With all the wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us get through each and every day of our lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling down in the dumps ( 处于沮丧中), as the saying goes, makes me feel good and warms my heart.
How would you feel if you could not joke around with your wife, husband, child, co-worker neighbor, close friend, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your comer store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is common courtesy (礼貌) to speak to others that are around you.
I know of a few people that don’t have a fu
nny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their face. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?
Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness in this present world. It drives people crazy. We all need to find a way to bypass the sadness and bring a little light into our lives. So, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.
1. According to the author, humor is useful in the aspect that ____________.
A. it makes people more confident
B. it can pick up people' s spirits
C. it can help get rid of the cruelty in the world
D. it can help people get on well with others
2. The author answers the question in the second paragraph with ___________.
A. facts and descriptions B. evidence and argument
C. examples and conclusion D. stories and persuasion
3. The phrase “busting a gut" in the third paragraph can be replaced by __________.
A. explaining carefully B. speaking loud
C. keeping silent D. laughing hard
4. In writing the passage, the author mainly intends to __________.
A. talk about his own understanding of humor
B. encourage people to be humorous in daily life
C. introduce a practical way to get through daily life
D. convince people of the power of being optimistic about life
5. What is the author' s attitude towards the present world?
A. Positive. B. Critical. C. Satisfied. D. Indifferent.
Pet owners are being encouraged to take their animals to work , a move scientists say can be good for productivity , workplace morale (士气), and the well-being of animals .
A study found that 25% of Australian women would like to keep an office pet . Sue Chaseling of Petcare Information Service said the practice of keeping office pets was good both for the people and the pets . “On the pets’ side , they are not left on their own and won’t feel lonely and unhappy,” she said . A study of major US companies showed that 73% found office pets beneficial (有益的) , while 27% experienced a drop in absenteeism (缺勤).
Xarni Riggs has two cats walking around her Global Hair Salon in Paddington . “My customers love them. They are their favorites ,” she said . “They are not troublesome . They know when to go and have a sleep in the sun .”
Little black BJ has spent nearly all his two years “working” at Punch Gallery in Balmain . Owner Iain Powell said he had had cats at the gallery for 15 years . “BJ often lies in the shop window and people walking past tap on the glass ,” he said .
Ms Chaseling said cats were popular in service industries because they enabled a point of conversation . But she said owners had to make sure both their co-workers and the cats were comfortable .The percentage of American companies that are in favor of keeping office pets is
| A．73% | B．27% | C．25% | D．15% |
We know from the text that “BJ”
| A．works in the Global Hair Salon | B．often greets the passers-by |
| C．likes to sleep in the sun | D．is a two-year-old cat |
The best title for this text would be .
| A．Pets Help Attract Customers | B．Your Favorite Office Pets |
| C．Pets Join the Workforce | D．Busy Life for Pets |
Reading is very important to help you learn English. To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English. This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability.
There are four parts in the book:
Part 1 is Messages: In this part somebody wants to wad information in writing to somebody else. There is a test on timetables and a test on text messages.
Part 2 is People: In this part all the tests are about people. For example, there is an informal letter between friends. There is formal ( 正式的) English in biography ( 传记). There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as welt as testing your reading.
Part 3 is Places: In this part, too many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal. There is the informal English of a holiday postcard. There is also the formal English in a letter of complaint.
Part 4 is Things: You will find some descriptive writing in this part. There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer.
You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do alt the tests with a formal or informal text. I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it,We can find the introduction to a product in ______,
| A．Part 1 | B．Part 2 | C．Part 3 | D．Part 4 |
Which of the following is most probably written in informal English?
| A．A letter of complaint. | B．A computer handbook. |
| C．A letter to a friend. | D．A story of a president. |
The passage is most probably written for _____.
| A．test designers | B．students | C．test-takers | D．teachers |
What is the best title of the book?
| A．Test Your Reading | B．Help with Your Writing |
| C．Learn Different Kinds a/English | D．Practise English in Different Ways |
Television has opened windows in everybody’s life. 55Millions of people now have seen the effects of a battle. And the result has been a general dislike of the war and perhaps more interest in helping those who suffer from all the terrible things that have been shown on the screen.
56The most distant areas can now follow state affairs, see and hear the politicians before an election. Better informed, people are more likely to vote, and so to make their opinion count.
57 Children do not have enough experience to realize that TV shows present an unreal world, that TV advertisements lie to sell products that are sometimes bad or useless. They believe and want to practice what they see. 58.
All educators agree that the “television generation” are more violent than their parents and grandparents. Also, the young are less patient. Used to TV shows, where everything is quick and interesting, they do not have the patience to read an article without pictures, t read a book that requires thinking, to listen to a teacher who doesn’t do funny things like the people on children’s programs. And they expect all problems to be solved happily in ten, fifteen , or thirty minutes.59 .
| A．Unfortunately, television’s influence has been extremely harmful to the young. |
| B．Young men will never again go to war as they did in 1914. |
| C．That’s the time it takes on the screen. |
| D．They do believe that the violence they see is normal and acceptable. |
E. People have become used to crimes now.
F. Television has also changed politics.
G. In the past, many young people were willing to be soldiers.
The Bedouin people think most highly of people who show loyalty. To them loyalty does not mean that one is devoted to a country, a place, or a leader. Loyalty means being faithful to one’s family and tribe（部落）。
The Bedouin people take pride in their ancestors（祖先）。 They do not admire a hero from an ordinary or poor family as much as one who comes from an honored family. They particularly respect those who have received a good name from their ancestors and then have passed it on to their children.
A man’s position among the black-tent people depends upon his ancestors, relatives, and fellow tribesmen. If they are honored, he is also honored. If they are disgraced, he too is disgraced. Therefore one carefully guards the honor of his family, his lineage（血统），and his tribe.
A man can protect his family’s honor by being brave and generous and by giving protection to those who ask for it. He also guards it by carefully watching the women of his family.
A Bedouin woman cannot bring honor to her family, but she can bring disgrace. Even if a woman only looks as if she has done wrong, she may be killed. The honor of her family depends upon her virtue（美德）。It can be inferred from the passage that a Bedouin man will feel disgraced if he____.
| A．does not succeed in business |
| B．needs to ask for help from his brothers |
| C．does nothing when a member of his family is badly treated |
| D．does not help a stranger who asks for assistance |
The Bedouin people respect those who____.
| A．leave their families to seek success on their own |
| B．value their families more than anything else |
| C．become heroes with an ordinary family background |
| D．are devoted to their country |
We can learn from this passage that Bedouin women are____.
| A．treated as the equals of men |
| B．listened carefully when they tell their side of a story |
| C．respected for the many things they do |
| D．not respected as much as men |
The word “disgrace” means “____” in this text.
| A．honor | B．danger | C．pride | D．shame |
The fact that blind people can see things using other parts of their bodies apart from their eyes may help us understand our feeling about color. If they sense color differences, then perhaps we, too, are affected by color without knowing it.
Salesmen have discovered by experience over a long period of time that sugar sells badly in green wrappings（包装）， that blue foods are considered not agreeable to the taste, and that cosmetics（化妆品） should never be packed in brown. Their discoveries have grown into a whole subject of color psychology（心理学）。 Some of our preferences（偏爱） for colors are clearly psychological. Dark blue is the color of the night sky and therefore connected with calm, while yellow is a day color connected with energy and encouragement. Experiments have shown that colors, partly because they are connected with psychology, also have a direct effect on people’s mind. People in bright red surroundings show an increase in breathing speed, heartbeat and blood pressure; red is exciting. Pure blue has exactly the opposite effect; it is a calming color. Being exciting, red was chosen as the signal for danger, but a close study shows that a bright yellow can produce a more basic state of alarm, so fire engines in some advanced areas are now rushing around in bright yellow colors that stop buses, trucks and cars.The passage tells us that salesmen have __________.
| A．discovered the relationship between color and psychology |
| B．tried out colors on blind people |
| C．found out that color affect sales |
| D．developed a special subject of color psychology |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．what color we prefer depends on our state of mind |
| B．foods sell well in green or blue wrappings |
| C．blind people cannot sense color difference |
| D．a bright yellow has exactly the opposite effect to red |
If people are exposed to（置身于） pure blue, _________.
| A．their blood pressure rises | B．they want to taste blue foods |
| C．they will feel like buying things | D．they won’t easily feel nervous |
The most effective color in the passage for warning people is _______.
| A．red | B．dark blue | C．bright yellow | D．green |
Which of the following do you think is the best title of the passage?
| A．Colors and sales | B．Colors and feelings |
| C．The blind and colors | D．Preferences for colors |