   C. stay        D. lie

2.A. playing  B. resting  C. challenging  D. arguing

3.A. casually  B. enthusiastically  C. stubbornly  D. deliberately

4.A. decorate  B. drop  C. hang   D. fly

5.A. hot      B. still   C. noisy  D. fine

6.A. bright   B. disappointed  C. dull  D. satisfied

7.A. clever   B. talented  C. determined  D. fearless

8.A. hurriedly   B. curiously  C. suddenly  D. unwillingly

9.A. adapted   B. added  C. attached  D. devoted

10.A. angrily   B. nervously  C. doubtfully  D. hopefully

11.A. win   B. defeat  C. mistake  D. luck

12.A. wind   B. order  C. news  D. sunshine

13.A. heart   B. memory  C. dream  D. world

14.A. imagine   B. decide  C. apply  D. accomplish

15.A. courage   B. patience  C. strength  D. knowledge