The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was 7.30pm. Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song.
By 9.45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving. But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear. By 11.00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and David left hungry and angry.
Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6.30-8.30pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8.00pm or 8.30pm means possible dinner, but 9.30pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late.
But this is not always the case. If asked to a students' party at 6.30pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares. Being the first to arrive-looking eager-is social death. When my mother is asked to a party for 6.30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven. My age group（late thirties） falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we're young, we're probably closer to student-time than grown-up time.
The accepted custom at present is confusing(混乱的), sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element(成分) of surprise.
1.The underlined words "off their heads" probably mean______.
A. tired B. crazy
C. curious D. hopeless
2.Jane and David' s story is used to show that______ .
A. petty-goer8 usually get hungry at parties
B. party invitations can be confusing
C. people should ask for food at parties
D. birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull
3.For some young people, arriving on time for a students' party will probably be considered_______.
A. very difficult
B. particularly thoughtful
C. friendly and polite
D. socially unacceptable
4.According to the writer, people in their late thirties_______.
A. are likely to arrive late for a party
B. care little about the party time
C. haven' t really grown up yet
D. like surprises at parties
5.What is the general idea of the text?
A. It' s safe to arrive late just when food is served.
B. It' s wise to eat something before going to a party.
C. It' s important to follow social rules of party-going.
D. It' s necessary to read invitations carefully.
“I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to Father Christmas written after his schoolteacher father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched every heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those whom we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.
But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father is there too, in your mind and in your heart. I find that my parents, long dead now, still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself, that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all mother said was “I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.
It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors (挑衅者), and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, one to give me pause.
I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword, and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know the death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live forever, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I’m sure, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.
1.According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph_____.
A. puts forward the subject of the text
B. shows the author’s pity on the kid
C. acts as an introduction to the discussion
D. makes a clear statement of the author’s views
2.In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us____.
A. how much he misses his parents now
B. why his parents often appear in his dreams
C. when Lucien will get over all his sadness
D. how proud he was when he succeeded in life
3.What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?
A. Proud B. Happy
C. Disappointed D. Worried
4.In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is________.
A. to leave behind a precious memory to the people related
B. to have a high sense of duty to the whole society
C. to care what others will remember and treasure
D. to share happiness and sadness with his family
5.What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem________?
A. Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns.
B. Advise parents stay with their children safely at home.
C. Spend every day meaningfully in memory of the death.
D. Try to keep violence and murder far away from society.
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 Para 1 probably means ______.
A. a medical treatment B. a kind of vitamin
C. 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 meat
C. eat some chicken D. eat vitamin pills
5.We can learn from the passage that ______.
A. 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
Do fight against painting pollution
Do you know what kind of things the young people are reading? More and more and teachers have noticed another kind of pollution, which comes from the printed papers on streets.
These printed things newspapers but have hardly anything to do with . You can only find reading materials badly made up there-some are too strange for anyone to ; others are frightening stories of something . However, many of the young readers are getting interested in such reading, which them what they should pay for their breakfast and brings them nightmares and immoral ideas in . Homework is left and daily games lost.
These sellers stand about on streets selling their papers well. The writers, publishers and printers, they are, we never know, are their silent money.
The sheep-skinned wolf’s story seems to have been forgotten once again. Why not this kind of thing? Yes, both teachers and parents have asked each other for more strict control of the young readers. , the more you want to forbid it, the more they want to have a look at it. you may even find several children, driven by their curious natures, one patched paper, which has traveled from hand to hand.
It really does to our society. It has already formed a sort of moral pollution. The teachers and parents need more powerful support in their protection of the young generation. At the same time, the young need more interesting books to help them those ugly paper.
1.A. writers B. readers C. students D. parents
2.A. sold B. printed C. put D. found
3.A. work out B. look like C. act as D. depend on
4.A. them B. children C. young people D. it
5.A. think B. believe C. know D. understand
6.A. still worse B. even better C. very good D. more important
7.A. wonderful B. interesting C. useful D. poisonous
8.A. spends B. costs C. pays D. takes
9.A. sight B. common C. return D. use
10.A. unknown B. much C. less D. undone
11.A. what B. whoever C. whatever D. who
12.A. making B. spending C. wasting D. using
13.A. forbid B. separate C. leave D. stop
14.A. Luckily B. Unfortunately C. Badly D. Happily
15.A. Always B. Hardly C. Sometimes D. Seldom
16.A. sharing B. getting C. holding D. taking
17.A. good B. favor C. wrong D. harm
18.A. puzzled B. surprised C. disappointed D. worried
19.A. teachers B. parents C. readers D. writers
20.A. come into B. break down C. get rid of D. get off
--Go for a picnic this weekend, OK?
-- ____. I love getting close to nature.
A. I couldn’t agree more B. I afraid not.
C. I believe not D. I don’t think so.
Joe just wanted to play a joke on her. He did not mean ____ Sarah.
A. hurting B. to hurt
C. hurt D. hurts
