Question

Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.

“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.

“And you’ll be sorry that you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll surely be the best lawyer in our town!”

After graduation, George never became a lawyer and Richard was anybody but a millionaire …. Instead, it happened that both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street, while it was hard to make much money from books then, which made the competition between them worse. Eventually, Richard closed down his, dreaming of making a fortune elsewhere. 

Now, with only one bookshop in the town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival (竞争对手)。Perhaps he missed him? zxxk

George was very interested in old dictionaries, and he had recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was quite delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished — the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading: “Bookends Company has bought ten bookstores from its competitors. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in this country.”

1.George and Richard were        at school.

A．roommates

B．good friends

C．competitors

D．booksellers

2.How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?

A．He envied Richard’s good fortune very much.

B．He thought about Richard from time to time.

C．He felt unlucky with no more rival in the town.

D．He was unhappy of Richard’s disappearance.

3.George got information about Richard from       .

A．a dictionary collector in Australia

B．one of Richard’s competitors

C．some rare edition of a dictionary

D．the wrapping paper of a book

4.What happened to George and Richard in the end?

A．Both George and Richard became millionaires by selling books.

B．Both of them realized their original ambitions, which were the same.

C．George established a successful business while Richard was missing.

D．Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.D

【解析】

1.细节理解题。由第一段“Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.”可知从上学开始，乔治和理查德就是竞争对手。A、B、D三项没有根据，可排除。

2.细节理解题。由第五段“But sometimes he sat in his narrow , old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window , thinking about his former rival （竞争对手）, Perhaps he missed him?”可知理查德消失后乔治常常想起他来，故B项正确。A、D两项文中没有交代，属于主观臆测。C项也无从推断出乔治在没有了竞争对手后感到很幸运。

3.细节把握题。由第六段“But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in.”一句可知乔治是从包书的一张报纸上得知理查德的消息的，故答案为D。

4.细节理解题。由最后一段可知理查德成了澳大利亚最大的书商，身价数百万，而仍然固守自己的小书店的乔治，没有取得大成就，故答案为D。