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. 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, and I should try another way.
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(五英镑钞票)?” 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 underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means _________.
A.plan for dealing with things B.way of doing things
C.idea of repairing things D.decision to sell things
3.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _______.
A. saw the writer’s purpose B.accepted the offer
C. changed his mind 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. funny D.clever
We live in a dangerous world. The figures for crime go up year by year. If you were attacked in the street, would you be able to defend yourself? Not very well probably, especially if someone was pointing a gun at you. We all see a lot of violence of films, but recently some programs on television showed how people can defend themselves without guns. For example, in one film a woman was attacked from behind. She threw the man, who was heavier and stronger than she was, over her head. Then she held him tightly on the ground. How? She knew Judo.
Jiu-jitsu, as judo is sometimes called, means "muscle science" in Japanese. The student of judo needs to learn a lot about the body, its bones and muscles. Judo uses a number of "falls", "holds" and "throws". Someone who does not know judo cannot defend himself against them. If you know judo you can defend yourself against a person who is stronger than you. You had better not practice judo on your friends unless they can fall without hurting themselves! Being strong is one thing, but using the body wisely is another. In judo, you use the other person's body to help you. You "throw" him to the ground and "hold" him there, so that he cannot move. Of course, it takes time and practice, but knowing judo is useful. In a violent world you ought to be able to defend yourself.
1.According to passage, in fact "judo" is ______.
A.the same as "Jiu-jitsu" B.a kind of fighting
C. a kind of muscle science D.is helpful to a strong man
2.Why does the writer say the world is dangerous?
A. The number of violence and crime is increasing every year.
B.Because many people carry guns.
C.Because there too many films.
D.Because people are not able to defend themselves.
3.Which of the following statement is true about the woman in the passage?
A.The woman held the man over her head.
B.The woman was heavier than the man.
C.The woman was able to defend herself.
D.The woman attacked the man from behind.
4.If a man knows judo, he ______.
A.will be good at muscle science.
B.will be able to avoid being attacked from his back.
C.may defeat any strong person.
D.can help himself by using the other person's body
5.What's the best title for this short passage?
A.How to defend oneself B.Violence in films
C.How to practise judo D.Something about judo
A father is very worried about his son, 1._____acts like a coward. So his father paid a visit to the master and 2._____(ask) him to train his son.
The master said, “I promise I’ll be able to train your child into a real man in three months.”
Three months later, his father came 3.______(pick) the child. The master arranged a match 4._______the child and his coach to show the three-month training result.
At Round One, the child 5._________ (knock) down and fell to the ground. He stood up to meet the challenge. But he was knocked down again, and once again he stood up to fight... this was repeated six times.
The master asked his father, “Do you think your child’s performance is6. ____of a man?” The father said, “I feel ashamed for 7. ____! I never expected that he would be so weak after three8.______ (month) training.” The master said, “I don’t agree with you, and I regret that you only see 9. ___ surface of things. You have not seen the courage and perseverance 10.__ your son. This is the very spirit of a man!”
Failing doesn’t make a failure. True failures are those who don’t learn from their 1 .
Smart persons not only learn from their own mistakes—they pay 2 to the mistakes of others, equate error with opportunity, and learn valuable 3 as well, as this story illustrates (说明).
A lion, a fox, and a wild pig went 4 for rabbits together. By the end of the day, they had a large pile of rabbits to 5 .
The lion said to the wild pig, “Pig, you divide the rabbits up among the three of us in a 6 that you think is fair.” The pig divided the rabbits up into three 7 piles, and said to the lion, “There we are. One 8 for each of us. How’s that?” The lion 9 sprang at the wild pig and 10 him.
Then, the lion threw all the rabbits into one big pile again.
He 11 to the fox. “Well now, Mr. Fox, why don’t you 12 the rabbits between the two of us in a way that you think is fair?”
The fox walked over to the pile of rabbits, took the 13 one for himself, and left the rest in a big pile. “This rabbit is for me, Mr. Lion, and that big pile is for you.” said the fox.
At that point, the lion laughed, “Where did you learn to divide so 14 , Mr. Fox?” And Mr. Fox replied, “The wild pig 15 me.”
1. A.teachers B.mistakes C.failures D.experiences
2. A.respect B.tribute C.court D.attention
3. A.experience B.skills C.lessons D.service
4. A.hunting B.searching C.hiking D.fishing
5. A.share B.eat C.attack D.enjoy
6. A.case B.situation C.mood D.way
7. A.same B.equal C.big D.different
8. A.rabbit B. animal C.pile D.group
9. A.gradually B.curiously C.immediately D.seriously
10. A.killed B.punished C.praised D.sold
11. A.came B.ran C.returned D.turned
12. A.part B.divide C.raise D.separate
13.A largest B. narrowest C. smallest D. worst
14. A.unfairly B.fairly C.hurriedly D.badly
15. A.informed B.told C.reminded D.taught
All the workers are working hard to create _____ we hope will be the best means of transport in the 21st century.
A.what B.where C.which D.that
How I wish I _____ history when I was in university.
A.study B.studied C.would study D.had studied