When do people decide whether or not they want to become friends? During their first four minutes together, according to a book by Dr. Leonard Zunin. "Every time you meet someone in a social situation, give him your undivided attention for four minutes. A lot of people's whole lives would change if they did just that."
When we are introduced to new people, we should try to appear friendly and self-confident. In general, he says, "People like people who like themselves." On the other hand, we should not make the other person think we are too sure of ourselves.
Hearing such advice, one might say, "But I'm not a friendly, self-confident person. That's not my nature. It would be dishonest for me to act that way." In reply, Dr. Zunin would claim that a little practice can help us feel comfortable about changing our social habits. We can become accustomed to any changes we choose to make in our personality. "It's like getting used to a new car. It may be unfamiliar at first, but it goes much better than the old one."
But isn't it dishonest to give the appearance of friendly self-confidence when we don't actually feel that way? Perhaps, but according to Dr. Zunin, "total honesty" is not always good for social relationships, especially during the first few minutes of contact. There is a time for everything, and a certain amount of play-acting may be best for the first few minutes of contact with a stranger. That is not the time to complain about one's health or to mention faults one finds in other people. It is not the time to tell the whole truth about one's opinions and impressions.
The author also declares that interpersonal relations should be taught as a required course in every school, along with reading, writing, and mathematics. In his opinion, success in life depends mainly on how we get along with other people. That is at least as important as how much we know.
69. When first introduced to new people, we should________.
A. be friendly and sure of ourselves regardless of the other people's feeling
B. always tell the whole truth even if it hurts
C. appear friendly and self-confident at least for the first few minutes
D. mention faults we find in the other people
70. According to the author's advice, interpersonal relations________.
A. should be set as a required course in schools
B. are more important than other courses in school
C. are less important than reading, writing and mathematics
D. is the only key to one's success in life
71. The underlined word 'play-acting' in the fourth paragraph means________.
A. being totally honest B. being a little dishonest
C. acting out what one feels D. acting in a play
72. The best title for the passage could be________.
A. The Key to Success B. Best Ways to Make Friends
C. Personal Relations D. The First Four Minutes
C
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day. Some visitors from the city arrived. The told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other place.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a batter future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job---eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning. From paragraph I we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat content |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．the frogs were easy money |
| B．They needs money to buy medicine |
| C．they wanted to please the visitors |
| D．the frogs made too much noise |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．the crops didn’t do well |
| B．there were too many insects |
| C．the visits brought in diseases |
| D．the pesticides were overused |
What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country |
| B．Health is more important than money |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important |
| D．good old day will never be forgotten |
Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch offers a unique outdoor adventure camp for international students.
Students who come to Skinner Creek have the opportunity to learn English in an environment entirely different from a regular school setting. English classes are designed to meet the academic and spoken levels of each student. All English classes will be taught by instructors qualified in teaching English as a second language. All levels of English are available.
After class, students can enjoy many outdoor activities in a controlled and safe environment. Experienced managers and camp teachers will prepare each activity to the level appropriate for each student.
Students’ safety is a priority for the staff of Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch. Students are monitored at all times and supervisors are in the cabins with the students at night. Staff members have St. John’s First Aid and Transportation and Wilderness First Aid. An emergency clinic is nearby and accessible 24 hours.
English Classes:
Class hours are from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am—2:00 pm with a one-hour break for lunch.
Students are challenged in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary building and conversational English.
Fun After-class Activities:
Great after-class activities include: horseback riding lessons, hiking, baseball, volleyball, badminton, mountain hiking, bonfires and much more.
Time to watch videos and TV and play games.
Experience Canadian family life.
Weekends:
Special all-day and overnight weekend activities include: camping, days at the lake (fishing, swimming and boating) and more.
Travel Information:
Students will be picked up at Vancouver airport and dropped off again for their individual flights. Transportation to and from the ranch will be provided as well as overnight stays in Vancouver.
Please contact the ranch directly for prices: skinnercreek@telus. net.If you attend Skinner Creek Summer Camp, you will___.
| A．sometimes have English Classes outdoors. |
| B．learn how to deal with dangers in the wild. |
| C．enjoy different sports activities after class |
| D．experience the traditional farmer lifestyle. |
How many hours of English classes do students have every week in Skinner Creek?
| A．35 hours |
| B．28 hours |
| C．25 hours |
| D．20 hours |
Skinner Creek ESL Guest Ranch is in___.
| A．Canada |
| B．America |
| C．England |
| D．Australia |
How will most students travel to Skinner Creek if they want to attend the camp?
| A．By air |
| B．By car |
| C．By boat |
| D．By train |
The interview has been going on for about 20 minutes and everything seems to be going well. Then, suddenly, the interviewer asks an unexpected question, “Which is more important, law or love?”
Job applicants in the West increasingly find themselves asked strange questions like this. And the signs are that this is beginning to happen in China.
Employers want people who are skilled, enthusiastic and devoted. So these are the qualities that any reasonably intelligent job applicant will try to show no matter what his or her actual feelings are. In response, employers are increasingly using the questions which try and show the applicant’s true personality.
The question in the first paragraph comes from a test called the Kersey Temperament Sorter. It is an attempt to discover how people solve problems, rather than what they know. This is often called aptitude（天资）test.
According to Mark Baldwin of Alliance, many job applicants in China are finding this type of questions difficult. “When a Chinese fills out an aptitude test, he or she will think there is a right answer but they may fail because they try to guess what the examiner wants to see.”
This is sometimes called the prisoner’s dilemma. Applicants are trying to act cleverly in their own interest, but they fail because they don’t understand what the interviewer is looking for. Remember that in an aptitude test, the correct answer is the honest answer. What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To give a piece of advice for job interviewees. |
| B．To tell you how to deal with job interviews. |
| C．To advise you how to find a good job. |
| D．To describe an aptitude test. |
Now employers want to hire workers_______.
| A．who know much more than others |
| B．who will work harder than others |
| C．who are able to solve the problems |
| D．who are better educated than others |
According to the writer, in an aptitude test, Chinese
job applicants should_______.
A. not tell the truth
B. offer a complete answer
C. learn to tell what they really think
find out what the examiner wants to know From the passage we know that_______.
| A．job applicants are always asked such questions |
| B．applicants should not act as cleverly as possible |
| C．more Chinese applicants fail to find a job |
| D．aptitude test is becoming worldwide popular |
Host family accommodation, or living with host families, remains popular among language travel students for its advantages. These days, host families are trying to offer more in terms of quality, for they still have something to worry about.
Host family accommodation is often seen as the number-one choice for its advantages in language study, cultural communication and cost of living. Staying alongside host families enables students to get enough practice for the short time of their studying so that their language acquisition is likely to become faster. Living in host families also has the advantage for students of being able to spend a lot of time communicating with their “host parents”, and get to know the local way of life, people and culture. Another advantage is that host family accommodation can sometimes be the least expensive. It attracts students for it ensures them a family type of living at a low cost.
The advantages, however, have not prevented host families form worrying. On one hand, some host families are losing their unique selling point. The problem is that the majority of hosts in big cites, now generally single and young, have less times available for students but the selling point for host family accommodation is communication practice. One the other hand, students’ expectations have risen. They are becoming more demanding and asking for more than ever from their accommodation, as they come mainly from high socio-economic groups in their own countries.
To get out of the difficult situation, host families are now making efforts to improve the quality of service. They are trying to making living conditions better, including broadband Internet service, private bathroom, and access to plenty of hot water for long showers. They are also providing students with structured family activities.
It is believed that host family accommodation will keep the popularity vote with language travel students.
Host family accommodation
| Theme |
Host families are improving the accommodation |
|
| 【小2题】 __________ |
Language study |
Possibly becoming |
| Cultural communication |
Communicating with Knowing the local way of life, people and culture |
|
| Cost of |
Being least expensive sometimes |
|
| Loss of selling point |
Hosts’ having less time for students |
|
| Rise in |
Students’becoming more demanding |
|
| Service quality improvement |
||
| Organizing structured family activities |
||
| Host family accommodation will keep the popularity vote with students. |
The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet （彗星）is heading towards the earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the earth.
On 17 July, a piece of 4 kilometers wide comet enters the Earth’s atmosphere with a massive explosion（爆炸）. About half of the piece is destroyed, but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the seabed. Huge waves are created and spread outwards form the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned（淹死）.
Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina. Earthquakes and volcanoes ash set off in the Andes Mountains. The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes. Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead, but the north won’t escape for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. The sun won’t be seen again for many years. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later, no more than 10 million people remain alive.
Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn’t live through the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the same end? What is mainly described in the passage?
| A．A historic discovery. |
| B．An event in imagination. |
| C．A research on space. |
| D．A scientific adventure. |
When the first piece hits the South Atlantic, it causes________.
| A．an earthquake |
| B．hunger |
| C．an Earth explosion |
| D．huge waves |
Why can’t the northern half of the earth escape for long?
| A．Because the land is covered with water. |
| B．Because the light and heat form the sun cannot reach the earth. |
| C．Because people there cannot live at the temperature of zero. |
| D．Because wars break out among countries. |
By giving the example of dinosaurs, the author tries to prove_________.
| A．animals could not live in the cold climate |
| B．what happened 65 million years ago was an invented story |
| C．the human beings will die out in 2094 |
| D．the Earth could be hit by other objects in space |