In the cold and plain living room, Matt is sitting in his chair. His eyes don’t shine anymore. His skin is wrinkled (有皱纹的) and pale. He looks extremely old and weak. Today is his birthday, and he is by himself. The only thing that he has been doing all day is thinking about how sad and lonely his life is. As he was looking at some old pictures, he found one special with him and his friends from college. This picture brought back the days when he had friends and his life was full of happiness. Also, it brought him a sad memory. This memory happened forty years ago, during his last year of college.
Through college, Matt has a friend named Mark. Mark was tall and thin. He wore a thick glass. He was shy, smart and responsible. Also, Mark didn’t have as many friends as Matt did. He considered Matt as his best friend. As good friends, Matt and Mark went bowling together, they knew everything about each other, and they hung out. Also, they overcame many problems together. They were really good friends.
On his twenty-fourth birthday their life changed. On the night before Matt’s birthday, Mark called Matt, but his voice sounded strange. He said, “I have an important project to work on. I am having some problems with this. Maybe, you could come over and help me with it. Could you?” Matt asked, “What time?” Mark kept in silence for a minute, then he said, “Is 8 p.m. good for you?” Then Matt answered, “OK! See you later.” At the night, it was Matt’s birthday. So, he didn’t want to spend his birthday helping Mark with his project. Matt went to a club with some other guys.
12. Why was Matt sad on his birthday?
A.Because his friend didn’t buy him gifts. |
B.Because no friend accompanied him. |
C.Because his friend had quarreled with him. |
D.Because his friend didn’t remember his birthday. |
13. Which words can describe his friend Mark?
A.Small and shy. | B.Tall and shy. |
C.Clever and weak. | D.Near-sighted and foolish. |
14. What can we learn from the passage?
A.Once Matt had many friends. |
B.Once Mark had many friends. |
C.Matt went to a club with Mark. |
D.Matt didn’t know everything about Mark. |
15. When Mark asked Matt to help him, Matt____________.
A.accepted his request happily |
B.refused his request immediately |
C.accepted his request but didn’t turn up |
D.told Mark to spend his birthday with him |