A beautiful and very successful actress was the star for a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn’t want to go back there every night, so she bought an expensive house in the center of the city, got some beautiful furniture and got a man to paint the rooms in new colour.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show in the evening, because everyone wanted to see it. So she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of month, when she got the painter’s bill. At the bottom of it were these words: “Four hours from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. watching Miss Hall sing and dance: 3 pounds,” with this note: “Before 5:00 p.m. I get 10 shillings (先令)an hour and after 5:00 p.m. 15 shillings.”

1. 1.

   The actress bought a house in the center of the city because        .

   1. A.
      she liked to live in the busiest place
   2. B.
      she didn’t like to live in the country
   3. C.
      she wanted to work harder than before
   4. D.
      she didn’t want to live in old house
2. 2.

   In order to make the painter work better for her, the actress        .

   1. A.
      gave him two tickets for her show
   2. B.
      sang and danced for four hours
   3. C.
      decided to give him 3 pounds
   4. D.
      invited him for a big dinner
3. 3.

   The actress got the painter’s bill        .

   1. A.
      to ask for the money of his painting work
   2. B.
      to ask her to pay for his watching her show
   3. C.
      in which he showed his thanks for the tickets
   4. D.
      in which he expressed his dissatisfaction
4. 4.

   It can be learned from the text that one pound is         shillings.

   1. A.
      10
   2. B.
      12
   3. C.
      15
   4. D.
      20
5. 5.

   What kind of man was the painter?

   1. A.
      He was a careful man.
   2. B.
      He was a poor man.
   3. C.
      He was not friendly to others.
   4. D.
      He knew little about music and dance.

A lot of boys and girls in western（西方的）countries are wearing the same kind of clothes, and many of them have long hair, so it is often difficult to tell whether（是否）they are boys or girls.
One day, an old man went for a walk in a park in Washington, and when he was tired, he sat down in a chair. A young person was standing on the other side of the pool.
“Oh!” the old man said to the person sitting be side him on the chair. “Do you see that person with the glasses and long hair? Is it a boy or a girl?” “A girl.” said the neighbor（隔壁的人）. “She is my daughter.” “Oh!” the old man said quickly. “Please forgive me, I did not know that you were her mother.” “I’m not.” Said the other person, “I’m her father.”
【小題1】What did the old man see on the other side of the pool?

A woman was collecting money for a church charity. The money she collected was going to be given to poor children who had no parents to take care of them. She went from apartment to apartment and from house to house. She knocked on doors and asked for money. She always said the same thing. “Good morning, I’m collecting for a church charity. Please give generously. We need $5,000.” Then she held out a collecting box. Most people put a few coins in the box. An artist lived in one of the apartments. He opened the door. “Good morning.” she said. “I’m collecting for a church charity. Please give generously. We need $5,000.” The artist thought for a moment, then he said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money. However, I’ll give you a painting. It’s worth $ 400.” The woman thanked the artist and took the painting away. A week later she called on him again. “I’m sorry to trouble you again,” she said, “but we still need more money. I need another $ 100. Can you help?” “Of course,” the artist said. “I’ll increase the value of my painting to $ 500.”
【小題1】Who was the woman collecting money for?

A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill. He was very worried. He telephoned the vet (獸醫(yī)).
“What’s the problem?” The vet asked him when he arrived.
“My cow is ill.” the farmer said. “I don’t know what’s the matter with her. She’s lying down and won’t eat. She’s making a strange noise.”
The vet looked over the cow. “She’s certainly ill, ” he said, “and she needs to take some very strong medicine.”
He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, “The pills should make her better.”
“How should I give them to her?” the farmer asked.
The vet gave him a tube (管子) and said,“Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow. That’ll make it.”
The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked more worried.
“How’s your cow?” the vet asked.
“No change,” the farmer said. “and I’m feeling very strange myself.”
“Oh?” the vet said. “Why?”
“I did what you said,” the farmer answered. “I put the tube in the cow’s mouth and then put two pills down it.”
“And?” the vet asked.
“The cow blew first.” the farmer said.
【小題1】The farmer asked the vet for help when his cow ________.