Driving each other crazy
There’s a well-known joke: A woman is driving down a motorway and her husband phones her on her mobile. ‘Darling, be careful!’ he screams, ‘I’ve just heard there’s a car driving the wrong way on the motorway near where you are.’ ‘It’s not just one car,’ she says, ‘there are hundreds of them!’
And here’s another one: a man is driving his daughter and they are stuck in traffic. The little girl says, ‘I have a question.’ ‘What is it?’ asks her father. ‘When you’re driving, are YOU ever the stupid idiot?’
1. Is it because we recognize some truth in them? A lot of people seem to think that men and women do display quite different characteristics when it comes to driving, and in general, both male and female drivers tend to be quite critical of the opposite sex.
‘Men are too confident in their own abilities. They never listen, they never need a map. They’re always sure they know the way,’ says Cathy, whose husband rarely lets her drive the car. ‘They tend to drive too close to the car in front and they’re incredibly impatient. If there’s a car in front, they have to pass it even if it doesn’t make a difference to their overall speed. I think it’s some sort of territorial thing.2..
What do men think about women?3.‘Women passengers can’t keep quiet,’ says Paul, a retired architect. ‘You know: “You’re going too fast”, “Can you see that pedestrian?”, “Didn’t you see that traffic light?” or “I feel sick. Can’t you go straight?” There’s always some comment.’
Despite men’s generally high opinion of their own driving skills, a report published in 2004 came down firmly in favour of women drivers.4.There included driving within the speed limits, overtaking safety and conducting different strategies successfully, including signaling in good time, reversing and braking quickly. They also had a better awareness of other drivers on the road. There was only one aspect of driving where women did not perform as successfully as men and that was—no surprise—the ability to park their cars.
A. They have to be king of the road and everybody else on the road is an idiot
B. So what’s the point of these jokes?
C. Interestingly, one of their main concerns is about women as passengers.
D. There is no doubt that women are considered better passengers than men.
E. According to the report, women score more highly than men on almost all counts.
F. Why do we laugh at these jokes?
Mountain regions are not just playgrounds for the richer citizens on the planet, however. The disappearing snows of Mount Kilimanjaro are a worrying sign that nowhere is safe from the adverse effects of human actions. The United Nations has identified three main areas that need to be addressed to ensure the future safety of the world’s mountains. These are: the protection of mountain ecosystems, the encouragement of peace and stability in mountain regions, and assistance for mountain people to maintain their ways of life.
From the busy cities of India to the farmlands of California, more than half the world’s population is dependent on mountains for their fresh water supply. Global warming, deforestation, mining and heavy farming seriously damage breakable mountain ecosystems and put vital fresh water sources at risk.
Mountain regions host a large proportion of the world’s wars. From Afghanistan to the Balkans and the Andes to many parts of Africa, territorial（领土的） and drug related conflicts have damaging effects on the local environment and the lives of the local people. Fighting makes essential tasks such as farming impossible. Land mines make large areas of potential farming ground unusable. Also schools, roads, bridges and other important infrastructure（基础设施） are left in ruins.
Mountain people are among the poorest, least represented groups on the earth. They face many hardships and each day can be, “a test of survival”. Damage to mountain ecosystems worsens their situation and leaves them even more unprotected to disease and ‘natural’ disasters such as floods and landslides. It’s been recommended that forest profit should be reinvested in mountain communities and the people living there should be given a stronger political voice. Their fate is in many ways directly connected with that of people living at sea level.
There is an old motto for visitors to the countryside which advises them to leave nothing but footprints. It is still as relevant today as it always was. Unfortunately, the size of our footprints seems to be getting larger.
1.What the writer discussed in the previous sections is most probably about .
A. mountain ecosystems B. mountain regions
C. mountain people D. mountain sports
2.The word “adverse” (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to “__________”.
A. direct B. harmful
C. positive D. powerful
3.Wars have directly brought the following effects EXCEPT __________.
A. inadequate supply of fresh water B. impossible farming
C. mountain people’s poor living condition D. ruined infrastructure
4.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. Mountain people have enough political voice to protect themselves.
B. More money should be raised to establish mountain communities.
C. Worsened ecosystems put mountain people’s lives under threat.
D. Visitors to mountains have left nothing but large footprints.
There are thirty-four bridges on the Thames River in London, the following are among the most famous ones.
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognizable bridges in the World. It is the bridge in London you may see in movies and on advertising writing for London. Tower Bridge is the only Thames Bridge that can be raised. It used to be raised about 50 times a day, but nowadays it is only raised 4 to 5 times a week.
London Bridge
The construction of the first stone London Bridge started in 1176 and finished years later. Houses and shops were once built on the bridge, which made the road so narrow that it was often jammed with people, horses and carts. A ‘keep left’ rule was made in 1733 to keep the traffic moving. This became the rule of the road in Britain. In 1757 the old bridge was pulled down and a new one was built in 1831. Interestingly, that one was pulled down again in 1967 but rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, USA, as a tourist attraction. The present London Bridge was opened in 1973.
Millennium Bridge
The Millennium Bridge is a bridge for walkers. It was built to connect the Tate Modern Art Gallery to the City and St Paul’s Cathedral (圣保罗大教堂) in 2000. Thousands of people rushed to see the new bridge. Almost immediately after opening, the bridge had to be shut because of the dangerous waving caused by too many visitors. It has now been reopened. The bridge is about 320 meters, costs 16 million pounds to build and only takes walkers.
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster and Lambeth. The present bridge, opened in 1862, is the second on the site and took the place of an earlier bridge opened in 1750. The British romantic poet, William Wordsworth, wrote a famous poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” in the autumn of 1802.
Want to know more about the bridges on the Thames River? Click here www.bridgesinbritain.com.
1.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. The 1831 London Bridge is now in the USA.
B. Tower Bridge is much less frequently lifted today than before.
C. Cars and buses are not allowed to cross Millennium Bridge.
D. Westminster Bridge is for walkers only.
2.The Passage is most probably taken from a ________.
A. school report B. website article
C. teenage magazine D. science fiction
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. William Wordsworth wrote many poems of the bridges on the Thames River.
B. Millennium Bridge wasn’t built strong enough so that it had to be pulled down and rebuilt.
C. That all the traffic is kept left in Britain was from a rule of an old London Bridge.
D. Tower Bridge is the symbol of London because it is the first bridge on the Thames River.
When you’re abroad, trying to find out who to tip is never straightforward and neither is trying to work out the exact number. To make things even more complicated, the rules for tipping vary greatly from country to country. Also, within each country the rules can change, so what was appropriate last time you visited your favourite country may be completely inappropriate the next time you go. However, here are some general guidelines which might help you on your journeys.
You face your first dilemma as soon as you land at the airport— the taxi ride. Taxi drivers generally do expect tips, but rather than there being an exact amount, people round up the fare or just tell the driver to keep the change.
Your next encounter is with the hotel porter and you know he’s expecting a tip, but the problem is trying to figure out how much. It seems that in many countries round the world $1 per bag would be an appropriate amount.
Then, of course, you have to eat. In some countries such Ireland, Brazil, Poland and Portugal, the customary tip in restaurants is 10-15% unless a service charge is included, so the first rule of thumb is always check the bill. In other countries such as France, Italy, Germany, Australia and Spain, where a 10-15% service charge is either very common or compulsory, you may want to leave an additional tip if you think the service was particularly good, but it certainly isn’t obligatory. However, in some countries it may seem strange if you do leave a tip. In Japan, for example, the waitress might be insulted if you tipped her. In Thailand, if you left a tip, the restaurant staff probably wouldn’t be offended, but you might be pursued down the street by someone thinking you’d forgotten to take your change. In New Zealand, although it’s unlikely anyone would chase after you, you’d definitely get some odd looks if you left a trip.
And your problem with tipping isn’t over when you leave the restaurant. Next you discover the tour guide, the hairdresser and the toilet attendant are all expecting a tip as well, but again, how much? Perhaps the best option in these cases is to ask the local people what is acceptable or observe what others do. Of course, you could simply play safe and tip everyone you meet.
1.The word “dilemma” (in paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to _____________.
A. a difficult situation B. an early opportunity
C. a high expectation D. an exact explanation
2.What does the writer suggest tourists do in countries like Brazil?
A. Never tip waiters or waitresses because they may be offended.
B. Play safe and leave a tip about 12% of the bill after each meal.
C. Make sure whether a service charge is included in the bill before giving tips.
D. Always check whether you have kept all your change before leaving the restaurant.
3.People needn’t tip waiters in _____________.
A. Ireland and France B. Germany and Japan
C. Poland and Italy D. Thailand and New Zealand
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Advantages of tipping. B. Rules of tipping.
C. Possible origins of tipping. D. Different opinions on tipping.
When you say that someone has a good memory, what exactly do you mean? Are you saying that the person has fast recall or that he or she________ information quickly? Or maybe you just mean that the person remembers a lot about her or his childhood. The truth is that it is __________ to say exactly what memory is. Even scientists who have been studying memory for decades say they are still trying to ________ exactly what it is. We do know that a particular memory is not just one thing stored somewhere in the brain.________, a memory is made up of bits and pieces of information stored all over the brain. Perhaps the best way to ________ memory is to say that it is a process—a process of recording, storing, and getting back information. Practice and repetition can help to ________ the pieces that make up our memory of that information.
Memory can be ________ affected by a number of things.________ nutrition can affect a person’s ability to store information. Excessive alcohol use can also weaken memory and cause permanent ________ to the brain over the long term. A vision or hearing problem may affect a person’s ability to notice certain things, thus making it ________ to register information in the brain.
When people talk about memory, they often________short-term memory and long-term memory. If you want to call a store or an office that you don’t call often, you look in the telephone book for the number. You dial the number, and then you forget it! You use your short-term memory to remember the number. Your short-term memory lasts about 30 seconds, or half a minute.________, you don’t need to look in the telephone book for your best friend’s number, because you already know it. This number is in your long-term memory, which __________information about things you have learned and experienced through the years.
Why do you forget things sometimes? The major reason for forgetting something is that you did not learn it well enough ________. For example, if you meet some new people and right away forget their names, it is because you did not ________ the names at the first few seconds when you heard them.
1.A. collects B. processes C. publishes D. absorbs
2.A. necessary B. important C. difficult D. convenient
3.A. figure out B. take out C. put out D. give out
4.A. After all B. Instead C. By contrast D. Besides
5.A. recall B. refresh C. describe D. decrease
6.A. lose B. organize C. identify D. strengthen
7.A. positively B. negatively C. actively D. directly
8.A. Poor B. Adequate C. Special D. Various
9.A. benefit B. offence C. effect D. damage
10.A. easier B. more impressive C. harder D. more convenient
11.A. refer to B. apply for C. come across D. break down
12.A. Furthermore B. However C. Consequently D. Otherwise
13.A. leaks B. transmits C. checks D. stores
14.A. in the middle B. at the end C. in the beginning D. ahead of time
15.A. restore B. record C. replace D. respond
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word. For the other blanks, fill in each blank with one proper word. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.
Special Days Around the World
Teacher’s Day
1. people in many countries celebrate World Teachers’ Day on 5th October, in Argentina it is on 11th September— the anniversary of the death of former president, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in 1888.2. Samiento believed passionately in was the importance of education: he wrote ‘Schools are the very basis of civilization’. Children traditionally write poems for their teachers and give them an apple, make a cake or buy flowers. In Vietnam, Educators’ Day is in November. Many students visit their former teachers in their homes 3. (give) them presents, or give news about themselves. And at some schools in India, senior students become teachers, and teachers become students for the day!
World Book Day
In many countries, Book Day 4. (fall) on 23rd April every year. It originated in Catalonia in 1923 when booksellers decided to honour the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day in 1616. In 1995, World Book Day became an international event,5. (celebrate) reading and books. People exchange presents—usually a book and a rose. There are also events such as writing competitions, and in Madrid there is a public reading of Cervantes’s greatest work— Don Quijote —6. lasts 48 hours! In the UK and Ireland, all schoolchildren receive a £1 book token（礼品劵）, and many children now dress up as 7.favourite character from fiction!
Respect for the Aged Day
Grandparents’ Day is popular in many countries, but in Japan— a country where nearly 30 percent of the population are over 60 —older people8. (treat) with special respect. The third Monday of September is ‘Respect for the Aged Day’, which became a national holiday in 1966. Everyone has a day 9. school or work and people organize celebrations for the older people of the village or community where they live. Young people dress up in traditional clothes. They sing and dance and there will be a meal specially 10.(prepare) for the older people. Nowadays, people also visit relatives and the older people in their families, for a three-day weekend.
