Section II Reading( 50 minutes)

　　　　PartA

　　Directions:

　　Read the following two texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Ma——

　　your ansumrs on ANSWER SHEET 1.

　　Text 1

　　An embarrassing experience

　　It was the small hours of the morning when we reached London Airport. I had cabled Lond trom Amsterdam, and there was a hired car to meet, but there was one more unfortunate happening before I reached my fiat. In all my travels I have never, but for that once, been required by the British customs to open a single bag or to do more than state that I carried no goods liable to duty. I was, of course, my fault; the extreme tiredness and nervous tension of the journey had destroyed my

　　diplomacy. I was, for whichever reason, so fired that I could hardly stand, and to the question, "have you read this?" I replied with extreme foolishness, "Yes, hundreds of times. "

　　"And you have nothing to declare?"

　　"Nothing. "

　　"How long have you been out of this country?"

　　"About three months. "

　　"And during that time you have acquired nothing?"

　　"Nothing but what is on the list I have given you. "

　　He seemed momentarily at a loss, but then he attacked. The attack, when it came, was utterly unexpected.

　　"Where did you get that watch?"

　　I could have kicked myself. Two days ago, when playing water games with a friend in the bath, I had forgotten to take off my ROLEX OYSTER, and it had, not unnaturally, stopped. I had gone into the market and bought, for twelve shillings and six pence, an ugly time piece that made a strange noise. It had stopped twice, without any reason, during the journey.

　　I explained, but I had already lost face. I produced my own watch from a pocket, and added that I should be grateful if he would confiscate the replacement.

　　"It is not a question of confiscation," he said, "there is a fine for failing to declare dutiable goods. And now may I please examine that Rolex?"

　　It took another quarter of an hour to persuade him that the Rolex was not contraband; then he began to search my luggage.

　　26. When did the writer arrive at London airport?

　　[A] In the early morning. [B] Late at night.

　　[ C] At noon. [ D] Late in the morning.

　　27. What can we conclude from the questions asked by the customs officer?

　　[ A] He was just doing his duty by asking the passenger some usual questions.

　　[ B ] He must have noticed the writer' s ugly watch.

　　[ C ] He wanted to embarrass the writer.

　　[ D] He must have noticed the writer's tiredness.

　　28. What did the writer think of the watch he bought in the market?

　　[ A] He was fond of the watch because it was a Rolex.

　　[ B ] He found the watch useful though it was very cheap.

　　[ C ] He didn't like the watch at all.

　　[D] He was indifferent to the watch.

　　29. What must have happened to the writer in the end?

　　[ A] He must have spent a long time at the customs and must have been let go without any punishment.

　　[ B ] He must have been given a fine as a punishment.

　　[ C] His Rolex must have been confiscated.

　　[ D ]His cheap watch must have been confiscated.

　　30. What do you think is the tone of the story?

　　[ A] Humorous. [ B] Sarcastic.

　　[ C 1 Solemn. [ D ] Matter-of-fact.

　　　Part A Text l

　　　　參考譯文

　　一次尷尬的經歷

　　當我們到達倫敦機場的時候還是凌晨，我已經從阿姆斯特丹往倫敦過電報了，預租了一輛車等我們，但是在我到達公寓之前又發(fā)生了一倒霉的事。在我所有的旅行經歷中，英國海關從來沒有要求過我打開一個包，而且僅僅需要申明我沒有攜帶需交關稅的商品，只有這一次外。當然，這是我的錯，旅途的極度疲勞和神經緊張已經使我與人交的能力衰退了。不管出于什么原因，我太累了，累得幾乎站不穩(wěn)。對于關人員提出的問題，“你看過這個嗎?”我極度愚蠢地回答：“看過幾百了�！�

　　“你沒有什么要申報的嗎?” “沒有�！�

　　“你離開這個國家多久了?” “大概3個月了。”

　　“在這段時間里你什么也沒購置嗎?”

　　“除了我給你的清單上的東西什么也沒有�！�

　　他似乎有片刻的疑惑，但是過后他發(fā)起進攻了，當進攻發(fā)起的時候，完全出乎我的意料的。

　　“那塊手表從哪來的?”

　　我懊惱極了，兩天前和朋友在浴室打水仗的時候，我忘記把我的勞士伊司特表摘下來了，它就很自然地停了，我去一家商店花l2先令6士買了這塊丑陋的表，它還發(fā)出很奇怪的聲音。在旅程中它莫名其妙停了兩次。

　　我解釋了但是我已經丟了面子，我從口袋里拿出自己的手表給他，并且補充說如果他沒收那件替代品我會很感激。

　　“這不是沒收的問題O”他說，“不申報關稅商品要罰款，現(xiàn)在可以把塊勞力士給我檢查嗎?”

　　我又花了l5分鐘說服他這塊勞力士不是走私品，然后他開始搜查的行李。

　　答案及解析

　　26.A【解析】細節(jié)題。文章第一句話說“It was the small hours of themorning when we arrived at London Airport.”，這里的“smallhours”意思是“凌晨”，可知作者是在凌晨到達。故選A。

　　27.B【解析】推理題。海關官員問作者的表是從哪來的，而且是非常突然地發(fā)問，可推測他已經注意到那塊表了。故選B。

　　28.C 【解析】推理題。從作者描述這塊手表時所用的語言，如“ugly”“made a strange noise”可以看出作者并不喜歡這塊表。

　　29.B【解析】推理題。從海關官員說“這不是沒收的問題，不申報關稅要罰款”可見作者最后被罰款。fine有“罰款”的意思。

　　30.A【解析】推理題。作者在文中用了很多對話，說明語氣是輕松的，且從作者敘述的方式可以看出寫作手法很幽默。故選A。