Question

Muriel’s home was a pleasant three-bedroomed house in a suburb（郊區(qū)） of Manchester. The family, made up of two girls and a boy, had been raised there. One had already left home, and the day was not far off when the other two would leave for London and the start of their careers.

The house now lacked for nothing. The expensive days schooling and providing for a growing family were over. The husband’s salary as an engineer provided holidays in Spain, a-year-old family car, a colour television (not rented now, thanks to a bargain offer in a January sale).

Life was good until Muriel, returning from shopping in the city centre, found she had been burgled. It was bad enough that the windows in the dining-room had been forced open and $20 in cash in the kitchen drawer stolen, but the damage aged Muriel immediately.

A booted foot had broken the television screen. House plants had been torn from their pots and threw against walls. There was a horror in the kitchen. Three fish were dead on the floor, their heads stamped and crushed（碎）. The water from the fish tank had soaked（浸泡） the fitted carpet. Kitchen drawers had been pulled out and the contents were everywhere over the floor.

It was the same story in each room. Muriel found she could not sleep. The extra sherry（雪莉酒） at night did not work. The doctor later gave her tranquilizers（鎮(zhèn)靜劑）. Finally her husband made the only decision he could. They had to sell and move from the home where they had planned to spend the rest of their lives.

The tragedy is that each year there are many thousands of Muriels.

1.The incident was particularly sad for Muriel because ________

A.she had her $20 stolen

B.she became old immediately

C.her hard days of providing for a growing family were just over

D.the house was completely in a terrible mess .

2.What happened to the fish in the kitchen?

A.The burglars ate them.

B.They ran away from home when Muriel was shopping.

C.They jumped out of the fish tank and travelled around the house.

D.They were dead.

3.The word “burgle” means ________.

A.謀殺 B.搶劫 C.失竊 D.縱火

4.Why couldn’t Muriel sleep? ________.

A.Because she drank too much wine

B.Because her children would leave her

C.Because she wanted to move house

D.Because she was shocked badly by the incident

5.What can we learn from this passage?

A.The Muriel incident is a daily occurrence nowadays.

B.Muriel reported the incident to the police as soon as she found she had been burgled.

C.Muriel used to be an engineer.

D.Muriel spent the rest of her life in Spain.

Answer 1