—Is there any possible way to help them get rid of such a bad habit?
—To tell the truth, it’s very hard. But we ________ on this problem, trying to improve the situation .
A. worked B. had worked C. are working D. had been working
Who Cares
Caro was blue that day. He was quietly seated in a chair, hesitating over whether to attend the ________ of his teacher in college or not. Staring at his graduation photo, he was lost in his memories of the past.
Ten years ago, Caro was glad to be chosen to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. That day he stepped up to the stage ________ and reached into his right pocket for the draft. ________, nothing was there. He tried hard to ________ for what was written in the draft. However, what he got was only sweat all over. He felt so embarrassed and ashamed that he ________ right away.
During the ten years ________ that speech, Caro still could not ________ off that horrible memory. ________, he didn’t keep in touch with any classmates.
“Honey, you should go,” his wife suggested.
_____ by his wife, Caro opened his eyes and said ________, as if he was________ in a difficult situation, “ OK, I will go.”
It was a cloudy day when the funeral was held.
Some of Caro’s classmates ________ around him eagerly after the service. Most of them complained of his________.
“Caro!” the monitor ________. “How are you? I’m sorry that in the last ceremony, I was too involved in those conversations to listen to your speech carefully.”
“What? You guys couldn’t hear what I was saying?” Caro could not believe that.
“Of course, everybody was ________ about chatting and couldn’t focus on ________ at that moment,” his monitor said.
Caro’s mind went ________. The rain ________ his face. A few minutes later, Caro recovered and breathed a sigh of ________, and smiled back at his classmates. It was he himself who cared too much for too long. Sometimes things don’t turn ________ to be what we thought. Just let bygones be bygones.
1.A. wedding B. party C. funeral D. lecture
2.A. in high spirits B. in no mood C. in astonishment D. in confusion
3.A. Amazingly B. Curiously C. Unexpectedly D. Encouragingly
4.A. search B. discover C. look D. read
5.A. stood B. remained C. prayed D. escaped
6.A. before B. after C. until D. over
7.A. shake B. remove C. get D. turn
8.A. However B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Meanwhile
9.A. Announced B. Annoyed C. Inspired D. Interrupted
10.A. unwillingly B. happily C. repeatedly D. determinedly
11.A. struck B. stuck C. set D. buried
12.A. crawled B. walked C. grouped D. greeted
13.A. silence B. absence C. retirement D. disappearance
14.A. cut in B. brought in C. took in D. set in
15.A. devoted B. addicted C. excited D. worried
16.A. everything B. nothing C. something D. anything
17.A. peaceful B. blank C. shameful D. unbelievable
18.A. fell B. wiped C. kissed D. sensed
19.A. impatience B. tiredness C. anger D. relief
20.A. in B. out C. over D. off
In phone stands in the U.S. there are usually directions for using the telephone. All phone numbers have seven digits (数位), though letters and numbers are sometimes used in combination. There may be phone books under the telephones.
1. You can make dial-direct calls in most parts of the U. S. Look in the white pages book for long distance rates or more information on making long distance calls. Or you can call the operator for help. If you need a phone number that’s not in your phone book, call Directory Assistance.
2. Dial 1 plus the area code plus the number, and an operator or a computer voice will tell you how much money to put in. On operator-assisted calls, the operator will ask you to put more money in before your time is up. 3. If you make a long distance call and get a wrong number, call the operator and explain what happened. 4. Or you can have the phone company mail you a credit coupon (附单) that has the same value as the phone call.
Some companies advertise a service called WATS, which means Wide Area Telephone Service.
5.. These are called “toll-free numbers” and the area code for all of them is 800.
A. To make a long distance call, you’ll need to know the three-digit area code.
B. A person-to-person call can only be accepted by the particular person you are calling.
C. On dial-direct calls, you’ll be cut off at the end of the time you paid for unless you put more money in the slot (投币口).
D. If that person is not there, you will also be charged.
E. This means that you can make the call again to the right number without having to pay more money.
F. You can dial a special number without a long distance charge.
G. There are two main kinds of long distance calls: dial-direct and operator-assisted.
Have you ever wondered why certain people always say they are lucky? Some people say the secret of being born lucky is probably a summer birthday. May babies are the most likely to enjoy a lifetime of good fortune, a study of 40,000 people has found. The time of year you are born has a lasting influence on optimism and whether people think they are lucky, British and Swedish scientists said. May is the luckiest month to be born in, with half of those born then considering themselves lucky. October is the least lucky month with only 43 percent claiming good fortune.
The study adds to evidence that luck is not all down to chance, but is also affected by a person’s attitude. Another research has shown that whether people think themselves lucky depends more on having a “glass half-full” (instead of “half-empty”) approach to life, than on success. Professor Richard Wiseman, who led the study, said, “Something is influencing how people feel about their luck. People create their own luck through their attitude towards life.”
Luck is a mental state and not a matter of blind chance. There could be two reasons why those born in spring and summer reported themselves luckier than those born in autumn or winter. “One theory is that the temperature at the time of birth might be helpful to the development of the brain.” He said. “People born in winter are more likely to suffer from depression”. He said another possible reason is that mothers may be in a bad mood during winter, which influences their babies. The researchers said their findings were based on statistics only, and would not be true for everyone.
What’s depression? Medical depression is when one feels so sad and hopeless that sometimes he can’t imagine being happy. The pain becomes so deep that you don’t feel like participating in life. People who are permanently depressed usually have physical problems like stomachaches, headaches, and lack of energy. As you probably know, some people experience such deep depression that they believe suicide (killing yourself) is the only way to escape their pain.
1.Why can your birthday influence your attitude towards life?
A. The time of your birthday determines how fortunate you will be.
B. Mothers may feel differently in different seasons, and their moods influence their babies.
C. How successful you will be lies in the hour of your birthday.
D. How you feel about your health is influenced by the time of your birthday.
2.Having a “half-full” approach to life is a (an) ______ attitude.
A. optimistic B. pessimistic C. lucky D. depressing
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. People born in summer are probably more optimistic than those born in winter.
B. A person’s luck may be affected by his attitude.
C. Depression may harm one’s physical health.
D. Luck is never a matter of chance.
4.According to the research result, one’s luck mainly depends on ______.
A. chance B. the month to be born in
C. one’s attitude to life D. health state
Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in London. Both his father and mother were entertainers and although not of big names, they were doing very well. While the family was by no means rich, the music hall provided the Chaplins with a comfortable living. Unfortunately happy life didn’t last long. Father’s alcoholism was slowly, but surely destroying his marriage. Finally it ended in divorce. His mother managed to keep Charlie and his brother Syney clean and warm, clothed and fed. She would sit at the window watching the passers-by and guess at their characters from the way they looked and behaved, making up tales to delight Charlie and Syney. Charlie took in her skills and went on using them all his life.
Charlie had always believed, even in the worst times, that he had something special locked away inside him. He took his courage and went to one of the top theater agents. With no experience at all, he was offered a plum part (意外得到的好角色) in a new production of “Sherlock Holmes”, which opened on July 27, 1903 at the famous “Pavilion Theatre”. Charlie seemed to change overnight. It was as if he had found the thing he was meant to do. By 1910, Charlie had become “one of the best pantomime (哑剧) artists ever seen ”.
Cinema was born in the same year as Charlie thought people still believed it was a passing fashion, and would never replace live shows. But after using several weeks to watch and to learn, he was determined to master this new medium. It offered him the chance of money and success—and it would set him free from the unpredictability of live audience.
Charlie’s first film, released in February 1914, was called “Making a living”. After that he made another ten. The public loved him and producers were demanding more and more Chaplin films. In an incredibly short time, Charlie had become a very important man in motion picture.
1.Which of the following is NOT true about Charlie Chaplin?
A. Mother had much influence on Charlie Chaplin’s career.
B. “Sherlock Holmes” made Charlie rise to fame overnight.
C. Charlie had been famous when the cinema became a fashion.
D. Charlie’s work in both the theater and the cinema was welcomed.
2.What can you infer from the passage?
A. Charlie Chaplin’s belief in his potential led to his success.
B. Charlie Chaplin got his first role in a film at 14.
C. Cinema was a form of art showing live performance.
D. Motion picture was a passing fashion lasting a short time.
3.The underlined word “unpredictability” in Paragraph 3 means____________.
A. low spirits B. opposing attitude
C. successful performance D. changing state
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Charlie Chaplin made the cinema industry popular.
B. Charlie Chaplin’s early success in his career.
C. Charlie Chaplin was a best pantomime artist.
D. Charlie Chaplin’s determination to do what he liked.
The dog that gave us the most trouble was a beagle (猎兔犬) named Murphy. As far as I’m concerned, the first thing he did wrong was to turn into a beagle. I had seen him running and jumping around on the other side of a pet-shop window, and I went in and asked the man, “How much is that lovable fox terrier (小猎狗) in the window?” Did he say “That lovable fox terrier is a beagle”? No, he said, “Ten dollars, lady.” Now, I don’t mean to say one word against beagles. They have rights just like other people. But it is a bit of a shock when you bring home a small ball of fluff in a shoebox, and three weeks later it’s as long as the sofa.
Murphy was the first dog I ever trained personally, and I was delighted at the enthusiasm with which he took to the newspaper. It was some time later that we discovered, to our horror, that—like so many dogs—he had grasped the letter but not the spirit of the thing. Until the very end of his days he felt a real sense of duty whenever he saw a newspaper—any newspaper—and it didn’t matter where it was. I can’t bring myself to go into the details, except to mention that we were finally forced to keep all the papers in the bottom of the icebox.
He had another habit that used to leave us open to a certain amount of criticism from our friends. He never climbed up on beds or chairs or sofas. But he always sat on top of the piano. In the beginning we used to try to pull him off. But after a few noisy fights in which he knocked a picture off the wall, kicked the piano, and broke a lamp, we just gave in—only to discover that he hopped up and down as skillfully as a ballet dancer.
Nowadays if I go anywhere, I just ask if they have a dog. If they do, I say, “Maybe I’d better keep away from it—I have bad allergy.” This sometimes annoys the host. But it works. It really works.
1.The writer uses a hyperbole (夸张) in Paragraph 1 to suggest that the dog grew ______.
A. surprisingly lovable B. comfortable in the house
C. too fierce to stand D. larger than expected
2.Which sentence shows the author’s inability to train Murphy?
A. I had seen him running and jumping around on the other side of a pet-shop window.
B. We were finally forced to keep all the papers in the bottom of the icebox.
C. He never climbed up on beds or chairs.
D. Nowadays if I go anywhere, I just ask if they have a dog.
3.What can you infer from the second paragraph?
A. The writer tried to train Murphy to fetch newspapers but failed.
B. Like other dogs, Murphy hated newspapers.
C. Murphy learned to help the writer clean the papers.
D. Murphy liked fetching letters rather than newspapers.
4.Which can be the best title of the passage?
A. Murphy—My Favorite Dog B. Murphy—An Lovable Dog
C. Murphy Gave Me Trouble D. Murphy Turned Into A Beagle
