In the evening she would go to a fancy dress party with her husband. She wanted to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was really splendid. After putting it on, She went downstairs to find out whether it would be comfortable to wear.
Just as Mrs Richards was entering the dining-room, there was a knock on the front door. She knew it must be the baker. She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, she quickly hid in the small store-room under the stair. She heard the front door opened and heavy footsteps in the hall. Suddenly the door of the store-room was opened and in came a man. Mrs Richards realized it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the meter. She tried to explain the situation, saying “It’s only me. ” but it was too late, the man let out a cry and jumped back several paces. When Mrs Richards walked towards him, he fled, losing the door heavily behind him.
1. The reason for Mrs Richards’ excitement that day was that____.
| A．she had sent her children to school |
| B．she was to attend an evening party |
| C．she wouldn’t do any housework that morning |
| D．she had made a special costume the night before |
| A．made sure that the costume fitted her well |
| B．frighten the person who was knocking on the door |
| C．find out if she had finished the costume |
| D．receive the bread and do some cooking |
| A．a baker | B．a thief | C．her husband | D．an electricity man |
| A．He entered just as Mrs Richards had told him to. |
| B．He did not do anything as Mrs Richards had expected him to. |
| C．He stepped directly towards the meter. |
| D．He went straight in so as to find Mrs Richards. |
| A．thought he must have met a ghost |
| B．recognized Mrs Richards |
| C．found out Mrs Richards was walking towards him |
| D．thought that Mrs Richards must have recognized him |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】My six-year-old son, Stephen, was in front of the TV and smiled. His favorite show was about to begin---a Phoenix Suns basketball game.
“Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer’s voice was heard, “here is your starting lineup (首发阵容).” The arena (球场) darkened and the lights flashed when the players ran into the court to sing their team song. Stephen clapped and danced around. My wife Lorrie and I laughed. Stephen had been performing this for months. “One day I’m going to take you to a game, son,” I promised.
About a year later, the construction company where I worked finished a project for a Suns player. One afternoon my boss called me. “The player has two extra tickets for tonight’s game! Just pick them up at my office,” he said. I picked up the tickets, but felt a little disappointed when I looked at the clock. Even if I had had a helicopter, we would never have gone to the arena in time for the player introductions. Stephen would miss his favorite part! I grabbed my key, got Stephen in my car and hit the road. “Lord,” I prayed, “I’d love to see the joy on Stephen’s face. Help us make it on time.”
When I drove, it began to rain heavily. Suddenly, lightning flashed right near the arena! I turned on the radio to listen to the game. The announcer said there’d been a power failure at America West Arena. Everyone was fine, but there would be a delay until they got everything running. Finally, I parked the car and we walked in hurriedly to take our seats. I hoped that we hadn’t missed the introductions.
The very moment we entered the arena, the lights darkened. The music started. “Ladies and gentlemen, here’s your starting lineup!” Stephen’s eyes grew wide. There wasn’t enough space for him to dance around, but I could tell that his heart was leaping more than his body was able to. Thank heaven, he hadn’t missed a thing. And neither had I.
1. How did the author get the tickets?| A．His boss bought the tickets from a Suns player for him. |
| B．He bought the tickets from his boss. |
| C．His boss gave him the tickets as a reward for his work. |
| D．A Suns player offered the tickets for their work. |
| A．The game had already begun when he picked up the tickets. |
| B．The arena where the game would take place was too old. |
| C．It was too late for them to catch the beginning of the game. |
| D．He had no way to get a helicopter to take his son to the arena. |
| A．The arena was too wet and dirty after the heavy rain. |
| B．Lightning destroyed something at the arena. |
| C．The audience did not come to the arena on time. |
| D．The players came to the arena late because of the heavy rain. |
| A．He kept his promise to his son. | B．He didn’t lose his job. |
| C．He didn’t miss a great match. | D．He felt his son’s joy. |
【推荐2】“Can you say mama? Or dada? Wave bye-bye!” If you’ve spent any time around a baby, chances are you’ve heard of said things like this. The high-pitched (声调高的), singsong tone we switch to when interacting with young children can go by names—baby talk, or, according to development specialists, infant-directed speech. But as simplistic as this melodic chat might seem, the conversations are important.
Baby talk is an essential piece of speech and language development. Studies show that when infants are exposed to daily doses of it throughout their first year of life, they develop more vocabularies than other kids. By analyzing the jabber (含糊不清的话) between babies and caregivers throughout the world, investigators have pointed out key parts of the tender interactions—elements that, when parents apply them, help their kids learn more words and promote social interaction.
In a study led by University of Washington professor Naja Ferjan Ramirez, researchers recorded parent-child interactions at home, equipping infants with vests (背心) containing recording devices that listened for two continuous days at 6,10,14, and 18 months of age. Before each session (部分), some of the adults were coached on using infant-directed speech effectively, while others received no training. The kids of trained grown-ups performed better throughout the study, and follow-up surveys showed the benefits lasted: At 18 months, the average vocabulary of children whose parents had received coaching was about 100 words. However, children in the control group averaged about 60 words.
Researchers are still trying to find how baby talk functions and why it’s so beneficial. Better understanding of the role it plays in a child’s growth could help psychologists and others identify infants at high risk of developing a language disorder, says UCLA’s Sundara. And maybe, eventually, she says, it could result in earlier targeted treatments and therapies. So don’t be shy, sing. “Who’s that? That’s Mommy!” as much as you want—babies everywhere are listening.
1. What do we know about infant-directed speech from the first two paragraphs?| A．It helps develop babies’ language ability. |
| B．It offers directions to parents about how to raise kids. |
| C．It improves the babies’ trust toward the caregivers. |
| D．It promotes the relationship between caregivers and babies. |
| A．Tone study. | B．Baby talk. | C．Kid vocabulary. | D．Language development. |
| A．The kids in vests were listened to for 18 months. |
| B．The control group operated the recording devices. |
| C．Ne kids in the control group learned more effectively. |
| D．The programme involved four sessions. |
| A．How can babies learn to speak? | B．What are parents talking about? |
| C．What’s the point of baby talk? | D．How can researchers identify kids? |
The occupant of the seat next to the one I was going for was an older man in a grey suit, well-worn dress shoes, and a black hat like I always pictured reporters wearing, but without the little press card. Seated myself, I began to read the book I had been carrying, which was Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The man in the seat next to me introduced himself by asking if I had read any other book like the one I was holding. When I told him I had, he seemed to become interested, and so did I. He introduced himself as Carl and asked if I liked jazz, and I told him that I didn’t really listen to it, and that I liked rock and roll. Waiting for Carl to tell me that I should listen to real music, I was shocked when he just smiled and nodded. He said, “You remind me of myself when I was your age. I remember how my parents hated jazz, how they couldn’t see how I could listen to that awful noise. I bet your parents say the same thing, don’t they?” Now it was my turn to smile, amused with how right he was.
As the bus ferried us from one side of the city to the other, Carl and I talked about a lot of different things. The more we talked, the more amazed I became at how much the two of us really had in common, despite the age difference. I haven’t seen him since we parted, but the thought of our connection that day rarely leaves my mind.
Carl really made me think about how much we can learn from each other if we just break through the blocks between us we’ve got. I mean, I would have never thought before that day that I could have anything in common with someone so much older than I, just because of age. But Carl taught me that no matter what, we are all just people, and that we should make an extra effort to try and get to know our neighbors and people we see every day, regardless of age, race, religion, sex, or anything else. If we all take the time to attempt to understand each other, I think that the world would be a much better place that we could share together, as humans.
1. From the first paragraph we know that the author _______.
| A．did not mind whether there was a seat or not |
| B．hoped to have a seat when getting on the bus |
| C．thought the bus was overcrowded |
| D．looked for a seat but failed |
| A．liked jazz music |
| B．enjoyed talking with others |
| C．liked reading Jack Kerouac’s works |
| D．usually wore a black hat and press card |
| A．older people were nice to talk to |
| B．he should have known Carl earlier |
| C．his parents were so different from Carl’s in listening to music |
| D．age was not necessarily a problem in heart-to-heart communication |
| A．the author hasn’t seen the old man since then |
| B．jazz music used to be more popular than rock and roll |
| C．the author was not satisfied with human relationships in the world |
| D．Carl made the author realize how much people could learn from each other |
