“USA? Britain? Which country is1.(good) to study in?” We often hear such discussion. As China opens its door, it is a dream for many Chinese students to study abroad. They want to learn about the outside world.
It’s true that studying abroad can help students develop2. (they). Their foreign language skills will3. (improve) and it may be easier to find jobs.
But there are problems4. should be considered. Language is the first. Students must spend a lot of time5. (learn) another language.
Students must also learn6. (live) without parents’ care and deal with all kinds of things they didn’t have to do before, like looking after themselves. There are 7. (report) about Chinese students abroad running into an ocean of difficulties 8. giving up in the end. When they have to take care 9. themselves, it is hard for students to study well.
Finally, studying abroad brings a heavy burden to the family. For most Chinese parents, the cost of studying abroad10. (be) very high. But is it worth it?
On a foggy evening, Steven took his old father to a restaurant for dinner. His father was very old and weak. While eating, he______dropped food on his shirt and trousers. Other______watched him in disgust while his son was ______.
The whole restaurant fell ______. All the diners turned away from the father and son one after another while Steven ______his father in a soft voice of a man, “Eat as ______ as you can, father. It will be weeks before I _______back from my business trip.”
At that moment, the old father nodded with_____, tears full of his eyes.
After he finished eating, Steven, his son, who was not at all______, quietly took him to the wash room,______the food particles(饭粒), removed the stains, combed his hair and______ his glasses firmly.
When they came out, the entire restaurant was______ them in dead silence, not able to understand ______someone could embarrass themselves publicly like that. The son______ the bill and started walking out with his father.
At that time, an old man among the diners called out to the _______ and asked him, “Don’t you think you have ______ something behind?”.
The son replied, "No sir, I haven't".
The old man insisted, “Yes, you have! You left a(n) ______ for every son and hope for every ______”.
The restaurant went silent. All behind looked at Steven with regret and then, with great respect at both father and son, who were______ into the fog.
To care for those who once cared for us is one of the______ honors. We all know how our parents cared for us for every little thing. Love them, respect them, and care for them.
1.A. constantly B. freelyC. Regularly D. silently
2.A. waiters B. waitresses C. diners D. men
3.A. angry B. calm C. anxious D. fearful
4.A. lucky B. happy C. hopeless D. speechless
5.A. encouraged B. urged C. begged D. mentioned
6.A. quickly B. slowly C. less D. much
7.A. come B. write C. run D. phone
8.A. unhappiness B. difficulty C. thanks D. surprise
9.A. worried B. tired C. regretful D. embarrassed
10.A. wiped B. threw C. washed D. ate
11.A. pull B. removed C. fitted D. picked
12.A. commenting B. holding C. watching D. studying
13.A. when B. how C. what D. where
14.A. forgot B. counted C. refused D. paid
15.A. father B. son C. diners D. waiter
16.A. took B. ignored C. left D. deserted
17.A. lesson B. story C. encouragement D. experience
18.A. diner B. one C. son D. father
19.A. going B. moving C. driving D. running
20.A. respected B. best C. highest D. extraordinary
Bad days happens to many of us. Something makes us sad, angry, frustrated or disappointed. But you still have to get up and go to work. Everything others say to you sounds stupid. 1.. Luckily, you can do something about it. Here are some ways to turn around a bad day.
Accept your bad mood
Being in a bad mood is not that hard. If you’re mad, be mad.2.. This does not give you license to be rude and unpleasant to others. It just means that you need to recognize and accept your bad mood to be able to do something.
Tell others
You can try to keep your bad mood a secret and put on your happy mask. Guess what, you’re fooling nobody.3.. Simply tell them “ listen guys, I’m in a really sour mood today. I’m not sure why, but it’s nothing to do with what you have done. If I bite your head off, I apologize in advance.”
4.
Spend a few moments to try thinking of at least one or two things that aren’t all bad: Something you look forward to, such as a person you like at work or something nice that happened recently.
Take some quiet time
And if you’re having a really bad day, it may be a good idea to withdraw a little if you can. 5.. Sit and work somewhere quiet. Take a long bathroom break. Consider going home early or taking the day off.
A. Remember the good
B. It’s important to get along well with others
C. Everyone seems to annoy you
D. The best thing to do is to tell the people you work closely with
E. If you’re sad, be sad
F. Ask for advice
G. Take a walk in your lunch break
According to German researchers, forcing people to be happy and polite all the time is likely to make them sick. They believe most at risk are air hostesses, call center operators, waiters and other workers in close contact with the public.
Professor Dicter Zapf, a researcher into human emotions at Frankfurt University, said false friendliness led to depression, stress and a lowering of the immune(免疫) system. This can lead to more serious illness such as high blood pressure and so on.“Every time a person is forced to repress his true feelings, there are negative consequences for his health,”said Professor Dieter Zapf.
In order to reach these conclusions, for over two years, 4,000 volunteers including shop workers and air hostess, were put in an imaginary call center and abused by customers. Some of the participants were allowed to answer back, while others had to be polite and friendly all the time.
Those who stood up to clients(顾客) had a rapid heartbeat for a brief period, but for those who had to remain friendly, their heart was still racing long after the client had hung up.
The conclusion reached by the researchers was that“being friendly against one's will causes nothing but stress”.
Professor Zapf said, “We are all able to control our emotions, but it becomes difficult to do this over a long period as air hostesses are forced to on long flights.”
“These people need space away from the passengers where they can be on their own and let their feelings run free. We have to get away from the ‘customer is king’ attitude and show more respect to those working in the service industries.”
1.Who are most at risk when forced to be polite all the time?
A. Those connected with the public. B. Those in service industries.
C. Those with high blood pressure. D. Those working at the airport.
2.According to Professor Dicter Zapf, false friendliness can _____.
A. cause conflicts among people B. improve people’s relationship
C. control high blood pressure D. lead to more serious illnesses
3.What can be inferred from the text?
A. About 4000 voluntary students took part in the research.
B. Those allowed to answer back had a slow heartbeat.
C. Those forced to remain polite are likely to have heart problems.
D. Air hostess should be allowed to lose their temper on long flights.
4.What is the main purpose of this text?
A. To tell people to take the “customer is king” attitude.
B. To persuade people out of working in service industries.
C. To appeal to people to respect those in service industries.
D. To remind people in service industries to control their emotions.
Chokwe Selassie, aged 13, is working hard to help drivers avoid potholes(坑洼). The eighth-grader was inspired to kick off his creation on a recent morning, when his mother was driving him to school. Their car was damaged as it went over a huge pothole in the middle of the street in their hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. He decided to do something about the pothole problem in his city. His solution: an app that warns drivers when there is a pothole ahead.
Chokwe developed the app with his friends Rodriguez Ratliff and Emmanuel Brooks. When the app detects a pothole, it is highlighted in red. And if you get close to the pothole, your phone will warn you. Drivers can also use the app to report any potholes they meet, and to look for other routes they can take to avoid roads that have them.
The app relies on current available information about the streets of Jackson. It works by using the city’s 311 call system, and uses information already stored in a database. Through the call system, citizens dial 311 to report non-emergency problems, which include potholes. Chokwe and his friends determined that focusing on the 10 busiest streets in Jackson would give them a large enough sample size to test the prototype(原型).
Although the app isn't yet available for sale, Chokwe is already looking for ways to improve it. The prototype remains limited to 10 streets in Jackson, but he hopes to add more, so that it includes every street in the city. And then he wants to go even farther until it's nationwide.
1.The passage is mainly about ________.
A. a solution to traffic jams B. an App to detect potholes
C. pothole problems in big cities D. poor road conditions
2.What’s the closest meaning of the underlined phrase “kick off” in Paragraph 1?
A. leave B. invent
C. begin D. change
3.How does the app work through the 311 call system?
A. By replying to citizens’ calls.
B. By broadcasting traffic accidents.
C. By settling non-emergency problems.
D. By using its information about potholes.
4.Which can be Chokwe’s future target?
A. Encouraging more kids to create apps.
B. Taking part in more learning programs.
C. Making the app available for sale online.
D. Making the app include streets nationwide.
“What’s that?” my ten-year-old daughter, Genie, asked. She’d caught me laughing at a piece of mail I’d just opened. “Wake-up service, $2.50 per call.” At the bottom was a phone number and a drawing of a rotary phone, like the one my great- aunt Sara had owned 40 years ago.
“Is that mail funny?” Genie asked.
“Not really,” I admitted. “It’s just outdated.”
“What’s a wake-up call?” She asked. I explained how, before smart-phones, people sometimes paid someone to wake them with a call.
“Who sent this flyer（传单）?” she pressed.
“Probably someone older,” I said.
Her eyes lit up. “Can we order a wake-up?” she asked.
“We don’t need it.” I picked it up and headed for the recycling bin.
“Wait!” she screamed. “I feel sorry for the wake-up man, if he needs some money,” she said, tearing up. “Can’t we order?”
I looked at the flyer with its drawing of a rotary phone. I remembered, again, my great-aunt Sara and her rotary phone. As a kid, I’d visited her over Labor Day, when Jerry Lewis would host his charity event for the disabled kids. Aunt Sara would squeeze my hand, then reach for the rotary phone, dialing the number on the screen. Holding the receiver between us, we’d announce to the operator, “We’d like to help those kids.”
Now here was my own child, showing the same big heart I’d once been encouraged to have, and how could I ignore her? I googled the flyer’s return address. The address belonged to a man called Raymond. He was in his mid-60s. We called him and, holding the receiver between us, the way Aunt Sara and I used to, told him we needed his services. “Great!” Raymond said in a shaky but friendly voice, clearly amazed at receiving an order from a child.
Genie was happy all week.
Technology has made some things outdated. But there are still other things the world will always require. In the rush of my daily life, I’d temporarily forgotten that, I guess I just needed a wake-up call.
1.Why did Genie beg to order the service?
A. She was afraid of being late.
B. She wanted to help the old man.
C. She was curious about the service.
D. She was interested in the rotary phone.
2.What made the author finally decide to order a wake-up call?
A. Her own childhood experience.
B. The less fortunate wake-up man.
C. Genie’s curiosity about the service.
D. The information she found on Google.
3.How did Raymond feel when receiving our order?
A. Excited. B. Disappointed.
C. Doubtful. D. Regretful.
4.What could be the best title for the passage?
A. A Wake-up Man B. A Kindhearted Girl
C. The Wake-up Call D. The Rotary Phone
