In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.
A. want to be as rich as their neighbours
B. want others to know or to think that they are rich
C. don’t want others to know they are rich
D. want to be happy
2.It can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to ________.
A. live outside New York City
B. live in New York City
C. live in apartments
D. have many neighbours
3. Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ________.
A. an important name
B. a popular name in the United States
C. his neighbour’s name
D. not a good name
4.If a person who keeps up with the Joneses, he would _________.
A. do as the poor persons around him do
B. do everything he likes to do
C. do as his neighbours do
D. do as the rich people around him do
When we talk about stars, especially women stars, it seems that they are always young, pretty and own attractive body shapes. But recently a Britain’s Got Talent (英国达人) star Susan Boyle has changed our views completely.
Simon Cowell, one of the organizers of the talent show spoke of his surprise over Ms Boyle’s voice. “This lady came up, and I’m thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea.’ That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction(反应) and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face midway through — it was one of my favorite moments,” Cowell said.
The performance was posted online and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.
Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hadn’t thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. “I mean, it’s meaningless.” She added.
Ms. Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her musical talents. “ I was kind of slow at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and therefore it built my confidence.’’
1.Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because
________.
A. she was confident of her singing
B. she was satisfied with the organizers
C. she was pretty and in good shape
D. she sang the song I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables
2. According to the passage, which is NOT true?
A. It was the musical talents that built Susan's confidence.
B. Susan Boyle was not good at her lessons when at school.
C. Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance.
D. Simon Cowell didn’t think Susan Boyle a good singer at the first sight.
3.What can we learn from Susan Boyle’s success?
A. It’s never too old to learn.
B. It’s easier to succeed at the age of 47.
C. If you have a dream, keep trying to make it come true!
D. If you are not able to study well, to be a singer instead.
Some top students are giving advice.
Bill, Canada When taking tests, relax. If you’re worried that you’ll fail the test, you’re sure to get a low score. If you have studied for it long enough, you shouldn’t be worried about getting a low grade. |
Lily, America Remember the most important advice to get good grades is very simple; do well on tests to get an A or an A-. Do what your teacher says, and the chances are fairly good that you’ll get an A+. Don’t stress yourself. Act cool! |
Betty, Britain Write good notes. Coloured pens are fun to write with if you want to get more creative with your notes, but use them only for parts of your notes that will probably be on a test or that are important. It makes them stand out. Go over your notes before you take the exams. |
Tom, Australia In order to get good grades, try to do your homework immediately after school. Time management is important. If you’re told to do the homework next week, get started the same day you know it. Before you start, you’d better make clear what to do and how to do it. |
1.Who gives advice on homework?
A. Betty. B. Bill. C. Lily. D. Tom.
2.Lily tells us when taking tests.
A. not to worry B. not to stress ourselves
C. to get more creative D. to make clear what to do
3.The top students are giving advice on _______.
A. how to get good grades
B. how to start learning
C. what to do when taking tests
D. what to take when going to school
完形填空（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Colour helps you see things. But man and some monkeys and apes (猿) are the only mammals (哺乳动物) that can see colour. any other mammals, such as the dog, the world a black-white photo. Dogs hunt mainly by listening and smelling.
Like animals, dogs see best when things move. The animals they hunt seem to know this. A rabbit or deer will freeze when they find that they are being hunted. Then the dog see it at all.
Birds can see colour. They need to, because when they fly, they need to find places to land. Colour helps them know the place is and what it is like so that they are able to catch flying things in the air or to something they think safe.
Some birds see things even than man. The birds that eat bugs (虫子) can see them from far away. And even a very young bird can see a hawk the sky. So good eyes and being able to see colours help birds food and also help them find out there are other animals that are dangerous to them.
1.A. For B. With C. As D. Before
2.A. seem like B. looks like C. likes D. like
3.A. other B. the other C. another D. others
4.A. may not B. should not C. must not D. need not
5.A. how soon B. how long C. how fast D. how far
6.A. land B. land on C. land for D. be landed
7.A. worse B. nearer C. better D. less
8.A. for B. from C. on D. at
9.A. to look at B. look at C. find D. found
10.A. what B. when C. if D. how
Amy would rather __________. Let’s take her to the KFC restaurant.
A. Western food than Chinese food
B. have Chinese food than Western food
C. to have Western food than Chinese food
D. have Western food than Chinese food
I don’t know if it _______ tomorrow. If it _____, we will go out for a picnic.
A. will rain; won’t rain B. rains; doesn’t rain
C. rains; won’t rain D. will rain; doesn’t rain
