Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it repaired, as there are a lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception(接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth--so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to my plan and l was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked.
“Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you repair this chair for me?’” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’II repair this for you. Shall we say for five pounds?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_______.
A. was rather impolite B. was warmly received
C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair
2.The expression "the penny dropped" in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper_______.
A. changed his mind B. accepted the offer
C. saw the writer’s purpose D. decided to help the writer
3.How much did the writer pay?
A. ￡5. B. ￡7. C. ￡20. D. ￡27.
One of Britain’s bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected(可疑的) police killer David Bieber -- and was thanked with flowers by the police. It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to ￡30,000 reward money.
Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt. Vicki, who has worked at
the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber’s bedroom and to
watch him secretly. Then she waited alone for three hours while armed police prepared to storm the building.
She said: "I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen linedup in the
car park I was so glad they were there.”
The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious(怀疑) of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the
day before New Year’s Eve with little luggage and wearing sunglasses and a hat pulleddown over his face. She said:
“He didn’t seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact(接触).” Vicki, the only employee on duty,
called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stan McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.
Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gateshead, at about 11:30 pm to make
sure that this was the wanted man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15minutes.
“It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said ‘Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?’. My heart missed a beat.”
Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor roomand handed
over the key.
“I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to watch. I couldnot see into
the man’s room, but I could see the passage. The police kept shouting at the man tocome out with his hands
showing. Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed(带上手铐).”
1.Vicki became suspicious of David Bieber because __________.
A. the police called her
B. he looked very strange
C. he came to the hotel with little luggage
D. he came to the hotel the day before New Year’s Eve
2.David Bieber was most probably handcuffed in ________.
A. the passage B. the man’s room C. Vicki’s bedroom D. the top floor room
3.The whole event probably lasted about _______ hours from the moment Bieber came to the hotelto the
arrival of some armed officers.
A. 6 B. 8 C. 11 D. 14
1.If you are free on Tuesday and you are interested in paintings, where can you go to enjoy yourself?
A. Concerts. B. Exhibitions. C. Theaters. D. Movies.
2.What movie is on at Bijou Theatre in the evening?
A. Quarantine! Starring Tony Stark.
B. Kerry Gaynor in the Devil’s Playground
C. Midnight Double Featured
D. Melinda Lee’s Siam Sunset
3.Which is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Clubs are open only in the morning.
B. Concerts are open only at night.
C. You can see the movie Tony Stark in Bijou Theater at 7:30 to 9:45 in the morning.
D. Valley view Sculptors’ Society Group Exhibition is on from Tuesday to Sunday.
I had always cared about sick children and tried to help them. But when my little grandson received third degree burns, I learned first-hand how ______ a loving adult feels when his/her child is suffering and he/she can’t take the pain away. This experience _______ me to feel sorry for parents with sick children.
One mom told me that she _______ like running into the street and screaming, “My child is sick. Would somebody please help us?” It breaks my ________ that these parents are so anxiously(忧虑地) searching for someone to care and help them ______ the hard times of watching their helpless child suffer. So I decided to do something to help them.
Two years ago, I almost lost my eyesight. Luckily, I regained(恢复) some eyesight, but I was no longer able to work. ________ I had a lot of time. At first, I thought that my life was ________ because I couldn’t do any of the things I used to do. I believed that my life had no purpose and I was no _______ to anybody anymore. I began to be interested in surfing the Internet for information.
One day I received several emails asking for help for sick children. I decided to post their stories and pictures on a webpage. What began as a _______ has grown into a fulltime job I enjoy doing every day. Since my website was built, I’ve received tens of emails from worried parents asking me to put their child’s story online. And over 325 volunteers have ______ me to send children “happy mail” without being paid.
1.A. bored B. puzzled C. helpless D. hopeful
2.A. made B. advised C. guided D. led
3.A. seemed B. felt C. looked D. sounded
4.A. heart B. head C. legs D. face
5.A. over B. with C. across D. through
6.A. But B. Though C. So D. Since
7.A. meaningless B. meaningful C. interesting D. boring
8.A. point B. sense C. good D. hope
9.A. picture B. wish C. hobby D. website
10.A. paid B. joined C. invited D. advised
--I’d like to meet you again and discuss the plan this Friday. --All right. _____________.
A. It counts B. It will do C. It depends D. It doesn’t matter
--What language is that guy speaking? I can hardly catch a single word!
--___________. He’s from India, so I guess it is Hindi.
A. Neither I can B. Neither can I C. So I can D. So can I
