英语趣味阅读20篇.doc

1． Honesty诚实
　　A man went to an insurance office to have his life insured. The manager of the office asked him how old his parents were when they died.
　　“Mother had a bad heart and died at the age of thirty. Father died of tuberculosis when he was thirty-five.”
　　“I am very sorry,”said the manager,“we cannot insure your life as your parents were not healthy.”
　　As the man was leaving the office, depressed, he met a clerk, who had overheard the conversation.
　　“You must not be so frank and tell the truth,”said the clerk,“no office will insure you if you speak like that. Use your imagination a little.”
　　The man went to another office and was shown into the manager's room.
　　“Well, young man, how old were your parents when they died?”
“Mother was ninety-three, and she died from a fall off her bicycle. Father was ninety-eight and he died while he was playing football.”
判断正误，正确的写“T”，错误的写“F”。
( )1.A woman went to an insurance office.
( )2.The man’s mother died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty
( )3.The man’s father died of tuberculosis when he was thirty-five.
( )4.The man told the truth to the first manager.
( )5.The man told the truth to the second manager.
2. An American on a British Train一个美国人乘英国火车
　　A young American entered a railway compartment on a British train, to discover that all seats were occupied, Including one on which was seated a small dog. To its owner, a middle-aged lady wearing a large hat, he said politely,“Excuse me, ma'am, but may I sit down?”
　　She said nothing, but merely sniffed and turned over the pages of her newspaper.
　　Again he said,“Excuse me, ma'am, but may I have this seat, please? And again she ignored him.
　　For a third time the young American said,“Ma'am, would you please remove your dog so that I may sit down?”
　　And for the third time the snooty matron totally ignored him, so he opened a window, picked up the dog, threw it out, and then sat on the empty seat.
There was a stunned silence, and then an Englishman sitting opposite said,“You know, you Yanks are the strangest people. You drive on the wrong side of the road. You eat with the fork in the wrong hand, you name the floors in the wrong numbers, and now you've just thrown the wrong bitch out of the window!”
选择正确的答案
( )1.The young man was on ______.
A. an American train B. a British train C. a British bus
( )2.Were there any free seats?
A. Yes, there were. B. Yes, there weren’t. C. No, there weren’t.
( )3.The young man was very_____ to the middle-aged lady for three times..
A. polite B. rude C. naughty
( )4.Did the young man throw out the dog ?
A. Yes, he didn’t. B. No, he didn’t. C. Yes, he did.
( )5. Whose dog was it?
A. The American B. The Englishman sitting opposite C. The woman
3．A Bad Foot受伤的脚
　　There was a bookseller who did not like to pay for anything. One day a big box of books fell on his foot.
　　“Go to the doctor,”said his wife，“show that foot to him.”
　　“No,”he said,“I'll wait until the doctor comes to our shop next time. Then I'll ask him about my foot. If I go to see him, I shall have to pay.”
　　The next day the doctor came to the shop to buy some books. The bookseller told the doctor about his bad foot. The doctor looked at it and promised to help.
　　He took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it.“Buy this and put it on the foot before you go to bed every night.”he said.
　　“Thank you.”said the bookseller.“And now, sir, here are your books.”
　　“How much?”asked the doctor.
　　“Two pounds.”
　　“Good,”said the doctor.“I shall not have to pay you anything today.”
　　“Why?”asked the bookseller.
“I have examined your foot. I want two pounds for that. If people come to my house, I ask them to pay one pound for a small thing like that. But when I go to their houses, I usually charge two pounds. And I came here today, didn't I? Bye-bye!”
选择正确的答案
( )1.The bookseller_______ to pay for anything.
A. liked B. don’t like C. didn’t like
( )2.His wife asked him to see _________.
A. a doctor B. a driver C. a customer
( )3.How much was the book that the doctor wanted to buy?
A. one pound B. two pounds C. three pounds
( )4.Did the doctor come to the bookshop the next day?
A. Yes, he did. B. No, he didn’t. C. Yes, he didn’t.
( )5.Did the doctor pay for the book?
A. Yes, he did. B. No, he didn’t. C. Yes, he didn’t.
4.The Gold and the Fur Coat金子与皮大衣
　　A young man and an old man were waiting for a bus at a station. They sat next to each other.
　　“What's that in your bag?”asked the young man, pointing to a big bag beside the old man.
　　“Gold, nothing but gold,”answered the old man.
　　The young man could hardly believe his own ears,“What?”he said to himself in surprise.“So much gold? My God! How I wish to be able to get so much gold!”Then he began to think about how to get the gold.
　　The old man looked tired and sleepy and it seemed that he could hardly keep his eyes open.“Are you sleepy, sir?”asked the young man.“Then you'd better lie down on the chair and have a good rest. Don't worry about the bus. I'll wake you up in time.”
　　“All right. It's very kind of you, young man.”The old man lay down and before long he fell asleep.
　　The young man took the big bag gently. But when he was about to run away, he found a corner of his fur coat was under the old man's body. Several times he tried to pull it out, but he couldn't. At last he took off his coat and went away with the bag.
　　The young man ran out of the station as quickly as his legs could carry him. When he reached a place where he thought the old man couldn't find him, he stopped and quickly opened the bag.
To his surprise, there was nothing but a lot of small stones in it. He hurried to the station at once. But when he got there, he found the old man was gone.
判断正误，正确的写“T”，错误的写“F”。
( )1. The young man and an old woman were waiting for a bus at a station.
( )2.The young man had a bag that full of gold.
( )3.The old man was not tired or sleepy in fact.
( )4.The young man took the bag away.
( )5. There was much gold in the bag.
5． Shave Me First先给我刮脸
　　A barber was in his shop, busily cutting a man's hair, when a handsome young stranger came in. He had a small boy with him. They sat down together and waited until the barber had finished. Then the young man told the barber to shave him and to cut the small boy's hair.
　　The barber said,“Do you want me to cut the boy's hair first, or to shave you?”
　　“Oh, shave me.”said the young man.“Then I'll go down the road and have a glass of wine while you're cutting the boy's hair.”
　　The young man sat down in the barber's chair, and the barber began to shave him.
　　When he had finished, the young man got up and said,“I'll go down the road now and have my wine while you're cutting the boy's hair.”
　　“All right, but I won't take long.”the barber warned him. The young man went out, the small boy obediently sat down in the barber's chair，and the barber began to cut his hair.
　　As he had said, he soon finished, and then the boy sat down and waited. At the end of half an hour, when the young man had still not come back, the barber said to the boy,“It is a pity that your daddy's taking such a long time. Where is he likely to be now?”
“I can't guess,”answered the small boy.“And that man wasn't my daddy. I've never seen him before in my life. I was playing in the street this morning, and he came up to me and asked me whether I'd like to have my hair cut without having to pay anything. I said I would, because my hair was rather long, so he brought me here.”
根据短文，把句子补充完整。
1.The young stranger came to the shop with a _____ ______.
2.The barber_______ the man first.
3.The stranger _____ ______ the small boy’s Daddy.
4.The barber ______ ______ any money at last.
6.“You Failed!”“你没及格！”
　　When I was at the university I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn't do quite enough. Tim was one of them. He spent more time playing games in the club than working in the library.
　　Once, at the end of term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write“True”or “False”.While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Tim was watching television. Tim usually worried a lot the night before a test. But on that night he looked perfectly calm. Then he told me of his plan.“It's very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get sixty correct to pass the test. I'll take a coin into the examination room. I haven't studied a chemistry book for months, so I'm sure I'll just toss the coin. If the coin comes down on my hand with the right side up, I write“True”.If it rests with the other side up, I write“False”.That way, I'm sure I'll get sixty questions right.”
　　The next day Tim came cheerfully into the examination room. He sat tossing a coin for half an hour and handed in his paper one hour earlier than the rest of us.
　　The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor.
　　“Oh, good,”he said.“Have you got the results of the test? What mark did I get?”
　　The professor looked at him and smiled.
　　“Ah, it's you, Tim. Just a minute.”
　　Then he reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it in the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
“I'm terribly sorry, Tim,”he said,“You failed.”
根据短文，把句子补充完整。
1. When I was at the university I studied very ________.
2.______ spent more time playing games in the club than working in the library.
3. Tim saw the _______ ________ in the corridor.
4.Tim _____ pass the test.
7．Elena Was Taught a Lesson埃琳娜受到教训
　　Elena was not a good student. Her head was in the clouds most of the time. She wanted to listen in class and to study，but other things were more important, like her boyfriend, her clothes, and television. Every time she tried to concentrate on her lesson, her mind wandered.
　　One day, her English teacher, Mrs Green, said she was going to give an important test. She reviewed all week. Where Was Elena? She seemed to be there, but her mind was absent.
　　“Did you copy the questions? Did you do the exercises? Did you write your homework? Elena, wake up! You're going to fail the test,”warned Mrs Green.
　　The day of the test arrived. Elena didn't study very much, and she didn't know many answers. She tried to guess but soon gave up.
　　Next to Elena sat Ivan, a very hardworking student. Elena didn't want to fail the test, so she decided to cheat. She knew it was wrong, but she had no way out. She began to copy all of I van's answers.
　　Ivan noticed Elena cheating and was very angry. Quickly he changed all his answers so that they were incorrect. So did Elena. Then, hiding his paper,hequickly changed his answers back to the way they had been. Elena wasn't quick enough and the bell rang. Ivan turned to Elena and laughed.
“Honesty is the best policy,”he said.“Now all your answers are wrong for sure.”
判断正误，正确的写“T”，错误的写“F”。
( )1. Elena was a good student.
( )2. Elena didn’t like her clothes or television.
( )3. Elena studied very hard.
( )4. Ivan is a very hardworking student.
( )5.From the passage we know that honesty is the best policy.
8.A Guide with Prejudice带偏见的导游
　　In 1861 the Civil War started in the United States between the Northern and the Southern states. The war continued with great bitterness until 1865,when the Northerners were victorious. However, even today, many Southerners have not forgotten their defeat, or forgiven the Northerners.
　　A few years ago, a party of American tourists were going round one of the battlefields of the Civil War with a guide who came from one of the Southern states. At each place, the guide told the tourists stirring stories about how a few Southern soldiers had conquered powerful forces of Northerners there.
　　At last, one of the tourists, a lady who came from the North, stopped the guide and said to him,“But surely the Northern army must have won at least one victory in the Civil War?”
“Not as long as I'm the guide here, madam,”answered the Southern guide.
选择正确的答案
( )1.When did the Civil War start?
A. 1862 B.1863 C.1861
( )2.Did the Southerners forget their defeat?
A. Ye, they did. B.No, they didn’t C.No, they did.
( )3. Where was the guide from?
A. the South B. the North C.the East
( )4.The lady was from?
A. the South B. the North C.the East
( )5.Was the guide prejudice?
A. No, she wasn’t. B. No, she was. C.Yes, she was.
9.It Was Not Enough这样还不够
　　A famous doctor once attended a little boy who was dangerously ill. Thanks to his skill and care this young patient recovered, and was soon able to get up and run about again. The child's mother was very grateful, and she called on the doctor to thank him for what he had done for her son.
　　“Doctor,”she said.“You have saved my little boy's life. I do not know how to thank you enough. I feel that money alone cannot repay you, so I have made this little purse with my own hands, as a sign of my gratitude. I hope you will accept it.”
　　The doctor drew himself up and said coldly,“Madam, little presents like that are very nice between friends, but a doctor needs to be paid properly for his attentions.”
　　The lady was too surprised and hurt to reply for a moment. Then she said quietly,“Perhaps you will tell me what your fee is, doctor?”
　　“Fifty pounds,”he answered.
The lady opened the little purse that she had made and took out four fifty-pound bank notes. She handed one of them to the doctor, and put the other three back into the purse. She put the purse into her handbag, and saying good bye to the doctor, she went out of the room.
选择正确的答案
( )1.The doctor was very_______.
A. famous B. kind C. bad
( )2.The little boy was able to______ and run about again.
A. do the long jump B. dance C. get up
( )3.The child’s mother wanted to _____ the doctor.
A. see B. thank C. talk to
( )4.Did the doctor accept the purse?
A. No, he doesn’t. B. Yes, he does. C. Yes, he doesn’t.
( )5.How much money did the child’s mother give to the doctor at last?
A. 50 pounds B. 200 pounds C. 15 pounds
10.Behaving Like a Lady照女士的样子行事
　　Mr. West intended to buy his wife a Christmas present, but he was always very busy, so he was never able to find time to go to the shops. At last, when it was the week before Christmas, and the shops were very crowded, he decided that he could not wait any longer. He worked in an office, and usually had lunch in a restaurant, but one day he bought some sandwiches, ate them quickly and went out to a big shop near his office during his lunch hour.
　　The shop was full of women, who were also buying presents during their lunch hour. Mr West stood politely at the edge of a crowd of women who were pushing forward to try to get to the people who were