Our village carpenter (木匠) , John, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size for the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for the job.
My wife said to me quietly,“That’s his ninth cup of tea today. ”But she said, in a loud voice,“It’s a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it？”
“I’ll decide about that when I see the bill. ”I said.
John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:
One dining table 10 November, 1998
Cost of wood $17. 00
Paint $1. 50
Work, 8 hours ( $1 an hour ) $8. 00
Total $36. 50
When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It’s been a nice day, hasn’t it？Quite sunny. ”
“Yes. ”I said. “ I’m glad it’s only the tenth of November. ”
“Me, too. ”said John. “You wait — it’ll be a lot colder by the end of the month. ”
“Yes,colder — and more expensive! A dining table will be $20 more expensive on November 30, won’t it, John？”
John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes？I gave his bill back to him.
“If there isn’t too much trouble, John,” I said,“please add it up again. You can forget the date…”
I paid him $26. 50 and he was happy to get it.
小題1:Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill？
| A．Because he didn’t want the writer to go through the bill carefully. |
| B．Because it was really a fine day. |
| C．Because he wanted the writer to check the bill carefully. |
| D．Because he wanted to tell the writer what the weather was like. |
小題2:The writer thought John would ask for _______ if he made a dining table on the last day of November.
| A．$20. 00 | B．$46. 50 |
| C．$56. 50 | D．$26. 50 |
小題3:When the writer gave John the money, he was happy because _______.
| A．he got what he should get for his work |
| B．he got much more money for his work |
| C．he got the money easily |
| D．he didn’t have to add up the costs again |
小題4:From the story we know that ______.
| A．John made a mistake in the bill |
| B．John tried to fool the writer in order to get more money for his work |
| C．John had written out the bill before the writer got home |
| D．John still wanted to get $36.50 for his work in the end |
小題5:What do you think of the writer？ He is ______.
| A．honest | B．clever |
| C．foolish | D．a(chǎn)fraid |
