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.

Travel to China is a lifetime experience and a better way to understand China. Only when you are there, you may start to appreciate and understand what a difference to live in a nation with a population of 1.3 billion.?
China offers variety choices for visitors. If you are interested in Chinese history, Chinese culture and Chinese scenery, your trip will be very fulfilled and very interesting. If you want to enjoy a peaceful sunshine beach holiday, there are plenty of tourist areas along the coastal line, which have unspoiled beaches and luxury hotels for visitors. In Hainan Island, the beautiful Sanya beaches are opened the whole year around and there is no winter in this island. If you want excitements and nightlife, stay in big cities. There are many places every night for international gathering. If you are adventurers, go to remote areas to watch wild life or visit minorities(少数民族) to see how they live in the hillsides or desert. If you are sporty, take a cycle trip along the countryside, enjoy the rural(田园的) life and meet with Chinese people long the route.?
You may have heard or read a lot about China from books, newspapers, magazines and TV programs. Some of them are true but most of them are out of date, incorrect or even false. China is different from many of your previous experiences and may shock you in many ways. This is what China is!
This country is changing and progressing every day. Yet it is still a developing country. After the economic reform, most of the developments concentrate in major cities and remote areas(边远地区) are still very backward. China is a very populated nation and people have to cope with the crowded environment. Foreign visitors may not get used to the mentality of the people and sometimes become frustrated with the situation, which they never experienced before. Basically Chinese are reserve, peaceful and nice. They are very polite too but in their own way. When a foreigner is willing to take a more positive attitude to recognize the difference, the trip will become worthwhile or you may ruin your trip completely by unreasonable expectation and misjudgment of the people in general.

1. 1.

   According to the passage, if you go to China, you can enjoy all but _______.

   1. A.
      mountain climbing
   2. B.
      sunshine beach
   3. C.
      rural life
   4. D.
      watching wild life
2. 2.

   After economic reform, most remote areas in China now _______.

   1. A.
      also develop fast
   2. B.
      are very rich?
   3. C.
      still need developing
   4. D.
      are very forward
3. 3.

   This passage might be from _______.

   1. A.
      advertising
   2. B.
      newspaper
   3. C.
      novel
   4. D.
      news?report
4. 4.

   Sometimes,foreigners in China may become frustrated(气恼，沮丧).Which of the following statement is NOT true?

   1. A.
      They are not used to the crowded environment.?
   2. B.
      Sometimes, Chinese are not polite enough in foreigners' eyes.?
   3. C.
      They don't think there are good sceneries in China.?
   4. D.
      Chinese are reserve.

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister.On this occasion,the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend.I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children.Later,I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out.I called home with this happy news.But instead of hearing his cheerful,grateful voice on the other end of the line,all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was,I should point out,after 10 p.m.,when the two younger children should have been in bed.and when the two older children should have been answering the phone.“I’ll give him a lesson.”I said.I decided they must be outside.Why they might be outside at 10∶30 on a winter night I had no idea,but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally,in desperation,I called his girlfriend’s house.After what seemed like countless rings,his girlfriend answered.“Yes,”she said brightly,“He’s right here.”
He came on the phone.I was not my usual calm,rational(理智的)self.After all,one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modem teenagers.“Where are the children?”I said.He said they were with him.They had done nothing wrong.My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake.This was too good to be believed.Well,it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it.It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents home,celebrating my birthday.My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts.Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children,dressed in their best clothes,and wearing their most wonderful expressions.They are pictures to treasure a lifetime,all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
【小题1】The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children
because       .

A．Modem teenagers are not worth trusting.

B．It is no easy job to look after young children.

C．It’s no good to have a girlfriend at an early age.

D．Her children have a caring and tender heart.

It was not a good day today. Everything went wrong. First, I slept late and Mom shouted at me to wake up. When I went to the kitchen for breakfast, there was no cereal. I decided to have some toast instead, but I burned it. I had to eat it anyway because there was no more bread. There was no juice, either. I just had a glass of water.
When I was almost at the bus stop, I realized that I had forgotten my wallet, so I had to go back home and get it. Of course, I missed the bus and had to wait for the next bus.
I was late for school and the teacher told me to stay in the classroom at lunchtime to catch up on（弥补）the schoolwork I had missed.
After lunch, it was the time to give the teacher our homework. I reached into my bag to get it but it wasn’t there. I had left it at home. I was in trouble again.
When I got home, I went straight to my room to catch up on my homework. Mom cooked fish for dinner. She knows I don’t like fish, but she thinks it is good for her son. It was a horrible day. I hope tomorrow will be better.
【小题1】What happened to the writer on this bad day?