A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began totalk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, saying, “You don’t say!”“You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic. ”So I said to him, “well, shall we talk about the Great Wall?” By the way, have you ever been there? “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his order “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking .I said, “Didn’t you say you don’t say?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “You don’t say actually means really? It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expression.
1.A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because .
A.English idioms were too difficult to master
B.I cared little about the teacher’s instruction
C.my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance
D.I had no interest in English learing
2.When I first heard “You don’t say!” I thought .
A.the Englishman was not interested in my English
B.the Englishman was only interested in the Great Wall
C.I had talked too much
D.I had to stop talking at once
3.Which of the following is true?
A.The Englishman was leaving China without seeing the Great Wall.
B.The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it.
C.The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.
D.The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting
4.After the Englishman explained the idiom, .
A.the Englishman made me a fool
B.the Englishman made a fool of himself
C.I felt very silly
D.I felt proud of my understanding
When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved(毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated (复杂的).
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment “. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoy-able leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grand-mother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our “right “to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.
Happiness isn't about what happens to us—it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess. As people grow older, they _________.
A.feel it harder to experience happiness |
B.associate their happiness less with others |
C.will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
D.tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
A.She cares little about her own health. |
B.She enjoys the freedom of traveling. |
C.She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
D.She prefers getting pleasure from housework. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
A.Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness. |
B.Psychologists' opinion is well proved by Grandma's case. |
C.Grandma often found time for social gatherings. |
D.Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life. |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success _________.
A.consider pressure something blocking their way |
B.stress their right to happiness too much |
C.are at a loss to make correct choices |
D.are more likely to be happy |
What can be concluded from the passage?
A.Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
B.Each man is the master of his own fate. |
C.Success leads to happiness. |
D.Happy is he who is content. |
Now 23,Ye Dong got his diploma in June 2010. But he has barely left the campus. He still eats in the canteens and studies in the classrooms. Living close is convenient and familiar, he said.
Around almost every college and university in China are cheap apartments and bungalows for rent, where lots of graduates like Ye live. They live and look like enrolled students, but they aren't. Such kind of graduates is called “school-drifters “. It became a popular search keyword and triggered wide media coverage and further academic research.
“The number is increasing over the years. A simple reason is that each year the number of graduates rises, while the employment rate remains basically the same. A large portion of the unemployed become school-drifters. Some previously employed also come back after a short, unsatisfying work experience.”according to Hu Jiewang, a sociology professor at Jiaying University in Guangdong province.
Ye landed a job as a production assistant in a local jewelry company in March last year but quit two months later. " The 2,400-yuan($360) a month salary was high among my classmates, but the job was too tiring. I had only one day off every week and the working hours were too irregular, “he said.” Entering society made me feel hollow. "
Hu said most of the school-drifters aim to enter grad school. Some hope to find a better job ; some want to stay in big cities ; and some are simply fearful of the intensely competitive job market.
" Living on school resources " ,Hu said, " is a way of cutting living costs. But they do have some resource conflict with currently enrolled students”.
Why don't drifters return home? " From ancient times the Chinese have had the notion that ‘ going out’ and ‘ going to colleges' were good. Anybody coming back home without achievements is a loser, “Hu said.
After graduation and entering society, many graduates felt lost. As a result, the number who stayed in school——for further education, for better opportunities, or for the comfort——increased. " School-drifters” are a group of university students who _________.
A.have dropped out but wouldn't leave the campus |
B.have finished school but wouldn't leave the campus |
C.have finished school but haven't got their diplomas |
D.haven't passed their Graduation Exams |
Why did Ye abandon his job in a local jewelry company?
A.He was too lazy. |
B.He wasn't pleased with the job. |
C.The salary was low. |
D.The jewelry company was very good. |
As " school-drifters " ,they can _________.
A.reduce their expenses | B.make more friends |
C.decrease pressures | D.make more money |
The passage is mainly about _________.
A.a new social phenomenon |
B.an event taking place in the campus |
C.how to deal with “school-drifters” |
D.“school-drifters “are hated by people |
In American high schools, there is a tradition for each year's graduating class( called the seniors) to play a joke on the school—the Senior Prank(毕业恶作剧).
This usually happens at the end of the school year just before the seniors graduate from the school. It is an unofficial tradition. Al-though the schools don't encourage it, each year the seniors try to make their pranks the most original so that their class will be remembered in the years to come. The joke is supposed to be light-hearted(无伤大雅的)and must not do major damage to the school property .
The best prank at my high school was done several years ago. A flower called the golden poppy(金罂粟花)is the state flower of California ; the state law states that no one can cut them down once they are planted.
The seniors at my school took advantage of the law. They planted golden poppies all over the football field one night, spelling out their graduation year with the flowers ! Since the school couldn't break the law to cut down the poppies, they had to wait until the flowers died.
The greatest prank that I've ever heard was done by one of my history teachers when he was in high school. He and some of his close friends went fishing in hopes of catching big fish for their prank. They were lucky and caught a three-foot shark.
My teacher and his friends took the shark to the school at night and dumped it into the swimming pool. The next morning when students went swimming, they found a dead shark in their pool. The chlorine(氯)in the water had killed the shark ! My history teacher always regretted that his school had put so much chlorine in the pool, or it would have been more fun if the shark was still alive the next day.
The schools won't take it seriously if the pranks don't cause too much damage. But, sometimes the school will punish the seniors for going too far with their prank. My teacher's “Shark Prank “is an example of a prank gone too far. The school had to drain (排水)the pool and have it cleaned before filling it up again, which had cost the school several thousand dollars. The underlined word “property “means _________.
A.资产 | B.性质 | C.道具 | D.所有权 |
The author implies (暗示)_________.
A.the schools encourage the seniors to play the prank |
B.his history teacher was punished by the school |
C.the law of California doesn't allow planting the golden poppy in the campus |
D.after finding a shark in the swimming pool, the school killed it with the chlorine |
We can infer(推断)from the passage that _________.
A.the “Golden Poppy Prank “is successful and well-meaning |
B.the Senior Prank is an unofficial tradition |
C.the school had to cut down the golden poppies at last |
D.the golden poppy is the state flower of California |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?
A.Only the graduating class can play the Senior Prank. |
B.The schools don't encourage the Senior Prank. |
C.The “Golden Poppy Prank " cost the school a lot of money. |
D.The “Shark Prank “is beyond the general pranks. |
Inventions are created every day because of people would like _________
to make life easier. TV provides us with different informations _________
so that we can know more about the whole world quickly. _________
We see all kinds of entertainment programs to relax ourselves. _________
However, some learning programs help us with our study. _________
We go to school or work on bike every day. At the same time, _________
it's not so expensive that most of us can afford. _________
It makes no pollution, that is good for our environment. _________
What's more, bicycling are a kind of exciting sports, _________
which is quite good for our health and popular in the young.
A locavore is someone who eats foods produced locally. Locavores usually define local as within 160 kilometers. Local is a popular word these days in food advertising. Farmers markets are also popular. These are often held once a week, usually in a big outdoor space. And some people grow their own food at home or in community gardens.
Locally grown food can cost more but locavores find it more satisfying. Not just the taste, but the fact that they are supporting local producers. And some believe eating local foods is healthier. This may be true in terms of freshness, but it also depends on how the food was produced. Restaurants are also joining the local food movement. And local food is involved in another movement—" slow food " ,whose aim is to honor the tradition of foods prepared and enjoyed with time and care, like a fine wine.
The city of Sonoma, California, is getting in the spirit of the local food movement. The city is located in the wine-making Sonoma Valley. Next week, the City Council is expected to approve changes to make it easier to raise chickens and rabbits on smaller properties.
No one is sure how many people want to. But anyone with a single family house and a fenced backyard could keep as many as sixteen chickens and eight rabbits. Larger properties could have more. Either way, a permit and inspection would be required.
Residents could sell eggs but not meat. City officials did re-search about other places with similar rules. They learned that people often end up giving their chickens names and treating them like pets.
If the happens, Sonoma residents will have no trouble finding boy names for roosters. Under the proposed new rules, the city will not permit any roosters other than those now living there. City officials want to avoid early morning wake-up calls for the neighbors. As one Sonoma official explained:”You don't need a rooster to have eggs." The best title of the passage is that _________.
A.Locavores like their food close to home |
B.Farmers markets are popular |
C.How to raise roosters at home |
D.Locally grown food can cost more |
The advantage of eating locally grown food is _________.
A.the price is low |
B.it is fresh |
C.it can support the local economy |
D.both B and C |
According to the passage, the following terms have a close connection with local food movement EXCEPT _________.
A.farmers markets and food advertisements |
B.locavores and healthy food |
C.restaurants and slow food |
D.pets and boy names |
The underlined word " that " in the last paragraph refers to —_________
A.a permit and inspection would be required |
B.residents could sell eggs but not meat |
C.city officials did research about other places with similar rules |
D.people often end up giving their chickens names and treating them like pets |