All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers. These never change. What one experiences in a barber’s shop the first time he enters one is what he always experiences in barbers’ shops afterward till the end of his days.
I got shaved this morning as usual. A man approached the door from Jones Street as I approached it from Main--a thing that always happens. I hurried up, but it was of no use; he entered the door one little step ahead of me, and I followed in and saw him take the only empty chair, the one headed by the best barber. It always happens so. I sat down, hoping that I might sit in the chair belonging to the better of the remaining two barbers, for he was a bit ahead. I watched the probabilities with strong interest. When I saw that No. 2 was gaining on No. 1, my interest grew to solicitude (孤单). When No. 1 was gradually losing the race, my solicitude rose to anxiety. When No. 1 caught up again, and both were about to finish and say “Next!” first, my very breath stood still with the suspense. But when I saw that he had lost the race by a single instant, I rose angrily and quitted the shop, to keep from falling into the hands of No. 2; for I have none of that firmness that enables a man to look calmly into the eyes of a waiting barber and tell him he will wait for his fellow-barber’s chair.
I stayed out fifteen minutes, and then went back, hoping for better luck. Unfortunately, all the chairs were occupied now, and four men sat waiting, silent, and looking bored, as men always do who are waiting their turn in a barber’s shop. I sat down and waited.
At last my turn came. A voice said “Next!” and I give in to No. 2, of course. It always happens so. I smiled and said that I was in a hurry, and it affected him as strongly as if he had never heard it.
He explored my hair with his claws and suggested that it needed trimming(修剪). I said I did not want it trimmed. He explored again and said it was pretty long for the present style. I said I had had it cut only a week before. He stopped for a moment, and then asked “who cut it?” I stared at him from the mirror and replied “You did!” Then a dog-fight attracted his attention, and he ran to the window and stayed and watched it…
1. The author left the barber’s shop mainly because_________.
A. he would like to wait for “No. 1” outside
B. he would rather be served by the best barber
C. he lacked the courage to tell “No. 2” his intention
D. he was angry at the slow speed of “No. 1”
2. What is the change of the author’s attitude from the moment he went into the barber’s to the moment he left it?
A. Disappointed---Anxious---Hopeful---Angry.
B. Disappointed --Hopeful---Anxious---Angry.
C. Hopeful--- Sad --- Anxious ---Angry.
D. Hopeful--- Anxious --- Angry --- Sad.
3. The author chose “No. 2” in the end, because________.
A. he had no choice B. he was in a hurry
C. “No. 1” avoided him on purpose D. he is always one step behind others
4. The underlined word “suspense” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
A. loneliness B. possibility
C. anxiety D. hope
5. What is likely to happen next?
A. The author lost his temper. B. “No. 2” ran out of his patience.
C. The author was well-served by “No. 2”. D. The author was treated the same way as usual.
