A Clever Dog

　　It was Monday, Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.

　　Considering (考虑到……) that there was no better way, Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it: “Give my dog half a pound of meat. ”Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently: “Take this to the butcher (卖肉者) and he' s going to give you your lunch today. ”

　　Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's shop. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized (认出) that it was really the lady' s handwriting and presently did as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up immediately.

　　At midday (正午), the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.

The next day, the dog came again exactly at midday. And as usual , it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at the paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers (顾客) .

　　But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”

　　Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!

1．Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite ________ .

[　　]

2．It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper its master gave it ________ .

[　　]

3．The butcher did not give any meat to the dog ________ .

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A．when he found the words on the paper were not very clear

B．because he happened to have sold out all the meat in his shop

C．before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith

D．until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith

3．From its experience, the dog found that ________ .

[　　]

A．only the paper with Mrs. Smith's words on it could bring it meat

B．the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it

C．a piece of paper could bring him half a pound of meat

D．Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher

5．At the end of the story, you'll find that ________ .

[　　]

A．the butcher found himself cheated by the smart animal

B．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper

C．the dog dared not go to the butcher's any more

D．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog

The most frightening words in the English language are, "Our computer is down." You hear it more and more when you are in business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, "I'm sorry,, I can't sell you a ticket. Our computer is down."

"If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket."

"I can't write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so."

　 I looked down the counter（柜台） and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and looking at the black screen. Then I asked her, "What do you do?"

　 "We give the computer the information about your trip and then it tells us whether you can fly

with us or not."

　 "So when it goes down, you go down with it."

　 "That's right, sir."

　 "How long will the computer be down?" I wanted to know.

　 "I have no idea. Sometimes it's down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There is no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it's down it won't answer us."

　 After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said, "Let's forget the computer. What about your planes'? They're still flying, aren't they?"

　 "I couldn't tell without asking the computer."

　 "Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he's flying to Washington," I suggested.

"I wouldn't know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn't take you if you didn't have a ticket."

"Is there any other flight to Washington within the next few hours?"

"I wouldn't know," she said, pointing at the dark screen. "Only 'IT' knows. "IT' can't tell me."

By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. The word spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people left without a word, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage（行李）.

26. What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

　　 A. She could answer questions.　　　 B. She could do nothing.

　　 C. She could sell a ticket.　　　　　　 D. She could write out a ticket.

27. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　　 A. The girl didn't want to sell the writer a ticket

　　 B. The computer would be OK in just 10 minutes.

　　 C. If the writer didn't have a ticket, the pilot wouldn't take him

　 D. The writer could go to the gate and ask the pilot to take him to Washington.

28. The last paragraph suggests that _______.

　　 A. sometimes a computer may make people suffer

　　 B. computers can take the place of humans

　　 C. nothing can be done without a computer.

　　 D. no one can keep calm when computers break down

29. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. When in trouble, ask the computer to help you

B. The computer system of the airport

C. Getting help from others when the computer is down

D. An unpleasant experience for a passenger at an airport

　　Joan worked in a hospital as a nurse. One evening there was a big dance party at the hospital. Most of the doctors and nurses would be there, but of course somebody had to be left to look after the sick children, and Joan was not one of the lucky ones. She liked dancing very much, so when she had to start work that evening while her friends were getting ready to go to the dance, she felt very sorry for herself.

　　She went to each sick child one after another and said good-night, until she came to one little boy, Dicky. He was eleven years old, but he was already able to talk like an adult. Poor Dicky had a very serious illness, and now he was hardly able to move any part of his baby except his hands. Joan knew he would never get any better, but he was always happy and always thinking about other people instead of about himself.

　　Dicky knew that Joan loved dancing, so now when she came to say good-night to him, he greeted her with the words, “I'm very sorry that you have to miss the dance because of us. But we are going to have a party for you. If you look in my drawer(抽屉), you'll find a piece of cake. I saved it from my supper today, so it's quite fresh. And there is also a dollar there. You can buy something to drink with that. And I'd get up and dance with you myself if I am able to.” he added. Suddenly the hospital dance seemed very far away and not at all important to Joan.

1．Joan felt unlucky that evening mainly because ________.

[　　]

A．there was a dance ball at the hospital

B．of her unlpleasant job

C．she was obligated(被迫) to look after the sick children

D．she would lose the chance to go to the big dance at the hospital

2．Poor Dicky ________.

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A．was no more than a boy of eleven

B．was seriously ill

C．was clever at talking though he was very young

D．all the above

3．Dick was lovely because ________.

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A．he was a nice, kind boy of eleven

B．he was always thinking about others more than himself

C．he saved a piece of cake for the nurse

D．he could foresee(预知) that he would never get any better

4．Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

[　　]

A．Dicky knew why Joan was unhappy.

B．Dicky heard about the dance.

C．Dicky showed sympathy(同情) for Joan.

D．Dicky rose up to greet Joan when she came.

5．At that party arranged(安排) for Joan, Dicky probably ________.

[　　]

A．got up and danced with her

B．gave Joan some cakes he had saved

C．brought her something to drink

D．lost the dollar which he was going to give Joan