When my father was getting ready for work, our house was ruled(支配)by knocks and words.

　　He used to come downstairs to breakfast.

　　The morning paper lay beside his plate. He always read the “Deaths” first, and then he knocked once on the table. One of my sisters brought his bread, already buttered(涂黄油) for him. Usually he said nothing, but once I heard him say, “I love you very much, Edith. I would love more if you buttered my bread on both sides. ” He read the paper all through breakfast.

　　Two knocks on the table meant “I am ready for my tea. ” If a single knock followed that meant, “More bread, please. ”

　　After breakfast he said, “Boots. ”The paper was spread(展开) for him over the back of an arm-chair. Yesterday's paper was put on the chair for his feet, and his boots were brought to him, freshly cleaned. He read standing at the same time putting on his boots. With one boot finished he said, “Bus. ” At that point one of the girls went outside to the garden gate and waited there. Her job was to stop bus when it came. It came early sometimes and it had to wait for my father. “Overcoat, hat. One of my sisters had already brushed his overcoat. Now she held it open for him. Another girl came with his hat, nicely brushed. “Handkerchief(手帕), pipe(烟斗). ”They were brought and put, with his tobacco(烟草), into his pocket. He looked out of the window and said either “Walking stick” or “Umbrella”. It was handed to him. Ready now, he was still reading the paper. He didn't put it down until he heard the shout “Bus coming! ” Then he kissed my mother and went out. The girls breathed(呼吸)freely.

　　How lucky a man is to have a wife and five daughters at home!

　　1.When the father made the first knock, he meant ______. [ ]

　　A.he had begun to read the morning newspaper

　　B.he was made to feel sad by the “Deaths” news

　　C.he would start to read the other parts of the paper

　　D.his breakfast should begin

　　2.What does “Edith” mean? [ ]

　　A.A kind of bread.

　　B.One of the writer's sisters.

　　C.The writer.

　　D.The writer's mother.

　　3.All the daughters were quite busy in the morning because ______. [ ]

　　A.their father never helped them

　　B.their father always gave different instructions at the same time

　　C.each of them had to start and finish her job just on time

　　D.they were not clever or quick enough to do their jobs

　　4.What was the father's favourite? [ ]

　　A.Reading newspaper.

　　B.Having bread buttered on both sides.

　　C.Giving instructions.

　　D.Being clean and tidy.

　　5.From the story we may see that ______. [ ]

　　A.the father was so lazy that he hardly did anything

　　B.the father was the “centre” of the family

　　C.Every girl in the family was afraid to do wrong because they didn't know clearly enough what to do

　　D.The father was hated by all his daughters

　　<八>

　　It was a pretty street with many nice houses. At the comer, there was no house, just land. Mr. March bought the land . On it he put a building with two stores.

　　The people on that street did not like the stores. The stores made their street ugly. But there was no law to stop Mr. March.

　　A man across the street sold his house. The people who bought it did not live there.

　　They used it to make things to sell.

　　Before long, other houses were sold. These houses were used as stores, too. Once these houses had cost a lot of money. Now they were not worth as much money. And the pretty street was not pretty any more.

　　Today, we have a law to keep this from happening. This law is called “Zoning(美国的区域法). ” The zoning law tells people where they can build stores and where they can build houses.

　　1.At the comer of the pretty street was ______. [ ]

　　A.a house

　　B.just land

　　C.one store

　　D.a barn

　　2.Which of the following does this story lead you to believe? [ ]

　　A.Stores make good houses for people to live in.

　　B.All buildings have at least two stores in them.

　　C.The people who built our cities did not plan ahead.

　　3.What did the stores do to the street?　(Which sentence is exactly like the one in your book?) [ ]

　　A.The stores made their street rich.

　　B.The stores made their street pretty.

　　C.The stores made their street ugly.

　　4.The main idea of the whole story is that ______. [ ]

　　A.the people were ugly

　　B.stores make streets beautiful

　　C.zoning in a city is important

　　<九>

　　One morning in London. The weather was very cold, and many people caught a cold. They had to see a doctor, so there were many people in the doctor's waiting-room. At the head of the line was an old woman. The woman did not live in London. She lived in Scotland (苏格兰). She came here to visit her daughter. She wanted to see the doctor because she got a bad cold and coughed day and night.

　　“If I get there early, I can see the doctor quickly, ” she thought. So she was the first in the line.

　　She sat nearest to the doctor's door. An American came into the waiting-room, and walked quickly to the doctor's door. The old woman thought he was a queue jumper. She stood up and took his arm slowly, she said, “We were all here before you. You must wait for your turn. Do you understand?” The American answered, “No, madam. You don't understand! You are all after me! I'm the doctor! ”

　　1.How many people were there in the doctor's waiting-room ? [ ]

　　A.A few people.

　　B.A lot of people.

　　C.Few people.

　　D.Nobody.

　　2.The woman came ______. [ ]

　　A.from the country

　　B.from a town

　　C.from a factory

　　D.from a farm

　　3.The old woman was the first in the line so that she could ______. [ ]

　　A.spend less time

　　B.spend less money

　　C.see the doctor quickly

　　D.have a talk with the doctor

　　4.Where did the doctor come from? [ ]

　　A.England.

　　B.Scotland

　　C.America.

　　D.London.