A student was going to spend his holiday in a cool mountain village. That evening he stayed at an inn (小旅馆) near the railway station (火车站). Before going to bed, he went to the boss of the inn and said, "Excuse me, sir. Will you please wake me up at a quarter to five tomorrow morning? I'll take the five o'clock train."

"Oh, sorry, sir," the boss said in a hurry, "I'm afraid I can't. I won't be able to get up so early."

The student was disappointed (失望). When he began to return to his room, be stopped and asked, "Have you got an alarm-clock (闹钟)? Maybe it can help me."

"Wait a minute, then." The boss said and brought out an alarm-clock. "Here you are, sir."

"Thank you very much." The student said happily. But he found it was rusty (锈的) when he had a look at it. And it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. He asked, "Will it ring in time?"

"I don't know, either." said the boss, "But it doesn't matter. You just give it a good shake at a quarter to five. And it will ring on time."

1.   The student stayed at the inn because ____.

A. it was in the cool mountain village he was going to     

B. the boss of the inn was kind to him                 

C. the boss could wake him up at the right time

D. it was near the railway station 

2. The student asked the boss to wake him up the next morning because ____.

A. the boss had the habit (习惯) of getting up early   

B. the boss had promised (答应) to help him in every possible way (千方百计地)

C. he was afraid he would not wake up in time to catch the train

D. it would take him a long time to walk to the railway station

3.  The train the student was going to take would start at ____ the next morning.

A. five o'clock             B. a quarter to five   

C. half past four               D. a quarter to six

4.  The student was disappointed because ____.

A. he had to buy an alarm-clock

B. the boss refused to wake him up             

C. he would take another train                 

D. he had to go to the village on foot

5.   From the story we know the ____.

A. clock would wake the student up in time     

B. student certainly missed his train the next morning

C. alarm-clock was no use for the student          

D. student had the alarm-clock repaired (修理)

 

When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music”, it doesn’t mean that he is going to hear a singer. It is something far less happy, as you are called in by your leader to explain why you did this and did that or why you did not do this or that.

   At some time or another, every one of us has to “face the music”, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry words “I want to talk to you.” And only because we did not listen to him. What a bad thing it was!

   In the middle or at the end of every term, we students have to “face the music”. The result of the exam will decide whether we will face the music or not. If you got a “D” in the exam, that means parents’ cold faces and the contempt(轻视) of the classmates.

   “To face the music” is well-known to every American, young or old. It is at least 100 years old. It really means that you have to do something, no matter how terrible the whole thing might be, because you have no choice.

1.“To face the music” means “to         ”.

A. do something that we don’t like to

B. go to the theatre

C. go to the music show

D. do something we want to

2.After the exam, we’ll have to “face the music”. That’s why          .

A. we like to take the exam

B. we are afraid of taking the exam

C. the exam is very important

D. we are afraid of passing the exam

3.Which of the following is wrong?

A. “To face the music” is well-known in the US.

B. “To face the music” has a history of more than 100 years.

C. The young Americans know the meaning of “to face the music”.

D. Only the old in the US know the meaning of “to face the music”

 

Many people have to work on the weekend. Some people do not mind. Others think it is terrible.

　　One man thinks that working on the weekend can be dangerous. He is Graham Coates. Mr Coates works in an office in Brighton, England.

　　On Saturday, May 24, 1986, he went to the office to do some work. When he got on the lift(电梯), it stopped between floors. Mr Coates could not get out of the lift. He started to shout, but no one heard him. Then Mr. Coats remembered that it was a holiday in England. No one was going to come to work until Tuesday.

　　There was nothing for him to do. He had to wait until one of his workmates came to work and found him. With nothing to eat or drink, Mr Coats ended up sleeping for most of the day.

　　Now Mr. Coates says, "I only use lifts if they have telephones in them."

1.Mr. Coates thinks working on the weekend is_____.

A．interesting         B．terrible           C．happy            D．unhappy

2.Mr. Coates stayed in the lift for_____.

A．about twenty hours                      B．nearly two days

C．one week                             D．more than sixty hours

3.When Mr. Coates got out of the lift he_____.

A．was cold, weak, hungry and tired

B．wouldn't work there any more

C．said "I only use lifts if they have telephones in them."

D．went home at once

4.Why could Mr. Coates not get out of the lift? Because _____.

A．it was broken                          B．it was the weekend

C．it was in an office                        D．it was a holiday

5.In the lift, there was_________.

A．water            B．beer             C．telephone         D．nothing

 

 

Once there was a parrot on sale in a pet store. It was a beautiful red and blue bird. It sat on a perch in the middle of the store, so that everyone could see it when they came in. The owner was very proud of it and asked a high price for it.

     One day a man went into the store. "That's a beautiful bird,"he said to the pet store owner, "But why is it so expensive? Is it unsual bird?"

     "No, it's not very unusual. It's expensive because it can talk," the pet store owner said.

     "I see. How can I make it talk?" the man asked.

     The pet store owner asked him, "Do you see those string tied to each of the bird's legs?"

     "Yes," the man answered.

     "Well, you pull those strings," the pet store owner told him."That will make the parrot talk."

     The man asked,"Do you mind if I try?"

     "Not at all," the pet store owner said.

     The man walked up to the parrot and pulled the string on its left leg. The parrot said, "Good morning."

     The man pulled the string on the parrot's right leg. This time the parrot said, "How are you today?"

      "That's not very interesting, " said the man. "Any parrot could do that." Then he laughed, "But what wold happen if I pulled both strings at the same time?"

     "I'll fall off my perch, you fool!" the parrot said.

1.The parrot was expensive because________.

A.it was pretty beautiful

B.it could talk with the people

C.it was a very unusual bird

D.it was in the middle of the store

2.The parrot would talk when _________.

A.people came into the pet store

B.it was the pet store owner

C.people said it was beautiful

D.people pulled the strings on its legs

3.Which is the first sentences that the parrot said to the man?

A.Good morning.

B.How are you?

C.That's wasn't interesting.

D.I'll fall off my perch, you fool.

4.From the story we know the parrot was_______.

A.kind     B.silly    C.clever    D.crazy

5.The best title for the passage should be _________.

A.Unusual Parrot     B.Parrot Talk      C.Silly man    D.Clever Owner

 

Many people have to work on the weekend. Some people do not mind. Others think it is terrible.

　　One man thinks that working on the weekend can be dangerous. He is Graham Coates. Mr Coates works in an office in Brighton, England.

　　On Saturday, May 24, 1986, he went to the office to do some work. When he got on the lift(电梯), it stopped between floors. Mr Coates could not get out of the lift. He started to shout, but no one heard him. Then Mr. Coats remembered that it was a holiday in England. No one was going to come to work until Tuesday.

　　There was nothing for him to do. He had to wait until one of his workmates came to work and found him. With nothing to eat or drink, Mr Coats ended up sleeping for most of the day.

　　Now Mr. Coates says, "I only use lifts if they have telephones in them."

1.Mr. Coates thinks working on the weekend is_____.

A．interesting         B．terrible           C．happy            D．unhappy

2.Mr. Coates stayed in the lift for_____.

A．about twenty hours                      B．nearly two days

C．one week                             D．more than sixty hours

3. When Mr. Coates got out of the lift he_____.

A．was cold, weak, hungry and tired

B．wouldn't work there any more

C．said "I only use lifts if they have telephones in them."

D．went home at once

4.Why could Mr. Coates not get out of the lift? Because _____.

A．it was broken                          B．it was the weekend

C．it was in an office                        D．it was a holiday

5. In the lift, there was_________.

A．water            B．beer             C．telephone         D．nothing