A strange woman comes to my door one day in early March.It’s a rich area so we often have people selling things door to door，dusters，make?up，frozen foods—but she doesn’t look like a professional saleswoman.She hasn’t got the patter(喋喋不休) either.She just smiles shyly and puts a card in my hand：“Amy Turner.Pet Portraits Undertaken.”

I run my fingernail along the cheap gold edge of the card and look at her，waiting for an explanation.

“I’ll paint any animal in the comfort of your own home.”Amy Turner says.“Wouldn’t you like a nice picture of your loved one？I’ve had experience of dogs，cats，parrots，prize bulls...”

“Prize bulls！”I can’t help looking up and down our street.The thought of any of my neighbours keeping bulls in their back gardens makes me smile.

“I don’t have any animals，”I say as we look past each other.She must be wishing some little cat or dog would come running down the hall to give the game away and it is the first chance I’ve had to smell the air outside.It is one of those spring mornings when you wake up and find winter’s gone.Even the camellia in the garden opposite has flowered overnight，pink blossoms which look shocking against the quiet greens and greys.

“Why are you still in your dressing gown？”Amy says，turning her attention back to me.“It’s nearly lunchtime.Are you ill？”

“I’m fine，”I lie.I’m not going to tell a stranger I’ve just been sick in the toilet upstairs and would still be sticking my fingers down my throat if the doorbell hadn’t rung.But now I’m not sure what to do next.Amy is still standing there.She_doesn’t_seem_to_think_that_not_having_a_pet_is

_a_good_enough_excuse.

“I’m starving.”she says and I smile politely，nodding the way you do before you say goodbye.

“No，”she puts her foot in the door.“I’m really starving.I’ve had nothing to eat for two days and no one has any pets for me to paint.I need some food or I’ll faint，right here on your doorstep.”

I stand to one side and let her in.

1．According to the text，what does a professional saleswoman usually do?

A．Sells things door to door with her cards.

B．Never puts a card into people’s hands.

C．Tries to talk people into buying her things.

D．Smiles，hands her cards and walks away.

2．What does the underlined word “one” in the third paragraph stand for?

A．Dog. 　　　　B．Child.　　　　　 C．Pet. 　　　　　D．Cat.

3．From the text we know that Amy is a ________.

A．young baby?sitter 　 B．poor beggar　 C．professional salesgirl D．poor painter

4．What does the writer mean by saying “She doesn’t seem to think that not having a pet is a good enough excuse.”？

A．It seems that she doesn’t want to leave.

B．She wants the writer to give another excuse.

C．She is sure there is a pet in the house.

D．She thinks that not having a pet is a bad thing.

 

　　Do you know insurance? Buying insurance is a 1 by which people can protect themselves 2 large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large numbers of people pay 3 sums of money to an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only 4 will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes out of the sums of money it has 5 .

　　The first modern fire insurance company was 6 in London, England, in 1666. A great fire had just 7 most of the city, and people wanted protection against 8 losses. The first company 9 rapidly. Soon other companies were founded in other areas.

　　Bemjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752. He also 10 a new kind of insurance for 11 . The new insurance would offer protection against the loss of crops 12 storms.

　　In 1795, Benjamin Franklin helped start 13 new insurance company in America. This company, 14 offered life insurance, collected some money 15 from many different men. 16 a man died, his family was given a large sum of money. Today, this company is 17 in business.

　　Over the years, people have 18 from many new kinds of insurance when they have suffered from 19 accidents as car and plane crashes. 20 , almost everyone has some kind of insurance.

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I wonder what it feels like to be one of ____ really rich. The Brows already have Rolls Royce and now they are buying_____ third.

　A. the; the 　　B.不填; a 　　C. the; a 　　D.不填; the

On Wednesday afternoon Annie took the bus into town to shop in the market. For an hour or so she would walk up and down between the stalls looking at everything, buying here and there, and   1  a sharp lookout for the bargains that were something to be haD．And then, with all the   2  she needs bought she would leave the market for the   3  of the town to spend another hour   4  she liked best, looking in furniture-shop windows.

One Wednesday she found a  5  shop full of the most delightful things, with a   6  inviting anyone to walk in and look round without   7  they had to buy something. Annie hesitated a moment   8  stepping through the doorway where, almost at once, she stopped   9  before a green armchair. There was a card on the chair which  10  ,“This fine chair is yours for less than a pound a week,” and very small at the bottom, “Cash price eighty-nine pounds fifty.” A pound a week …Why, she could almost pay that out of her housekeeping money and never   11  it!

A voice at her shoulder made her   12  .“Can I help you, Madam?” She looked   13  at the assistant who had come softly to her  14 

“Oh, well, no,” she said, “I was just   15  .”

“We have chairs of all kinds in the   16  . If you'll just come up, you will find something to  17  you.”

Annie, worried at the thought of being   18  to buy something she didn't   19  , left the shop   20  .

1．  A．taking      B．making     C．fixing       D．keeping

2．  A．chairs　   B．furniture　      C．things       D．bargains

3．  A．shops　    B．streets           C．delightful things     D．bus station

4．  A．in the way　    B．by the way　　       C．in a way   D．in one way

5．  A．new　　  B．noisy C．large D．strange

6．  A．message　       B．notice       C．note  D．flag

7．  A．arguing　 B．declaring  C．frightening       D．feeling

8．  A．when　　 B．before      C．after  D．while

9．  A．doubted　　    B．surprised　      C．puzzled     D．delighted

10．A．wrote　　       B．told   C．informed  D．said

11．A．lose   B．miss  C．pass   D．make

12．A．jump　　 B．run    C．laugh D．surprise

13．A．round　　       B．straight     C．behind      D．up

14．A．place B．back  C．side   D．front

15．A．thinking　　   B．looking     C．walking    D．passing

16．A．doorway　      B．storehouse　    C．showroom　　 D．market

17．A．suit   B．fit     C．serve D．match

18．A．advised　　     B．made C．persuaded　　 D．cheated

19．A．like   B．afford       C．pay   D．need

20．A．slowly　　      B．thoughtfully　 C．hurriedly  D．carefully

The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
　　As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务）, self - improvement.
　　Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
　　Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
　　Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
【小题1】According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ____________ .

A．he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B．he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C．he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D．he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

【小题2】Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ____________ .

A．a moral duty

B．a thankless job

C．a rewarding task

D．a source of inevitable pain

【小题3】From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ____________ .

A．hatred

B．misunderstanding

C．prejudice

D．ignorance

【小题4】To understand what true happiness is one must ____________ .

A．have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

B．make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C．put up with pain under all circumstances

D．be able to distinguish happiness from fun

【小题5】What is the author trying to tell us?

A．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain．

B．One must know how to attain happiness.

C．It is important to make commitments.

D．It is pain that leads to happiness.