Question

    At the office that day, Martha was left to keep her eyes open until after the lunch hour. Then Mr Max Cohen brought her a document to copy. She was so anxious she had to start afresh three times. And when he came to fetch it, all that had been achieved were the words “Memorandum of an Agreement of Sale” typed across the top of the sheet. She shrank under his impatient assurance that it did not matter in the least, and she must take her time. Her fingers were heavy and trembling, and her head was thick. To type two pages of his small neat writing into something clean and pleasant to look at seemed to her, just then, an impossibly difficult task. He went home without coming to her desk again, and she decided she would come early next morning and do it before anyone else arrived.

Mrs Buss, on her way out, asked, “Have you got any certificates?” Martha said no. She had learned to type at home. Mrs Buss said nothing, but merely nodded absent-mindedly, for her eyes were on the elegant Mrs Jasper Cohen. Martha could barely see where she was going as she left the office. What she said to herself was, “I won’t spend the rest of my life typing this stupid jargon”.

She then went into the building of the ZambesiNews. She was going to see if Mr Spur, an old journalist whom she had known as a child, could offer her any kind of position. She was in the building about half an hour, and when she came out, her face was hot with embarrassment. It had been so painful she could not bear to remember what had happened. What she must remember was that she had no qualifications at all.

1.Why did Martha find her first day at the office difficult?

A.She was too nervous to think. B.Mr Cohen was not easy to please.

C.The task given to her was very difficult. D.She was not used to working under pressure.

2.By the end of the day, which of the following was true of Martha?

A.She had decided to work overtime. B.She hadn't finished her typing work.

C.She hadn't thought she would be blamed. D.She knew Mr Cohen was disappointed in her.

3.What might be Mrs Buss's attitude towards Martha?

A.She seemed eager to help her.

B.She seemed uninterested in her.

C.She seemed to have taken a dislike to her.

D.She seemed concerned about her lack of qualifications.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.B

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章主要记叙了Martha在办公室一天的工作经历。她很紧张，老是做不好事情，当天也没能完成Max Cohen给她的工作，Buss夫人也对她提不起兴趣，她感到很羞愧和痛苦。

1.

推理判断题。根据第一段中Then Mr Max Cohen brought her a document to copy. She was so anxious she had to start afresh three times. And when he came to fetch it, all that had been achieved were the words “Memorandum of an Agreement of Sale” typed across the top of the sheet. She shrank under his impatient assurance that it did not matter in the least, and she must take her time. Her fingers were heavy and trembling, and her head was thick. To type two pages of his small neat writing into something clean and pleasant to look at seemed to her, just then, an impossibly difficult task.可知然后Max Cohen先生给她拿了一份文件让她复印。她非常着急，不得不重新开始了三次。而当他来取时，只见那张纸的上方打着“销售协议备忘录”的字样。她在他的不耐烦之下畏缩了一下，确信这根本无关紧要，她必须慢慢来。她的手指沉重而颤抖，头也昏昏沉沉的。要把他两页工整的小字打成干净悦目的东西，对她来说，就在那时，似乎是一件不可能完成的艰巨任务。由此可推知，Martha觉得她在办公室第一天上班很困难，因为她紧张得无法思考。故选A。

2.

细节理解题。根据第一段中He went home without coming to her desk again, and she decided she would come early next morning and do it before anyone else arrived.可知他回到家，没有再到她的办公桌前。她决定明天一大早就来，在其他人来之前，把工作做完。由此可知，在一天结束的时候，Martha还没有完成她的打字工作。B选项正确。故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据第二段中Mrs Buss said nothing, but merely nodded absent-mindedly, for her eyes were on the elegant Mrs Jasper Cohen.可知Buss太太什么也没说，只是心不在焉地点了点头，因为她的目光正落在优雅的Jasper Cohen太太身上。由此可推知，Buss夫人对Martha似乎不感兴趣。故选B。