When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By Jack
1.Jack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
A. the manager asked him to do so
B. he respected the elderly
C. the couple wanted him to do so
D. he wanted more pay
2.When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.
A. nervous B. satisfied C. Unhappy D. excited
3.In Jack’s hometown, _______.
A. people dislike being called “old”
B. people are proud of being old
C. many people reach the age of seventy or eighty
D. the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants
4.After this experience, Jack _______.
A. lost his job in the restaurant
B. made friends with the couple
C. no longer respected the elderly
D. changed his way with older people
5.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.
B. Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.
C. The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.
D. From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture.
Should ecigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed. More than half of the people questioned in a survey think ecigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration，but 47 percent believe the ecigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit.
“In the hunt for a safer cigarette，ecigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer，” Zogby International，which conducted the survey，said in a statement.
About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about ecigarettes，which are batterypowered，or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell. Sold mostly on the Internet，ecigarettes were first made in China.
Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using ecigarettes，saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit. The WHO said people who smoke ecigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs.
Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that ecigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden，because they don’t produce smoke，but 46 percent disagree. Men who were aware of the availability of ecigarettes were more likely than women to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit. Young people，aged 18－29，and singles were the groups most open to trying ecigarettes. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide，according to the WHO.
1.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
A．American smokers ought to try ecigarettes.
B．Americans have different opinions about ecigarettes.
C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America.
D．Most of the Americans don’t like ecigarettes.
2.According to Zogby International，ecigarettes ________.
A．are much safer than common cigarettes
B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking
C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes
D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers
3.What do we know about ecigarettes from the passage?
A．Most Americans are familiar with them.
B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine.
C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen.
D．Most people buy them on the Internet.
4.What’s the attitude of the WHO towards ecigarettes?
A．Negative. B．Supportive.
C．Doubtful. D．Indifferent.
5.What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
A．People can smoke ecigarettes in places where smoking is forbidden.
B．Most women agree that ecigarettes should be available to smokers.
C．Young adults and singles are the main groups who agree to try ecigarettes.
D．The problem of smoking is becoming worse around the world.
When it comes to social behaviour，mammals are in a league of their own. Some birds may form pairs，or even cooperate to hunt，but the complexity (复杂性) of their relationships can hardly compare to those within a school of dolphins，a herd of elephants or a group of humans. What makes mammalian social groups different from a flock of starlings or a shoal of fish，is that in many cases the individuals could recognize each other. Although we may think that all elephants look pretty much the same，we can easily tell individuals of our own species apart and it has become clear through studies that the same is true of other species. Dolphins have their own signature whistles that act like “names”，and elephants can recognize and greet other individuals they have known but not seen for many years. This is something that only a few species of birds appear to be able to do.
Mammals in complex social groups not only recognize each other as individuals，but also they remember a lot of information about that individual. Social groups often rely on this memory—such as knowing who is dominant to whom，who is related to whom，and who has done what to whom in the past. It’s like remembering who you have lent money to or done a favour for，and who hasn’t repaid that money or has talked about you behind your back. You have to learn who to trust，who your friends are，and who to watch out for.
All this remembering goes on in a particular part of the brain called the neocortex (大脑皮层)．If you compare the size of a mammal’s social group with the size of this part of the brain，you will find they are remarkably closely related. This area seems to take a long time to develop fully and animals in which it is very large take a very long time to grow up to adulthood. During this time，the youngster has to learn all the rules of social behaviour in their group and to piece together all the relationships between the group members：Knowledge that will be needed to avoid getting into trouble.
1.What is special about a mammalian social group according to the passage?
A．All the individuals cooperate to hunt.
B．The individuals can communicate with each other.
C．The individuals can recognize each other.
D．The individuals form closer relationship.
2.The passage suggests that elephants________.
A．are cleverer than dolphins
B．can recognize other species
C．may mistake a member for another
D．have good memories
3.Animals whose area of the neocortex is large________.
A．will have a long period of time before they become adults
B．will spend a shorter time learning the necessary knowledge
C．will learn the necessary knowledge much more easily
D．will have more difficulty in growing up as adults
4.If the neocortex is larger，the animals________.
A．can live a longer life
B．have a smaller social group
C．have a larger social group
D．have a greater body size
5.In order to make his/her point clear，the author use the means of________.
A．analyzing cause and effect
B．making comparisons
C．giving wonderful examples
D．providing different figures
Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.
After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.
Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”
Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”
“Well then,” she asked again. “WHAT was it?”
Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren’t joking. ”
1.Why did Tommy’s parents send him to a catholic school?
A. Because he could eat well there.
B. Because he could learn more about nuns.
C. Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math.
D. Because his parents didn’t want him to learn math any more.
2.Tommy’s mother felt surprised that his son _______.
A. was still the same as usual
B. ate so much at dinner
C. kissed her hello after school
D. worked hard but said little
3.“Hitting the books” means “_______” in Chinese.
A. 用功 B. 捶书 C. 发泄 D. 振作
4.The last sentence in the passage shows that _______.
A. Tommy felt sorry for the man
B. Tommy was afraid of being nailed
C. Tommy didn’t like the plus sign
D. Tommy liked playing jokes on others
5.From the passage, we can infer (推断) that _______.
A. teachers should be strict with their students
B. mistaking (误解) might do good sometimes
C. a catholic school is much better than other ones
D. nuns are good at helping children with their math
Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!
1.The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.
A. at the age of 13
B. before she got married
C. after they moved to new homes
D. before the writer’s family moved away
2.They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.
A. got married
B. had little time to do so
C. didn’t like writing letters
D. could see each other on special time
3.There was an empty place in the writer’s heart because she _______.
A. was in trouble
B. didn’t know Linda’s address
C. received the card that she sent
D. didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness
4.The writer was happy when she _______.
A. read the newspaper
B. heard Linda’s voice on the phone
C. met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda
D. wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman
5.They haven’t kept in touch _______.
A. for about 40 years
B. for about 27 years
C. since they got married
D. since the writer’s family moved away
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡的相应位置上。
The earth was just 1.________ cloud of dust after the “Big Bang”. The earth exploded loudly with fire and rock. 2.________ were in time to produce many things，which were to make the earth’s atmosphere. As the earth cooled down，water began to appear on 3.________ surface. It allowed the earth to dissolve 4.________(harm) gases. Then life began to develop.
Small plants multiplied and filled the first oceans and seas with oxygen. This encouraged the 5.________(develop) of early shellfish and fish. Land animals such 6._______ insects，reptiles and dinosaurs appeared after green plants appeared. Small clever animals spread all 7.________ the earth. They are putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, 8.________ prevents heat from escaping from the earth into space. 9._______ life will continue on the earth for millions of years to come will depend on whether this problem can 10.___________(solve)．
