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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 analysing 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 Kirn'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.
