40. The students were afraid of the professor because _______　.

A. they often angered and disappointed him

B. their answers often astonished him

C. their answers seldom satisfied him

D. he often misunderstood them and gave them bad marks

39. This passage is mainly about ______________ .

A. different kinds of stamps in different countries

B. an organization that makes rules

C. international mail

D. the size and weight of letters

B

There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee(委员会), the students would be in fear , because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave . A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again . Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.

The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.

Then the professor asked about the cure(药剂,疗法)for the illness , and the student , too , answered just as right . “Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?”

“A full spoon,” answered the student.

“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get,” said the professor. At the same time the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given .Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr. Professor, I’ve made a mistake! A full spoon is too much for the patient. He can take only five drops. ”

“I’m sorry, sir,” said the professor coldly, “but it’s too late. Your patient has died. ”

38. The underlined word “postage” in this passage means __________ .

A. money paid when you buy a stamp

B. money spent on an envelope

C. the charge for carrying a letter by post

D. the pay a postman receives for his work

37. The Universal Postal Union was formed ___________________ .

A. to help move mail quickly around the world

B. to give many men a chance to work

C. to help men meet in Switzerland

D. to look for the lost letters along the way

36. From the story we can infer that ＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．

A. mail is important to all countries

B. not enough letters are sent all over the world

C. all the letters must go to Switzerland first

D. all stamps look exactly the same

34. A. garden　　　　 B. house　　　　　 C. camp　　　　　 D. office

33. A. cry　　　　　　 B. shot　　　　　 C. bell　　　　　　 D. shout

32. A. wife　　　　　 B. tent　　　　　　 C. trip　　　　　 D. hunting

31. A. happy　　　　　 B. sorry　　　　　 C. tired　　　　　 D. all right