Mexico and the USA share a common border on the northern side of Mexico. However, despite the close physical proximity(临近), there are a lot of differences between their social conduct.
Americans belong to diverse ethnic (种族) as well as national origins, despite which, all of them have mixed perfectly with the mainstream of American culture. Officially, six different races of people have been recognized by the government of the United States, which include White or European Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, Black or African-Americans, Asians, and the people of two or more races. White Americans form the majority, constituting about 75% of the total population of America.
Mexicans are a group of multi-ethnic people. Mexico shelters people of different races, religions and tribes. When the country achieved independence from the Spanish colonizers (殖民者), the population included people of native pre-Columbian ancestry as well as Europeans, who came there through the process of colonization. The fusion of these two, particularly diverse ethnicities, led to the formation of the special multi-ethnic character of the Mexican people.
Americans tend to give a lot of importance to their profession, sometimes more than their family. Children are brought up in a more independent manner. Parents expect their children to set up their independence households once they start earning. Americans feel that the practical application of knowledge is very important. So, their way of acquiring knowledge is based more on reasoning, analysis, and in-depth specialization of a subject.
However, family comes first for Mexicans. In most Mexican families, men work to earn money, while women take care of the housework. Children are brought up with a lot of parental care and attention. Mexicans love to settle down in one place, and prefer to stay with their families. They consider titles and positions as their status symbols. They believe in education based on repeated learning and so, their academic system emphasizes learning through memorization.
Despite so many differences in their cultures, some sort of integration (结合) binds the Mexicans and the Americans, in a way, promotes their co-existence.
1.Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?
A.American Indians and Alaska Natives are the largest ethnic group in the USA.
B.There are more Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders than Asians in the USA.
C.American Indians have not been recognized by the US government.
D.European Americans make up about three fourths of the USA’s population.
2.The underlined word “fusion” in Paragraph 3 means “ ”.
A.competition B.mix
C.comparison D.balance
3.Which of the following might Americans agree with?
A.Truth comes from practice. B.Blood was thicker than water.
C.Rome was not built in a day. D.Every dog has its day.
4.In Mexicans’ eyes, they .
A.look at money as a status symbol B.usually receive an all-round education
C.enjoy the company of family D.husband and wife share the housework
A few years after Mom died, Dad showed up for lunch wearing the soft smile that took over his face whenever he was thinking about her. “I’ve found these,” he said, handing me a bag. “She would have wanted you to have them.”
I opened the bag to find dozens of shells, each one bearing Mom’s handwritten words: Stone Harbor, N. J. — 8-98. They were pretty common, but to Mom, they were evidence of her endlessly magical life.
She was 61 when she collected these shells, already showing signs of the lung disease that would kill her the next year. Mom needed an adventure. She loved seashore. So we decided to take her to Jersey Shore.
As soon as I said “Jersey Shore”, she started to shout over and over again— “I can’t believe I’m going to New Jersey!”
Once we got to Stone Harbor, Mom acted like the town mayor, greeting everyone as if they were loyal constituents. And she spent hours collecting shells on the beach. The morning we left, I found her photographing every corner of her bedroom. “I don’t even want to forget this,” she said.
For a long time, Mom’s shells stayed buried in a drawer. Last month, I rediscovered them. I put them where I can easily to see them. One by one, the shells are finding a new place in my home. They remind me to live a life like my mother — who never lost her sense of passion.
1.The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to .
A.the bag the author’s dad found B.the photos the author’s mom took
C.the shells the author’s mom collected D.the words the author’s mom wrote
2.Why did the author’s mom greet everyone in the Stone Harbor?
A.She knew them very well. B.She was very excited.
C.She wanted to make friends with them. D.She was popular among the people there.
3.What do we know about the author’s mom?
A.She had a sense of adventure. B.She passed away at the age of 61.
C.She was brought up in New Jersey. D.She showed great enthusiasm for life.
4.We can infer from the last paragraph that the shells .
A.remind the author of her mom’s attitude towards life
B.make the author think of her mom’s death
C.were taken out of the drawer for the purpose of decorating the house
D.were hidden in a drawer because they are very precious
Let’s look at some inventions that had their roots in the UK.
The bagless vacuum cleaner（吸尘器), James Dyson,1979
There are some things we don’t know we need until someone invents them. For example, the bagless vacuum cleaner. James Dyson came up with the idea after spending a lot of money on an expensive cleaner that simply pushed dirt around.
Most of us would have given it up, but Dyson went on to change the basic principle of a vacuum cleaner --- an idea that hadn’t been challenged for 100 years --- by designing a system that removed the necessity of the bag for good. His final version took five years of research.
However, when Dyson first approached manufacturers (制造商) with his idea, he couldn’t interest them. But he didn’t give up and set up a factory in Wiltshire in 1993 to produce them himself. Two years later, Dyson’s products were outselling the competition.
The Mini Alec Issigonis, 1959
While the Americans were driving supersize Cadillacs, Britain famously went in the opposite direction and came up with a small car.
Alec Issigonis was responsible for the design and made a name for himself in motoring history with its launch (投放市场) in 1959 for the British Motor Corporation(BMC).
The Mini’s success wasn’t overnight. Many thought it “strange”, but it developed into a love affair with the British that’s never decreased, helped by the fact that many stars loved it.
The London sewage system, Joseph Bazalgette, 1865
Like any major city, London has always produced large amounts of waste. Give thanks to Joseph Bazalgette, an engineer who developed a far-reaching underground sewage system. It changed the process of getting rid of waste by dumping it into the Thames River. Even more impressive was his idea to construct pipes that would function for nearly 150 years and still be large enough to meet the need of the increasing population. As he said, “We’re only going to do this once.”
1.Which of the following is true according to James Dyson’s experience?
A.He invented the first vacuum cleaner. B.He enjoyed immediate success.
C.His idea attracted many manufacturers. D.His product became a bestseller.
2.The Mini won its popularity _____.
A.soon after its launch in 1959
B.because it was advertised by stars
C.with the help of some famous people’s preference
D.because people lost interest in supersize cars
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph shows Bazalgette was _____.
A.cautious B.confident
C.far-sighted D.strong-minded
”阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为120左右。
My fiance(未婚夫）and I were excited about shopping for our first home.But our funds were limited,and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory.
One agent recommended a house in particular..Although her description sounded wonderful,the price was beyond our range,so we declined.But she kept urging us to have a look at least.
We finally did and it was love at first sight:It was Our Home,small and charming, overlooking a quiet lake.Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners,a nice elderly couple,we felt the warmth and happiness of the marriage within that home.As perfect as it was,the price remained too high for us.But every day,we would sit by the lake, looking at the house and dreaming of what it would be like to live there.
Days later,we made a(n)offer-far below the asking price.Surprisingly,they didn't laugh at us.They renewed their offer instead.It was also much more than we could afford,but far less than the original asking price.
The next day,we got a disappointing message that another buyer had offered a much higher price.Even so,we decided to talk with the owners directly.We made our final offer, which still was thousands of dollars 'less than' the other buyer's bid.We knew it,but we had to try.Nobody knew if we could get it.
Paragraph 1:We went to the owners' home after we made our final offer.The other buyer came to visit the owners too.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:The owner looked at us and said,"I want to sell my house to you!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
单词拼写
1.Shared bikes are often left ___________（遗弃）either on the sides of the road or at bus stops.
2.I would _________（感激）it if you could offer me the chance of working as a volunteer here.
3.Always remember the __________（指示）on the bottle carefully and take the right amount of medicine.
4.To her _________（难堪），she couldn't think of his name and stood there, saying nothing.
5.My father is so lively and ___________（活力）that he takes an hour's exercise every day.
6.I am just as ___________（热情的）about my job as the day I first started.
7.In order to protect our environment, we can't freely cut down trees without the government's ________（允许）.
8.There is lots of information __________（可获得）on the Internet, so the Internet is more and more important to us.
9.The ___________（故障）of the computer system is caused by the new virus.
10.What do you imagine will be your future ___________（职业）?
11.The hospital has recently obtained new medical__________（设备），allowing more patients to be treated.
12.More and more people have come to realize the importance of keeping a__________（均衡）diet.
13.In__________（结论），I like being praised, but I know sometimes it's not always good.
14.It is important to pay your__________（电）bill on time, as late payments may affect your credit.
15.No decision will be made until all the candidates have been____________(面试）.
Alia Baker is a librarian in Iraq. Her library used to be a_______place for all who loved books and liked to share knowledge. They discussed various matters all over the world. When the war was near, Alia was_______ that the fires of war would destroy the books, which are more _______to her than mountains of gold. The books are in every language- new books, ancient books, even a book on the history of Iraq that is seven hundred years old.
She had asked the government for _______to move the books to a_______ place, but they refused. So Alia took matters into her own hands. _______, she brought books home every night, filling her car late after work. Her friends came to help her when the war broke out. Anis who owned a restaurant _______to hide some books. All through the night, Alia, Anis, his brothers and neighbours took the books from the library, _______ them over the seven foot wall and _______them in the restaurant. The books stayed hidden as the war ________. Then nine days later, a fire burned the ________ to the ground.
One day, the bombing stopped and the________ left. But the war was not over yet. Alia knew that if the books were to be safe, they must be ________ again while the city was ________. So she hired a truck to, bring all the books to the houses of friends in the suburbs (郊区). Now Alia waited for the war to end and ________peace and a new library.
1.A.meeting B.working C.personal D.religious
2.A.worried B.angry C.doubtful D.curious
3.A.practical B.precious C.reliable D.expensive
4.A.permission B.confirmation C.explanation D.information
5.A.large B.public C.distant D.safe
6.A.Fortunately B.Surprisingly C.Seriously D.Secretly
7.A.intended B.pretended C.happened D.agreed
8.A.put B.opened C.passed D.threw
9.A.hid B.exchanged C.burnt D.distributed
10.A.approached B.erupted C.continued D.ended
11.A.restaurant B.library C.city D.wall
12.A.neighbors B.soldiers C.friends D.customers
13.A.sold B.read C.saved D.moved
14.A.occupied B.bombed C.quiet D.busy
15.A.dreamed of B.believed in C.cared about D.looked for
