Among various programs, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style. But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of "rubbish talk". The topics on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people's lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes the TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a "final word". He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show's main audience are middle-class Americans. Most of the people have the time, money and ability to deal with life's tough problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to 21year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show's exploitation.
1.Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows are ______.
A. more interesting B. more detailed
C. more formal D. unusually poplar
2.Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows ______.
A. are ready to face up to them
B. show disbelief in them
C. remain cold to them
D. are willing to get away from them
3.Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
A. A new type of robot. B. National hatred.
C. Family income planning. D. Street accident.
4.What is the advantage of the Jerry Springer show?
A. The show exposes the dark sides of society.
B. Jerry sums up the whole idea of the show.
C. The show pours poisonous waste into society.
D. Jerry talks about the improvement of society.
5.We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ____.
A. have become the only ones of its kind
B. exploit the weaknesses in human nature
C. appear at different times of the day
D. attract different people
You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy? For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship. When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is. Don’t let jealousy spoil your relationships. Tackle it head on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.
It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you’ll have to do just that. Don’t approach them and ask why they are jealous of you (unless of course you want to appear totally conceited), just take some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there’s been something coming between you. If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.
When you figure out what is annoying your friend, ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better. If, for example, (s)he says that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn’t get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you. Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise. Don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.
Even the best of friendships can be tinged by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can’t, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won’t.
1.According to the author, the jealousy emotion is________.
A. normal B. destructive
C. productive D. extreme
2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to confront your friend when jealousy happens?
A. Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know you think there’s something between you.
B. Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know how you feel.
C. Walking up to him/her and asking him/her what the problem is.
D. Walking up to him/her and asking him/her why he/she is jealous of you.
3.The underlined “it” in the first paragraph refers to________.
A. friendship B. relationship
C. jealousy D. admiration
4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
A. Jealousy can turn best friends into worst enemies.
B. There’s always a solution to solve the problem of jealousy.
C. You should go a long way with your friend to work out a solution
D. You may lose a friend to keep your own gifts, chances or self development.
5.The purpose of the passage is________.
A. to explain what causes jealousy
B. to offer some advice on making friends
C. to introduce the way to cope with a jealous friend
D. to explain how destructive the jealous emotion is
I was thirteen when my father got hurt. Looking back over the years, I sometimes wonder what I could have done differently that day. Spit twice over my shoulder when I saw the single magpie (喜鹊), maybe. But that's the thing about superstitions (迷信). You don't know how much power they have until you break them.
We lived in a dark shabby house in Bucks. Wood blocks laid over dirt on the floor. That part of England was full of cherry trees. Chalky soil．
The rice had caught in the bottom of the pot that morning at breakfast and all I could smell was burned rice. Even now when I think of that day I have the taste of burned rice in my mouth.
"I'm going to cut down the old cherry tree," my father announced.
"You've been saying that for years," said my mother lightly touching the end of her nose. Her nose ran all year long. Her arms rested on the table, a cup of tea placed between her hands, steam rising into the air. "You'll never get round to it. "
My stomach, balled into a tight little knot (结) relaxed itself．
"Millie's going to cry if you cut it down," said my younger brother, Simon, his eyes bright as a fox. "Silly Millie, silly Millie."
"Hold your noise," said my father patting Simon on the head. "And put back that butter. That's a week's ration (限额) you've got on your plate. "
"The war's over," said Simon in a low voice." We haven't had rationing for ages." Simon was right. Even sugar had come off points. However, we still occasionally received food parcels from distant cousins in Canada.
My father glared at him and then went on.
"Pigs. Burt says he'll come and help me take the tree down if he can have some of the wood."
"No," I said springing to my feet." You can't do it. That's my tree. Always has been. Always will be. I won't let you."
Tom, took a piece of toast, watching my reaction. My older brother, he knew what the tree meant to me．
"Now then, Millie," said my father softening his face. "That tree's wild. It's in the way."
1.The magpie is mentioned to show that _____.
A. Millie got much power on seeing the bird
B. things seemed to go wrong from the beginning
C. the bird caused Father's getting hurt that day
D. but for the bird Millie would have done differently
2.According to the passage, how many kids does the family have at least?
A. 6. B. 5. C. 4. D. 3.
3.By saying "balled into a tight little knot", the author means that Millie _____.
A. had a terrible stomachache that morning
B. felt like crying on hearing her brother's words
C. was afraid of her cherry tree being cut down
D. hated to hear her mother saying that way
4.From the passage, we can infer that _____.
A. there were already plenty of food supplies
B. Mother showed little interest in the cherry tree
C. the tree was a great danger to people walking by
D. the tree was finally cut down by father that day
5.When the author calls up the day, she feels _____.
A. regretful B. joyful
C. thankful D. Painful
There was once a young man walking down the streets of Rome, from one end of the city to the other, on his way to visit a relative. While walking, he happened to a beautifully impressive church and heard sounds coming from the building. They sounded like a lot of pounding（冲击）.
Deciding to satisfy his , he approached the building, opened the heavy door and looked inside the church. Well , all he could was an old man in front of a big piece of marble , the marble with a chisel（凿子） and hammer.
“Well , it must be something very ,” the young man probably thought to himself, “ he doesn’t even notice me.” He then left the church and continued with his .
Several days later, he returned on the same . It seemed that the old man was still going at it, so he decided to ask him what he was doing.
He again went to the door, opened it and looked inside. To his , there was a big statue of an angel with wings spreading out wide open, light on it through the stained glass windows, and it the front of the church.
He could not help it but the next moment he was right next to the old man, his jaw hanging wide open. He with absolute amazement and a puzzled look on his face. He just could not understand how the old man knew that there was an angel in that piece of and he could not help but him, “Sir , how did you know that there was an in that piece of marble?”
The old man and replied, “Son, there is an angel in every one of us. All we need to do is to take a hammer and a chisel and chip away at all those little piece that do not look like an angel.”
1.A. enter B. build C. pass D. visit
2.A. loud B. noisy C. pleasant D. rough
3.A. relative B. curiosity C. owner D. wife
4.A. hear B. see C. feel D. smell
5.A. wiping B. cutting C. taking D. turning
6.A. mysterious B. optimistic C. important D. strange
7.A. because B. although C. unless D. if
8.A. thought B. work C. journey D. pray
9.A. route B. square C. business D. time
10.A. usually B. secretly C. really D. absolutely
11.A. disappointment B. amazement C. relief D. joy
12.A. sitting B. kneeling C. lying D. standing
13.A. shining B. bathing C. throwing D. looking
14.A. decorate B. exposed C. shaded D. beautified
15.A. for B. at C. with D. in
16.A. shared B. wondered C. frowned D. noticed
17.A. stone B. clay C. marble D. wood
18.A. challenge B. ask C. praise D. question
19.A. admire B. inventor C. eagle D. angel
20.A. sat down B. turned around C. looked up D. came out
the morning train, he would not have been late for the meeting.
A. Did he catch B. Should he catch
C. Has he caught D. Had he caught
If we a table earlier, we couldn’t be standing here in a queue.
A. have booked B. booked C. book D. had booked
