Many of us feel uneasy when someone stands too close to us, talks to us too loudly or makes eye contact(接触) with us for too long. But have you ever wondered why those things make you uncomfortable?
It’s all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated(侵犯) when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume(香水) makes you feel angry.
Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire(渴望) to have space to themselves. In a survey by TripAdvisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food.
Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers.
Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall.
Preference(偏好) for personal space are different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin(拉丁人的) cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other.
1.The writer mainly _________ in this article.
A. tells us how to achieve personal space
B. explains why people need personal space
C. introduces some knowledge about personal space
D. argues for the importance of keeping personal space
2.Who might feel his personal space is safe according to the passage?
A. A person who has to sit next to a lady putting on strong perfume.
B. A person who has been watched by a stranger for a long time.
C. A person who hears strange noises when reading at home.
D. A Latin boy who is chatting with a friend sitting close to him.
3.What can we know from the survey by TripAdvisor?
A. People need a smaller personal space in recent times than before.
B. People have a strong desire for personal space in recent times.
C. There are not enough seats on the plane to meet people’s needs.
D. Food service is better provided than seats on the plane.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The space around the body is more needed than that around all the senses.
B. If you hold newspapers on the bus, your personal space won’t be violated.
C. People usually choose the corner seats first in a library for personal space.
D. Different cultures share the same preferences for personal space.
One of sweetest memories as a child is of going down to the river and sitting comfortably on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream and listen to songs of birds. I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under the pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their original state after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo tree’s ability to bend and move back, the word “resilience” comes to my mind. When it is used for a person, this word means the ability to readily recover(恢复) from shock, sadness or any other suffering. Have you ever felt like you were going to snap? Have you ever felt like you were at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived to talk about it.
Life is a mixture(混合) of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend, but don’t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.
An amount of hope will take you through the unpleasant suffering. With hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem. The unpleasant suffering may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having.
If things get tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo trees, bend, but don’t break!
1.What does the word “snap” in the second paragraph most probably mean?
A. break B. change
C. win D. Complain
2.What can help people get through sufferings according to the writer?
A. Holding peace and quiet in mind. B. Waiting until sufferings disappear.
C. Experiencing more bad times. D. Hoping for a better tomorrow.
3.What would be the best title of this passage?
A. Memories of Bamboo B. Be Like Bamboo
C. Enjoying Bamboo D. Characteristics of Bamboo
Have you ever noticed that your fingertips are winked when you’ve just finished swimming or washing dishes? It seems as if your hands have aged 30 years in a second. But is this an accident? Or is it something that nature has built into our bodies?
If your finger’s wrinkling up had no use at all, “ it wouldn’t need to.” Professor Tom Smulders from Newcastle University, UK, told BBC News. By studying wet fingers closely, Smulders and his partners found that the wrinkles looked a bit like the patterns on the car tire or on the bottom of the running shoes. So they made a guess that wrinkles on fingers might be able to help the hand hold things more tightly.
To test this, researchers asked 20 people to pick up marbles from water with their hands. But before they started, some of the people had to keep their hands in water for half an hour.
The researchers found that the people with wrinkled fingers completed the task the task faster than those with dry hands. But when they were asked to move dry marbles, all the people performed equally well, no matter they had the wrinkled fingers or not.
Our ancestors might not have played with marbles, but wrinkled fingers could have made it easier for them to climb around in the wet forests and catch fish from rivers, researchers say.
Similarly, our toes also get wrinkled in water. This may have developed from our ancestor’s need to run on wet ground.
But the question is, if wrinkled fingers are so helpful, why don’t our hands just stay that way all the time? Researchers explained that wrinkling has its disadvantage: wet fingertips are far less sensitive than smooth ones, reducing our sense of touch.
1.What does the underlined world “this ” in the third paragraph refer to?
A. Whether fingers have wrinkles after they are put in water.
B. Whether wrinkled fingers can hold things more tightly.
C. Why keeping things in water makes them wrinkled.
D. Why wrinkles help hands hold things more tightly.
2.The test shows that ________.
A. winkled hands hold dry things more tightly than dry hands do.
B. dry hands hold dry things more tightly than wrinkled hands do.
C. winkled hands hold wet things more tightly than dry hands do.
D. dry hands hold wet things more tightly than wrinkled hands do.
3.What might be the disadvantage of wrinkled fingers?
A. They are too sensitive to be touched.
B. They might be more likely to get hurt.
C. They cannot hold things tightly enough.
D. They are not so sensitive as dry fingers.
We were doing the best to control the fire of the burning garage. Outside, I heard the sounds of cats crying. I couldn’t stop- I would have to look for the cats after the fire was put out.
It took a long time to finally bring the big fire under control. No one inside was hurt. At that point I was free to find out where the cat noises were from. There was still a lot of smoke and heat coming from the building. I followed the meowing to the sidewalk in front of the garage. There, crying and huddled together, were five frightened kittens . They must have been inside the building, as their fur was badly hurt.
I wanted to find the mother cat. It was obviously that she had gone into the burning garage and carried out all her babies, one by one----unbelievable.
We finally found her. Her paws and face were blackened, and her fur was burned all over. You could even see her reddened skin under the burned fur. She could hardly move. I picked her up, and she relaxed in my arms as much as her pain would allow. I was determined to save this brave little cat and her family.
The veterinarian told me they would watch the kittens and their mother for the night, but they weren’t confident about the about the mother’s chances.
About a week later, I found out she was going to live. We named her Scarlet because of her reddened skin.
I was happy to see Scarlet get together with the kittens again. She touched each of them, nose to nose. She had risked her life five times-and it had paid off. All of her babies had survived.
As a firefighter, I see heroic acts every day. But what Scarlet showed me that day was the kind of bravery that can only come from a mother’s love.
1.Which f the following is TRUE according to the story?
A .The writer went to look for the cats as soon as he heard them crying
B .The firefighters put out the fire quickly and no one was hurt.
C. The writer didn’t find the cats until the smoke and heat were gone.
D. The mother cat moved all her babes out of the fire to a safe place.
2.Why was the writer determined to save the cats?
A .Because he was amazed at the mother cat’s courage.
B .Because the cats attracted many people’s attention.
C .Because he didn’t want to see any living things die .
D. Because it had taken him much time and effort to save them.
3.The writer talks about the cat’s story to show that____.
A. animals should be taken good care of.
B. mother’s love can be great and brave.
C. it is meaningful to help others .
D. a cat always has nine lives.
“You know,Ann,” my friend Nick said, “Lisa and Anita were just talking about you.” I immediately got 11. “They said that you join the Students Union just because the teacher likes you, not because you are excellent.”
I 12 to keep myself from crying, getting down to my knees. After Nick told me everything my supposed best friends said about me, I felt I was 13 .
Lisa and Anita came in, acting as if(好像) 14 had happened.Lisa was still my deskmate and Anita was still my partner for our history project. I was 15 that they were able to pretend we had the perfect friendship. 16 they’d said such hurtful things.
I felt like I didn’t have a friend in the world, all because of rumor(谣言).
The tongue can be our worst 17 . Rumors do harm to friendship. They are like sharp knives, breaking one’s dignity(尊严) into pieces. When we say 18 things abut others, we’re hurting their hearts.
So how was I to act next? I thought of 19 them back. But instead, I told them directly they had hurt me. Lisa started 20 and Anita was speechless. I knew they were both sorry for what they had said. They said sorry to me, and I forgave them 21 I was still unhappy. Sure, things were a little embarrassing (尴尬的) at first, but soon enough everything was back to the way it had been before. I still 22 rumors from time to time. Talking about others is a part of our life, but the more I learn about the friendship, the more I realize the importance of tolerating others.
1.A.relaxed B. nervous C. scared D. energetic
2.A.struggled B. decided C. continued D. preferred
3.A.different B. wrong C. sick D. alone
4.A.everything B. something C. anything D. nothing
5.A.surprised B. satisfied C. frightened D. worried
6.A.simply B. especially C. obviously D. probably
7.A.criminal B. victim C. suspect D. enemy
8.A.unpopular B. unlucky C. unkind D. unusual
9.A. attacking B. arguing C. bringing D. pulling
10.A. shouting B. keeping C. fighting D. crying
11.A. because B. although C. after D. unless
12.A. play with B. agree with C. deal with D. help with
How did you find the trip to the West Lake?
________.
A.The guide took us there.
B.First by train and then by bus.
C.Very fantastic indeed.
D.It was not far from our hotel.
