第三部分　阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)。阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity and order and regularity of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.
    Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade; the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometime in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.
    He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.
    “What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.
    For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no idea what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.” 
I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock round with him before.
31. Bill Javis became a news-agent when ________.
A. he needed the money.    B. he decided to take things easy
C. he was quite an old man    D. he gave up clock-repairing
32. Bill opened the shop so early in the day because ________.
A. he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work
B. the shop had to be open when the morning papers came
C. he was never sure of time
D. it was then that he did a lot of business
33. On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because _______.
A. he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing
B. he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all
C. Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange
D. Bill stayed in his flat
34. From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?
A. The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time.
B. Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep.
C. The writer’s watch was ; it went fast.
D. Bill’s clock was ; it was old.
B
How the iron of tomorrow (the first Self Clean Iron) can change your lifestyle today?
General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.
How? With a push of a magic blue button.
The magic blue button
The first thing you'll notice that's different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It's marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.
Less chance of brown spots
Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.
Steams much longer
Common sense tells you that if you've an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.
What does it mean to you?
Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids. You're working. You're going to school. It's all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better house-maker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.
Life-style. We're with yours. GENERAL ELECTRIC.
35. This passage is ________.
A. an introduction to General Electric
B. an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron
C. an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron
D. a description of the change of lifestyle
36. This iron can clean itself by ________.
A. emptying itself     B. washing out mineral deposits
C. blocking up mineral deposits  D. giving off more steam
37. According to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?
A. It is made by General Electric.
B. The iron will not produce mineral deposits.
C. There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.
D. Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.
38. Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because________.
A. you can run your house better
B. you don’t have to run after the kids
C. you can use it while you are working
D. we want you to be a better housekeeper
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