In the U.S., people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know. This means a hostess may not seat a small group until a small table is available, even if a large one is. If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette without first asking if it will disturb them.
At American restaurants and coffee shops you are usually served tap water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill.
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.
Serving in restaurants is often large; too large for many people. If you can’t finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you’re taking the food for yourself.
Supper and dinner are both words for the evening meal. Some people have “Sunday dinner”. This is an especially big noon meal.
Tips are not usually added to the check. They are not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15% is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is brought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change. Which statement is true?
| A．American people like sitting with people they don’t know. |
| B．Tips shouldn’t be given to the waiter or waitress. |
| C．Orange juice is served before you order |
| D．American people would not light a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking. |
What does the underlined word “doggie bag” mean in the article? It means ______.
| A．a bag with a picture of a dog on it |
| B．a bag used to carry dogs |
| C．a small bag for taking the food left over home to enjoy it later |
| D．a small bag for taking the food left over home for dogs |
Sunday dinner is _______.
| A．a dinner in the evening | B．a big noon meal |
| C．a big lunch Sunday | D．a supper on Sunday |
Tour A--Bath & Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge--￡37until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter.
Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B--Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's house一￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter.
Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶)”form St Mary’s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C—Windsor Castle & Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace--£34 until 11 March and £37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, HenryⅧ’s favourite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle（entrance fees not included）. With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫)where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D--Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great--£33 until 18 March and £37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.[来Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?
| A．Tour A | B．Tour B | C．Tour C | D．Tour D |
Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?
| A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court. |
| B．Oxford & Stratford |
| C．Bath &Stonehenge. |
| D．Cambridge. |
Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?
| A．It used to be the home of royal families. |
| B．It used to be a well-known maze |
| C．It is the oldest palace in Britain |
| D．It is a world-famous castle. |
Your house may have an effect on your figure . Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.
Open the curtains and turn up the lights . Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating , for people are often less self-conscious（难为情）when they’re in poorly lit places--and so more likely to eat lots of food . If your home doesn’t have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.
Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it’s time to repaint, go blue.
Don’t forget the clock-or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories（卡路里） per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you’re at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.
Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one ,total intake（摄入） jumps by 14 percent. And we’ll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.The text is especially helpful for those who care about_______.
| A．their home comforts | B．their body shape |
| C．house buying | D．healthy diets |
A home environment in blue can help people_________.
| A．digest food better | B．reduce food intake |
| C．burn more calories | D．regain their appetites |
What are people advised to do at mealtimes?
| A．Eat quickly. | B．Play fast music. |
| C．Use smaller spoons. | D．Turn down the lights. |
What can be a suitable title for the test?
| A．Is Your House Making You Fat? |
| B．Ways of Serving Dinner |
| C．Effects of Self-Consciousness |
| D．Is Your Home Environment Relaxing? |
The other day, I noticed a message on a friend’s page. It made me very sad. She says she is the one
who reaches out to people, but rarely do they reach out to her. So, after communicating with her for a while, I began to challenge my friends. “Contact someone right now. Send messages or call someone who you haven’t spoken to for a while, or who you only talk to when they message or call you. Let someone who may feel alone in the world right this moment know that they are not alone. That is my challenge to you. Please do it , and let me know once you have. Either by calling me back, or by sending me a message. Be the change that you want to see in the world. ”
The response was great. 28people liked my post, another 10 posted that they did, and I got about a dozen messages telling me that they did. And there was one very special message:
“I just want you to know what has happened. That day, I sent a message to a friend who I hadn’t heard from for a while. She and I talked for a whole day back and forth on messages and then on the phone. She said she was so incredibly sad. Nobody has spoken with her in two weeks. By the tone of her voice, and by the conversations we were having, I think she was about to take her own life(自杀). After our conversation, she has agreed to talk to someone. Your message of kindness has saved her. I can’t wait to tell you how thankful I am for people like you in the world, who care when nobody else will. I am proud to call myself your friend. Thank you! ”
I didn’t quite know what to say after reading the message. I was wondering how best to use it for greater good. I decided that sharing what we have done is the most powerful way. I know that I am a cheerleader when it comes to making the world a better place with kindness, because if I help someone, it makes me feel better. I do it because I need to feel better.What made the author unhappy?
| A．She can’t reach out to anyone. |
| B．No one responds to her friend. |
| C．None of her friends contacts her. |
| D．She has no time to visit her friends. |
What did the author challenge her friends to do?
| A．Turn to their friends for help. |
| B．Visit their families and relatives. |
| C．Contact someone in need of help. |
| D．Share their problems on their page: |
What do we know about the special message?
| A．Someone was saved by her friend. |
| B．People were too busy to talk with others. |
| C．The girl was sad because no one liked her. |
| D．The author helped her friend by calling her. |
Which word can best describe the author?
| A．Determined. | B．Cold-hearted. |
| C．Stubborn. | D．Inspiring. |
Since around the later part of the 1950s, society started to realize that tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. As research progressed along with increasing numbers of people that developed lung cancer, emphysema, and other smoking related illnesses, cigarette smoking has become less accepted and popular. Unfortunately, the nicotine contained in cigarettes is one of the most addictive substances on the planet and makes quitting smoking one of the hardest things to do. In 2003, Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette as a safer, and cleaner way to breathe in nicotine after his father, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer attributed to smoking tobacco cigarettes.
Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette in 2003 and afterwards introduced e-cigs to the Chinese market in the following year through his employer, Golden Dragon Holdings. Golden Dragon Holdings later changed the company’s name to “Ruyan” in order to better match the company’s name(Ruyan means “almost like smoke”)to the new product. Since the renaming, the Ruyan company has continued e-cigarette development and grown to be one of the largest global e-cig manufactures.
Dr.Sam Han, CEO of Cixi E-CIG Technology, Inc, Ltd. also has a number of e-cig related inventions, including four patents in the United States and two in China that are electronic cigarette and e-liquid technology related. Similar to Hon Lik’s father. Dr. Han was a heavy smoker for more than 40 years before beginning to work on electronic cigarette technologies in order to help himself and others make the shift to vapor smoking. Dr.Han continues to market and conduct R&D in e-cig related techonologies to this date.
After the successful deployment of Ruyan and Cixi E-CIG electronic cigarettes in China and Asia, the products started to be sold in significant quantities on the Internet.How many years is it since the electronic cigarette was first invented according to the passage?
| A．About 5 years. | B．About 11 years. |
| C．About15 years. | D．About 20 years. |
What’s the direct reason why Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette according to the passage ?
| A．Tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. |
| B．Tobacco cigarettes were too expensive for customers to buy. |
| C．Quitting smoking became one of the hardest things to do. |
| D．His father died from lung cancer due to smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
Since when have Chinese smokers have been able to buy Hon Lik’s electronic cigarettes according to the passage?
| A．2000. | B．2003. | C．2004. | D．2005. |
What’s the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
①Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette.
②Hon Lik’s father died from lung cancer because of smoking tobacco cigarettes.
③Hon Lik’s electronic cigarettes were introduced to the Chinese market.
④The name of the company Golden Dragon Holdings was changed to “Ruyan”.
| A．①③②④ | B．①④②③ | C．②④①③ | D．②①③④ |
Most musicians agree that the best violins were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Why are these old Italian violins so special? Many people think they have an answer.
Some people think it is the age of the violins. But there is a problem here. Not all old violins sound wonderful. Only those from Cremona are special. So age cannot be the answer.
Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. It must be from certain kinds of trees. It must not be too young or too old. Perhaps the violin makers of Cremons knew something special about wood for violins.
But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut into the right size and shape. The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this is the secret of the Italians.
Size and shape may not be the answer either. Scientists make new violins that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new ones still do not sound as good as the old ones. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish (清漆), which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. Since no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish, no one can make the same varnish today.
There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona. And there are not many of the old violins left. So these old violins are becoming more and more precious.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Secrets of Cremona Violins |
| B．The History of Italian Violins |
| C．Special Musical Instruments |
| D．How to Make the Best Violins |
The main purpose of the first paragraph is to _______.
| A．list some facts | B．raise a question |
| C．give an opinion | D．offer an answer |
What is still unclear about Cremona violins according to the writer?
| A．The shape. | B．The size. |
| C．The wood. | D．The varnish. |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．Modern things are always better than ancient ones. |
| B．Ancient things are always better than modern ones. |
| C．Once a cultural relic is lost, it can never be recovered. |
| D．Varnish for violins will become more and more precious. |