An embarrassing experience
　　It was the small hours of the morning when we reached London Airport.I had cabled Lond trom Amsterdam,and there was a hired car to meet,but there was one more unfortunate happening before I reached my fiat.In all my travels I have never,but for that once,been required by the British customs to open a single bag or to do more than state that I carried no goods liable to duty.I was,of course,my fault;the extreme tiredness and nervous tension of the journey had destroyed my
　　diplomacy.I was,for whichever reason,so fired that I could hardly stand,and to the question,"have you read this?"I replied with extreme foolishness,"Yes,hundreds of times."
　　"And you have nothing to declare?"
　　"Nothing."
　　"How long have you been out of this country?"
　　"About three months."
　　"And during that time you have acquired nothing?"
　　"Nothing but what is on the list I have given you."
　　He seemed momentarily at a loss,but then he attacked.The attack,when it came,was utterly unexpected.
　　"Where did you get that watch?"
　　I could have kicked myself.Two days ago,when playing water games with a friend in the bath,I had forgotten to take off my ROLEX OYSTER,and it had,not unnaturally,stopped.I had gone into the market and bought,for twelve shillings and six pence,an ugly time piece that made a strange noise.It had stopped twice,without any reason,during the journey.
　　I explained,but I had already lost face.I produced my own watch from a pocket,and added that I should be grateful if he would confiscate the replacement.
　　"It is not a question of confiscation,"he said,"there is a fine for failing to declare dutiable goods.And now may I please examine that Rolex?"
　　It took another quarter of an hour to persuade him that the Rolex was not contraband;then he began to search my luggage.
　　1、What do you think is the tone of the story?
　　A.Humorous.
　　B.Sarcastic.
　　C.Solemn.
　　D.Matter-of-fact.
　　参考答案：A
　　参考解析：推理题。作者在文中用了很多对话，说明语气是轻松的，且从作者叙述的方式可以看出写作手法很幽默。故选A.
　　2、When did the writer arrive at London airport?
　　A.In the early morning.
　　B.Late at night.
　　C.At noon.
　　D.Late in the morning.
　　参考答案：A
　　参考解析：细节题。文章第一句话说"It was the small hours of themorning when we arrived at London Airport."，这里的"smallhours"意思是“凌晨”，可知作者是在凌晨到达。故选A.
　　3、What must have happened to the writer in the end?
　　A.He must have spent a long time at the customs and must have been let go without any punishment.
　　B.He must have been given a fine as a punishment.
　　C.His Rolex must have been confiscated.
　　D]His cheap watch must have been confiscated.
　　参考答案：B
　　参考解析：推理题。从海关官员说“这不是没收的问题，不申报关税要罚款”可见作者最后被罚款。fine有“罚款”的意思。
　　4、What did the writer think of the watch he bought in the market?
　　A.He was fond of the watch because it was a Rolex.
　　B.He found the watch useful though it was very cheap.
　　C.He didn't like the watch at all.
　　D.He was indifferent to the watch.
　　参考答案：C
　　参考解析：推理题。从作者描述这块手表时所用的语言，如"ugly""made a strange noise"可以看出作者并不喜欢这块表。
　　5、What can we conclude from the questions asked by the customs officer?
　　A.He was just doing his duty by asking the passenger some usual questions.
　　B.He must have noticed the writer's ugly watch.
　　C.He wanted to embarrass the writer.
　　D.He must have noticed the writer's tiredness.
　　参考答案：B
　　参考解析：推理题。海关官员问作者的表是从哪来的，而且是非常突然地发问，可推测他已经注意到那块表了。故选B.
　　参考译文
　　一次尴尬的经历
　　当我们到达伦敦机场的时候还是凌晨，我已经从阿姆斯特丹往伦敦过电报了，预租了一辆车等我们，但是在我到达公寓之前又发生了一倒霉的事。在我所有的旅行经历中，英国海关从来没有要求过我打开一个包，而且仅仅需要申明我没有携带需交关税的商品，只有这一次外。当然，这是我的错，旅途的极度疲劳和神经紧张已经使我与人交的能力衰退了。不管出于什么原因，我太累了，累得几乎站不稳。对于关人员提出的问题，“你看过这个吗？”我极度愚蠢地回答：“看过几百了。”
　　“你没有什么要申报的吗？”“没有。”
　　“你离开这个国家多久了？”“大概3个月了。”
　　“在这段时间里你什么也没购置吗？”
　　“除了我给你的清单上的东西什么也没有。”
　　他似乎有片刻的疑惑，但是过后他发起进攻了，当进攻发起的时候，完全出乎我的意料的。
　　“那块手表从哪来的？”
　　我懊恼极了，两天前和朋友在浴室打水仗的时候，我忘记把我的劳士伊司特表摘下来了，它就很自然地停了，我去一家商店花l2先令6士买了这块丑陋的表，它还发出很奇怪的声音。在旅程中它莫名其妙停了两次。
　　我解释了但是我已经丢了面子，我从口袋里拿出自己的手表给他，并且补充说如果他没收那件替代品我会很感激。
　　“这不是没收的问题O”他说，“不申报关税商品要罚款，现在可以把块劳力士给我检查吗？”
　　我又花了l5分钟说服他这块劳力士不是走私品，然后他开始搜查的行李。