Although the U.S. is so big and its people have so many different ethnic (racial) backgrounds, it is in some ways less varied than Europe. The English language is used almost everywhere in its American form. The American way of speaking has developed independently of England and is on the whole closer to what can be heard in Ireland.
American instance of uniformity（一致性） is in habits and ways of living. From Boston to Los Angeles it is as far as from France to Central Asia, and from east to west there are five time zones; but everywhere people get up and go to bed at about the same time, eat the same kind of food, buy in the same kind of shops, work and rest at the same times of the day and have the same pattern of holidays. In most of the things that matter there is less difference between rich people and ordinary people, or between town and country, than in any single European nation.
Although the United States covers so much land and the land produces far more food than the present population needs, its people are by now almost entirely an urban society. Less than a tenth of the people are engaged in agriculture, and most of the rest live in or around towns, large and small. Here the traditional picture is changing; most Americans do not live in small towns any more. Half the population now live in some thirty metropolitan（大城市的） areas.
The fact that the United states has always been a single economic unit has contributed to uniformity. Modern industry favors large organizations, and it is no accident that the world’s biggest commercial firms are American. The people can choose between the products of competing manufacturers, but the products are all much alike.
1.In describing the uniformity in the U.S. the author does not mention that
A. the American people get up and go to work at the same time.
B. the American people spend their holidays in the same pattern.
C. the American people buy and eat the same kind of food.
D. the American people have more or less the same income.
2.What can we learn from the passage about the U.S. agriculture?
A. The American farmers need more land than before.
B. More and more Americans are interested in farming.
C. It is quite modernized.
D. It is now going backward.
3.What is the feature of the U.S. modern industry according to the last paragraph?
A. The production scale and the organizational scale are very big.
B. It is a single economic unit that manufactures the same kind of products.
C. There are more and more competing manufacturers.
D. There are always a variety of products to choose from.
4.What does “most of the things” in the second paragraph refer to?
A. food, clothing and houses.
B. Cars, computers and TV sets.
C. Their wealth and income.
D. Land, housing and bank savings.
You're rushing to work and a man ahead of you falls down on the sidewalk. Do you stop to help? In a study of by-standers, it was found that some people keep on walking.
"There is a tendency to decide that no action is needed," says a psychologist, "In order to take action, you have to work against them." Here are some common thoughts that stop you from helping.
●Why should I be the one? I'm probably not the most able person in this crowd. You might think someone older or with more medical knowledge should offer assistance.
●What if he doesn't really need my help? The fear of embarrassment is powerful; no one wants to risk looking foolish in front of others.
●No one else looks concerned. We can follow the people around us, but most people tend to hold back their emotions in public.
"If you spot trouble and find yourself explaining inaction, force yourself to stop and figure out the situation instead of walking on," says the psychologist. "Then retry to involve other people; you don't have to take on the entire responsibility of being helpful. Sometimes it's just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, 'It looks like we should do something.' Or asking someone if an ambulance has been called and, if not, to call for one. Once you take action, most people will follow you."
1.Which is NOT the common thought that stops you from helping others?
A. I'm not the very capable person.
B. It looks like we should do something.
C. No one else is concerned.
D. He doesn't really need my help.
2.In order to offer your timely help, you need to .
A. go directly to the police station
B. get along well with the passers-by who spot the trouble
C. ask others for help and call the police
D. work against the first thoughts that stop you from offering help
3.The main purpose of the passage is to tell readers .
A. to give others a hand B. to be more able
C. to explain their inaction D. to evaluate the situation
When it comes to relationship, we spend a lot of time discussing their joys, but rarely talk about the pain when they break down. Yet most people have a story about a broken relationship.
For Jane Black, a six-year friendship ended when her friend was rude to one of her children. “After quite a few drinks at a party in my house, she said something rude to my child. I ended the friendship face to face at the party,” she says. “I didn’t realize what I was doing at the time, I was simply standing up for my child, but in her eyes any challenge was a betrayal.”
When Angela Thompson noticed a seven-year friendship disappearing, she let it go. “I didn’t know how to deal with the issue. I didn’t sit down for a grown-up conversation; I just walked away quietly.” The decision caused a reaction among Thompson’s other friends. “The other friends in the circle are the worst people when you are trying to break up with a friend,” she says. “They don’t want you to stop being friends, because it puts them in a difficult position. You get told to just get it over.”
Though we have plenty of measures for handling conflict at work or family fight, we still don’t have good ways of ending friendships. Do we sit down and properly break up, or just walk away? Psychologist Serena Cauchy has the following advice.
Don’t blame. Talk about your needs and feeling rather than talking like a Dutch uncle.
Do talk about your needs. Talk about why the friendship is not working for you –about how your needs aren’t being met.
Don’t gossip. Negative talk hurts everyone involved and in some cases can make matters worse.
Don’t be so accessible. If there is a common wish to conclude the friendship then you can remove it.
1.How did Angela Thompson deal with her friendship when it went wrong?
A. She ended it face to face.
B. She left it as it was.
C. She turned to her friends for advice.
D. She made a direct challenge.
2.According to the third paragraph, we learn the other friends________.
A. will help you to fix a broken friendship
B. will choose either of the sides who broke up
C. will ask you to forgive each other
D. will be the worst people to break up with you at the same time
3.Which is NOT mentioned by Psychologist Serena Cauchy?
A. End the friendship if it can’t be renewed.
B. Don’t complain behind one’s back.
C. Express what you want and expect.
D. Sincerely talk about friends’ shortcomings.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A True Friendship B. When Friendships disappear
C. How Friendships Last D. Ways to Fix Friendships
(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year-old Julien Duret from France was the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”
Duret, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头) when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. Immediately, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his story of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.
“I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same thing.”
1.Why was Duret in New York?
A. To meet his girlfriend.B. To spend his holiday.
C. To work as an engineer. D. To visit the Andersons.
2.What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?
A. He was interviewed by a newspaper.
B. He went to the hospital in the ambulance.
C. He disappeared from the spot quickly.
D. He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Duret thought twice before he jumped into the cold water.
B. Duret dived into the water before the girl’s father.
C. The rescue happened on the day Duret left for France.
D. Duret didn’t think he was brave enough to be a hero.
4.What is probably the headline of this news report?
A. A Careless FatherB. A Poor Girl
C. Warm-hearted OnlookersD. Brave Frenchman Found
提示：
(1) 书是我们的朋友。（从书与知识的关系、知识与人生的关系来说明。）
(2) 历史上的伟人都爱书。（从读书与伟人所以能取得事业成功的关系来阐述）
(3) 结论：书能使我们了解过去、瞻望未来，是世上最宝贵的东西。
要求：
（1) 根据上面的提示，写一篇题为“Let Books Be Our Good Friends”的说理文。
（2） 字数：120个左右。
Let Books Be Our Good Friends
第一节：短文改错：（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（╲）划掉
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一次。
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I happen to meet some American tourists at the gate of the Summer Palace last week. I greeted them with English and then we began to chat. I got to know that they were college student traveling in China. Most of us were fond of Chinese medicine. They were busy taking pictures and were surprising at the changes had taken place in the past few years. After that, we went boat and had a good time. We were exchanged our e-mail addresses so that we could write to each other in the future. They thanked me again and again. I was gladly to have a chance to practice my oral English. What wonderful experience !
