BAD weather, bad food and grumpy people – that’s what some people think of first when they think about Britain. Many online commentators even joke that Britons are so grumpy precisely because it constantly rains and they are always hungry.
In fact, many believe that Britons are inherently negative, in contrast to their neighbors across the Atlantic Ocean.
“Americans are more optimistic, due to the fact that they are told they can become the next president of the United States,” Ricky Gervais, a British comedian, told online forum Big Think. “British people are told, it won’t happen to you. And they carry that. They carry that with them. We champion the underdog .”
It’s no wonder that Britons hold the reputation of having a “stiff upper lip” – being cold and not showing any emotion.
Britain’s reputation as a grumpy country may, however, simply be the result of a cultural misunderstanding. According to the BBC, British actor Michael Caine once said: “I think what is British about me is my feelings and awareness of others and their situations. English people are always known to be well-mannered and cold, but we are not cold – we don’t interfere in your situation. If we are heartbroken, we don’t scream in your face with tears – we go home and cry on our own. It’s completely to do with your comfort – we don’t intrude on your space. That’s very English.”
A BBC reader noted that the perceived coldness of British people is actually their way of dealing with hardship. Remembering the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, Stuart Colley, who lived in the capital at the time, said: “It seemed to me that most people’s response was a ‘cruel’ determination to carry on and not to ‘fall’ into an over-emotional outpouring of grief or anger – despite what many of us felt inside. Our stiff upper lip seems to be something that gives us strength as a society when we most need it.”
1.What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?
A. To list common stereotypes about the UK.
B. To fight common misunderstandings about the UK.
C. To analyze what makes British people grumpy and negative.
D. To list some differences between Americans and British people.
2.Which of the following statements might Ricky Gervais agree with?
A. Britons like challenging the underdog more than Americans do.
B. Americans are more optimistic and realistic than British people.
C. Britons are more comfortable with life’s losers than Americans.
D. Bad weather in the UK is the main thing that makes Britons grumpy.
3.The underlined phrase “interfere in” in the second-to-last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. think about B. benefit from
C. get in the way of D. have a positive effect on
4. Why does Michael Caine think British people are not cold?
A. They can be heartbroken, and they cry too.
B. They are well-mannered and unwilling to disturb others.
C. They care a lot about what other people think of them.
D. They are taught to face hardships by themselves.
5.With the example of the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, the author intends to ____.
A. explain why British people tend to be cold
B. reveal that Britons don’t intrude on others’ space
C. present an example in which British people hide their emotions and feelings
D. show how not giving in to emotions can help one to get through a tough time
假定你是李华，看到班上有部分同学在做作业时，不自己独立完成而是抄袭他人的作业，针对这种现象，请你以My Opinion on Copying Others' Homework为题谈谈你自己的看法。
注意：1．短文必须包括下面表格中的所有内容要点，可适当发挥。
2．短文标题与开头已为你写好，不计入总词数。
3．词数120左右。
主要原因 | 作业量大，偏难 |
对功课不感兴趣，懒隋 | |
完成任务，取悦老师 | |
危害及解决办法 | 抄袭不对，违反校规 |
要诚实，勤奋学习 | |
有困难可请教同学和老师 | |
个人看法 | …… |
My Opinion on Copying Others' Homework
It is known to us all that some students copy others' homework...
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间互相修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面划一横线，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1词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
My brother Tom was very selfish when he was a little boy. He didn't want share things with other people. For an example，when he bought a chocolate cake，he put them in a secret place. Then he eats it all by himself. He never helped other. He said he is busy. That is，a game of tennis making him very busy. He didn't care if something he did made people angrily. For instance，on a cold night he played strong and loudly music till 4 o'clock in the morning. But he is difference now. He often helps Grandma with housework，Mom with cooking and his classmates with their lessons.
As a working mom with three young sons, keeping the house clean is a big challenge. ______1.__ we clean the house every week, one hour later after cleaning our bedrooms and bathrooms are back to their __________2._(mess) look. When asked, my boys will help neaten their room, clear their plates from the table and pick up their school junk. But I need to remind them______3.____ it again and again.
If I don’t remind them, I will step over all the things _______4.__make my house look like a garbage can. This is quite _______5.___ change from my pre-kid years when I never ______6.___(leave) any waste in the house. ____7.____seems that I cannot get these days back again at my own house.
When last week I found a program called “Share a Healthy Habit” on a newspaper, I saw a great chance to engage my sons in cleaning chores. Why not encourage these behaviors during the summer, while school is out and their life is ________8.__ (relax)?
The goal for my boys is to clean_____9._____own dorm room themselves when they are free. The rewards for clean habits start young and continue as they get ______10.____ (old), so I need to start my plan as soon
When you are learning English, you find wrong to translate a sentence word by word into your language. Take the sentence “How do you do?” as an . If you look each word in the , one at a time, what is your ? It must be a sentence in your native language. Languages do not only have different sounds, they are also in many other ways. It is very to master the rules of word in the study of English, too. If the puts words in a very unusual order, the listener doesn’t the speaker’s sentence easily.
Another thing we must always is that there are a lot of in the English language. ，when we say “look out!” to a man who is in danger, we mean “Be careful!”
When people are parting, they often say “Good—bye” “Bye—bye!” But sometimes they say “Good morning!” or “Good afternoon!” or “Good evening!” or “Good night!” to one another “Good—bye!” In fact, few people know that “Good—bye!” is a short way of saying “God be with you!”
1.A.it B.that C.you D.yourself
2.A.second B.spoken C.native D.foreign
3.A.advice B.example C.article D.answer
4.A.up B.at C.after D.down upon
5.A.sentence B.book C.phrase D.dictionary
6.A.idea B.meaning C.answer D.translation
7.A.wrong B.interesting C.puzzled D.strangely
8.A.same B.different C.similar D.alike
9.A.important B.easy C.simple D.hard
10.A.place B.stress C.order D.formation
11.A.speaker B.listener C.reader D.writer
12.A.read B.repeat C.translate D.understand
13.A.remember B.say C.do D.deal with
14.A.letter B.words C.phrases D.idioms
15.A.Such as B.For example C.Because of D.According to
16.A.hardly B.nearly C.really D.clearly
17.A.and B.or C.instead D.as well
18.A.don't B.must C.should D.may
19.A.without B.instead of C.unless D.more than
20.A.today B.tomorrow C.in future D.in the past
In the world nothing is more important than health. If people took away our money, houses, cars, or even our clothes, we could still survive. 1. Then how can we keep healthy?
First of all, we should eat healthily. I usually avoid eating food high in fat, like French fries or cookies, which are junk food. 2. I only eat little meat. 3. It helps us build a strong body. Regular exercise is an important part of keeping me healthy. In addition, I think friends are an important part of one’s health. 4. I always feel better when I am with friends than when I am alone. When I am with my friends, I always laugh. Laughing is also an important part of health. It is good to stay with my friends.
By eating properly and exercising regularly, I can keep my body at a proper weight and keep healthy. By spending time with my friends, I can keep my mind as well as my body happy. These things sound easy to do, but not many people can manage them. 5.
A. What’s more, taking exercise is very important.
B. Some people appear fat because they often eat too much.
C. I think a strong will is necessary if we want to keep fit.
D. I eat a lot of vegetables and fresh fruits which are full of vitamins.
E. There are some people who like staying alone, but they keep healthy.
F. But if our health were taken away, we could surely die.
G. Many studies show that people with few friends often get sick.
