America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
1.The writer of this passage must be ______.
A. an AmericanB. a ChineseC. a professorD. a student
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.
B. Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.
C. Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.
D. Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.
3.From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
A. warmly welcomed at the airport
B. offered a ride to his home
C. treated hospitably at his home
D. treated to dinner in a restaurant
4.The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
A. strict with time
B. serious with time
C. careful with time
D. willing to spend time
5.A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
A. Friendships between Chinese
B. Friendships between Americans
C. Americans’ hospitality
D. Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships
A shop worker nicknamed(绰号) Little Fatty told of his shock at becoming a Susan Boyle-like Internet star after a perfect Whitney Houston performance on a TV talent(才能)show. Lin Yuqun, 24, won over the judges and the audience of the Million Star show with perfect performances of Whitney Houston’s I will Always Love You , and has got 480,000 hits on video sharing website You Tube.
“I am shocked that I can draw so much attention. I'm really moved and happy that people like my performance of Whitney's song,” said Lin, who works part-time at a musical instrument shop. “I've loved singing since I was a little boy and I feel like I am living my dream now. I hope I can pursue(追求) a career in singing,” he told reporters.
Reporters called him “China’s Susan Boyle”, describing him as “plain-looking and short”, but Lin, who has the nickname “Little Fatty”, told reporters the comparison made him proud. “I am honoured to be compared to Susan Boyle. I am inspired and encouraged by her because she proved that even a person who's seen as an underdog(弱者) and who has ordinary looks can shine on the stage,” Lin said.
Since his performance was posted on Youtube late last week, he has been the subject of heated conversation in on-line chat rooms on American Yahoo! and other foreign websites. “Lin really is amazing. Whitney couldn’t do it any better today, ” a viewer wrote on YouTube.
Scottish single Susan Boyle got recognized around the world after she was discovered last year on the British’s Got Talent television show with her performance of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, which was the best-selling debut(首演)in British chart history and also topped the US charts.
1.What do we know about Lin Yuqun?
A. He has a great talent for singing.
B. He works quite hard as a shop owner.
C. He sings better than Susan Boyle.
D. He likes watching TV best.
2.It seemed that Lin Yuqun _________.
A. was not surprised that he could be famous.
B. felt lost after the talent show.
C. learnt to sing at a musical instrument shop.
D. wants to become a singer.
3.Why does Lin Yuqun speak highly of Susan Boyle?
A. Because she is as ordinary as him.
B. Because she is a famous singer now.
C. Because he gets confidence from her.
D. Because she brings good luck to him
4.By saying “Whitney couldn’t do it any better today”, the viewer means __________.
A.Whiteny doesn't sing well any longer.
B. Lin Yuqun sings as well as Whitney
C. Lin Yuqun has gone beyond Whitney
D. Lin Yuqun can develop his singing better
5.On a website, you may read the article in the column of _________.
A. education.B. fashionC. scienceD. Art
Christian Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, left the Netherlands for the island of Java. Many people on the island had a disease called beri-beri. He was going there to try and find a cure.
At first, Eijkman thought some kind of germ (细菌) caused beri-beri. He raised some chickens. He didn’t eat them, but made experiments on them. The local people were quite surprised at that. One day he noticed that his chickens became sick when they were fed the food most Javanese ate — refined white rice (精炼米). When he fed them with unrefined rice, also known as brown rice, they recovered. Eijkman realized that he had made an important discovery — that some things in food could prevent disease. These things were named vitamins (维生素). The Javanese were not getting enough vitamins because they had actually removed the part that contains vitamins. Later, other diseases were also found to be caused by the lack of vitamins in a person’s food.
Today many people know the importance of vitamins and they make sure they have enough vitamins from the food they eat. If they don’t, they can also take vitamin pills.
1.The underlined word “cure” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.
A. a medical treatment B. a kind of vitaminC. a kind of germ D. a kind of rice
2.Christian Eijkman went to the island of Java to ______.
A. spend his holiday
B. find ways to grow better crops
C. do some research about the island
D. help the Javanese with their illness
3.Why did Christian Eijkman raise some chickens?
A. To eat them.
B. To carry out his experiments.
C. To give the Javanese a surprise.
D. To make money by selling them.
4.If a person doesn’t get enough vitamins in his diet, he’d better ______.
A. eat more rice B. eat more meatC. eat some chicken D. eat vitamin pills
5.We can learn from the passage that ______.
A. beri-beri was caused by chickens
B. the Javanese didn’t like vitamins
C. Christian Eijkman’s experiment was successful
D. the Javanese’s disease was caused by a kind of germ
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me if I didn’t got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to try hard to think out things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.
1.Why did the author feel bitter(痛苦) about her father as a young adult?
A. He was silent most of the time. B. He was too proud of himself.
C. He didn’t love his children. D. He expected too much of her.
2.When the author went out with her father on weekends, she would feel ________.
A. nervous B. sorry C. tired D. safe
3.What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
A. More critical. B. More humorous.
C. Easy-going and friendly. D. Strict and hard-working.
4.The underlined words in the last paragraph refer to ________.
A. the author’s son B. the author’s father
C. the friend of the author’s father D. the cafe owner
5.We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. the writer's father used to be strict with her when he was a child
B. the writer's father worked hard but cared less for his family
C. it was possibly the first time that the writer had visited her father's new home
D. as a child, the writer loved her father
The day I was 3 years old the beginning of my dream. On that day, after seeing the Capital Dancing Company performance, I , “Mama, when I grow up, I’m going to be one of those.”
As I grow older, my in the world of dance changed, but that little girl’s dream of someday becoming a in the company never left me. In 2005, aged 18, I received the phone making that dream come true: I became a member of the company.
When I looked on that day now, I believe I stayed in a state of disbelief until I was asked to rehearsal (排练). Though I was entirely excited with the offer, it did not come without . Through the strict and hard rehearsal, I found it important to myself to learning the skills fast with every bit of concentration(注意力集中). It is the extreme to detail (细节) and stress on practice that help us . Then comes a show schedule of up to five performances a day, I found a new of the words “HARD WORK”. The practice pushed me forward than I thought . I learnt to make each performance better than the last. Besides, the teachers not only teach us skills but help us a lot in daily life when we are in trouble.
Today, as a member and dance captain in the unbelievable company, I see a that has encouraged not only little girls but a wonderful company that to develop and grow and encourage people every day to their dreams.
1.A.whenB. whichC.thatD.on that
2.A.wroteB.sawC. readD.talked
3.A.came outB. went outC. burst outD.dug out
4.A.interestB. feelingC.dutyD.patience
5.A.certainlyB.neverC.hardlyD.entirely
6.A.singerB.dancerC.painterD.teacher
7.A.beforeB.upC.downD.back
8.A.pleasantB.sorrowfulC.lowD.hopeful
9.A.poisonB.harm C.challengesD.means
10.A.buryB.devoteC.takeD.reward
11.A.attentionB.opinionC.worthD.trial
12.A.defendB.rebuildC.fightD.succeed
13.A.looseB.busyC.usefulD.acceptable
14.A.meaningB.principleC.expressionD.usage
15.A.necessary B. perfect C. frequentD. possible
16.A.rescuedB.trappedC.shockedD.attacked
17.A. victory B. style C.tradition D. trial
18.A.a number ofB.a great deal ofC.a large amount ofD.many a
19.A.stops B.continuesC.goesD.adds
20.A.followB.removeC.designD.Recognize
My sister met him in the hospital yesterday afternoon, so he _________ your lecture.
A.couldn’t have attendedB.needn’t have attended
C.mustn’t have attendedD.shouldn’t have attended
