IV．阅读理解。阅读短文，根据短文的内容从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择一个正确答案，并填在答题纸相应的位置上。错选、多选或未选均无分。（本大题共10小题，每小题2分，共20分）
Passage One
My grandmother was an iron-willed woman, the feared matriarch (女首领) of our New York family back in the 1950s.
When I was five years old, she invited some friends and relatives to her Bronx apartment for a party. Among the guests was a neighborhood big shot who was doing well in business. His wife was proud of their social status and let everyone at the party know it. They had a little girl about my age who was spoiled and very much used to getting her own way.
Grandmother spent a lot of time with the big shot and his family. She considered them the most important members of her social circle and worked hard at currying their favor.
At one point during the party, I made my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. A minute or two later, the little girl opened the bathroom door and grandly walked in. I was still sitting down.
“Don’t you know that little girls aren’t supposed to come into the bathroom when a little boy is using it!?” I shouted loudly.
The surprise of my being there, along with the indignation I had heaped upon her, stunned the little girl. Then she started to cry. She quickly closed the door, ran to the kitchen, and tearfully complained to her parents and my grandmother.
Most of the partygoers had overheard my loud remark and were greatly amused by it. But not Grandmother.
She was waiting for me when I left the bathroom. I received the longest, sharpest tongue-lashing of my young life. Grandmother yelled that I was impolite and rude and that I had insulted that nice little girl. The guests watched and drew back in absolute silence. So forceful was my grandmother’s personality that no one dared stand up for me.
After her scolding speech was over and I had been dismissed, the party continued, but the atmosphere was much tenser.
Twenty minutes later, all that changed. Grandmother walked by the bathroom and noticed a stream of water flowing out from under the door.
She shrieked twice—first in astonishment, then in rage. She flung open the bathroom door and saw that the sink and tub were plugged up and that the faucets (水龙头) were going at full blast.
Everyone knew who the criminal was. The guests quickly formed a protective barricade around me, but Grandmother was so furious that she almost got to me anyway, waving her arms as if trying to swim over the crowd.
Several strong men eventually moved her away and calmed her down, although she was still hot with anger for quite a while.
My grandfather took me by the hand and sat me on his lap in a chair near the window. He was a kind and gentle man, full of wisdom and patience. Rarely did he raise his voice to anyone, and never did he argue with his wife or resist her wishes.
He looked at me with much curiosity, not at all angry or upset. “Tell me,” he asked, “why did you do it?”
“Well, she yelled at me for nothing,” I said earnestly. “Now she’s got something to yell about.”
Grandfather didn’t speak right away. He just sat there, looking at me and smiling.
“Eric,” he said at last, “you are my revenge.”
41. The phrase “currying their favor” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
A. standing on their side B. winning their support
C. getting their attention D. begging their forgiveness
42. How did the partygoers react when they noticed what happened in the bathroom between Eric and the little girl?
A. They didn’t take the incident seriously.
B. They anticipated the grandmother’s anger.
C. They accused the boy of being rude to the girl.
D. They blamed the girl for her offensive behavior.
43. According to the writer, what spoiled the atmosphere of the party?
A. The sharp scolding from Grandmother.
B. The indifference showed by the partygoers.
C. The strong protest from the five-year-old boy.
D. The undesirable behavior of the big shot family.
44. Which of the following happened first?
A. Grandmother shrieked in great shock.
B. Grandmother exploded in huge madness.
C. Water streamed out from under the bathroom door.
D. Faucets in the bathroom were turned on at full burst.
45. What can we learn from the last sentence of the story?
A. It was unfair for Grandfather to have such a mischievous grandson.
B. It was hard for Grandfather to understand the boy’s protest.
C. Grandfather implied his approval for the boy’s behavior.
D. Grandfather was as hot-tempered as Grandmother.
