I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone,“ Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”

At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.

I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?

She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room — if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”

Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room.

After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

1. Why did the author shout at the telephone?

2.What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

3.What made the author laugh?

4. What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that thankfulness is indeed a virtue.
—William Bennett
Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun __36__ to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered economically __37__, but still many would __38__ the holidays with turkeys and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the __39__ of most of her students’ art. And they were.
__40__, Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a special kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, __41__ and unhappy. As other children played at break, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess the pain Douglas felt __42__ those sad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When __43__ to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just a(n) __44__ hand.
His abstract image captured the __45__ of his classmates, whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers __46__ turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and __47__ people. And so the discussion went ---- until the teacher __48__ forgot the young artist himself.
When the children had gone on to other tasks, she __49__ at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and __50__, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She __51__ the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there, __52__ she had other student. How often had she said, “Take your hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.
Brushing __53__ a tear, she went on with her work.　　
The story speaks of __54__ thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks, but they’ll remember the hand that __55__.

“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.
One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.

Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. Bushes must be pruned(剪枝) in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.
Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing (施肥) have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long disappeared under the thick leaves.
Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回) my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June. But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.
Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.
【小题1】What are the requirements for the healthy growth of rose?