9．It was a quarter past nine as Marie hurried into the office building where she would be working．Her bus had inched along through heavy morning traffic，making her a few minutes late for her very first job．She decided she would start out half an hour earlier the next day．Once inside the building，she had to stand at the lifts and wait several minutes before one arrived．When she finally reached the office marked"King Enterprises，"she knocked at the door nervously and waited．There was no answer．She tapped on the door again，but still there was no reply．From inside the next office，she could hear the sound of voices，so she opened the door and went in．Although she was sure it was the same office she had been in two weeks before when she had had the interview with Mr．King，it looked quite different now．In fact，it hardly looked like an office at all．The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking．At the far end of the room，somebody must have just told a good joke，she thought，because there was a loud burst of laughter as she came in．For a moment she had thought they were laughing at her．Then one of the men looked at his watch，clapped his hands and said something to the others．Quickly they all went to their desks and，in a matter of seconds，everyone was hard at work．No one paid any mind to Marie．Finally she went up to the man who was sitting at the desk nearest to the door and explained that this was her first day in the office．Hardly looking up from his work，he told her to have a seat and wait for Mr．King，who would arrive at any moment．Then Marie realized that the day's work in the office began just before Mr．King arrived．Later she found out that he lived in Connecticut and came into Manhattan on the same train every morning，arriving in the office at 9：35，so that his staff knew exactly when to start working．
120．Marie felt nervous when she knocked at the door becauseB．
A．she had never met the boss once before
B．she was a little bit late for work
C．she was afraid that she had gone to the wrong place
D．there was no answer from inside the office
121．Marie could hardly recognize the office she went into asC．
A．she had been there only once
B．Mr．King was not in the office
C．nobody was doing any work
D．the office had a new appearance
122．The people in the office suddenly started working becauseD．
A．they saw a stranger in the office
B．they had finished their morning break
C．no one wanted to talk to Marie
D．the boss was about to arrive
123．We can infer from the passage that the employees of the enterpriseD．
A．would start their work day by listening to a joke
B．were considerate to newcomers
C．were always punctual for work
D．lacked devotion to the company
124．What is probably the best title for the passage？B
A．Punctual Like a Clock
B．A Cold Welcome
C．An Unpunctual Manager
D．Better Late Than Never．
分析 本文写了作者第一天上班，匆忙来到办公室之后没有见到接待的人，相反员工们都在聊天吸烟，没有工作的，但是已到了九点三十五分之前，所有的人都忙着工作了，原来老板要来了．
解答 120．答案是B．细节理解题，根据文中句子"making her a few minutes late for her very first job．"上班第一天就迟到了，所以敲门的时候感觉紧张，故答案选B．
121．答案是C．细节理解题，根据文中描写"The employees were just standing around chatting and smoking"员工们都在聊天吸烟，没有人做工作，所以答案选C．
122．答案是D．细节理解题，根据文章最后一句话""arriving in the office at 9：35，so that his staff knew exactly when to start working"老板要在九点三十五分到办公室，那是员工开始工作的时间，所以答案选D．
123．答案是D．推理判断题，老板不来就不工作，聊天吸烟一片狼藉，等到老板快到的时候就忙着工作，所有的工作状态都是做给老板看得，而不是真心的，所以答案D复合题意．
124．答案是B．从全文内容看作者，作者第一天上班，没有见到老板，也没有理睬他，也看到了公司员工的另一面，所以B选项作为题目合适．
点评 阅读理解题测试考生在阅读基础上的逻辑推理能力，要求考生根据文章所述事件的逻辑关系，对未说明的趋势或结局作出合理的推断；或根据作者所阐述的观点理论，对文章未涉及的现象、事例给以解释．考生首先要仔细阅读短文，完整了解信息，准确把握作者观点．
