Generally speaking, people like those who have a good sense of humor.
Sometimes a touch of humor might well enable us to win. Consider the case of a young friend of mine, who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum (最后通牒) about being late on the job. Although there was a good reason for Brian’s being late—serious illness at home—he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn’t work any longer. His boss was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech.
Yes, the boss was, as Brian entered the office at 9:35. The place was as quiet as a locker room (更衣室): everyone was hard at work. Brian’s boss came up to him. Suddenly, Brian forced a smile and stretched out his hand. “How do you do!” he said. “I’m Brian. I’m applying for a job, which, I understand, became available just 35 minutes ago. Doesn’t the early bird get the worm?”
The room exploded in laughter. The boss clamped off a smile and walked back to his office. Brian had saved his job, with the only tool that could win—a laugh.
Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for patching up differences, apologizing, saying “no”, criticizing, getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face. For some jobs, it’s the only tool that can succeed. It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrel. For example, many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance (忍受力) than people in any other forum.
1.Brian was late for his job because ________.
A. he got up late B. he was seriously ill
C. he was caught in a traffic jam D. he was busy applying for a new job
2.What can we infer about humor?
A. It is the early bird.
B. It is important in our lives.
C. Brian often saved his job with humor.
D. It can solve racial discriminations.
3.What does the underlined phrase “clamped off” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. charge B. tried to set
C. gave up D. tried to hold back
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. Many people lack in a sense of humor.
B. Brian was supposed to arrive at his office at 8: 30.
C. It wasn’t the first time that Brian came late for work.
D. Humor is the most interesting way of solving problems.
The world is too big to take in all at once. To make sense and beauty of it, you have to look at a small part at a time.
In using a camera, you choose a small part through he view finder. You move the camera, “framing” pictures until you see one that pleases you. Then-click! If you make a good choice, your picture will please others, as well as yourself.
“Wherever you are,” says photographer Ernst Haas, “you are surrounded by pictures. The trick is to recognize them.” His photograph of a twist of barbed wire shows what he means.
Mr. Haas tells us of ways to practice seeing. Make a simple frame of black cardboard. Take it out of the doors and look through it at everyday things, large or small, far away or near.
At first you may see nothing to interest you. But soon pictures seem to leap (跳) at you through the frame. Oil floating on water makes a picture in rainbow colors. Three people on the steps of an old house form a picture that seems to tells a story.
Did you notice such things before you used the frame? Perhaps not. But, with practice, you soon do not need its help. You see things as artists do. Everywhere, shapes and colors catch your eye. Your mind takes “snapshots (快照)” of their patterns. Then, if you wish, you can share what you see by taking a photograph or by making a drawing or a painting.
Sometimes it’s fun to “see small”. Did you ever notice the design of the seeds in sliced bananas? Have you looked deep inside a lily? Or seen the starburst in the center of a wet ice cube?
Do you see colors as they really are? When you paint tree trunks, you would make them brown or black. But tree trunks are really gray, purple, yellow-green—almost any color except brown or black!
Do you notice detail? Doing so can be in many ways. Remembering what you see is often useful, too. Practice can help you.
A trick for helping you to remember detail is the double take. Look—don’t look—then look again.
1.What does the underlined word “trick” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. joke B. magic
C. habit D. skill
2.What does the author want to tell us?
A. The better you learn to see, the more alive you are.
B. Walking in the country, you should look closely at the trunks.
C. A branch with a few leaves fills the frame with a beautiful design.
D. Close your eyes and try to remember how it looks.
3.Which of the fallowing is true according to the text?
A. When you paint trees, you would make them gray.
B. Glance at a bill and you remember how it looked.
C. Seeing is one way of living.
D. Give a second look and you remember all the detail.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. The world is too big to travel around.
B. Look around—and see!
C. Wherever you are, a camera is important.
D. A good way to see is to carry a camera
假定你是李华，你的新西兰笔友 James 将于下月来湖北旅游，特来信询问有关旅游景点情况。请根据下列要点写一封回信。要点如下:
1. 旅游资源:黄鹤楼、三峡大坝等；
2. 相关信息:气候适宜、交通方便等；
3. 期待他的到来。
注意:
1. 词数 100 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
黄鹤楼 Yellow Crane Tower 三峡大坝 Three Gorges Dam
水力发电 hydro-power project
Dear James,
I am glad to hear that you are coming to Hubei next month.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文。请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有 10 处错误，每句中最多有两处。每处仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在此符号下 面写出该加的词。删除:把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均限一词。
2.只允许修改 10 处，多者(从第 11 处起)不计分。
During the 2019 Spring Festival, I see a movie named "The Wandering Earth". Basing on a story by Liu Cixin, a movie was released on February 5, 2019. It talks about humans' efforts to moving the Earth out of the solar system.
The movie is a hit among moviegoer and a success in box office sales as well as. It impresses people with an amazed story and eye-catching special effects. So what deeply touches your heart is the understanding of Chinese traditional values about family and love for the earth. The movie has considered the beginning of a new journey of the Chinese sci-fi film industry.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
An official of the ancient State of Chu awarded a pot of wine to his men. One man said, “We have only one pot of wine. It's not enough for all of us. Let's determine who'll have the wine by drawing a snake1. the ground. Who finishes first will have 2.” The others agreed. Very soon, one man finished his snake. He was about 3.(drink) the wine when he saw the others were still busy 4.(draw). He said proudly, “How 5.(slow) you are drawing! I still have enough time to add feet to my snake.” But before he finished, another man finished his snake and took hold of the pot from him, saying, “Whoever 6.(see) a snake with feet before? Yours is not a snake, 7. the wine should be mine!” He drank the wine. The man adding feet to the snake had to give in and could only regret his 8. (fool) behavior.
From that story comes the idiom ‘Draw a snake and add feet to it’. Now people use this idiom to illustrate (阐释) the truth 9. we are all familiar with: Going too far 10. (be) as bad as not going far enough.
When Mom pulled in the driveway, Grandpa Joe was weeding his garden. He stood up and _______ us with wide-open arms. In his muddy gloves and jeans, he looked_______ like the well-dressed grandfather I remembered. The super professional bank president who loved numbers had retired(退休) and let his hair run _______. I wasn’t_______ him to look so different.
After the hugs and kisses, Grandpa couldn’t _______ to show off his garden, pointing out his almost-ripe tomatoes and ___________ about the rabbits eating his lettuce. The man who had been _______ for ages with interest rates(利率) now cared only about gardening.
Once Mom was gone for business, Grandpa_______ me and said, “Now, Anthony, if I remember _______, you like pasta(意大利面) with pesto sauce.” I eagerly nodded. “That’s perfect!” Grandpa said. “We’ll make some.”
We__________ some vegetables from the garden, and then drove 15 miles to the nearest grocery, where Grandpa bought cheese and nuts. On the drive home Grandpa asked, “What’s the__________ of having a grandpa if he never makes you a big home-cooked meal?”
Then Grandpa showed me how to __________ eggs with flour to make pasta and then how to prepare the sauce. When everything was ready, he proudly ____________ me a large plate of pasta. I ____________ a forkful into my mouth and it was just__________.
“So,” Grandpa said, his eyes__________, “what do you think?”
Before answering, I thought about our ______________. The garden, the shopping, the ____________ “I . . . I . . . love it, Grandpa!” I said.
Then his face broke__________ a smile so warm that I was sure I hadn’t told him a__________.
1.A. charge B. greet C. treat D. reward
2.A. nothing B. everything C. anything D. something
3.A. clean B. strange C. magical D. wild
4.A. persuading B. reminding C. expecting D. informing
5.A. choose B. wait C. invite D. stop
6.A. complaining B. crying C. lying D. arguing
7.A. satisfied B. occupied C. decorated D. covered
8.A. jumped at B. looked for C. heard from D. turned to
9.A. directly B. wrongly C. clearly D. slowly
10.A. brought up B. watched out C. pulled up D. set off
11.A. result B. point C. honor D. reason
12.A. mix B. charge C. compare D. fill
13.A. created B. bought C. packed D. served
14.A. transported B. stole C. put D. selected
15.A. terrible B. tasty C. spicy D. wonderful
16.A. closed B. dropping C. shining D. opened
17.A. day B. life C. relationship D. family
18.A. prediction B. celebration C. determination D. preparation
19.A. through B. down C. off D. into
20.A. joke B. lie C. story D. fact
