“I’ m sorry, Missy. That’s not for sale. Maybe your grandpa would like this little radio.”

The girl looked at the radio, lowered her head, and sadly sighed, “No, I don’t think so.”

In an effort to help her understand, Pappy told her the story of how the bell had been in his family for so many years, and that was why he didn’t want to sell it.

The little girl looked up at him, and with a giant tear in her eye, sweetly said, “I guess I understand. Thank you, anyway.”

Suddenly Pappy thought of how the rest of his family was all gone now, except for his estranged (疏远的) daughter whom he had not seen in nearly a decade.

Why not, he thought. Why not find an owner for it who will share it with a loved one?

“Well, let’s see. How much have you got to spend?” Pappy asked with a grin.

The child pulled a small coin purse from her pocket then reached up and emptied two dollars and forty-seven cents onto the counter.

After a quick struggle in the mind, Pappy said, “Little lady, this is your lucky day. That bell costs exactly two dollars and forty-seven cents.”

Later that evening when Pappy prepared to close up shop, he found himself thinking about his bell. Already he had decided not to put up another one. He thought about the child and wondered if her grandpa liked the gift. Surely he would cherish anything from such a precious grandchild.

At that moment, just as he was going to turn off the light in the backroom, Pappy thought he heard his bell. He couldn’t believe his ears! He turned towards the door, and there stood the little girl. She was ringing the bell and smiling sweetly.

Pappy was puzzled as he approached the small child. “What’s this, little lady? Have you changed your mind?” “No,” she smiled. “Momma says it’s for you.”

Before Pappy had time to say another word, the child’s mother stepped into the doorway, and holding back her tears, she gently said, “Hello, Dad.”

46. How could a customer make the bell ring?

A. By pressing a button. B. By opening the backroom door.

C. By opening the inner door. D. By opening the screen door. 47. What did the girl come to the pawnshop for?

A. Some musical instrument. B. Something as a gift.

C. A very special bell. D. Something her grandpa required.

48. Why did Pappy decide to sell the bell to the little girl?

A. Because she loved her grandpa. B. Because she was very lovely.

C. Because he wanted it to be passed on. D. Because the girl wanted nothing else.

49. Which of the following is true?

A. Pappy knew nothing about watch making.

B. The bell was worth just two dollars and forty-seven cents.

C. The little girl was not satisfied with the service.

D. Pappy didn’t expect to see the little girl again in the evening.

50. Which can be used to describe the ending of the story?

A. Adventurous. B. Ridiculous. C. Happy. D. Humorous.

四、任务型阅读

Nowadays, more companies are accepting working from home as a practical choice. If you’ d like to work from home , use the following statements to convince your boss that you’ ll be just as , if not more, productive at home as you will be in the office.

Firstly, you cannot distract（使分心）colleagues when working at home . A recent survey of 800 job seekers looking for work-from home jobs found that the number one reason they wanted a work-from-home job was to avoid distracting their colleagues, but not to have more time for their families or to save on costs like business clothes, lunches out, and gas. When you work at home, you can remove this major distraction and devote all your attention to your work.

Secondly, it can control how often you’re interrupted. A study by the University of California, Irvine found that workers are interrupted every three minutes, and that it takes more than 20 minutes to get back to the task after an interruption. Half the time , we’re self-interrupting (checking emails, listening to talk radio, etc.), but the other half of the time, we’re interrupted by outside forces--- loud noises, colleagues stopping by our desks, other people’s conversations in the office, etc. We can cut back on 50%of the interruption by working from home.

Thirdly, it takes less sick time and fewer personal days. People who are sick enough to call in