四、阅读理解(共15小题;每题2分，共30分。)

阅读下列短文，然后根据短文的内容从每小题的四个选择项中选出最佳的一项，并把它前面的大写字母填入左边的括号里。

A

Jimmy was five years old and his brother，Billy，was only a baby. One morning his mother waited for an important telephone call for hours，but nobody called. There was no bread in the house and she had to go out to buy some. Jimmy stayed at home to look after the baby. When the mother was out，the telephone rang and Jimmy answered.

Mr. Baker：Hello!May I speak to Mrs. White?

Jimmy：Sorry，Mother is out.

Mr. Baker：Well，when she comes back，say to her，“Mr. Baker called.”

Jimmy：What?

Mr. Baker：Mr. Baker. Write it down. B-A-K-E-R.

Jimmy：How do you write B?

Mr. Baker：How do I write…?Listen，little boy，is there anybody else with you?Any brothers or sisters?

Jimmy：Yes，my brother Billy is here.

Mr. Baker：Good. I want to talk to him，please.

Jimmy：All right. Jimmy took the telephone to the baby‘s bed and put it beside its head. Not long after that his mother came back.

Mother：Did anybody call?

Jimmy：Yes，a man called. But he only wanted to talk to Billy.

( )51. Jimmy‘s mother waited for ________.

A. an important man

B. a good friend

C. a telephone call

D. a piece of good news

( )52. Jimmy‘s mother went out because ________.

A. she waited for hours

B. nobody called

C. she had to buy some bread

D. she had to buy some milk

( )53. Jimmy couldn‘t write down Mr. Baker’s name because ________.

A. he had no pen or paper

B. he couldn‘t read or write

C. he had to look after the baby

D. he had to play with his brother

( )54. Mr. Baker wanted to talk to ________.

A. a child older than Jimmy

B. a child younger than Jimmy

C. Jimmy‘s brother Billy

D. Jimmy‘s sister Betty

B

The cowboy is the hero of many movies. He is，even today，a symbol of courage and adventure. But what was the life of the cowboy really like?

The cowboy‘s job is clear from the word “cowboy”。Cowboys were men who took care of cows and other cattle. The cattle were in the West and in Texas. People in the cities of the East wanted beef from these cattle. Trains could take the cattle east. But first the cattle had to get to the trains. Part of the cowboy’s job was to take the cattle hundreds of miles to the railroad towns.

The trips were called cattle drives. A cattle drive usually took several months. Cowboys rode for sixteen hours a day. Because they rode so much， each cowboy brought along about eight horses. A cowboy changed horses several times each day.

The cowboys had to make sure that the cattle arrived safely. Before starting on a drive，the cowboys branded the cattle. They burned a make on the cattle to show who they belonged to. But these marks didn‘t stop rustlers，or cattle thieves. Cowboys had to protect the cattle from rustlers. Rustlers made the dangerous trip even more dangerous.

Even though their work was very difficult and dangerous，cowboys did not earn much money. They were paid bally. Yet cowboys liked their way of life. They lived in a wild and open country. They lived a life of adventure and freedom.

( )55. The cowboy‘s job was ________.

A. to be a hero

B. to take care of cattle

C. to be a rustler

D. to be a driver

( )56. Cowboys ________.

A. made a lot of money

B. had a difficult job

C. did not like their way of life

D. were rich

( )57. When you do something new exciting，you have ________.

A. a symbol

B. an adventure

C. a job

D. a trip

( )58. The cowboy was the most important person in the movie. He was the ________.

A. chief

B. rustler

C. hero

D. president