阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Red is used in many American expressions. It can be used to show__1._____ (happy), as in “a red-letter day”. This is a day __2.___ something special happens. The expression is probably based on church customs.___ 3.___ almost six hundred years, church calendars have been marked with red to indicate special holidays.
A red-letter day is ___4.___ day that people are feeling quite happy. It’s a day that you’ve long waited for, a wedding day, for example, ____5.__ it may be a day with a happy surprise. You might tell your friend that yesterday was a red-letter day____6._____ you won some money in the state lottery(彩票).
“Rolling a red carpet” is another _____7.____ (common) heard expression, which ____8._____ (represent) a warm welcome. A city may “Roll a red carpet” for ___9.____baseball team when the team arrives home after winning the championship.
Red is also used in some expressions that are not happy. Red-handed is one. To be caught red-handed is to be caught ___10.___ (perform) a bad act.
I like to be near water—sea, lake or river．That is probably because I was born in a village the sea, and have lived life close to water of some ．When I am in some place is far from lake, river and sea, I am restless and always that there is something , though it is sometimes hard to what it is．
Of course, the sports I like are that need water — sailing, rowing and swimming．It is to swim in a small swimming－pool, rowing and sailing are impossible without a lot of water．Rowing is best on a river, and sailing on the sea or a big lake, but one can some sailing on a river, and one can certainly row on a lake or the sea when the is good．
Of the three sports — swimming, rowing and sailing, I like rowing , because it is the to continue during the winter, when the water is too cold for swimming and the sea is too rough for sailing． on the coldest day one can row； ice on the water，or thick fog stops one．Sometimes it is so cold when I go that drops of water ．In such weather, it is not very to swim；one can’t stay in the water long；however, when one is rowing, one gets the longer one goes on．
1.A. on B. in C. by D. far from
2.A. my most B. most my C. my most of D. most of my
3.A. sea B. land C. place D. kind
4.A. which B. there C. where D. 不填
5.A. know B. feel C. find D. want
6.A. missing B. missed C. which is missed D. which missing
7.A. make B. say C. do D. see
8.A. few B. some C. those D. many
9.A. able B. easy C. good D. possible
10.A. however B. and C. but D. or
11.A. have B. do C. make D. get
12.A. weather B. sky C. day D. water
13.A. better B. more C. least D. best
14.A. most interesting B. coldest C. easiest D. hardest
15.A. Only B. Ever C. If D. Even
16.A. only B. not C. hardly D. not only
17.A. out rowing B. on rowing C. to rowing D. on to row
18.A. fall B. freeze C. turn warm D. get cool
19.A. glad B. pleased C. pleasant D. pleasure
20.A. happier B. warmer C. cooler D. colder
Regardless of the difficulties you may face, it’s getting support and moving forward that counts(重要) the most when you need to deal with hardships. 1.
Write or talk about how you feel.
Keeping my feelings to myself used to make me feel lonely, but when I found someone who actually cared about me, it became natural to share how I felt with him and that contributed to my ability to overcome troublesome situation. 2. Although talking to strangers about your problems may seem crazy, it actually isn’t.
3.
It is said that running away from your problems will never help, and though that is partially true, it doesn’t mean that you need to go so deeply in a situation that you run out of air to breathe and lose the ability to make your choices. It is why it’s important to separate yourself from a situation long enough to think clearly.
Remind yourself that you are not alone.
Regardless of who or what you depend on, you need to remind yourself that you are not alone; you have people who do care. 4. Sometimes it’s strangers who may share the same feeling as you do. Think about it---- you may not know any readers personally but they could be in the exact same situation as you, so in fact, no one is truly alone.
Accept the results and get support again
5. Whether the results of your choices proved to be helpful or not, it’s time for you to accept them and get support. This time you have a new experience go add to your book of life so the next time something tries to knock you down, it won’t be easy because you will be strong and determined to push forward.
A. Tell yourself to accept the hardship.
B. Separate yourself from the situation.
C. All in all, remember that life is short.
D. Finally, it’s time to accept what has happened.
E. Here are some things I’ve tried just to help me believe in a brighter future and get over a tough situation.
F. Not only did I speak to him about how I felt, but I decided to blog(写博客) about it.
G. Even if it’s just one person, that enough to give you reasons to remind yourself that you will never truly be alone
In the United States, it is not usual to telephone someone early in the morning. If you telephone early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention. So it is with the telephone calls made after 11:00 pm. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he may think that it’s a matter of life and death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.
In social life, time plays a very important part. In the USA guests tend to feel they are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party reaches them only three or four days before the party date. But it is not true in all countries. In other areas of the world, it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten. The meaning of time is not the same in different cultures that treat time differently; being on time is valued highly in American life, for example. If people are not on time, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible. In the USA no one would think of keeping a business friend for an hour; it would be too impolite. A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a shout apology. It he is less than 5 minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence.
1.A call at midnight would mean_________.
A. it is a matter of life and death
B. the matter is too difficult to handle
C. the matter requires immediate attention
D. the matter is less important
2.According to the passage, time plays a very important part in_______.
A. getting along with others B. private life
C. everyday life D. business
3.In the passage, the author suggests that invitation cards should be sent________.
A. three or four days before the party date in all cultures
B. three or four days before the party date in the USA
C. three or four days before the party date in some cultures
D. at your chosen time
Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.
Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.
1.Now in an American family, people can find that ________.
A. children never live with their parents.
B. aged people are supported by their grandchildren.
C. not all working people live with their parents.
D. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents.
2.The reason why old people are left alone may be that ________.
A. the old don’t like to live in a big family.
B. the young can’t get enough money to support the old.
C. the old are too weak to live with the young.
D. different generations have different lifestyles.
3.The fact that the reporter told us shows that _______.
A. old people are easy to get along with.
B. old people in America enjoy banana bread.
C. she had no time to take care of her children.
D. old people in America lead a hard life.
4.By saying “Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure” the author means________.
A. old people had never seen her baby before
B. the baby was clever and beautiful
C. the baby brought old people the image of life
D. the baby’s mother would take care of them
Before the print was brought to England in 1476, everything was written by hand. The few people who knew how to write were trained in schools set up by the church. Those who made a living by writing for other people were called scribes(抄写员)。
The work of scribes was not easy. Much of it had to be done fast in order to meet the needs of the King. the church and traders. Most of the writing was in Latin(拉丁) ,but some of it was in the English of the day. And no one was quite sure how some English words should be spelled.
One problem was that several letters were written with short vertical strok（竖笔）that all looked like each other. Among them were the letters , i, u, v, m and n, Thus .five straight lines in a row might stand for uni nui uvi or mii.
As a result .reading was sometimes difficult, especially when the writing was done in a hurry.
The scribes solved(解决)the problem in part, by changing the letter u to o when it came before m. n or v. This is how sum and cum came to be written as some and come.
At some point, too, the scribes seemed to have decided that no English word should be ended by u or v. Thus, in time an e was added to such words as live, have, due and true. It was added, but not pronounced.
1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Everything has been written by hand in English since 1476.
B. The church set up schools to train scribes before 1476.
C. More than 500 years ago no people made a living by writing for other people.
D. Scribes in England worked only for kings and traders.
2.Sometimes people couldn’t read easily_____________
A. because there were too many u’s and v’s in sonic English words.
B. because most of the writing was in Latin.
C. When tile writing was done hurriedly.
D. when the writing was in English.
3.The scribes changed u before m to o because___________
A. the change helped them write faster
B. om was the right order
C. um and om had the same pronunciation
D. the change made reading easier
4.It is believed that some scribes thought___________
A. it important to add an e to every English word
B. an English word should be ended neither by n nor by v
C. it natural to change the spelling of sonic Latin words
D. the letter e at the end of any word shouldn't be pronounced
