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Few people ever took notice of Mr. Jimmy Tan whenever he entered a room. He was a shy, quiet
and simple man who preferred to keep to himself in public. On the other hand, Mr. Thomas Kim, a
fellow scientist, was a man everyone would notice on the streets. He wore bright outfits with huge flower
prints, spoke with a booming voice, and his laughter could be heard from all corners of a room. In
addition to the differences in their characters, Mr. Kim and Mr. Tan were also great rivals at work in the
Institute of Future Science.
On Christmas Eve, everyone left work early to celebrate the special occasion, except for Mr. Tan
and Mr. Kim. They were in their laboratory analyzing the results of their latest experiments. Mr. Tan
realized that something special was taking place in his experiment -the bacteria he had cultured were
growing extremely quickly under high pressure and at a very low temperature. After noting down the
findings in his notebook, he left the room to prepare for another round of tests. Shortly after, Mr. Kim
entered.
"Hey Jimmy," Mr. Kim called out, "do you have an extra copy of the laboratory booking form?"
There was no reply, so Mr. Kim looked through Mr. Tan's things. He soon found Mr. Tan's
notebook and was horrified to see that Mr. Tan had managed to make one of the most important
discoveries in modern science. He then looked into the deep-freeze cupboard where a dish containing
the bacteria was kept. He put them into his pocket and returned to his own laboratory.
Mr. Tan came back an hour later to find his notebook and the dish missing. He knew that Mr. Kim
had taken them and went to Mr. Kim's laboratory to find out. When he opened the door, he found Mr.
Kim lying on the floor motionless. His face was pale and his skin had turned black. The deadly bacteria
had been handled improperly. He shook his head and left.
1. From the first paragraph we know Mr. Kim was a quite ___ person.
A. famous
B. hardworking
C. wealthy
D. outgoing
2. The underlined word "rivals" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to .
A. enemies
B. colleagues
C. competitors
D. friends
3. What does the underlined word "them" refer to in the 4th paragraph?
A. the most important discoveries
B. the notebook and the dish
C. the cupboard and the bacteria
D. the dish and the bacteria
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Mr. Kim was afraid Mr. Tan might succeed ahead of him.
B. Mr. Tan's bacteria grew very fast in a warm container.
C. Mr. Tan worked much harder than Mr. Kim.
D. Mr. Kim was so tired that he fell down into sleep.
5. What happened to Mr. Kim in the end?
A. He died on Christmas Eve.
B. He was arrested by the police.
C. He shared the success with Mr. Tan.
D. He succeeded ahead of Mr. Tan.
