America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
60. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? _________
A. Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.
B. Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.
C. Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.
D. Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.
61. From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
A. warmly welcomed at the airport B. offered a ride to his home
C. treated hospitably at his home D. treated to dinner in a restaurant
62. The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
A. strict with time B. serious with time
C. careful with time D. willing to spend time
63. A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
A. Friendships between Chinese B. Friendships between Americans
C. Americans’ hospitality D. Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank.c. Travelled to Texas.
d. Was put in prison. e. Had a newspaper Job. f. Learned to write stories.
| A．e. c. f. b. d. a | B．c. e. b. d. f. a |
| C．e. b. d. c. a. f. | D．c. b. e. d. a f. |
People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because__________.
| A．they had surprise endings | B．they were short |
| C．they showed his love for the poor | D．they were about New York City |
O. Henry went to prison because__________ .
| A．people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper |
| B．he broke the law by not using his own name |
| C．he wanted to write stories about prisoners |
| D．people thought he had taken money that was not his |
What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
| A．He was well-educated. | B．He was not serious about his work. |
| C．He was devoted to the poor. | D．He was very good at learning. |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
| A．His life inside the prison. | B．The newspaper articles he wrote. |
| C．The city and people of New York. | D．His exciting early life as a boy. |
A neighbor of mine, while visiting his mother in Boston, took her to a shoe store to buy a new pair of shoes. While she was trying on different styles, my neighbor took the manager aside. “When she picks out a pair that she likes,” he said, “Just tell her that the price is 12 dollars. I’ll pay the regular(正常的)price. I don’t care how much it is.”
The following week, my neighbor was walking by the shoe store and the manager recognized him and called him in.
“What’s the problem?” asked my neighbor as he entered the store.
“Wasn’t my check any good?”
“That’s not it,” answered the manager, “The problem is that your mother is bringing all her friends in for those 12-dollar shoes!”My neighbor went to Boston ________.
| A．to buy shoes for his mother |
| B．to see his mother |
| C．to pay for the shoes he had bought for his mother |
| D．to see the manager of the shoe store |
The regular price my neighbor had paid must be _______.
| A．12 dollars | B．lower than 12 dollars |
| C．higher than 12 dollars | D．unknown to himself at all |
It seems very probable that my neighbor wanted to _______.
| A．please his mother | B．cheat his mother |
| C．cheat the manager | D．please his mother’s friends |
The manager called my neighbor in when he saw him because______.
| A．he didn’t have enough shoes for his customers(顾客) |
| B．my neighbor’s mother had taken a wrong pair of shoes |
| C．there was something wrong with his check |
| D．he found it hard to satisfy his customers |
What do we know about the character(个性) of my neighbor’s mother?
| A．She would like to buy expensive things. |
| B．She would like to buy cheap things. |
| C．She would like to help others when they’re in trouble. |
| D．She would like to have her son pay for her shopping. |
Few of us act alone in the real world. Most things are done with the help or ideas of other people. Group projects are great practice for high school, college, and real life, when you will probably have a job that requires working with others. Right now, group projects can be fun and they often allow you to do a bigger, more interesting project than you could alone. With group work, you can actually learn more in less time.
Group projects also give you a chance to get to know kids you might not otherwise know or talk with. Group projects are also a great way to practice skills you’re not so sure of. For example: working on a deadline, staying organized, or being patient. And if you’re a little nervous talking in front of a group, a joint project can help you become more comfortable with it. Maybe your group will pick you to tell the whole class about your project. If so, you’ll know your whole group is rooting for you!
One of the most important things about group work is talking and meeting together. It’s a good idea to continually check with everybody on their progress to see if anyone needs help. You might think the first step is to figure out who will do what, but actually it’s getting to know another a little. Take a few minutes to chat. Even if you know each other well, it can help to take a minute to think about your skills and share your strengths and weaknesses. The second step is to go over ground rules from your teacher and any that you want to create together as a group. Group projects can give you a chance to do the following EXCEPT ________.
| A．get to know more friends | B．learn more than you do alone |
| C．work in an organized way | D．get rid of shyness forever |
The underlined phrase “root for” in the second paragraph means _______.
| A．like | B．support | C．offer | D．prevent |
What’s the purpose in checking others’ progress?
| A．To learn what they will do next. |
| B．To find good topics to talk with them about. |
| C．To help them when they need help. |
| D．To make sure that their work is finished on time. |
According to the passage, we can infer that _______.
| A．group members should be your close friends |
| B．talking with group members should be the first step of group work |
| C．knowing persons is more important than your projects |
| D．rules from teachers are more important than working among group members |
Argosy Christmas Ship Festival
Seattle December1—December 23, 2010
The Argosy Christmas Ship Festival is a ship –to –shore holiday celebration that has become a local Northwest tradition. Aboard the Christmas Ship , some of the finest Northwest choirs(唱诗班) sing holiday greetings . These performances are broadcast via speakers to bonfire(篝火) sites and to other boats participating in the parade.
Holiday Island Lights Festival
Friday Harbor, Sand Juan Island December 1—December 31, 2010
An island-wide holiday tradition that includes local businesses decorating contest, a tree lighting ceremony on Dec . 4 with shops staying open until 7:00 pm. On Dec. 11 a Lighted Boat Parade starts the evening, to be followed by the Santa ship coming into Friday Harbor for the children , shops staying open until 7:00 pm . Dec 18-19 Roche Harbor’s Christmas Festival begins at 3:00 pm and will include artists booths, Victorian carol singing , story telling, theater and dining.
Christmas Lighting Festival
Leavenworth December4—December 19, 2010
This old –fashioned Lighted Farm Implement parade, which expressed its admiration for the Yakima Valley’s agricultural heritage, including entries with up to 35,000 lights decorating the tractor, plow or thresher of your choice! Pre-parade activities include a Christmas Tree Ceremony and other special entertainment before the parade. Join us and you’re sure to enjoy the carolers dressed in traditional clothing as they wander through out the Downtown area.
Holiday with Lights
Federal Way December 10, 2010—January 1, 2011
With over a million twinkling lights displayed throughout the park, your heart will be filled with cheer and the spirit of the season! Holiday light displays, festive music and strolling caroler, visit with Santa, enchanted village rides, and much more. Which of the following festivals lasts the longest?
| A．Argosy Christmas Ship Festival | B．Holiday Island Lights Festival |
| C．Christmas Lighting Festival | D．Holiday with Lights |
If you want to attend a Lighted Boat Parade, you should go to _______.
| A．Seattle | B．Leavenworth | C．Friday Harbor | D．Federal Way |
If you want to learn something about agriculture heritage, you will possibly attend___.
| A．Argosy Christmas Ship Festival | B．Holiday Island Lights Festival |
| C．Christmas Lighting Festival | D．Holiday with Lights |
If you plan to attend one of the activities on Christmas Day, you will have ______choice(s).
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
The American book Who Moved My Cheese has bee a bestseller all over the world. It teaches people how to face changes in their lives. Now its author Spence Johnson has written a book just for teens. The book tells us that when facing change in our lives, like a new school or new friends, don't be afraid. Instead, use this change to make a better life. The book gives an example of a change at school. A school is changing from having two terms to three terms because there are too many students.
Several teens are talking about this. Most of them are unhappy and worried. But Chris is not. He laughs and tells a story about two mice, two “little people” and some cheese.
The four are in amaze looking for the cheese. Here, cheese means something important in life, like moving to a new class or getting into college. But they find the cheese is gone. The mice realize that they can’t change what has happened and have to find more cheese. This means finding different dreams. The little people, however, can’t do this. They are afraid of change so they find no cheese
After Chris finishes the story, the friends understand one thing: to get more cheese, move in a new direction quickly. His friends understand how this can be used in the changes all teens face, such as doing well at school or having good relationships or just feeling good about yourself. The book Who Moved My Cheese is __________.
| A．read across the world | B．written all over the world |
| C．sold only in America | D．loved only by teens |
What does the text mainly discuss?
| A．Never change in our life. | B．Change when you like to do. |
| C．Change with the changes. | D．Pay attention to the changes, |
The underlined word “four”（paragraph 3）refers to __________.
| A．Mice and little people | B．Students | C．Cheese | D．Readers |
In our lives, we should learn from __________.
| A．Mice | B．Little people | C．Chris | D．Spence Johnson |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The author is Britain. |
| B．There are three terms in every school. |
| C．Most teens don't understand Chris' story. |
| D．The book tells teens how to face changes in their lives. |