When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, at the same time they usually talk about a lot of subjects, including children, men, careers and what’s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen---they can’t do both---and they don’t understand that women can. Besides(此外), women think that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships--not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring (盯着) at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot (the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.) and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the small body language signals that show how the characters are feeling emotionally(情绪上). Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully because they want to keep relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to connect to the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a way of keeping relationship. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing(令人信服的)evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls’ mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents reply to the brain differences of their children. Since a girl’s brain is better organized to send and receive speech, we talk to them more. As a result, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short complaints in reply.
1.While watching TV with others, women usually talk a lot because they ___________.
A. are afraid of silence with their families and friends
B. can both talk and watch the screen at the same time
C. think they can have a good time and develop relationships
D. have to explain the plot and body language to their husbands
2.After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to ___________.
A. experience the happy time again
B. keep a close tie with her
C. recommend her a new wonderful place
D. remind her of something forgotten
3.What does the writer want to tell us most?
A. Women’s brains are better organized for language and communication.
B. Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.
C. Men do not like talking because they believe more in facts.
D. Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking.
4.Which of the following would be the BEST title for the passage?
A. Women Are Socially Trained to Talk
B. Talking Keeps Relationships
C. Women Love to Talk
D. Men Talk Differently from Women
“Everything happens for the best.” Whenever I faced disappointment(失望),my mother would say this to me.
After I left college in 1932, I decided to find a job in radio as a sports announcer(广播员). I went to Chicago and knocked at the door of every station. But unluckily, I was refused every time.
At one station, a kind lady told me that big stations wouldn’t hire(雇佣) a person without any experience and suggested that I try my luck at smaller stations. Following her advice, I went back to Dixon, where I had grown up. There were no such jobs in Dixon, and my father said a newly-opened store wanted a local athlete(运动员)to work for it. I wanted this job, but I was refused again.
“Everything happens for the best,” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt so frustrated(沮丧). “How can I become a sports announcer if I can’t get a job in a radio station?” I asked aloud.
While I was waiting for the lift, I heard someone calling. It was MacArthur. “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he asked me to have a try. He was pleased with my performance, and he offered me a chance to work there.
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if without the failure before.”
1.Why couldn’t the writer find a job at big radio stations?
A. Because he never graduated from college.
B. Because he didn’t work hard in college.
C. Because he didn’t have much experience.
D. Because he didn’t know about sports.
2.Which of the following is the correct order of events?
a. The writer got a job as a sports announcer at a radio station.
b. The writer was refused when he wanted jobs in Chicago.
c. The writer graduated from college.
d. The writer went back to his hometown to look for a job.
A. c b d a B. c b a d C. b c d a D. b c a d
3.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The writer’s parents didn’t want him to be a sports announcer.
B. There were no radio announcer jobs in the writer’s hometown.
C. The writer became uninterested in being a sports announcer.
D. The writer got a job as a sports announcer in Dixon at last.
It’s cool, it’s hot, and everyone is doing it. People talk about it often,and friends tell other friends how good they look. Sound like a fashion? It’s actually trend (倾向): “blog”. What’s a blog? A blog is a personal online diary. The word “blogger” means a person who writes diaries online.
Many bloggers are teens who’ve been logging (进入) onto sites to talk about anything in their lives. Many of today’s teenagers are not afraid to openly discuss everything in their lives. Teens complain about parents and homework. They share diaries, post songs from the latest bands and show pictures of theirs. They write their own poems (诗), say something about their girlfriends or boyfriends and complain to each other or offer support. But mostly they just write down what they do every day.
However, many parents are afraid of these young bloggers. Parents see the kids talking about how they got drunk (喝醉的) last weekend and how they don’t like studying. They are using language that is surprising to their parents. Besides hearing from their friends, teen bloggers also get messages from strangers. Most of the time, it’s older men asking to meet teenage girls. “These strange men are dangerous for my kids. They sometimes teach my kids bad words,” said Cara Cabral, a mother of two.
Many teens and young adults know it’s not safe to use blogs on the Internet. They know they are putting information about themselves in a place they can be seen by anyone. But teens are unlikely to give up these new communication tools that have become a way of life for many of them.
Are you a blogger? What do you think of the blog?
1.The word “it” means ___________ in the first paragraph “People talk about it often”.
A. the Internet B. the blog C. the website D. talking on line
2.According to this passage, teen bloggers mostly___________.
A. complain about parents and homework
B. share diaries and show pictures of theirs
C. offer support to each other
D. write down what they do every day
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. A blogger’s information about himself can be seen by anyone on the Internet.
B. Most of today’s teenagers aren’t afraid to openly discuss everything in their lives.
C. Teenagers are willing to try to give up blogging.
D. Many teens know it’s not safe to use the blog on the Internet.
Most people graduate from school and then get a job. Everyone wants a job that pays well. How much money can you make? Ask yourself these questions: What can I do? What skills do I have? Also ask yourself: How much education do I have? For most jobs, the higher your education, the higher your earning power.
In the United States, high school graduates (毕业生) make about $18,600 a year. If you do not finish high school, you make only $10,800 a year. You can make $7,800 more each year by staying in high school!
If you stay in school, then you can make more money. A person with a high school degree makes about $18,600 a year. If that person goes to college and gets a bachelor’s degree (学士学位), he can make $42,000. With a master’s degree (硕士学位), he can make about $53,000. If the person gets a PhD (博士学位), he can make almost $79,000 or more a year.
We can learn a very important thing from this information. If you want to work and make more money, get a good education.
1.The passage mainly talks about ___________.
A. how education and pay are connected B. high paying jobs
C. jobs for high school students D. good schools
2.According to the passage, “earning power” means the ability to ___________ money.
A. save B. spend C. pay D. make
3.Each year a person with a PhD can make ___________ more than a person who does not finish high school.
A. $37,000 B. $68,200 C. $60,400 D. $26,000
“Keep your eyes on your paper” is one of the rules that Mrs. Archer has taught us. It’s a simple rule, but it’s not a rule everybody chooses to
This morning, I felt was watching me too closely during an English exam. I turned my head quickly and saw James, who sat me. My eyes caught his and he , “Let me see your answers!”
I gave him a , not sure if he was joking, and returned to my test. This time I moved a little more closely towards my own paper. “I can’t see!” James said in a low voice.
“What am I going to do?” I . Cheating(作弊) was wrong. I’d studied hard for the test, but James . I put my arm around my paper so that he couldn’t see the answers. I knew I did what I felt was right. Maybe it made James angry.
When the exam ended, I stood there for a moment, wondering . But I felt it necessary to let him know cheating was wrong. My searched for the right words.
“Sorry, James, but you know me to understand how I feel about cheating,” I said slowly and gently. “But maybe I can help you study before the next test.” “OK, Brain”, “You’re right. I should study hard.” I stood there for a moment, finally able to breathe again. I was happy my friendship with James wasn’t destroyed.
1.A. break B. follow C. take D. check
2.A. nobody B. anybody C. everybody D. somebody
3.A. in front of B. behind C. before D. around
4.A. whispered B. talked C. spoke D. answered
5.A. book B. note C. hand D. smile
6.A. said to him B. asked the teacher C. thought to myself D. talked to me
7.A. had B. hadn’t C. has D. didn’t
8.A. how to say B. when to say C. what to say D. where to say
9.A. eyes B. body C. mind D. memory
10.A. well enough B. good enough C. hard enough D. bad enough
--- Do you mind if I turn on the air-conditioner?
---___________. I feel a bit hot.
A. You’d better not B. Go ahead C. I’d rather you didn’t D. Of course