I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn't care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”

At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.

I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?

She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room—if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”

Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control.” With that, she left the room.

After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

16.Why did the author shout at the telephone?

A.He was mad at the telephone.

B.He was angry with his agent.

C.He was anxious about his wife.

D.He was impatient with the secretary.

17.What did the author's wife do after she heard his shouting?

A.She said nothing.

B.She shouted at him.

C.She called the agent.

D.She threw the phone away.

18.What made the author laugh?

A.His own crazy behaviour.

B.His wife's suggestions.

C.His changeable feeling.

D.His wife's sweet kiss.

19.What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?

A.Smart words.

B.Unusual actions.

C.Surprising looks.

D.Anxious feelings.

【文章大意】 本文是一篇记叙文。作者打电话一直被推脱不接，渐渐没了耐心，而此时他妻子的一系列行为点醒了他，使他明白自己当时的行为是多么地可笑。

16.B　推理判断题。根据文章第一段的“…Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?’”并结合本段的整体内容可推知，作者对自己的经纪人很是生气，故选B项。

17.D　细节理解题。 根据第二段的最后一句“And she swept it into the wastebasket.”可知，作者的妻子在听到作者对电话吼叫时，把电话扔进垃圾桶了，故选D项。

18.A　推理判断题。根据文章最后一段的第一句和第三句“After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed.…How could I have trouble with that phone?”可推知，作者通过妻子模仿自己的行为意识到自己对电话吼的行为是多么地可笑，故选A项。

19.B　词义指代题。根据文章最后一段第一句“After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed.”可知，antics与crazy是同义词，故选B项。