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

When I was a teenager, my dad did everything he could to advise me against becoming a brewer（酿酒人）. He’d　 36　 his life brewing beer for local breweries only to make a living, 37  were his father and grandfather before him. He didn’t want me　 38　 near a vat （酿酒用的桶）of beer.
　　So I did as he asked. I got good　 39　 , went to Harvard and in 1971 was accepted into a graduate program there that　 40　 me to study law and business at the same time.
　　In my second year of grade school, I began to realize that I’d　 41　 done anything but go to school. So, at 24 I decided to drop out.　 42　 , my parents didn’t think this was a great idea. But I felt strongly that you can’t 43 till you’re 65 to do what you want in life.
　　I packed my stuff into a bus and headed to Colorado to become an instructor at Outward Bound. Three years later, I was ready to go back to　 44　 . I finished Harvard and got a highly paid job at the Boston Consulting Group. Still, after working there five years, I　 45　 . Is this what I want to be doing when I’m 50? At that time, Americans paid　 46　 money of beer in low quality. Why not make good beer for　 47　 ? I thought.
　　I decided to give up my job to become　 48　. When I told Dad, he was　 49　 , but in the end he　 50　 me. I called my beer Samuel Adams,　 51　 the brewer and patriot who helped to start the Boston Tea party.　 52　 I sold the beer direct to beer drinkers to get 53　out. Six weeks later, at the Great American Beer Festival, Samuel Adams Boston Lager won the top prize for American beer. In the end I was destined to be a brewer. My 54　to the young is simple: Life is very　 55　 , so don’t rush to make decisions. Life doesn’t let you plan.

  Until the present century, ________ demand for natural gas.

　 A. little 　 B. and little C. there was little 　 D. was there little