閱讀理解

A

“My dear lady，” says Holmes. “Youre shivering. Are you cold？ Do you want a cup of hot tea？”

“Im not cold，” the woman replies. “I fear for my life！”

“We are here to help you. Dont worry about anything. I dont know you. But I know many things about you. For example， I know how you travel. You came to London by train. You also ride to the train station on a horse-drawn wagon （馬車）.”

“Why， yes. Youre right. But how do you know these things？”

“I see a return ticket in your glove. I see fresh mud on the left arm of your dress. Now tell us your problem.”

“My name is Helen Stoner，” she states， “My mother and father are dead. I am living with my stepfather， Dr Grimesby Roylott. He comes from a rich family. But they are no longer rich. They have nothing except a small piece of land and a huge old house. We are living in the house. Dr Roylott is using my mothers money for expenses （開(kāi)支）. Part of it was for my sister and me. It was for our marriages.”

Holmes is sitting in his chair. His eyes are closed. He is listening carefully to Helens story. He hears every detail.

Helen continues. “My stepfather has no friends. He fights with everyone. He is strong and gets angry quickly. Everyone is afraid of him.”

“He has no friends at all？” asks Holmes.

“No. He talks to no one except the gypsies （吉卜賽人）. They are poor people who travel from place to place. A band of gypsies is staying on our land right now.”

“Are you and your sister afraid of the gypsies？”

“My dear Mr Holmes. You are making me so sad. My sister is dead. That is why I am standing here in this room.”

1. Paragraph 6 is mostly about ___ .

A. Helens house

B. Helens dead sister

C. Helens trip to London

D. Helens stepfather and the family

2. What is Holmes doing while Helen is telling her story？

A. Walking slowly. B. Listening carefully.

C. Standing sadly. D. Writing quickly.

3. Which can best describe the gypsies according to the passage？

A. They are very rich.

B. They are afraid of other people.

C. Their life is mainly spent on a horse-drawn wagon.

D. Their family is used to moving from one place to another.

4. The passage is probably from ___ .

A. a novel B. a guide

C. a poem D. an advertisement

B

Anyone who has ever lost keys or money will have wished for a simple but effective way to make sure it never happens again. A US company is trying to help.

Using a tiny microchip which is implanted （植入） into the arm， they have come up with a replacement for cash or credit cards that cannot be left at home or dropped on the bus.

The Verichip is about the size of a grain of rice and works using radio frequency identification technology. At a shop， a radio frequency “reader” would send a signal and the chip in your arm would respond with your own identity number. That would give the “reader” your financial information， and money could be taken directly from your accounts and you wouldnt even have to reach for your wallet.

The company also hopes to include other information on the chip， such as medical records， building security codes （社保密碼） and passwords， making life even easier.

But not everyone is happy with the developments. Some say that a lot can go wrong with the chip. A clever thief could build a fake reader that would steal your information without you knowing. So your money could still be stolen. Privacy is a big problem， too. Stores， or even the government， only need to track the chip to find out what you buy， how much you spend and where you go.

And if you wanted to get rid of your chip， you would need an operation to remove it.

5. Whats Verichip？

A. An identity number. B. A security code.

C. A tiny microchip. D. A radio “reader”.

6. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about？

A. How Verichip works.

B. The importance of Verichip.

C. The development of Verichip.

D. How Verichip helps take money from the accounts.

7. Which is true about Verichip？

A. Your information on it will be safe.

B. An operation has to be performed to remove it.

C. Medical records have already been included on it.

D. You can easily reach for your wallet when using it.

8. What can be inferred from the text about Verichip？

A. The idea of it is welcomed.

B. Its company has financial problems.

C. It needs improving to be widely accepted.

D. Its users have the experience of losing keys or money.