British people are famous for apologizing in almost every situation. Whether they are apologizing for asking a question, for their bad weather or because they sneezed, they are probably the number-one nation for apologies.
Brits pride themselves on their polite manners towards one another in public. As a result, they often use the word “sorry” quite a lot---even when they don’t really mean it! Usually, if they want to ask a stranger for the time, they would start by saying “Sorry to bother you. Do you know what time it is?” If they are five minutes late for an appointment, they would generally greet the person by saying “Sorry, I’m late!”
That they say sorry does not only mean they feel sad for someone else because of their problems or misfortunes. Another main dictionary definition of “sorry” is feeling regret because they have done something wrong. And now, think about this. Normally, when they want to ask a stranger a question, they start with “Sorry to disturb you”. In this situation, they aren’t saying sorry because they feel sad for that person or because they feel regret.
In the British culture, apologizing, in general, is a way to be polite, especially to people who they don’t know very well. Furthermore, it also can bring them other benefits in their daily life. In a recent experiment, an actor approached different strangers on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phones to make a call. When he approached one group of strangers and asked them without apologizing first, he was only 9% successful in borrowing their phones. However, when he apologized to another group of strangers about the bad weather before asking if he could use their mobile phones, he was 47% successful.
1.Why do British people say “sorry” so much?
A.To respect others.
B.To show their politeness.
C.To express their regret.
D.To apologize for their mistakes.
2.What can we infer about the word “sorry” from the third paragraph?
A.It is used in more situations than before.
B.It is embarrassing to use sorry improperly.
C.It has different meanings in different situations.
D.It meaning is always hard to understand.
3.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A.The benefits of saying “sorry”.
B.The ways of borrowing a phone.
C.The secrets to dealing with strangers.
D.The keys to being a polite man.
阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇 60 词左右的内容概要。
Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying “curiosity killed the cat.” It’s a phrase that's often used to warn people - especially children - not to ask too many questions. Yet it’s widely agreed that curiosity actually makes learning more effective. In fact, research has shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in determining how well students do in school.
Curiosity can also lead us to make unexpected discoveries, bring excitement into our lives, and open up new possibilities. In science, basic curiosity-driven research can have unexpected important benefits. For example,one day in 1831, Michael Faraday was playing around with a coil and a magnet when he suddenly saw how he could produce an electrical current. At first, it wasn't clear what use this would have, but it actually made electricity available for use in technology, and so changed the world.
However, curiosity is currently under the biggest threat, coming from technology. On one level, this is because technology has become so advanced that many of us are unable to think too deeply about how exactly things work any more. While it may be possible for a curious teenager to take a toaster apart and get some sense of how it works, how much do you understand about what happens when you type a website address into a browser? Where does your grasp of technology end and the magic begin for you?
In addition to this, there’s the fact that we all now connect so deeply with technology, particularly with our phones. The more we stare at our screens, the less we talk to other people directly. All too often we accept the images of people that social media provides us with. Then we feel we know enough about a person not to need to engage further with them.
That means we end up inside our own little bubbles, no longer coming across new ideas. Perhaps the real key to developing curiosity in the 21st century, then, is to rely less on the tech tools of our age.
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假定你是李华，你的外籍朋友 Mr Brown 对中国文化很感兴趣，请给他写一封邮件，邀请他来参加浙江非物质文化遗产(non-material cultural relics)展览活动。内容包括:
1. 写信目的； 2.时间、地点； 3.活动内容。注意:
1. 词数 80 左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。
It is widely accepted that optimistic attitudes promote health as well as happiness. The secret of a long life is 1. (universe) desired and has long been sought. Today we can reveal it: always look on the bright side. A huge research project2.(lead) by scientists at the Boston University School of Medicine concludes that optimists live3. (long).
Lewina Lee, lead author of the study, said, “A lot of evidence4.(suggest) that exceptional longevity( 长 寿 ) is widely accompanied by a longer span of good health and living5. disability. Therefore our findings raise an exciting possibility6. we may be able to promote health and happiness by7.(develop) positive attitudes such as optimism.”
However, the study doesn’t suggest that we should aim for great pleasure. Sadness is8. important part of the human condition. Any normal person sometimes experience disappointment, ambitions and the9.(lose) of loved ones. But for many people, these matters of human existence 10. (transform) into an abnormal state of despair. There is a vital place in public health for providing mental treatment in helping to correct these cognitive errors. It is not weakness to be defeated by setbacks. It is merely a mistake.
I was a shy girl and I was afraid to talk to people I didn’t know. I enjoyed the___ of exploring nature. _____, at school I had to spend all day in the company of others. My______was reading. I spent a lot of time studying and was ____ good grades. My only failure was Spanish - I’d get all As on my written work and tests, but Ds and Fs on the___ part.
Eventually I went to college. During my third year of college, I had____of being shy and determined to change my outlook and behavior. One day while at school, I noticed an advertisement for ___on the local classical music radio station. I had _____listening to classical music, and I could easily pronounce names such as Tchaikovsky and Chopin.
I had no background in radio, and absolutely no hope of getting the job. The idea of___ thousands of listeners in “radio land” terrified me. However, I ____ survived the interview. I was given brief descriptions of symphonies(交响乐)and a public service announcement to read, and a list of composers’ names___ . It wasn’t hard for me. I left the recording session(录音场次)with a sense of relief and a sense of _____. About two weeks later I actually landed the job. It was a ____ job, but I grew to___ it greatly. I began to feel comfortable talking to people.
Although I now spend many hours each week talking with people, I’m____ basically a quiet person. Perhaps it is my soft voice and my ______ nature that helps draw people out when they respond to my questions when I___ them. My former shyness is a____, as I can relate to people who feel discomfortable when they talk to reporters. I still enjoy moments of loneliness and the___ found in nature. But I’m also glad I decided to make a___ in my life that has opened many doors and opportunities that I never knew existed.
1.A.loneliness B.adventure C.pleasure D.excitement
2.A.Therefore B.However C.Besides D.Additionally
3.A.excuse B.reason C.escape D.assignment
4.A.mixed with B.provided with C.rewarded with D.awarded with
5.A.written B.spelt C.listened D.spoken
6.A.enough B.nothing C.much D.little
7.A.assignments B.positions C.professions D.careers
8.A.woken up B.picked up C.taken up D.grown up
9.A.explaining to B.talking to C.listening to D.complaining to
10.A.deliberately B.occasionally C.luckily D.randomly
11.A.to pronounce B.to type C.to identify D.to copy
12.A.depression B.humor C.failure D.accomplishment
13.A.pleasant B.challenging C.comfortable D.painless
14.A.hate B.tolerate C.enjoy D.adjust
15.A.even B.also C.seldom D.still
16.A.quiet B.outgoing C.optimistic D.lively
17.A.persuade B.inform C.remind D.interview
18.A.fortune B.devotion C.heritage D.commitment
19.A.wealth B.sound C.peace D.wildness
20.A.study B.change C.promise D.conclusion
Friends should always be honest with you, right? So when they lie, it can be really hard to take. You want to trust your friends and that means knowing that they’ll tell it to you straight no matter what it is. 1.Why does this happen?
2.
One of the biggest reasons friends lie is simply to avoid hurting your feelings. Some people don’t understand the difference between being gently honest with a friend and being so straightforward that they leave a verbal wound. They choose to avoid these two extremes in the form of a lie.
They feel embarrassed.
Sometimes friends will lie about things in their life because they are too embarrassed to admit the truth. Maybe they are going through a rough time and they just don’t want you to know about it. Avoid trying to badger ( 纠 缠 ) your friends into telling you what’s wrong.3.
Avoid an argument with you.
Perhaps your friends know that if they tell you the truth, you’ll get angry with them. Make sure that if a friend tells you something unpleasant, you don’t overact.4. If you do end up arguing, do it in a respectable way.
Exclude you.
Lying isn’t always a sign that friends are trying to protect you, however. 5. When you find out with certainty that your friend is lying to you, try and face it. If you feel your friend is lying because he or she doesn’t want to be around you, that’s your wake-up to move on.
A.Protect your feelings.
B.They want to be your closer friends.
C.But a friend who lies isn’t always trying to hurt you.
D.Consider what’s being said and why your friend is telling you this.
E.Being honest and making a sincere effort can keep the friendship strong.
F.Sometimes they lie because they don’t want you to be included in their plans.
G.Instead, make it clear that you are there for them when and if they are ready to talk.
