单选题 Computer programmer Brendan Tammy earned ￡55000 a year by designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card. Instead, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.
He works for a small company in Liverpool, where most young people of his age are looking for jobs. Brendan's biggest headache is how to use his money. Though he has high payment, he cannot drive a car, or get credit cards.
Brendan got his job four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels (普通考试科目) and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the company knew I had already written some programs," he said.
"I suppose 55000 pounds sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year." He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week as he lives with his parents. But most of his spare time is spent working.
"Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. "But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway. I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear. /

单选题 Why is Brendan so different from other young people of his age?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。文章第一段首先指出，电脑程序员Brendan Tammy每年挣55000英镑，但却找不到银行给他发银行卡，还得等两年直到他满18岁。在第二段里，文章又指出他尽管工资高，却无法开车、获得信用卡。由作者使用的语气与常识可知，Brendan Tammy与其他年轻人不同、因而值得作者来介绍其情况的原因就是他未成年就能挣那么多的工资，故答案是[A]。其余三项都只是文中提到的事实，但它们表示的情况在其他年轻人身上也可能有。
单选题 Brendan's greatest problem is that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。第一段指出银行不给他发卡，第二段最后一句又说他无法开车、申请信用卡。这一切都是因为他还要两年才满18岁，也就是说，银行认为他还是未成年人．故答案是[A]。
单选题 He left school after taking six O-levels because ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。文章第三段指出Brendan Tammy退学的事实，而在第五段用直接引语说明了他退学的原因：学校不教电脑课程，他用业余时间学了4年电脑，他知道自己想干什么，从未考虑过待在学校里继续学习。综合起来可以推知，他是因为想从事电脑工作才退学的，因为在学校他学不到自己想学的电脑知识，故答案是[C]。有些考生选了[B]，但这只是可能的一种原因，并不是他退学的直接原因。
单选题 Why does Brendan think he might retire early?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。答案信息对应于文章最后一句：You never know when the market might disappear(你永远不会知道市场何时消失)，即他对电脑游戏未来的市场情况没有把握，所以才想早早退休。[B]由文章内容无法推知．[C]、[D]在文中都没有提及。