Recently I gave my adult students homework. It was “go to someone you love and tell them you love them.” It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time.
It sounds like very tough homework since most of the men were over 35 and were raised in the generation of men that were taught expressing emotions is not “macho(阳刚之气).” Showing feelings or crying was just not done. So this was very threatening homework for some.
At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. I fully expected one of the women to volunteer, as was usually the case, but on this evening one of the men raised his hand, quite moved and a bit shaken.
As he unfolded out of his chair (all 1.85 meters of him), he began by saying, “Dennis, I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this homework. Why did you ask us to do something personal?”
“But as I began driving home my conscience(良心)started telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say ‘I love you’ to.”
“Five years ago, my father and I had a severe disagreement and really n
ever settled it since then. We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings. But even then, we hardly spoke to each other.”
“So last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him. It’s strange, but just making that decision seemed to li
ft a heavy load off my chest.”
75.The homework is threatening for some students because____________ .
A. they are middle-aged people B. they are not macho enough
C. they were taught to hide their emotions D. they didn’t know how to show feelings
76.From the passage we know that ________-.
A. the adult students have classes in the day time only
B. not all the adult students in the writer’s class are male
C. the man refused to meet his father after their quarrel
D. the man quickly decided to say “I love you” to his father
77.The underlined phrase “unfolded out of his chair” in Para 4 is closest in meaning to_______.
A. stood on his chair straight B. sat quietly in the chair
C. bent himself over his chair D. raised himself slowly from the chair
78.What does the man imply by saying the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A. He felt it too strange to say “I love you” to his father.
B. He felt relaxed just thinking of saying “I love you” to his father.
C. He felt very relaxed
after saying “I love you” to his father.
D. He had to lift a
heavy load off his chest before saying “I love you”.
There was a doctor in our city who was famous for his skills. Once he received a little child who was badly ill. Thanks to his skill and care, his young patient got well and was soon able to get up and run about again.
The child’s mother was very much thankful to the doctor, and she visited him to thank him for what he had done for her child. “Doctor,” she said, “you have saved my little son. I don’t know how to thank you enough. I feel that money alone cannot repay you, so I have made this little purse with my own hands, as a sign of my gratitude. I hope you will accept it.” The doctor stood up and said coldly, “Madam, a little present like that is very nice between friends, but a doctor needs to be paid properly for what he has done.” The lady was so surprised and hurt so much that she could not reply for a moment. Then she said quietly, “Perhaps you will tell me how much your fee is?”
“Fifty pounds”, he answered.
The lady opened the little purse and took out four fifty-pound bank notes. She handed one of them to the doctor, and put the other three back into the purse. She put the purse into her handbag and, saying good bye to the doctor, went out of the room.The lady was thankful to the doctor because ________.
| A.he had saved her life |
| B.he often called on her |
| C.he had saved her son’s life |
| D.he had given her some money |
The doctor refused the lady’s purse because he thought ______.
| A.the purse should be given between friends |
| B.the purse was too small |
| C.the lady was not kind to him |
| D.the lady didn’t gave him money but the purse |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A.The lady didn’t pay the doctor any money. |
| B.The lady was means. |
| C.The lady had planned to give the doctor 200 pounds. |
| D.The lady was angry with the doctor. |
One day, Jack’s parents told him that his grandpa would retire after working for forty years. Jack said in surprise, “I’m only seven, so it means grandpa has been... er... A really long time!”
His parents said, “Yes. That’s why we are going to have a surprise party for him.”
Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something special for him. He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before. He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa.
When the big day came, Jack was ready. But he didn’t want to put his gift together with others’. He carried it around with him the whole evening.
When all the other people left, he took his grandpa’s hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift.
His grandpa smiled, “Well, it must be a beautiful gift. May I open it now?” “Sure!” Jack said excitedly.
As grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes. Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with his new position: FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time job is my grandpa!”
“ Well, how much do I get paid?” his Grandpa asked, smiling. “As many hugs as you want!” With these words, Jack gave grandpa a hug. “Well, I guess that means I’m the richest man in the world!” said grandpa.
Who was going to retire?
| A.Jack’s grandma. | B.Jack’s grandpa. |
| C.Jack’s mother. | D.Jack’s father. |
What did Jack decide to do for his grandpa?
| A.To build a new position for him. |
| B.To draw a picture for him. |
| C.To sing a song for him. |
| D.To buy a gift for him. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A.Jack was the first one to give his gift to his grandpa. |
| B.Jack was the last one to give his gift to his grandpa. |
| C.Jack gave his gift to his grandpa together with other people. |
| D.Jack gave his gift to his grandpa together with his parents. |
Why were there tears in grandpa’s eyes?
| A.Because he would lose his position. |
| B.Because he was not cared for. |
| C.Because he was moved by Jack’s gift. |
| D.Because he was unhappy. |
Many people earn their living with their hands. Ed earns his living with his feet! And a very good living it is, too.
Ed’s story began in a very small town in Brazil. His father and mother were very poor. Seven people lived in their tiny house. Ed’s father often played football. Little Ed wanted to play football too. So his father made a soft ball for him to kick. It was a sock filled with soft materials. The little boy kicked it every day.
At last Ed learned to kick a real football. By the time he was 11, he played football very well.
One day Ed was playing with some men. A man passing by saw how fast the boy ran. He stopped to watch. How well Ed kicked the ball!
After the game, the man called Ed to him. “My name is Mr. Dee,” he said. “I used to play football for a living. Will you let me teach you what I know?”
“Oh, yes!” Ed answered.
In the next four years, Mr. Dee trained Ed to be a fine player. The boy worked hard. At last Mr. Dee talked to Ed’s father. “This boy is ready to play with the big teams,” he said. “Let me take him to a city that has a good team.”
Mr. Dee took Ed to Santos, Brazil. There, the boy joined the Santos Football Club.
In his first big game, Ed helped his team win by seven points. He made four of the seven points!
Many people thought he was the best football player in the world. He was “The King of Football”What is said about Ed’s family when he was a little child?
| A.There were seven people in his family. |
| B.His father made soft balls for a living. |
| C.His parents liked playing football. |
| D.His parents bought him a football. |
When he first saw Ed playing football, Mr. Dee was attracted by .
| A.his young age |
| B.his running speed |
| C.his love for football |
| D.his playing with men |
What can we know about Mr. Dee from the text?
| A.He joined the Santos Football Club. |
| B.He and Ed used to live in the same town. |
| C.He had been the best football player in Brazil. |
| D.He happened to find a very good football player. |
All around the world, people drink tea. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have very different ideas about drinking tea.
In China, for example, tea is always served when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at homes or in tea houses. They prefer their tea plain(原味), with nothing else in it.
Tea is also important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea called a tea ceremony. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes.
Another tea-drink country is England. In England, the late afternoon is “teatime”. Almost everyone has a cup of tea then. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with cream and sugar. They also eat cakes, cookies and little sandwiches at teatime.
In the United States people drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. Tea bags are faster and easier than making tea in teapots. In summer, many Americans drink cold tea—“iced tea”. Sometimes they drink iced tea from cans, like soda.The passage is about .
| A.Chinese tea |
| B.why tea is important |
| C.the teatime in England |
| D.different ways of tea drinking in different countries |
Tea is popular .
| A.all around the world |
| B.only in the United States |
| C.only in English-speaking countries |
| D.in Asian countries |
The English like to .
| A.eat cakes and cookies with their tea |
| B.drink their tea plain |
| C.have tea with dinner |
| D.drink their tea in a special room |
One is not born able to speak a language. One is born able to make a noise. I have heard babies cry in America and in China. I can't tell any difference. But when I hear someone from America speak English and hear someone speak Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of differences.
I believe a common problem with Chinese students' learning English is that they were not taught to think in English. They have an idea spoken in English and want to translate the idea into Chinese, then they think in Chinese of the proper reply and translate it into English. After a long period of speaking the language, one begins to think in the foreign language naturally. You will learn faster if you begin to think in English at the very beginning of your study. Many students ask me: What can I do to improve my spoken English? My reply is : The more English you speak, the better English you will speak. There are many things you can do to improve your spoken English. Of course, the best way is to live where English is spoken as a language of the country.The cries of American and Chinese babies are ________.
| A.different | B.the same |
| C.not like each other | D.like each other |
According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?
| A.You must think in English all the time. |
| B.If you translate a sentence into Chinese, you should think about the meaning of the sentence in Chinese carefully first. |
| C.After speaking English for a long time, you may probably think in English language naturally. |
| D.The best way of learning English is to live in America. |
The article mainly tells us __________ .
| A.American English and Chinese |
| B.the differences between English and Chinese |
| C.the English language |
| D.how to learn English well |