Passage 3
In my long life I have seen many changes in our habits and customs and conditions in general. I think that you might be interested if I told you some of them.
The world I entered at the age of eighteen when I became a medical student was a world that knew nothing of such advanced things as planes, films, radios or telephones. It was a very cheap world. Prices were stable. When I entered St. Thomas' hospital I rent a set of rooms in Vincent Square for which I paid 18 shillings a week. My landlady provided me with a very good breakfast before I went to the hospital and a dinner when I came back at half past six. I only had to pay for the breakfasts and dinners twelve shillings a week. For four-pence I lunched at St. Thomas' on bread and butter and a glass of milk. I could be able to live very well, pay my fees, buy my necessary instruments, clothe myself, and have a lot of fun on fourteen pounds a month. And I could always pawn (当掉) my microscope for three pounds.
I spent five years at St. Thomas' hospital. I was a bad student, for my heart, as you might have guessed, was not in it. I wanted, I had always wanted to be a writer, and in the evenings, after my dinner, I wrote and read. Before long, I wrote a novel called 'Liza of Lambeth', which I sent to a publisher and was accepted. It came out during my last year at the hospital and it was successful. It was of course an accident, but I didn't know that. I felt I could afford to give up medicine and make writing my profession; so, three days after I graduated from the school of medicine, I left for Spain to write another book. I did not realize, at that time, that I was taking a great risk.
The text is a talk given by the author when ______.
题干的意思是：本文是作者______时谈的一段话。根据文章的第一句话(In my long life...)可以得知作者是以一种过来人的身份在向人们讲述人生的道理。以及文章的最后一句话，(...at that time...)表明事情已经过去很久了。而D选项advanced age(高龄，年事已高)符合此意。所以正确答案为D项。
The author graduated from the school of medicine when he was ______.
题干的意思是：当他______岁时作者从医学院毕业了。作者并未直接告诉读者他毕业时的年龄，全文只有一处(第二段的开头)涉及他的年龄。作者清楚地表明他进入医学院时的年龄是18岁，在第三段的开头又告诉读者他在那里学习了5年，所以他应该是23岁时毕业。所以，正确答案为C项。
'And I could always pawn my microscope for three pounds' means the author could always ______.
题干的意思是：“And I could always pawn my microscope for three pounds”的意思是作者总是能够______。本题考查的是动词pawn的用法，意思是：to leave an object with a pawnbroker in exchange for money。所以，正确答案为A项。
In the sentence 'I could be able to live very well, pay my fees, buy my necessary instruments, clothe myself...', the word 'clothe' means ______.
题干的意思是：“I was able to live very well, pay my fees, buy my necessary instruments, clothe myself...”这句话中的“clothe”的意思是______。根据前文，作者一直在讲他的消费，诸如付学费、买必备的仪器……所以这里clothe也应该是一种消费行为。相应的意思应该是“buy clothes for”。因此，正确答案为D项。
The author wanted to be a writer because ______.
题干的意思是：作者想成为一名作家是因为______。根据第三段中的“I was a bad student (at ST. Thomas' hospital), for my heart, as you might have guessed, was not in it. ”读者可以得知作者对所学的专业并不感兴趣。并且“I wanted, I had always wanted to be a writer...”进一步提示作者想成为作家是因为兴趣所在。所以正确答案为C项。