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 mended, as there are a whole 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 plan and I 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 mend 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’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver (five pounds)?" He was a very nice man and was greatly amused (感到有趣) 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 underlined word "approach" in the second paragraph means _____.
A. plan for dealing with things
B. decision to sell things
C. idea of repairing things
D. way of doing things
3.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
4.How much did the writer pay?
A. ￡5. B. ￡7. C. ￡20. D. ￡27.
5.From the text, we can learn that the writer was _____.
A. honest B. careful C. smart D. funny
Traffic safety is everybody's business. Records show 1. every year a lot of people die in traffic accidents. Some of the accidents are due 2. mechanical problems. However, most of them are the results of careless 3. reckless driving, and could be avoided. A lot of people disregard traffic signals and rules. They drive regardless of speed limits, run through 4. lights, drive in the wrong direction, talk and laugh while 5. , and turn as they wish without giving signals. They 6. slow down while approaching(接近) crossroads. So many people violate traffic regulations that we cannot put too much emphasis on 7. importance of traffic safety. Only when everybody thinks traffic safety is everybody's business can we be safe driving on roads and walking 8. sidewalks（人行道）
Nowadays we can see more and more electric bikes in the street. Electric bikes are easy . They run fast and make pollution. So they become very in many big cities in China.
But the electric bikes also more traffic accidents. So China plans to make a new rule_ the electric bike riders. If an electric bike is than 40 kilos and can go faster than 20 kilometers an hour, its rider must get a It means riders have to pass driving tests they ride their electric bikes on the road.
People have different ideas about the plan. welcome the plan because they think it will make the street much safer. But some are not the new rules at all. One rider said, “I don’t want to get a license or like that. That’s too much trouble.”
What’s your idea? Have you ridden an electric bike yet? Share your opinion or your own experience us!
1.A. ride B. to be ridden C. riding D. to ride
2.A.much B. many C. few D. little
3.A. popular B. difficult C. strong D. interesting
4.A. plan. B. cause C. provide D. decide
5.A. from B. to C. for D. with
6.A. bigger B. heavier C. longer D. better
7.A. license B. photo C. ID card D. magazine
8.A. during B. after C. before D. though
9.A. None B. Some C. Each D. Every
10.A. terrified of B. worried about C. sorry about D. happy with
11.A. something B. nothing C. anything D. everything
12.A. to B. with C. by D. on
Great changes ___________in my hometown in the past 30 years.
A. took place B. have taken place
C. would take place D. take place
The students went into the classroom,________.
A. talking and laughing B. talk and laugh
C. talked and laughed D. to talk and laugh
As Mary ______ a poem, her little sister ______ asleep.
A. was reading, has fallen B. was reading, was falling
C. was reading, fell D. read, was falling
