Joanne was delayed by a customer when she _________the office.

       A. left                          B. had left                      C. was leaving            D. leaves

 

It was Saturday night in London. I was waiting to catch the bus home with my friend Laura. I was dressed as the cartoon character the Pink Panther, complete with pink cat ears attached to a hairband, a pink tail made of a long piece of pink cloth, and whiskers drawn on my face. Laura was dressed as a cat. It was, of course , Halloween, and we had been at a Halloween party.

The night of October 31 is a perfect excuse to dress up in silly costumes and have a scary party. Traditionally it was “All Souls’ Day”, when the ghosts of the dead rose from their graves.

In the UK, however, it also means the end of British Summer Time. All the clocks are put back one hour on the last Saturday of October. You wake up on Sunday morning thinking that it is 8 am, and then remember with relief that you actually have another hour in bed.

The trouble is, the buses had not changed their timetables. The night bus drivers were still operating according to their original hours. However, the day bus drivers had already put their watches back, and were looking forward to that extra hour in bed. So Laura and I waited and waited and waited. People who went past stared, laughed, or made funny comments – “Someone locks the cat out of the house tonight?” or “Who lets the cat out of the bag?”

Finally the bus came – three hours later. By that time we had made friends with local shop owners as they opened for morning business, as well as with a friendly tramp (流浪汉) sitting in the street with his dog.

Halloween may be a party night – just don’t forget the practicalities (实际情况) when you’re in the UK. It could get really scary.　

58. What can we learn from the passage?

A.People usually dress themselves up on Halloween.

B.Halloween is on the night of Oct. 30.

C.In the UK, Halloween is celebrated in exactly the same way as other countries.

D.On Halloween, the night bus and the day bus both operated according to the original timetable.

59. Why did the author and her friend have to wait for three hours for the bus that night?

A.Because the bus was delayed.

B.Because it was Halloween that night.

C.Because the clocks were put back.

D.Because they were late for the night bus.

60. How did the passers-by react to the author and Laura’s costumes?

A.They were scared. B.They smiled at them.

C.They were surprised.　　　　　　　　　 D.They thought they were funny.

61. What did the author and Laura do while waiting for the bus?

A.They helped the local people.

B.They made friends with local shop owners and a tramp.

C.They helped a tramp.

D.They took care of a homeless dog.

　　　　　　　　　

Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5：30 and at 6：30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door , she nearly tripped over (被绊倒)Sheba.
“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医).
When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting, can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure.” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately, ”said the doctor's voice. “I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”
At that moment, a police car screeched (发出尖锐的声音)to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.
“She’s fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now. ”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white—faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
“My God, ” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar.” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers.”
【小题1】What was Joanne supposed to do at 6：30？

A．To walk her dog.

B．To see her doctor.

C．To attend a club meeting.

D．To play tennis with her friends.

【小题2】Joanne wanted to get back to her home again __________ .            .

A．to dress up for the meeting

B．to phone the police station

C．to catch the badly hurt burglar

D．to wait for her dog to be cured

【小题3】From the passage, we can infer that________ .

A．Sheba fought against the burglar

B．the police found the burglar had broken in

C．Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting

D．the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog

【小题4】In this passage, the writer intends to tell us that the dog is _________  .

A．clever

B．friendly

C．frightening

D．devoted

【小题5】The underlined word “a burglar” in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A．a cleaner

B．a physician

C．a thief

D．a murderer

 

I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.

We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile—warm and reassuring—and I returned her gift by smiling back.

“Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.

“Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. “It’s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one’.” Jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”

“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said. “My husband used to bring me flowers every week—even when times were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and –of course—I miss him since he’s passed away.”

I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said, “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a special lady.” I handed her the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.

It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just bought. “Have a wonderful evening,” I said. I left her with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.

I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her—that was the night that I won her heart.

61. Why was the writer in a hurry that day?

A. He was to meet his girlfriend.            B. He had to go back to school soon.

C. He was delayed by an elderly lady.        D. He had to pick up some groceries.

62. What does the underlined phrase “her gift” (Paragraph 2) refer to?

A. Her words.           B. Her smile.        C. Her flowers.       D. Her politeness.

63. Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?

A. She told him a nice story.             B. She allowed him to pay first.

C. She gave him encouragement.         D. She liked flowers very much.

64. Which of the following is Not True?

   A. Strangers in Boston seldom have small conversations.

   B. The girlfriend was very angry because the writer was late.

   C. The old lady’s husband has passed away.

   D. The writer and his girlfriend got married at last.

65. What is the message conveyed in the story?

A. Flowers are important for a date.               

B. Small talk is helpful.

C. Love and kindness are rewarding (有回报的).      

D. Elderly people deserve respecting.

 

On the day Apple debuted the often-delayed white-colored iPhone 4, the company’s marketing department gave a nod to the product’s troubled history.

“Finally.” read the big headline Thursday above a picture of the white phone on the homepage of Apple. com.

The white model was supposed to ship alongside the black one at the iPhone 4’s launch（推出） last June. But design and manufacturing complications delayed the process by 10 months, catching Apple off guard, executives say.

As CNN reported last month, earlier test models of the white iPhone 4 produced unclear photos, especially when the flash（闪光灯） was used. Its whiteness confused the proximity sensor （距离传感器） , which detects when the phone is held next to someone’s head and turns off the touch screen to save battery life.

These problems weren’t present in older iPhones that came in white because they didn’t have flash photography; the proximity sensor was unaffected because the front side of previous models was black.

“We thought we were there a year ago, or less than that, when we launched the iPhone 4, and we weren’t,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s chief marketing executive, said in an interview. “It’s not as simple as making something white. There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it —how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors. “

Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White predicts that the white model could help drive sales of Apple’s phones. He says Apple could sell 1 million to 1. 5 million every three months until the next iPhone model is unveiled, which is expected to be this fall.

Forty-five people were lined up at Apple’s flagship New York store Thursday morning to buy white iPhones, according to a CNN Money report.

1.

The reason why white-colored iPhone 4 was delayed by 10 months is that _______.

A．it’s always sold out due to its popularity

B．it met some problems concerning design and manufacture

C．it lacked white manufacturing materials

D．its proximity sensor can’t save battery life

2.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There are multi-colored models of iPhone 4.

B．The same design problems were also found in older white iPhones.

C．IPhone4 will be launched this fall.

D．Originally designers thought they could solve the problems before iPhone 4 was launched.

3.

What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Why the White iPhone 4 Took So Long

B．The History of iPhone 4

C．The Attraction of White iPhone 4

D．The Design and Manufacture of iPhone 4

4.

What does the underlined word “unveil” in the last paragraph mean?

A．to remove one’s mask from his face

B．to remove a cloth from something, especially as part of a ceremony

C．to show to the public for the first time

D．to disappear from the public for the first time