When her five daughters were young,Helene An always told them that there was strength in unity(团结).To show this,she held up one chopstick,representing one person.Then she easily broke it into two pieces.Next,she tied several chopsticks together,representing a family.She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks.This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.
Helene An and her family own a large restaurant business in California.However,when Helene and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975,they didn’t have much money.They moved their family to San Francisco.There they joined Danny’s mother,Diana,who owned a small Italian sandwich shop.Soon afterwards,Helene and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant.The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young.However,Helene did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.
Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves,but one by one,the daughters returned to work in the family business.They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles.Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other,they worked together to make the business successful.Daughter Elizabeth explains,“Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity,and to have unity we must have peace.Without the strength of the family,there is no business.”
Their expanding business became a large corporation in 1996,with three generations of Ans working together.Now the Ans’ corporation makes more than $20 million each year.Although they began with a small restaurant,they had big dreams,and they worked together.Now they are a big success.
1.Helene tied several chopsticks together to show______.
A.the strength of family unity
B.the difficulty of growing up
C.the advantage of chopsticks
D.the best way of giving a lesson
2.We can learn from Paragraph 2 that the An family______.
A.started a business in 1975
B.left Vietnam without much money
C.bought a restaurant in San Francisco
D.opened a sandwich shop in Los Angeles
Food serves as a form of communication in two fundamental ways. Sharing bread or other foods is a common human tradition that can promote unity and trust. Food can also have a specific meaning, and play a significant role in a family or culture's celebrations or traditions. The foods we eat—and when and how we eat them—are often unique to a particular culture or may even differ between rural (农村的) and urban areas within one country.
Sharing bread, whether during a special occasion (时刻) or at the family dinner table, is a common symbol of togetherness. Many cultures also celebrate birthdays and marriages with cakes that are cut and shared among the guests. Early forms of cake were simply a kind of bread, so this tradition hits its roots in the custom of sharing bread.
Food also plays an important role in many New Year celebrations. In the southern United States, pieces of corn bread represent blocks of gold for prosperity (兴旺) in the New Year. In Greece, people share a special cake called vasilopita. A coin is put into the cake, which signifies (预示) success in the New Year for the person who receives it.
Many cultures have ceremonies to celebrate the birth of a child, and food can play a significant role. In China, when a baby is one month old, families name and welcome their child in a celebration that includes giving red-colored eggs to guests. In many cultures, round foods such as grapes, bread, and moon cakes are eaten at welcome celebrations to represent family unity.
Nutrition is necessary for life, so it is not surprising that food is such an important part of different cultures around the world.
1.According to the passage, sharing bread______.
A.indicates a lack of food
B.can help to develop unity
C.is a custom unique to rural areas
D.has its roots in birthday celebrations
2.What does the coin in vasilopita signify for its receiver in the New Year?
A.Trust. B.Success.
C.Health. D.Togetherness.
3.The author explains the role of food in celebrations by______.
A.using examples B.making comparisons
C.analyzing causes D.describing processes
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The custom of sharing food.
B.The specific meaning of food.
C.The role of food in ceremonies.
D.The importance of food in culture.
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
University Room Regulations
Approved and Prohibited Items
The following items are approved for use in residential (住宿的) rooms: electric blankets, hair dryers, personal computers, radios, televisions and DVD players. Items that are not allowed in student rooms include: candles, ceiling fans, fireworks, waterbeds, sun lamps and wireless routers. Please note that any prohibited items will be taken away by the Office of Residence Life.
Access to Residential Rooms
Students are provided with a combination (组合密码) for their room door locks upon check-in. Do not share your room door lock combination with anyone. The Office of Residence Life may change the door lock combination at any time at the expense of the resident if it is found that the student has shared the combination with others. The fee is $25 to change a room combination.
Cooking Policy
Students living in buildings that have kitchens are only permitted to cook in the kitchen. Students must clean up after cooking. This is not the responsibility of housekeeping staff. Kitchens that are not kept clean may be closed for use. With the exception of using a small microwave oven (微波炉) to heat food, students are not permitted to cook in their rooms.
Pet Policy
No pets except fish are permitted in student rooms. Students who are found with pets, whether visiting or owned by the student, are subject to an initial fine of $100 and a continuing fine of $50 a day per pet. Students receive written notice when the fine goes into effect. If, one week from the date of written notice, the pet is not removed, the student is referred to the Student Court.
Quiet Hours
Residential buildings must maintain an atmosphere that supports the academic mission of the University. Minimum quiet hours in all campus residences are 11:00 pm to 8:00 am Sunday through Thursday. Quiet hours on Friday and Saturday nights are 1:00 am to 8:00 am. Students who violate quiet hours are subject to a fine of $25.
1.Which of the following items are allowed in student rooms?
A.Ceiling fans and waterbeds.
B.Wireless routers and radios.
C.Hair dryers and candles.
D.TVs and electric blankets.
2.What if a student is found to have told his combination to others?
A.The combination should be changed.
B.The Office should be charged.
C.He should replace the door lock.
D.He should check out of the room.
3.What do we know about the cooking policy?
A.A microwave oven can be used.
B.Cooking in student rooms is permitted.
C.A housekeeper is to clean up the kitchen.
D.Students are to close kitchen doors after cooking.
4.If a student has kept a cat in his room for a week since the warning, he will face _____.
A.parent visits B.a fine of $100
C.the Student Court D.a written notice
5.When can students enjoy a party in residences?
A.7:00 am, Sunday. B.7:30 am, Thursday.
C.11:30 pm, Monday. D.00:30 am, Saturday.
阅读理解。
The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.
The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.
Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.
Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.
1.What did the author think of her winter life in New York?
A.Exciting. B.Boring.
C.Relaxing. D.Annoying.
2.What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?
A.Having a swim.
B.Breathing in fresh air.
C.Walking in the morning sun.
D.Visiting a local farmer’s market.
3.What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?
A.They are soft. B.They look nice.
C.They taste great D.They are juicy.
4.What was the author going to that evening?
A.Go to a farm. B.Check into a hotel.
C.Eat in a restaurant. D.Buy fresh vegatables.
In 1970, a cyclone(旋风)hit the southern coast of Bangladesh(孟加拉国). So severe and deadly were its effects that it’s______listed as the world’s worst-ever reported natural disaster. The______had a big impact on two Swedish men from Mission Aviation Fellowship(MAF). They traveled ______to Bangladesh for the purpose of seeing what they could do to______. They journeyed south by boat for several days, throughout the country’s vast _____ network to reach the worst-affected area and began to envision(预想)MAF using an aircraft that would _____direct access to large areas of the country that were almost out of_______.
Throughout the 1980s, MAF Australia, along with other MAF groups, sent staff to_______assistance and their patience and dedication _____since they built trust in the countries that had been ____.
In 1997, MAF could______start a flight program within Bangladesh. At that time, besides transporting doctors to hospitals located in _____parts of the country, MAF also _____an on-call emergency medevac(前线急救直升机)service in Bangladesh.
On November 15, 2007, Cyclone Sidr hit southern Bangladesh. MAF’s________response and emergency procedures were seriously_______as the office received over 200 phone calls in one day from aid agency personnel in urgent need of _____to and from the disaster zone. For the next two months, MAF______solidly, seven days a week. The float plane became known by______locals as “The Sea Angel(天使)”---the only aircraft in the country of its type having such a(n) ______.
In 2009, “The Sea Angel” was sent again for rapid assistance_______Cyclone Alla struck. Today, in Bangladesh, MAF makes over 750 flights and transports around 2,500 passengers annually.
1.A. just B. still C. soon D. often
2.A. history B. failure C. burden D. event
3.A. separately B. occasionally C. immediately D. fortunately
4.A. help B. limit C. research D. avoid
5.A. air B. bus C. river D. rail
6.A. reduce B. prevent C. change D. enable
7.A. focus B. danger C. order D. reach
8.A. seek B. provide C. promise D. receive
9.A. ran out B. came back C. paid off D. kept on
10.A. noticed B. untied C. assisted D. traveled
11.A. properly B. secretly C. suddenly D. finally
12.A. secure B. crowded C. remote D. coastal
13.A. request B. began C. restore D. continue
14.A. rapid B. natural C. appropriate D. unexpected
15.A. followed B. tested C. forecasted D. established
16.A. transport B. message C. funding D. encouragement
17.A. accelerated B. flew C. appealed D. searched
18.A. reasonable B. grateful C. outgoing D. respectable
19.A. destination B. application C. decoration D. reputation
20.A. once B. if C. when D. until
Police have found ________ appears to be the lost ancient statue.
A.which B.where C.how D.what
