Several weeks ago，I had a dinner party. During the___ a glass of red wine was dropped on a very fancy, Persian carpet in the living room. Later, when I planned to have the carpet _______，experts came out. They _______ that they could not only get out the _______, butalso make every carpeted room look and smell nice.
After spending more than 200 dollars, my _______ looked great. All of the carpets were cleaned, but there was still one slight _______— the stain was still there, and to say I was _______, actually an understatement. Committed to getting rid of the stain, I _______ another expert. This was a real expert with great _______ in this trade. When he arrived and saw the stain, he immediately explained to me how _______ it would be to deal with the stain, and he wanted me to know that before he even unloaded his _______ to start the job. My expectation at that point was low; however, I told him to put in his best _______.
In the first scenario（1'青景）I expected the stain to be _______In the second I expected little or nothing. Those made me realize that in life the fine line between _______ and disappointment can be our expectations. Disappointment will occur _______ the expectation line drawn by ourselves is placed incorrectly. ________ good things will happen if you set your expectations _______ In the carpet cleaning scenario above, the second _______ not only set my expectations appropriately by under promising, but he also over delivered by getting the stain out—a result that _______ my expectations, making me very _______ So remember: set your expectations properly.
1.A. show B. speech C. work D. get-together
2.A. rolled B. cleaned C. fixed D. designed
3.A. promised B. doubted C. warned D. complained
4.A. scar B. stain C. paint D. sweat
5.A. walls B. garden C. house D. furniture
6.A. doubt B. problem C. difference D. improvement
7.A. calm B. cheerful C. satisfied D. disappointed
8.A. called in B. paid off C. attended to D. broke with
9.A. interest B. character C. adventure D. reputation
10.A. attractive B. difficult C. common D. popular
11.A. product B. garbage C. equipment D. collection
12.A. effort B. symbol C. record D. benefit
13.A. saved B. covered C. displayed D. removed
14.A. dissatisfaction B. surprise C. happiness D. regret
15.A. so B. until C. if D. but
16.A. On the contrary B. To be honest C. On the whole D. In conclusion
17.A. abruptly B. properly C. incorrectly D. honestly
18.A. player B. adviser C. neighbor D. cleaner
19.A. added up B. ruled out C. went beyond D. turned down
20.A. glad B. sad C. angry D. upset
Many of us live with a roommate at some stage． Sometimes， there can be problems． Who hasn't had an argument about whose turn it is to take out the rubbish or who should be the one to clear up after dinner？1.
You know that there's always someone else around， which can help you feel safer． There is always someone to talk to， so you never feel lonely． Besides these obvious benefits， there are some you may not notice．2.
To examine the effect of living alone， Australian university researchers did much research and found that people living alone tended to eat less fresh food， which can have a significant negative effect on long-term health． However， those living with others generally benefited from a more varied diet compared to those living alone．
3.The researchers believe the social and cultural roles played by cooking， food preparation and eating may be important considerations． For example， those living with friends have someone else to go shopping with， and thus are likely to buy high-quality fresh food regularly．
4.If people living alone find they do not have the knowledge required to prepare a particular dish or cook a certain food， they may fall back on ready-made， less healthy food． However， if they live with at least one other person， they may be able to ask for help．
In addition， people living alone can eat whatever they want at any time of the day or night． However， it's helpful to have someone around who questions your decision to eat frozen pizza at 3am．5.
So， if you now live alone and find yourself fighting a losing battle against poor eating habits， why not consider sharing a home with someone else？ You could encourage one another on to greater health and well-being．
A． Cooking skills may be another factor．
B． In other words， roommates can draw your attention to unhealthy routines．
C． Living with a roommate could be a good thing because a roommate can share your expenses and contribute to your home's maintenance．
D． For example， we're actually more likely to eat healthier food when living with others．
E． What could explain these findings？
F． It's hard to find someone who doesn't grate on your nerves， has a similar cleanliness level as you and goes to bed at the same time．
G． However， living with another person also comes with many benefits．
A Chinese legend---A pretty maiden is trapped by a dragon. A prince must slay（杀死）the dragon to save her. Then, magically, they fall in love and live happily ever after. Traditional stories tend to emphasize the fantastic, magical side of love. Fate plays matchmaker. Strangers see each other from across a room and instantly know that they are destined to be together.
It isn’t difficult to imagine two strangers coming together and falling in love despite their differences. It suggests that love is challenging, uncertain, and incomprehensible.
But with more people using online dating services, a very different kind of love has emerged: one that is scientific, convenient, and self-directed. It minimizes risk and provides a choice，like on a menu. There is anonymity（匿名）and the avoidance of immediate rejection. Meeting terms are negotiated online.
Online dating also allows the setting of preconditions. Computer algorithms（推算） exclude undesirable traits such as the wrong hair color, race, or age. But they also exclude randomness. They reduce the chances of meeting someone different, or someone who could challenge one’s romantic ideals. Instead, they find the partner we think we want and exclude everyone else. As a result, we could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime, to meet someone we would never have expected to fall in love with.
Perhaps this new way represents a more efficient form of romance. Traditional ideas of love may be enchanting - but are they useful? Loneliness and boredom are less exciting than chance encounters, but they represent the more realistic side of love. All too often people have suffered through bad dates and humiliations. If they could just choose what they wanted, wouldn’t it save time and reduce suffering? However，by choosing partners based on our preconceived ideas, we may be indulging in our illusions. Instead of letting ourselves grow with someone, love becomes more about looking for ourselves in the other. What if we don't know ourselves as well as we think? Perhaps love isn’t about knowing what we want. Perhaps it’s about being open to unimagined possibilities.
1.What is the purpose of the writer’s writing this article?
A. To be silly and have fun. B. To share some thought.
C. To make fun of people. D. To provide a definite answer.
2.What does the underlined word “ indulging ’’ in paragraph 5 mean?
A. To allow oneself to enjoy it fully. B. To keep oneself taking advantage of it.
C. To be unselfish and share it with others. D. To lose something good and valuable.
3.What is the author’s attitude towards Online Dating?
A. Negative B. Positive
C. Uncaring D. Disapproving
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. By Online Dating We Find True Love
B. Is Online Dating Killing Love?
C. Love Is Uncertain.
D. Online Dating Is Better Than Traditional Ways
The surface of Venus（金星）has never seemed very hospitable. Temperatures change around 470°C（900°F）, the result of a runway greenhouse effect，and the pressure of its atmosphere, thick with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, is some 90 times that of Earth’s. Lead（铅）would flow like water on Venus, and water cannot have existed in liquid form for perhaps a billion years.
Now NASA’S Magellan spacecraft seems to have found one more horror in the nasty landscape: active volcanoes. Last week the space agency released the first detailed map of Venus and the most dramatic images ever made of its surface. The picture offer the best evidence to date that a planet once assumed dead is actually a lively pot of geological change.
The most amazing image is of Venus’s second tallest mountain, Maat Mons, which rises 8km（5 miles） . Most of the planet’s many peaks, including 9.5-km-（6-mile-） high Maxwell Montes, look bright in the radar pictures Magellan takes from its orbit above the permanent could cover. That means they are strong reflectors of radar waves. But Maat Mons is dark; like the Stealth bomber, it absorbs much of the radar falling on it.
This interesting fact, say project scientists, is a strong hint that the mountains has recently been covered with lava（^§S）. Rock that sits on the surface of mountaintops appears to weather quickly in the hot，chemically reactive atmosphere, creating a soil that is rich in iron sulfide（硫 化铁）• It is this mineral, the scientists believe, that can easily be seen on radar. If Maat Mons doesn’t have any, it has probably been resurfaced, perhaps within the past few years.
Such resurfacing has undoubtedly taken place in Venus lowlands: earlier images of the planet showed vast areas that are remarkably free of craters（火山坑）.That would be easy to explain on a Planet like Earth, where cratering from meteor strikes is erased by steady erosion. But while there is some evidence of wind erosion on Venus, the best explanation for the lack of cratering is periodic lava flow. Magellan has found direct evidence of such flows, including domelike upwellings and hardened streamed of rock trailing down the sides of Venusian peaks. There are also signs of other geologic activities, including dramatic faulting and several distinct incidents of mountain building. But the evidence can’t indicate whether they really occurred millions of years ago. The case for active Venusian volcanoes is not yet proved, but Magellan, which is now well into its second complete survey of the planet’s surface, may eventually settle the issue.
1.Which of the following can not be possibly found on Venus now?
A. Carbon dioxide B. Sulfuric acid
C. Liquid water D. Active volcanoes
2.The scientists believe that shows up easily on radar.
A. geological change B. iron sulfide
C. mountain mineral D. lava flow
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The resurfacing has changed the images of the vast areas in Venus lowlands.
B. The wind erosion on Venus is caused by periodic lava flows
C. Streams of rock trailing down the side of Venusian peaks can be seen on Earth
D. Other geologic activities have caused dramatic and unbelievable climate phenomena.
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. NASA’S Magallan spacecraft fails to stand the environment of Venus.
B. There is clear and confirmed evidence for the active Venusian volcanoes on Venus.
C. Some evidence of periodic lava flows has been found by NASA astronauts.
D. Magellan will conduct a follow-up complete survey of the Venus，surface.
Today, I felt upset, I decided to take a walk even though I didn’t know where I would go. The most extraordinary thing happened when I was out on this walk. I saw an old man sitting on a chair. He was a seller of second-hand shoes. He seemed so tired and nobody was buying his shoes.
I wanted to give him something but I had not brought anything with me. Then, a little girl came toward him. I heard the child say，’’Grandfather，may I polish your shoes?" That old man took pity on her, smiled and he gave her a shoe to polish. The girl said, MI polish the shoe because I need money to buy my brother a new school uniform.M The old man answered, "Oh, little girl. Just stop doing this. Come with me and I will buy you a uniform.”
Then they walked to a market (I followed behind) and he bought her a uniform. The girl was so happy. She said,MThank you so much for doing this." Then she left, leaving the old man smiling. He walked away from the market, but I stopped him.
I whispered in his ear, "You are a hero! Thank you for your kindness!” As I walked away, I glanced back and I could see him still smiling. I was blown away by the kindness I had just seen. Someone who had so little himself was able to show such incredible generosity! Amazing!
My own sadness had completely disappeared, chased away by the light of this kind act. I began realizing that I have a lot to be thankful for.
1.Why did the girl want to polish （擦亮）shoes for the old man?
A. To support the old man’s business.
B. To show her pity on the old man.
C. To earn money to buy something to her brother.
D. To attract the attention of passers-by to buy more shoes.
2.What do we know about the old man from the passage?
A. He has not enough to eat and wear. B. He is indifferent to others.
C. He is a kind and generous man. D. He is in a poor health condition.
3.Which words can be used to describe the character of the girl?
A. Friendly and caring. B. Greedy and kind.
C. Enthusiastic and impatient. D. Mean and sad.
4.What may the author learn from the old man?
A. Compared with helping others, personal sadness is not important.
B. One should live by one’s own work not by others’ help.
C. One shouldn’t look down upon the one who needs help.
D. Even though one has little, he or she should try to help others.
The weather outside might be freezing at home, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend the winter shivering. Instead, grab your bathing suit and sunscreen and head to these sunny spots that offer the best warm-weather getaways for every interest.
The best city beaches: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Being able to relax on a warm sandy beach in the middle of the winter is obviously a dream getaway, but not everyone wants their sand and surf to be hidden in a remote comer of an island. Instead, head to the sizzling（炎热的）city nightlife of San Juan, where the streets of chic Condado back right into the palm trees and lapping waves of the Atlantic beaches. Top chefs, stylish hotels, bars，clubs, and shops are all just steps away from the tropical beaches. And since Puerto Rico is a United States Commonwealth, it’s one of the easiest islands in the Caribbean to visit since you won’t need a passport, have to change money, or even worry about your cell phone working. Puerto Rico is also one of the best tropical vacations you can take without leaving the United States.
The best swimming holes: Riviera Maya, Mexico
What’s better than diving into the salty sea? Submerging in the crystal clear and salt-free waters of the naturally occurring limestone cenotes of the Riviera Maya and Yucatan Peninsula. Spend a sunny day exploring these natural cave pools filled cool filtered water that springs from the ground below and the lush palm forests that surround them. Then head back to the perfectly located Fairmont Mayakoba for comfortable rooms and modem Mexican cuisine.
The best girlfriend getaways: New Orleans
New Orleans vibrant nightlife and live-music scenes make the “Big Easy” a great girl’s trip winter getaway (check out the Girl’s Trip movie if you don’t believe us). And even if your crew isn’t one to seek out the boozy Bourbon Street crawl, there’s plenty of amazing food to be discovered in the French Quarter, plenty of shopping and strolling in the Garden District, and warm weather cruises along the bayou, too. Check out these other great weekend getaways for girls trips.
The best aquatic movie star-spotting: Clearwater, Florida
If you want to meet a real movie star while also soaking up the sun, head to the Gulf shores of Clearwater, Florida. Here you can meet the stars of Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2, Winter and Hope, who are in residence full-time at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The amazing dolphins will probably make you want to hit the waves yourself, which won’t be a problem since the beautiful white sand beaches here boast 361 days of sunshine per year. Next, don’t miss these destinations that are even better in the winter.
1.What is NOT the reason why Puerto Rico is one of the easiest islands for a visit?
A. You don’t need a passport B. You don’t take a long trip there
C. You don’t have to change money D. You don’t worry about your cell phone working
2.What can girls do if they travel to New Orleans?
A. Dive in the swimming holes B. Meet the amazing dolphins
C. Enjoy live-music scenes D. Relax on the beach
3.Where can you meet amazing dolphins?
A. Clearwater, Florida B. Riviera Maya, Mexico
C. New Orleans D. Puerto Rico
