They were completely ________ by the story he made up.

A．taken in        B．taken up        C．taken off     D．taken out

They were completely __________ by the story he made up.

They were completely __________ by the story he made up.

Some people seem easy to understand：their character appears obvious on first meeting. Appearances, however, can be deceptive. For thirty years now I have been studying my fellowmen. I don’t know very much about them. I shrug my shoulders when people tell me that their first impressions of a person are always right. I think they must have small insight or great vanity. For my own part I find that the longer I know people, the more they puzzle me.

I read in this morning's paper that Edward Hyde Burton had died. He was a merchant and he had been in business in Japan for many years.Once he gave me a great surprise. Unless I had heard the story from his own lips, I’d never have velieved that he was capable of such an action. He was always neatly and quietly dressed in accordance with his age and position. He didn’t talk much, but what he said was sensible. Tou couldn’;t imagine he’d possible raise his voice in anger. Here was a man who attracted you because you felt in him a real love for his fellows. He’d tell with point a good and spicy story, and in his youth he’d been something of an athete. He was a rich man and he’d made every penny himself. I suppose one thing that made you like him was that he was so weak; he arounsed your instinets（本能）of protection. TYou felt he couldn’t bear to hurt a fly.

       One afternoon Burton told me a “funny” story in a quiet, dry humour:

        “There was a namesake（同名人）of mine, who was the best bridge player I ever met. He  seemed to  have a fantastic instinct about the cards. I used to play with him a lot.”

“He was handsome in a way with curly hair and pink-and- white cleeks. Women thought a lot of him. There was no harm in him, he was only wild. Pf course he drank too much. He won a good deal of my money by card-playing.”

“One day he came to me when he went broke. He came to see me in my office and asked me for a job. I asked him how old he was.

“’Thirty-five’, he said.”

       "'And what have you been doing hitherto?' I asked him.

       "'Well, nothing very much,' he said.

       "'I'm afraid I can't do anything for you just yet,' I said. 'Come back and see me in another thirty-five years, and I'll see what I can do.'

"He didn't move. He went rather pale. He hesitated for a moment and then he told me that he had had bad luck at cards for some time. He hadn't been willing to stick to bridge, he'd been playing poker, and he'd got trimmed. He hadn't a penny. He'd pawned everything he had. He couldn't pay his hotel bill and they wouldn't give him any more credit. He was down and out. If he couldn't get something to do he'd have to commit suicide.

"I looked at him for a bit. I could see now that he was all to pieces. He'd been drinking more than usual and he looked fifty. The girls wouldn't have thought so much of him if they'd seen him then.

"I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. I've known too many men who were little tin gods at their university.

 “Suddenly I had an idea.” Pausing in his story, Burton turned to me. “When I was young I swam over three miles round the beacon（燈塔）and landed at the river of Tarumi. It’s rather difficult on account of the currents round the beacon. Well, I told my young fellow about it and I said that if he’d do it I’d give him a job.

“I could see he was rather taken aback. He was not in good condition for sports. He looked at me for a moment and then he nodded.”

“I told him I’d drive round to the river at half past twelve and meet him.

       "Done,"he said.

“I wished him good luck and he left me.I had a lot of work to do that morning and I only just managed to the creek at Tarumi at half past twelve.But I needn't have hurried;he never turned up

       “Did he funk it at the last moment?” I asked.

“No,he didn't funk it. He started all right. But of course he'd ruined his constitution by drink. The currents round the beacon were more than he could manage. We didn't get the body for about three days

I didn't say anything for a moment or two.I was a trifle shocked.Then I asked.

       “When you made him that offer of a job, did you know he'd be drowned?'

       He looked at me with his kind blue eyes, smiling. "Well,I hadn't got a vacancy in my office at the moment.'

55．The author believes         .

       A．some people are too easy to understand

       B．a(chǎn)ppearance is just opposite to the quality

       C．first impressions can be misleading

       D．his fellowmen are not understandable

56．For some time, Edward Burton impressed the author most with his        .

      A．a(chǎn)ge and position                                   B．wealth and ability

       C．sensibility and humor                           D．kindness and weakness

57．The underlined words “he was all to picces” may mean         .

       A．he was mad and wild                           B．he was completely down

       C．he was sick and dirty                           D．he was totally drunk

58．We can infer from Burton’s story that his namesakes         .

       A．never saw through his trick                  B．a(chǎn)nnoyed him by playing cards

       C．could not do any job well                      D．intended to cheat him with a lie

59．We learned from the story that Edward Burton       .

      A．knew the young man would kill himself

       B．a(chǎn)rranged the end of his namesake’s life

       C．did much for the poor fellowman

       D．killed his card-friend by mistake

60．Edward Burton could be described as a(n)     person.

       A．innocent              B．smart                  C．careless               D．evil

“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school . Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” ----- a document (文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores (雜務(wù)). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.) After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press (also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.” Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs (嘆氣), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----- until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted (咨詢) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria (食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.
“I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner. As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-----I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative (暫定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
【小題1】The couple signed the contract because _______.

閱讀理解

　　“It was all his own idea,”says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a“motherhood contract”--a document(文件)stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple's four children, plus all household chores(雜務(wù)). Although he didn't even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident. (He thought the experience would make a nice book.)

　　After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up.“I was beaten down, completely humbled,”admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press(also part of the bargain), stating,“Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”

　　Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto's Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids.

　　Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley.“I had been around children so much,”she sighs(嘆氣).“I couldn't talk to a grown-up.”She continued to run the household，however--until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted with his school's home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria(食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.“I tried to slip the butter I'd forgotten under the eggs after they were frying,”he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot--sometimes having Macdonald's hamburgers for lunch and dinner.

　　As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made.“I found an easier way--I shut the doors,”he says. Soon the kids were-wearing the same clothes for a week.“I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”

　　Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地)sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative(暫定的)title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.

1．The couple signed the contract because _____.

[　　]

A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself

B．Bob 10ved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest

C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks

D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book

2．It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _____.

[　　]

A．pay a certain amount of money

B．do all the housework for years

C．say sorry to his wife

D．a(chǎn)dmit publicly he was wrong about motherhood

3．What can we learn about Pat Peters?

[　　]

A．She was hard working and selfless.

B．She was pretty and kind-hearted.

C．She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.

D．She did not love Bob any longer.

4．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Bob managed to keep the kids' clothes clean.

B．Bob tried to cook good meals for his children.

C．Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work.

D．Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day.

5．Which of the following can best end the new story?

[　　]

A．“My experience of being a mother.”

B．“I'm proud of you all, my dear!”

C．“Wait till your mother gets home!”

D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”

“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school . Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” ----- a document (文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores (雜務(wù)). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.) After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press (also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.” Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs (嘆氣), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----- until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted (咨詢) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria (食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.

“I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner. As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-----I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”

Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative (暫定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.

1.The couple signed the contract because _______.

A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself

B．Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest

C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks

D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book

2.It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.

A．pay a certain amount of money

B．do all the housework for years

C．say sorry to his wife

D．a(chǎn)dmit publicly he was wrong about motherhood

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Bob managed to keep the kids’ clothes clean.

B．Bob tried to cook good meals for his children.

C．Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work.

D．Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day.

4.Which of the following can best end the news story?

A．“My experience of being a mother.”

B．“I’m proud of you all, my dear!”

C．“Wait till your mother gets home!”

D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”