(A)

    Most boys, and many girls too, have at some time or other started a stamp collection. Stamp-collecting, or, to call it (1) its correct name, philately, (2) an increasing popular hobby from as (3) as 184 -- less than two decades (十年) after postage stamps (4). Today the hobby numbers among its enthusiastic (5) not only boys and girls, but also men and women from all ranks (阶层) in society. So rapidly (6) interest in stamp-collecting increase in the United States of America (7) in 1921 the United States Post Office found itself (8) set up a special department to (9) the needs of collectors. At present the yearly (10) of this department total over three hundred thousand dollars. 

 (B)

     On the morning of November 18, 175, an earthquake shook Boston, Massachusetts. John Winthrop, a professor at Harvard College, (11) the quake and awoke. "I (12)," Winthrop wrote, "(13) a candle, looked at my watch and (14) it to be 15 minutes after four." John Winthrop (15) downstairs to the grandfather clock. It had stopped three minutes before, at 4:11. Except for stopping the clock, the quake had only thrown a key from the mantel (壁炉台) to the floor.

     The clock stopped, for Winthrop had put some glass tubes (试管) he was using for an experiment (16) the case for safekeeping. The tubes were knocked over by the quake and blocked (阻塞) the pendulum (钟摆). Winthrop, therefore, had the (17) time that the earthquake (18) Boston. He looked at the key on the floor. The quake had thrown it (19) in the direction of the quake's motion (运动) by a shock (20) the northwest, perhaps in Canada.