Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
“And you’ll be sorry that you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll surely be the best lawyer in our town!”
After graduation, George never became a lawyer and Richard was anybody but a millionaire …. Instead, it happened that both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street, while it was hard to make much money from books then, which made the competition between them worse. Eventually, Richard closed down his, dreaming of making a fortune elsewhere.
Now, with only one bookshop in the town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival (竞争对手)。Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries, and he had recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was quite delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished — the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading: “Bookends Company has bought ten bookstores from its competitors. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in this country.”
小题1:George and Richard were at school.
A．roommates
B．good friends
C．competitors
D．booksellers小题2:How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?
A．He envied Richard’s good fortune very much.
B．He thought about Richard from time to time.
C．He felt unlucky with no more rival in the town.
D．He was unhappy of Richard’s disappearance.小题3:George got information about Richard from .
A．a dictionary collector in Australia
B．one of Richard’s competitors
C．some rare edition of a dictionary
D．the wrapping paper of a book小题4:What happened to George and Richard in the end?
A．Both George and Richard became millionaires by selling books.
B．Both of them realized their original ambitions, which were the same.
C．George established a successful business while Richard was missing.
D．Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success.
