完形填空

　　Many years ago, when I was a man in my twenties, I worked as a salesman for a piano company.

　　We 1 our pianos all over the state by advertising in small town 2 .Every time we advertised, we would receive a reply on a postcard which said,“Please 3 me a new piano for my little granddaughter. It 4 be red mahogany（红木）. I can pay $10 a month with my egg money.”Of course, we could not sell a(n) 5 piano for $10 a month. 6 her cards kept on coming.

　　A couple of years later, I 7 my own piano company, and when I 8 in that area, the postcards started coming to me. For months, I ignored（不理睬） 9 --what else could I do?

　　But then, one day I 10 to be in the area. I had a red mahogany piano on my little truck. Despite knowing that I was about to 11 a terrible business decision, I managed to find the old woman and took the new piano in her house and placed it 12 I thought the roof would be least likely to rain on it. I told her and a little barefoot girl to try to 13 the chickens off it, and I left sure I had just 14 a new piano.

　　But the 15 came in, all 52 of them as agreed, sometimes with coins. It was unbelievable!

　　Then one day I was in Memphis on 16 business. As I was sitting at the bar having a drink, I heard the most beautiful piano music behind me. I looked 17 ,and there was a lovely young woman 18 a very nice ground piano.

　　She smiled at me, asked for requests, and when she took a 19 she sat down at my table.

　　“Aren't you the man who sold my grandma a piano a long time ago?”

　　I suddenly remembered. My Lord, it was her! It was the little barefoot girl!

　　I did have to go to my room because men don't like to be 20 crying public.

任务型阅读 （共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的横线上填入最恰当的单词。 

注意：每空只填一个单词。

Maybe you are an average student. You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessary so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here is how.　　

1). Plan your time carefully. When you plan your week, you should make a list of things that you can have to do. After making the list, you should make a schedule of your time. First time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying. Don’t forget to set aside enough time fro entertainment. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.　　

2). Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room. Free from everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject. 　　

3). Make good use of your time in class. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teachers say. Really listening in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what your teachers say.　　

4). Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes. Review the important points that your teachers mentioned in class. If you want to know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read the material in advance. This will help you understand the next class. If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.　　

5). Develop a good attitude about tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be overly worried.　

There are other methods that might help you with your studying. You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.　　

 

How to Become a Better Student?

General methods	How to	Advantages
plan you time carefully	●     make a list　　 ●     make a    1	force you to realize  2   is happening to your time
find a good place to study	free of everything but study     3	you can   4    on the subjects
make good use of your time in class	●listen to everything the teachers say　　 ●take    5	really listening in class means   6    work later.
study regularly	●     go over your notes　　 ●      7  _ new materials	Help you    8  it better, remember it longer
develop a good attitude about tests	don’t overly  9    about it	remember your new   10

 

 

A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

　　“Forty.”

　　“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

　　“Two months and five days.”

　　“Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

　　“Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”

　　Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

　　“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

　　“You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

　　“But I made a note of it.”

　　“Well... if you say so.”

　　“Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

　　Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

　　“Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

　　“Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

　　I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

　　“Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.

　　I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

　　“For the money. ”

　　“But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”

　　“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

　　“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）—to be such a fool?”

　　Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

　　I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

　　A. a protest　　　　　　　　　　　B. gratitude

　　C. obedience　　　　　　　　　　 D. an explanation

What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

　　A. nervousness in front of her boss

　　B. acceptance of injustice

　　C. shyness when talking about money

　　D. reluctance to express herself

The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

　　A. to be more aggressive

　　B. to be more careful in her work

　　C. to protect her right

　　D. to live independently

At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

　　A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

　　B. his worry about Julia’s future

　　C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

　　D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.

　　A. greedy but honest

　　B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted

　　C. strict but forgiving

　　D. none of the above

任务型阅读 （共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的横线上填入最恰当的单词。 

注意：每空只填一个单词。

Maybe you are an average student. You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessary so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here is how.　　

1). Plan your time carefully. When you plan your week, you should make a list of things that you can have to do. After making the list, you should make a schedule of your time. First time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying. Don’t forget to set aside enough time fro entertainment. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.　　

2). Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room. Free from everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject. 　　

3). Make good use of your time in class. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teachers say. Really listening in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what your teachers say.　　

4). Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes. Review the important points that your teachers mentioned in class. If you want to know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read the material in advance. This will help you understand the next class. If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.　　

5). Develop a good attitude about tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be overly worried.　

There are other methods that might help you with your studying. You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.　　

How to Become a Better Student?

General methods	How to	Advantages
plan you time carefully	●     make a list　　 ●     make a    1	force you to realize  2   is happening to your time
find a good place to study	free of everything but study     3	you can   4    on the subjects
make good use of your time in class	●listen to everything the teachers say　　 ●take    5	really listening in class means   6    work later.
study regularly	●     go over your notes　　 ●      7  _ new materials	Help you    8  it better, remember it longer
develop a good attitude about tests	don’t overly  9    about it	remember your new   10