If you've been joining in chat room conversations, or trading e-mail with Web pals, you have become one of the millions who write in a peculiarly short form of English.
And you've got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF(="sense" of humor failure) to describe Internet newcomers who don't understand you.
Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are “talking” online—many of them are talking at the same time.
It's fast: try talking to six people at once. It's brief: three or four words per exchange. It takes wit, concentration, and quick fingers.
And it requires tremendous linguistic economy. There's neither time nor space for explanations. Why consume precious key-strokes telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB(="be" right back) will do? Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI(="pardon" me for jumping in). Interested in whom you're talking to? Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal's age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you're OTF(="on" the floor),or LOL(="laughing" out loud),or combine the two into ROTFL(="rolling" on the floor laughing).
And when it's time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG(="got" to go) or TTYL(talk to you later).
People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing emotion, as it takes more time to hold down the “shift” key and capitals. Punctuation is going, too.In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet_______.
| A．you have to speak fast and fluently |
| B．you have to express your ideas in a brief way |
| C．you should speak with wit and humor |
| D．one should pay much attention to the accuracy of the words |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means_______.
| A．the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
| B．you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| C．you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D．the person who are talking to you is a 1.7-foot tall New York girl |
To save time on the Internet_______.
| A．some people leave their letters in the dustbin |
| B．some people never use “shift” in their writing |
| C．many people leave the capital and punctuation |
| D．people seldom use capital letters or punctuation |
Why are so many people afraid to fail? Quite simply because we forget that failure is part of the human life and that every person has the right to fail. Every person is able to fight failure and finally succeed.
Most parents work hard at preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards(标准). When a child finishes making a table, the mother describes it as “perfect” even though it doesn’t stand still. Another way is to blame others. If John fails in science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.
There’s a problem with the two ways. It makes a child unprepared for life in the real world. Young children need to learn that no one can be best at everything, no one can win all the time, and that it’s possible to enjoy a game even when you don’t win. A child often feels terrible, of course, when he is not invited to a birthday party, or is not chosen into a football team. But parents should not say “It doesn’t matter.” quickly. The young should be allowed to experience failure and be helped to come out of it.
Failure never gives people pleasure. It hurts both adults and children. But it can be really good to your life when you learn to use it. You must learn to ask “Why did I fail?” Don’t blame anyone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong and how you can improve. If someone else can help, don’t be shy about asking them. Success just repeats what has been done. It is not as good a teacher as failure. You can learn how to give a good party from an unsuccessful one. How do most parents prevent their children from failure?
| A． They give them some presents. |
| B． They don’t tell them that they have failed. |
| C． They don’t blame others. |
| D． They help them to come out of failure. |
Which of the following does a person need to learn when he fails?
| A． It’s impossible to enjoy a game if he misses it. |
| B． He is the worst of all. |
| C． It’s natural not to win a game and no one can win all the time. |
| D． His teammates are not good enough. |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A． Learning from Failure |
| B． Ways of Preventing Failure |
| C． Reasons of Failure |
| D． Getting Pleasure from Failure |
Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.
Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.
In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen, it is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.
Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,” said the 30-year-old man.
Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything”. He said, “The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”
The great 19thcentury explorer John Muir once said, “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.”Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?
| A． Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone. |
| B． It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries. |
| C． It is comfortable to travel around without a friend. |
| D． Traveling abroad helps people to find new things. |
Traveling alone is challenging because ________.
| A． you have to make things on your own |
| B． it is hard for you to prove yourself to others |
| C． you can only depend on yourself whatever happens |
| D． it will finally build your character |
What can we infer about Chris Richardson?
| A． He started traveling alone at an early age. |
| B． He was once shot in the arm. |
| C． He used to work as a salesman. |
| D． His website inspires others a lot. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A． Travel Abroad | B． Travel Alone |
| C． Travel Light | D． Travel Wide and Far |
Do you like chocolate? Maybe most people do. A box of it can be a great gift. Buy one for a friend and give it as a surprise. See how happy that person gets.
Say you just got a box of chocolate. Which piece do you pick first? A man has studied people’s choices. He says they tell something about the person. Did you choose a round piece? You are a person who likes to party. Did youchoosean ovalshape? You area person who likes to make things. Picking a square shape shows something else. The person is honest and truthful. You can depend on him or her.
What kind of chocolate do you pick? Maybe you like milk chocolate. This shows you have warm feelings about the past. Dark chocolate means something else. A person who chooses it looks toward the future. What about white chocolate? Would you choose it? If so, you may find it hard to make up your mind. Some people like chocolate with nuts. These are people who like to help others.
Do you believe these ideas? Can candy tell all these things? It doesn’t really matter. There is one sure thing about eaters of chocolate. They eat it because they like it.This passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．why people like chocolate |
| B．almost everyone likes chocolate |
| C．about different kinds of chocolate |
| D．different choices may show different characters |
Picking a round shape of chocolate shows that a person ______.
| A．likes singing, dancing and drinking |
| B．likes to do something for others |
| C．is good at making things |
| D．can be depended on |
From this passage we can see that a helpful man may choose chocolate ______.
| A．in oval shape | B．in square shape |
| C．with nuts | D．with coffee |
The last paragraph suggests that the writer ______.
| A．believes all the information about chocolate |
| B．does not believe the information about candy |
| C．is trying to get you to believe false information |
| D．doesn’t think it important whether you believe the ideas |
It’s so difficult to follow the ups and downs of a 2-year-old. One moment he’s beaming and friendly; the next he’s sullen（愠怒的）and weepy, often for no apparent reason. These mood swings, however, are just part of growing up. They are signs of the emotional changes taking place as your child struggles to take control of actions, impulses, feelings and his body.
At this age, your child wants to explore the world and seek adventure. As a result, he’ll spend most of his time testing limits, his own, yours and his environments. Unfortunately, he still lacks many of the skills required for the safe accomplishment of everything he needs to do, and he often will need you to protect him.
When he oversteps a limit and is pulled back, he often reacts with anger and frustration, possibly with a temper tantrum (发脾气). He may even strike back by hitting, biting and kicking. At this age, he doesn’t have much control over his emotional impulse (冲动). So his anger and frustration tend to erupt suddenly in the form of crying, hitting or screaming. It’s his only way of dealing with the difficult realities of life. He may even act out in ways that unintentionally harm himself or others. It’s all part of being 2.
It’s not uncommon for toddlers to be angels when you’re not around, because they don’t trust people enough to test their limits. But with you, your toddler will be willing to try things that may be dangerous or difficult, because he knows you’ll rescue him if he gets into trouble.
Whatever protest pattern he has developed around the end of his first year will probably persist for some time. For instance, when you’re about to leave him with a sitter, he may become angry and throw a tantrum in anticipation (预想) of the separation. Or he may cry and cling to you. Or he could simply become subdued and silent. Whatever his behavior, try not to overreact by scolding or punishing him. The best tactic(策略) is to reassure him before you leave that you will be back and, when you return, to praise him for being so patient while you are gone. Take comfort in the fact that separations should be much easier by the time he’s 3 years old.The “ups and downs” (Para. 1) of a 2-year-old refers to ________.
| A．his falling down and standing up |
| B．his successes and failures in doing things |
| C．his good and bad traits |
| D．his mood swings |
A 2-year-old still lacks all of the following EXCEPT _____________.
| A．signs that express his emotional changes |
| B．skills necessary for accomplishing certain things |
| C．control over his emotional impulses |
| D．good methods of dealing with the difficult realities of life |
Which of the following is true?
| A．A 2-year-old doesn’t know how to express his anger and frustration. |
| B．A 2-year-old often intentionally harms himself or others. |
| C．A 2-year-old depends on his parents to do everything new and challenging. |
| D．A 2-year-old trusts his parents more than other people |
When a mother is about to separate with her baby, she’d better __________.
| A．leave without the baby’s knowledge |
| B．make the baby subdued and silent |
| C．comfort the baby that she’ll be back soon |
| D．ignore the baby’s reactions |
Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.
An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys (调查) on this topic suggests that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today’s parents are trying to manage their children’s lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.
However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children.
In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents’ involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible?
Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn’t present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents—today’s grandparents—would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.
Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past.
Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.The surveys inform us of______.
| A．the development of technology |
| B．the changes of adult children’s behavior |
| C．the parents’ over-protection of their college children |
| D．the means and expenses of students’ communication |
The writer believes that__________.
| A．parents today are more protective than those in the past |
| B．the disadvantages of new technology outweigh its advantages |
| C．technology explains greater involvement with their children |
| D．parents’ changed attitudes lead to college children’s delayed independence |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Technology or Attitude |
| B．Dependence or Independence |
| C．Family Influences or Social Changes |
| D．College Management or Communication Advancement |
Which of the following shows the development of ideas in this passage?
