There Really Was a Santa Claus
Ann worked for a big company. One of the duties of her _______ was to go to the post office every day and _______ the company mail. One day in December, she _______ a beggar making himself up as a Santa Claus _______ on the corner of the street. Each day she _______ her coins and dropped them in his bowl. He would smile and _______ her a Merry Christmas.
At night the temperature dropped below 0℃, but the Santa Clause _______ stood in the cold wind. _______ she dropped her coins into his bowl, she handed him a pair of gloves.
A week later, a(n) _______ Santa Claus was standing there. “What happened to the other Santa Claus?” she asked. He told her, “He’s very ________ today.” She prayed for his health.
Later that day, a colleague came into her office ________. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” “What’s wrong?” she asked. “It’s my ex-husband,” her colleague ________, “I don’t have any money to buy my boys anything for Christmas, ________ my ex-husband refuses to send money to them. It breaks my heart that they won’t have anything this year.” The lady ________ her colleague,“I’m sure everything will ________. It’s Christmas. Believe in miracles(奇迹).”
That evening, she told her husband about her colleague’s ________, “I know we don’t have much money to ________, but I’d like to give her fifty or a hundred dollars. We’ll just get ourselves less this year. Last year we couldn’t ________ to buy anything for ourselves but we still had a wonderful Christmas.” Her husband smiled, “Give her one hundred dollars. She needs it more than we do.”
She reached up and held him. Warmth spread ________ her body. He held her and realized that ________ really was a Santa Claus — and he had married her!
1.A. family B. job C. life D. religion
2.A. receive B. go through C. answer D. pick up
3.A. spotted B. watched C. sensed D. followed
4.A. standing B. waiting C. playing D. performing
5.A. earned B. counted C. saved D. threw
6.A. send B. offer C. wish D. tell
7.A. even B. just C. yet D. still
8.A. After B. If C. Since D. Although
9.A. honest B. strong C. considerate D. new
10.A. sad B. sick C. cold D. poor
11.A. in tears B. in shock C. in horror D. in trouble
12.A. concluded B. continued C. decided D. commented
13.A. or B. but C. so D. otherwise
14.A. reminded B. amused C. fooled D. comforted
15.A. come back B. work out C. run out D. open up
16.A. message B. suggestion C. example D. situation
17.A. lend B. help C. lose D. pay
18.A. offer B. afford C. promise D. help
19.A. off B. to C. among D. through
20.A. it B. there C. this D. that
Experts have recently found that making conversation plays an essential part in connecting with people and building closer relationships. Although most people can hold a conversation, only a few are smooth when they talk. If you have dreamed about being a good talker, or you just want to make some change, then listen up!
●Talk slowly
Generally, good talkers don’t rush into a conversation. 1. They act as if they have all the time in the world. This makes them come off as centered and collected. Model this way of talking and you will create the same effect.
●Hold more eye contact
Most people keep eye contact about 2/3 of the time or less when they talk. 2. This will convey confidence and interest in interacting with them.
3.
People with good conversation skills are more likely to notice the kind of things that the average person doesn’t notice, and to bring such details into the conversation. They may notice and point out an interesting ring on the other person’s hand, a certain foreign accent, or a certain voice tone they use when saying a name. All these details help to leave a deep impression.
●Express Your emotions
4. Express your feelings about those facts. Keep in mind that it is at the emotional (情感) level that people connect best.
●Use the best words
The ability to talk smoothly has a lot to do with choosing the precise(精确的) words to convey your precise feelings or thoughts. 5. It will help you develop a way with words and allow you to express yourself more easily.
Conversational skills don’t improve just like that. It takes time, practice and the ability to learn at a rapid rate from your own experiences.
A. Notice the details.
B. Offer interesting news.
C. Improve conversational skills.
D. Don’t just present the facts—you’re not a newspaper.
E. It’s a very good idea to hold eye contact just a bit more than that.
F. Develop your vocabulary and practice communicating as accurately as possible.
G. They take their time when they think over something and when they say it out loud.
If you are in Dubai you may notice a robot police officer sharing the street with you. Your first thought might be, “Have I walked into a movie set？”
The answer is no. That robot is Dubai's newest police officer. The robot has a touch screen instead of a gun. The robot will be employed mostly at shopping centers and other places popular with visitors.
The robot's face has eyes but no mouth or nose. It stands 165 centimeters tall and weighs 100 kilograms. If the robot works well, Dubai says 25 percent of its police force could be robots by 2030. The robot cop(巡警) was officially presented at Dubai's Gulf Information and Security Expo and Conference in May.
The police hope the robot will make life easier for the people of Dubai. Khalid Al Razooqi is Director General of Smart Services at the Dubai Police. He said the robot can help the public every day, and that “it won't ask for any sick leave”.
The robot cannot make arrests (逮捕). But it can recognize faces and compare them to photographs on a criminal database. It can also sense emotions. People can use the robot's touch screen to do things like reporting a crime, paying fines and reporting lost or found things. They can also ask how to get somewhere. The robot can greet and shake hands with people. So far, the robot can speak Arabic and English. It soon will learn other languages such as Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish. In addition to having a touch screen, the robot has a camera that can live stream video to a police command center.
Dubai has plans to add other kinds of robots to its police force. Within two years, the city plans to use a threemetertall robot that can run up to 80 kilometers an hour. The Dubai government says the machine would be the world's largest robot. A human police officer will be able to sit inside and control the robot. It will be able to lift heavy objects.
The city also plans to use an eggshaped robot to control parking areas and give tickets to people who break traffic laws.
1.Why do the police use the robot?
A. To attract more tourists to Dubai. B. To make people's life much easier.
C. To reduce the cost of the human workforce. D. To introduce new technology to people.
2.According to the Paragraph 5, the robot cannot be used to ________.
A. report a crime B. pay fines
C. ask for directions D. chat with people freely
3.What can be inferred from the text?
A. Robots have a bright future in Dubai.
B. Robots will replace the police in the near future.
C. People prefer robots to the human police service.
D. Robots will be used in every public area in Dubai.
Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five, he gave £12,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s playground.
As a result of his kindness, many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson said that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection (注射) in my neck each evening.” He told the newspaperman, thinking of evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and has a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.
1.Johnson became a rich man through ________.
A. doing business B. making whisky C. cheating D. buying and selling land
2.Many people wrote to Johnson to find out ________.
A. how to inject themselves to live longer B. how to live happily
C. how to become wealthy D. what kind of whisky he had
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Johnson needed an injection in the neck.
B. Johnson liked whisky and drank some each day.
C. The newspaperman misled the public deliberately.
D. The newspaperman got the wrong end of the stick.
What’s On?
Electric Underground
7.30pm－1.00am Free at the Cyclops Theatre
Do you know who’s playing in your area? We’re bringing you an evening of live rock and pop music from the best local bands. Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract(合同)? If so, come early to the talk at 7.30pm by Jules Skye, a successful record producer. He’s going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce you music.
Gee Whizz
8.30pm-10.30pm Comedy at Kaleidoscope
Come and see Gee Whizz perform. He’s the funniest stand-up comedian(喜剧演员) on the comedy scene. This joyful show will please everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7.00pm for drinks and snacks(快餐).
Simon’s Workshop
5.00pm-7.30pm Wednesdays at Victoria Stage
This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy. The workshop looks at every kind of comedy, and practices many different ways of making people laugh. Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years’ experience of teaching comedy. His workshops are exciting and fun. An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny.
Charlotte Stone
8.00pm-11.00pm Pizza World
Fine food with beautiful jazz music; this is a great evening out. Charlotte Stone will perform songs from her new best-selling CD, with James Pickering on the piano. The menu is Italian, with excellent meat and fresh fish, pizzas and pasta(面食). Book early to get a table. Our bar is open all day, and serves cocktails, coffee, beer, and white wine.
1.Who can help you if you want to have your music produced?
A. Jules Skye. B. Gee Whizz.
C. Charlotte Stone. D. James Pickering.
2.At which place can people of different ages enjoy a good laugh?
A. The Cyclops Theatre B. Kaleidoscope
C. Victoria Stage D. Pizza World
3.What do we know about Simon’s Workshop?
A. It requires membership status. B. It lasts three hours each time.
C. It is run by a comedy club. D. It is held every Wednesday.
4.When will Charlotte Stone perform her songs?
A. 5.00pm-7.30pm. B. 7.30pm－1.00am.
C. 8.00pm-11.00pm. D. 8.30pm-10.30pm.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is the problem of some university students?
A. They don’t spend all their time on studies.
B. They don’t know what to do with their free time.
C. They don’t have choices for outside class activities.
2.How was the students’ high school life?
A. Controlled and busy.
B. Regular and colorful.
C. Active and independent.
3.What is the role of outside class activities at university according to the man?
A. To make students healthier and happier.
B. To arouse students’ learning interest.
C. To enrich students’ life experience.
4.What does the man advise the unhappy students to do?
A. Learn to enjoy themselves.
B. Learn to make decisions on their own.
C. Learn to devote themselves to college studies.
