Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school..
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-right bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three –story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother, her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Barbies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor, laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon.
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets…. Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.
1．The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that .
A．they were both tall B．they had the same hair styles
C．they were both new students D．they were of the same age
2．One day Lisa invited the writer .
A．to go to the movie B．to go to walk in a park
C．to go to her home D．to go to a pizza place
3．In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was .
A．friendly and lovely B．rich and happy
C．quiet and lonely D．awkward and shy
4．Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?
A．How to make up stories. B．How to deal with enemies.
C．How to live a better life. D．How to make friends.
How words came into being is unknown. All we assume (猜测) is that some early men invented certain sounds, in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could talk with each other. Later they agreed upon certain signs called letters, which could be put together to show those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, are called words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations—the things they bring up to our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings. This clever use of words is what we call literary style (文体). Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can express his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them correctly, or they will make our speech silly and common.We learn from the text that language might have begun with _______.
| A．expressions | B．actions | C．signs | D．sounds |
What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2?
| A．The learning of new words. |
| B．The importance of old words. |
| C．The relation of human experience with words. |
| D．The gradual change and development of words. |
In the last paragraph, what does the author suggest that we should do?
| A．Use words skillfully. | B．Make musical speeches. |
| C．Learn poems by heart. | D．Associate with listeners. |
Ariau Amazon Towers
The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan Suite which is large enough for a big family. You’ll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.
Prices: starting at $300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way up to $3000 for the Tarzan Suite.
For more information, visit the website: http://www.ariautowers.com
The Ice Hotel
Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, a special kind of hotel called the Ice Hotel is built. Each year, world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You’ll have your choice between hot or cold rooms, but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.
Prices: starting at $318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one.
For more information, visit the website: http://www.icehotel.com
Propeller Island
Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German artist. Each room provides you with the possibility of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furniture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand-made and each room is completely different. You’ll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.
Prices: starting at just $91 a night, and an additional person for only 20 extra dollars.
For more information, visit the website: http://www.propeller-island.com
For information about other cool hotels in the world, visit the website:
http://www.bahamabeachclub.comWhat is special about the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel?
| A．You can sleep in tree houses. |
| B．You can choose any of the towers. |
| C．It is designed for big families. |
| D．Every room has a walkway. |
For two persons spending a night in one of these hotels, they have to pay at least ______.
| A．$111 | B．$182 | C．$600 | D．$636 |
Which website should you visit if you want to find out whether there exists a hotel under the sea?
| A．http://www.icehotel.com |
| B．http://www.ariautowers.com |
| C．http://www.propeller-island.com |
| D．http://www.bahamabeachclub.com |
Which hotel would invite artists to come to work every year?
| A．Propeller Island City Lodge. |
| B．Ariau Amazon Towers. |
| C．The Ice Hotel. |
| D．Bahama Beach Club. |
In early autumn I applied for admission to college. I wanted to go nowhere but to Cornell University, but my mother fought strongly against it. When she saw me studying a photograph of my father on the sports ground of Cornell, she tore it up.
“You can’t say it’s not a great university, just because Papa went there.”
“That’s not it at all. And it is a top university.” She was still holding the pieces in her hand. “But we can’t afford to send you to college.”
“I wouldn’t dream of asking you for money. Do you want me to get a job to help support you and Papa? Things aren’t that bad, are they?”
“No,” she said. “I don’t expect you to help support us.”
Father borrowed money form his rich cousins to start a small jewellery shop, His chief customers were his old college friends. To get new customers, my mother had to help. She picked up a long-forgotten membership in the local league of women, so that she could get to know more people. Whether those people would turn into customers was another question. I knew that my Parents had to wait for quite a long time before their small investment could show returns. What’s more , they had not wanted enough to be rich and successful ;otherwise they could not possibly have managed their lives so badly.
I was torn between the desire to help them and change their lives, and the determination not to repeat their mistakes. I had a strong belief in my power to get what I wanted. After months of hard study I won a full college scholarship. My father could hardly contain his pride in me, and my mother eventually gave in before my success.The author was not allowed to go to Cornell University mainly because
| A．his father graduated from the university |
| B．his mother did not thinks it is a great university |
| C．his parents needed him to help support the family |
| D．his parents did not have enough money for him |
The father started his small shop with the money from
| A．a local league | B．his university |
| C．his relatives | D．his college friends |
Why did the mother renew her membership in the league?
| A．To help with her husband’s business |
| B．To raise money for her son |
| C．To meet her long-forgotten friends |
| D．To better manage her life |
According to the text, what was the author determined to do in that autumn?
| A．To get a well-paid job for himself |
| B．To improve relations with his mother |
| C．To go to his dream university |
| D．To carry on with his father’s business |
Culture and Cuisine
The United States is known for jazz and blue jeans．But travel to Paris and ask your average French citizen about American cuisine (烹饪) and he’s likely to answer，“ McDonalds．” Ask the same thing of any American citizen on any American street and I’m afraid you’d get the same answer，or something close to it．
Hamburgers and hotdogs and fries are all fine，but with American malls and other outlets standardizing everything from clothing to food，the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live．True，many Americans are eating more varied foods these days，but these are largely the cuisines of immigrant groups，and they are quite likely to be affected by homogenization of American cuisine．
So what exactly is American cuisine？ Well，to some extent it is a reflection of our melting pot culture，meaning that Europeans made huge contributions in the form of wheat，dairy products，pork，beef and poultry．But American cuisine also includes products that once were known only to the New World，including potatoes，corn，pumpkin，sweet potatoes，and peanuts．
The one region of the country where you still find all these things in daily use is the Deep South．The South lost the Civil War，but children of the southerners are winning the battle to preserve and advance their cooking traditions—and in this case one of the few cuisines can truly be called American，which is why we’re pleased to have Low Country cuisine in this issue of food creation．That’s right，grits and gravy are back in a big way in cities like Charleston and Savannah．Truth is，they never really left，but up until a decade ago Low Country cuisine was more common at home than in restaurants．
In fact，a large number of tourists now go to the lower Atlantic region in order to experience this extraordinary cuisine for themselves．Time will tell whether Low Country cuisine becomes popular in other regions of the country in the way that，say，Italian cuisine has，but it’s amazing and heartening to see one of our true cultural treasures enjoying renewed popularity in these increasingly homogeneous times．According to the passage，American cuisine impresses people as being _______．
| A．dull and changeless |
| B．rich and various |
| C．popular and delicious |
| D．disagreeable and unpleasant |
It can be seen that the writer feels regretful that _______．
| A．cuisines of other countries play a more important role in America |
| B．American cuisine has become increasingly lacking in variety |
| C．American cuisine tends to vary because of immigration |
| D．American cuisine is being changed by foreign cuisines |
From the passage，we know that grits and gravy _______．
| A．were cooked with new materials after the Civil War |
| B．are gaining popularity in the south of America |
| C．were more popular over ten years ago |
| D．are seldom served in restaurants |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards the renewal of Low Country cuisine in America？
| A．Concerned and cautious． |
| B．Hopeless and doubtful． |
| C．Positive and supportive． |
| D．Critical and disapproving． |
In her new book, “The Smartest Kidsin the World”, Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Wroclaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Wroclaw is that the latter has no football team or teams of any kind.
That American high schools spend more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. In December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again show their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like China, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader — a mother with three children in the school — was asked about the school’s flaws (瑕疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, theu mean?”
One of the ironies of the situation is that sports show what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _________.
| A．he intends to improve his scores |
| B．Polish kids are better at learning |
| C．sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg |
| D．he wants to be the smartest kid in the world |
According to Paragraph 2, we know that _________.
| A．PISA plays a very important role in America |
| B．little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools |
| C．American students do better in both math and sports |
| D．too much importance is placed on sports in America |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _________.
| A．low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance |
| B．high expectations push up American students’ academic performance |
| C．American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot |
| D．lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance |
The purpose of this article is to _________.
| A．compare Polish schools with those in America |
| B．call on American schools to learn from the Polish model |
| C．draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition |
| D．explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions |