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.

阅读理解

　　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 readymade. 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 worth while.

　　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 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 Javis became a news-agent when ________.

[　　]

A．he needed the money

B．he decided to take things easy

C．he was quite an old man

D．he gave up clock-repairing

2．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

3．You might say “Hand 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

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

[　　]

A．he thought is 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

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

[　　]

A．Bill opened his shop and read the papers every morning.

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.

Perfect disaster

All around us buildings shook. We decided to leave the town. We stopped once we had left the buildings behind us. The carts were moving in opposite directions, though the ground was perfectly flat, and they wouldn't stay in place even with their wheels blocked by stones.

In addition, it seemed as though the sea was being sucked(吸) backwards, as if it were being pushed back by the shaking of the land. Certainly the shoreline moved outwards, and many sea animals were left on dry sand.

Behind us were frightening dark clouds that opened up to show fire－like lightening, but bigger. Not long after that the clouds reached down to the ground and covered the sea. Now came the dust, though still thin. I looked back. A dense cloud appeared behind us, following us like a flood pouring across the land. Then a darkness came that was not like a moonless or cloudy night, but more like being in a closed and unlighted room. You could hear women and children crying, men shouting. Some were calling for parents, others for children; they could only recognize them by their voices.

Darkness and ashes came again, a great weight of them. We stood up and shook the ash off again and again, otherwise we would have been covered with it and crushed by the weight.

At last the cloud became thinner and thinner until it was no more than smoke or fog. Soon there was real daylight. The sight that met our still terrified eyes was a changed world, buried in ash like snow.

                                           —from Pliny's letter to a friend

1. Pliny left the town after _____. 

A. the eruption                              B. the sky became dark

C. the buildings began shaking        D. the sea went back

2. The carts wouldn't stay still because _____.

A. the earth was shaking                            B. the sea sucked them backwards

C. the wheels had stones under them           D. the lightening frightened the horses

3. The reason why it was dark is that _____.

A. it was very late at night        B. clouds of ash covered the sun

C. there was a very bad storm     D. there was no moon that night

4. People tried to find their relations by calling out their names and      .

A. listening to their voices        B. running about looking for them

C. shaking the ash off people      D. watching people as they ran past