The capsal shook as we _____ by our dreams.

　 A. lied relaxing　　 B. lay relaxing　　 C. lied relaxed　 D. lay relaxed

 

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel（纪录片） as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
“Jack, did you hear me?”
“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.
Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.
“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.
“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.
“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important… Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.
Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before they had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture… Jack stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.
“The box is gone,” he said.
“What box?” Mom asked.
“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
“Now, I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.
Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.
“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.
Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.
“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.
Inside he found these words carved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”
“Oh, My God! This is the thing he valued most…”
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.
“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.
【小题1】Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

A．College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Bleser.

B．Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

C．Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

D．His present busy life washed away his childhood memories.

【小题2】Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that ______.

A．Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

B．Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

C．Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

D．Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

【小题3】Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

A．He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

B．He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

C．He had missed his son and his family for days.

D．He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

【小题4】Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A．The Good Old Times	B．What He Valued Most
C．My lost friend	D．The Lost Childhood Days

Dear Florence,

We arrived in India last week, and the voyage was the worst experience of my entire life. I’m lucky to be alive!

The first part of the journey was terrible, because the ship hit bad weather almost as soon as we left Liverpool. But much, much worse was to come. Later, we were involved in a collision with another boat and we had to abandon ship!

We had been at sea for about two weeks and we were in the Mediterranean. There is now a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea called the Suez Canal, which opened last year. Our boat stopped at Port Said, the Egyptian port at the entrance to the canal. I remember looking through the porthole of my cabin and wishing that I could go ashore and visit this fascinating place, but mummy had ordered that I was to stay in the cabin because I was feeling ill. “you must stay here for at least another two days.” I remember her saying. How wrong she would turn out to be! The ship left the port and headed towards the canal . I was alone in the cabin and I watched the port disappear into the distance. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the most awful crunching（嘎吱的）sound, and the ship shook and turned slightly on its side.

There was an eerie silence for a moment, then people started shouting. Mummy came running into the cabin and told me that we had collided with another boat. She took my hand and we ran along the deck towards the lifeboats. There was a lot of shouting and people were running everywhere, but the crew were all acting calmly, helping people into the lifeboats and telling people not to panic.

Well, clearly we survived, as did all the passengers and crew of the ship. The other boat wasn’t so lucky. It sank and several lives were lost.

I will write about the rest of the journey soon. Please give my love to Aunt Claire and Uncle Eric.

Your loving cousin,

Jane

56．When was the letter written?

A．Before the author went to India. B．In the mid – 19th century.

C．When the author arrived in Egypt.    D．Just after the author arrived in India.

57．Why was the journey to India such a bad experience for the author?

A．She was sick when it started and nearly died in Egypt.

B．Her ship left England in bad weather and crashed into another ship near the Suez Canal.

C．She was seasick when her ship sank.

D．She was alone when her ship hit another boat and she got sick.

58．The author’s mother didn’t allow her to go ashore and visit the port city, Said because       .

A．she was homesick at that time   

B．she didn’t feel very well then

C．she could meet some danger ashore   

D．she could see the city through the porthole on board

59．The underlined phrase “eerie silence” in the sixth paragraph means          .

A．pleasant calm silence    B．long peaceful silence

C．sudden long silence  D．strange uncomfortable silence

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.

A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."

The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.

Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." “I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and, my mother got it from her’s. But I really need the money.

The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found. The jeweler immediately realized the whole thing.

1.Actually, the man wanted to buy another pearl for _____.

A．himself           B．his wife           C．no one           D．his mother

2.He paid $5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because______.

A．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him

B．he was very rich.

C．his business had been successful

D．he was anxious to get it

3.He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be______.

A．exactly the same quality as the black one

B．exactly the same size as the black one.

C．exactly the same as the black one

D．exactly worth $25,000

4.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.

A．he happened to be out

B．he died suddenly

C．he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time

D．he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money

 

I would like to tell you a story about my uncle Theo. He is my oldest uncle, a tall, thin, grey-haired man whose thoughts are always on learning and nothing else. He is quiet, gentle and absent-minded and with about as much sense as a child where money is concerned. Well, he applied a post in Camford University. It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it, and about fifteen, including Theo, were asked to be interviewed.

    Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and it was so full that they had to put many of the candidates two in a room. Theo was one of these, and the man who shared the room with him was a self-confident fellow called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel. But he was a clever fellow all the same and had a good post in Iscaiot College, Narkover. Well, the Dean, who was the head of the department of the University, and the committee interviewed all the candidates; and as a result of this interview, the number of the candidates was reduced to two, Uncle Theo and Adams. The committee couldn’t decide which of the two to take, so they decided to make their final choice after each of the candidates had given a public lecture in the college lecture-hall. The subject they had to speak on was “The Civilization of the Ancient Summerians”; and the lecture had to be given in three days’ time.

    Well, for these three days Uncle Theo never left his room. He worked day and night at that lecture, writing it out and memorizing it, almost without eating or sleeping. Adams didn’t seem to do any preparation at all. You could hear his voice and his laughter where he had a crowd of people around him. He came to his room late at night, asked Uncle Theo how he was getting on with his lecture, and then told him how he had spent the evening playing bridge, or at the music hall. He ate like a horse and slept like a log; and Uncle Theo sat up working at his lecture.

    The day of the lecture arrived. They all went into the lecture hall and Theo and Adams took their seats on the platform. And then, Theo discovered, to his horror,  that typewritten copy of his speech had disappeared! The Dean said they would call on the candidates on the alphabetical order, Adams first; and the despair in his heart, Theo watched Adams calmly take the stolen speech out of pocket and read it to the professors who were gathered to hear it. And how well he read it! Even Uncle Theo had to admit he couldn’t have read it nearly so eloquently himself, and when Adams finished there was a great burst of applause. Adams bowed and smiled, and sat down.

    Now, it was Theo’s turn. But what could he do? He had put everything he knew into the lecture. His mind was too much upset to put the same thoughts in another way. With a burning face he could only repeat, word for word, in a low, dull voice, the lecture that Adams had spoken so eloquently. There was hardly any applause when he sat down.

    The Dean and the committee went out to decide who the successful candidate was, but everyone was sure what their decision would be. Adams leaned across to Theo and patted him on the back and said, smilingly, “Hard luck, old fellow, but after all, only one of us could win”

    Then the Dean and the committee came back, “Gentlemen”, the Dean said, “the candidate we have chosen is Mr. Hobdell.” Uncle Theo had won! The audience were completely taken by surprise, and the Dean continued, “ I think I ought to tell you how we arrived at the decision. We were all filled with admiration at the learning and eloquence of Mr. Adams. I was greatly impressed. But, you will remember, Mr. Adams read his lecture to us. When Mr. Hobdell’s turn came, he repeated that speech, word by word from memory, though, of course, he couldn’t have seen a line of it before. Now a fine memory is absolutely necessary for this post; and what a memory Mr. Hobdell must have! This is why we decided that Mr. Hobdell was exactly the man we wanted! ”

    As they walked out of the room, the Dean came up to Uncle Theo, who was so confused but so happy that he hardly knew whether he was standing on his head or heels; and as he shook Theo’s hand he said, “Congratulations, Mr. Hobdell! But, my fellow, when you are on our staff, you must be more careful and not leave valuable papers lying about!”

 

1.. Which of the followings best describes Uncle Theo?

A. Good-mannered    B. Modest     C. Childish      D. Bookish

2. What do we know about the post at Camford University?

   A. The applicants had to sit for an examination.

   B. There was much competition for the post.

   C. The post requires a lot of teaching experience.

   D. The post offered quite high salary.

3.. Adams did not bother to do any preparation because______.

   A. he was quite familiar with the subject.

   B. he knew the committee members well.

   C. he had a well-thought-out plan.

   D. he had full confidence in himself.

4. When Uncle Theo’s turn came, _______.

   A. he felt so angry that he couldn’t see a word.

   B. he felt so upset that he could not remember anything.

   C. he had to put the same thoughts in another way.

   D. he had to repeat the speech, word by word from memory.

5. When the committee went out to make a decision, Adams _______.

   A. could not help feeling worried.

   B. could hardly wait to show his joy.

   C. felt sorry for Theo and tried to cheer him up.

   D. felt ashamed and tried to chat with Theo.

6.Theo became successful because _______.

   A. he had a better memory than Adams.

   B. he was more experienced than Adams.

   C. the committee knew he was exactly the man they wanted.

   D. the committee knew Adams had copied Theo’s speech.