From their beginnings New England towns had a special democratic system of government. At a stated time all the citizens would assemble at a town meeting, where they would discuss local problems and express opinions freely. They also elected the town’s officials at these gatherings and made decisions about the taxes they would pay and about other community matters. These meetings were usually held at the town hall, which was located in the central square.
In the eighteenth-century town meetings, only men who owned property and who were church members actually voted, although everyone present was allowed to express their opinions. Later, all citizens were allowed to vote. Thus the town meeting became truly democratic. Town meetings are still common in New England communities.
In recent years the town meeting idea has been widely imitated. There are open sessions of this kind on radio and television. Occasionally a meeting of this type is called by a government agency in order to give an opportunity for free and open discussion on current problems and policies.
1.At a town meeting, people do the following things EXCEPT __________.
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A．express their opinions about the government |
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B．elect officials of the towns |
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C．make a decision about whom they should marry |
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D．discuss some community matters |
2.In the 18th century, who had the right to vote?
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A．All the citizens. |
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B．All the men except those who were church members. |
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C．The rich. |
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D．The rich men and the church members. |
3.Why has the town meeting been widely imitated?
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A．Because many people are interested in it. |
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B．Because it is very democratic. |
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C．Because many people enjoy themselves at town meetings. |
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D．Because sometimes government agencies call them. |
4.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
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A．Citizens can elect the officials in the town meeting. |
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B．In recent years, town meetings are often called by a government agency. |
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C．People can say what they want to say at the town meeting. |
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D．Nowadays this kind of meeting is also held on radio and television. |
5.This passage mainly talks about _______.
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A．the New England town meeting |
B．modern town meetings |
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C．a democratic meeting |
D．New England towns |
Down-to-earth means being honest, open, and easy to deal with. It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth. A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to. He or she accepts others as equals. A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society, of course, but they do not let their importance go to their heads, and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride, often without cause, is said to have his nose in the air. There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth.
Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth. The expression is both feet on the ground. Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality. He has what is called common sense. He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real. The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds. A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world. Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality; sharp words from the teacher, for example, can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground.
The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground. But the opposite is not always true. Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth. When we have both our feet firmly on the ground, we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others, and our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong.
1.If a person has his nose in the air, he ____.
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A．is down to the earth |
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B．is easy to deal with |
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C．always thinks he is more important than others |
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D．is confident |
2.If a person has both feet on the ground, he ____.
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A．is in touch with reality, and doesn’t have any dreams |
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B．has some dreams but he is realistic |
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C．is honest, open and easy to deal with |
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D．is honest, open but hard to deal with |
3.From the second paragraph, we know that sharp words from a teacher can usually ________.
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A．help a student get down to the earth |
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B．wake a student up |
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C．help a daydreaming student come down to the ground |
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D．help a daydreaming student to become more realistic |
4.The underlined sentence “But the opposite is not always true.” most probably means that ______.
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A．the person who has his nose in the air is not true |
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B．a man with his head in the clouds is often not intelligent |
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C．the opposite direction is always wrong |
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D．a person who has both feet on the ground may not be down-to-earth |
5.From the passage, we can infer the person who is _______ is the most popular kind of person.
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A．down-to-earth |
B．standing on the ground |
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C．with his nose in the air |
D．with his head in the clouds |
The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, the Belgians and the Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities.
Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems restrained, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a corner, and no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspected.
In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gesture. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than anyone of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. A more emotional man might describe her state “Oh, she is a goddess”, whereas an Englishman might just say “Oh, she’s all right.” An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It’s not bad you know”, or on seeing some very unusual scenery he might convey (表达) his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice.” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement. Instead, he must realize that “all right,” “not bad,” and “nice,” very often have the sense of “first-class,” “excellent,” “beautiful”. This unique style of language use is particularly common in England, and is known as restrained statement.
1.According to the passage, the English are different from other nationalities in _______.
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A．habits |
B．attitudes |
C．character |
D．all of the above |
2.The underlined word “restrained” in the second paragraph probably means “ ”.
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A．calm and controlled |
B．polite and friendly |
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C．nervous and quiet |
D．silent and kind |
3.In Britain, if you don’t want other people to think you are strange, you’d better _________.
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A．talk with others as much as possible |
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B．behave just like the English do |
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C．say nothing about yourself |
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D．shake hands with everyone you meet |
4.If an Englishman says “all right”, it may mean “________”.
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A．not bad |
B．correct |
C．quite right |
D．wonderful |
5.From the passage, we can infer that an Englishman _________.
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A．doesn’t like to show his feelings so much |
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B．has less emotion than people of other nationalities |
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C．finds it easy to express his emotion |
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D．likes to have a joke with strangers |
The popular Korean male artist Rain swept through Asia recently, gaining popularity among both male and female fans. 36 his popularity, Pepsi(百事可乐), which did not 37 to offer any Korean artist the opportunity to be one of its ambassadors (大使), has changed their mind. They now have 38 Rain to be its new “blue blood(蓝血家族)” and have offered him a high price.
For the past two years, Pepsi has 39 an enormous amount of money in signing up world popular mega stars to be the company’s ambassadors. They 40 soccer star David Beckham, Taiwan popular Idols F4, Jay Chou, Hong Kong star Edison Chen, Nicholas Tse, Louis Koo etc. Now with the 41 rising of Korean star Rain, Pepsi was quick to put him on its 42.
According to sources, Pepsi has recently sent a(an) 43 to Korea to discuss details with Rain and they are about to 44 a contract. When a reporter called Ms Li to verify this matter, she didn’t deny it, and 45 that “At this point, we can’t reveal anything”. Also according to sources, Pepsi will be the sponsor of Rain’s October 46 in Hong Kong, but Rain’s Hong Kong manager Ms Chan Ka Ying 47 , “At this moment, it’s not 48 to talk about this. There will be an announcement shortly!”
49 the old Chinese saying goes: “One mountain cannot be ruled by two tigers”, Pepsi has somehow created an internal 50 between Rain and Jay Chou. Rain’s popularity is rising and he has the 51 “single eye-lid” feature as Jay, whose status has somehow been 52. There’s a rumour that the skin product brand DHC is intending to 53 their ambassador from Jay to Rain, in order to capture the Korean, Japanese, Chinese 54.
Rain’s recent Beijing concert was a tremendous hit, 55 in “Korean Fever” in Mainland China.
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Have you ever listened to the song Yesterday once more, ________ singer died in her early years?
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A．its |
B．it’s |
C．whose |
D．which |
Mary felt sad over the loss of photos she had shot in Australia, ______ that was a memory she especially treasured.
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A．as |
B．which |
C．when |
D．where |
