I travel a lot in my work, and what I dislike about
my job is eating alone. It always makes me feel lonely to see others laughing and talking. So, room service for several nights was a better choice for me.
After having room service three nights at a hotel in Houston, however, I needed to get out of my room. Although the restaurant opened at 6:30, I arrived at 6:25. The waiter at the front desk made a comment(评论) about my “being there really early”. I explained my dislike of eating alone in restaurants. He then seated me at a lovely table and asked me whether I would mind if he sat down with me for a while.
I was glad! He sat and talked with me about his career goals and the difficulty of being at work on nights, weekends and holidays. He said he hadn’t enough time to be with his family. After 15 minutes, he saw some customers at the front desk and excused himself. I noticed that before he went to the front desk, he stopped in the kitchen for a moment.
Then another waiter came out of the kitchen and had a wonderful chat with me. Before I left that night, some other waiters, even the cook, had come out of the kitchen and sat with me! When I asked for my bill about one hour later, all the people who had sat down with me came over in a big group to my table, and presented me with a red rose. And I cried! What had begun as a lonely night ended as a beautif
ul experience.
73. The author asked for room service because _______.
| A．a lot of money would be saved in this way |
| B．he didn’t like to eat with other people around |
| C．he didn’t wanted to be recognized by the waiters |
| D．seeing people laughing and talking made him feel bad |
74. How did the waiter feel when he saw the author come in at 6:25?
| A．Dissatisfied. | B．Pleased. | C．Surprised. | D．Angry. |
75. From the third paragraph, we can learn that the waiter at the front desk ______.
| A．knew how to attract more customers to his restaurant |
| B．found it hard to balance his work and his family |
| C．was getting tired of his present job |
| D．had never had such a chance to talk about his worries |
76. The author wants to tell us that ______.
| A．people are actually all lonely in their own way |
| B．restaurants should put the need of customers first |
| C．the kindness of strangers can make you less lonely |
| D．restaurants are full of surprises for lonely people |
I ran into a local store today to pick up a few things. With an important meeting to attend, I was in a hurry , so I didn’t take a cart (手推车) on my way inside. As I walked between the shelves in the store, I passed by a young couple and their baby. I continued going through the store, picked up a few items I needed and ended up standing behind this couple in the checkout line.
While waiting, I noticed that the young father was holding his money tightly and nervously. The young mother was carrying a baby in her arms and asked the cashier (收银员) for a job application.
When the total was rung up, they had to pick items out of their cart because they didn’t have enough money. But all their items were basic necessities(必需品) that they needed most. It just broke my heart to watch the couple try to think about what they could do without. However, they were able to whittle down their items and paid the bill with the money that they had.
After they left, I quietly asked the cashier to add those items to mine. The cashier rang everything up, and then got me a shopping cart. We put in their items and I hurried over to their car. “This is for you,” I told them.
The young father just looked at me with such appreciation and thanked me. I will never forget the expression in his eyes. As I was getting into my car, they drove over. The young mother said, “Miss, thank you so much.”
Tears welled up in my eyes---as they are again now, while I write this. “You are so welcome. Pay it forward some day,” I replied.The underlined phrase “whittle down” in Paragraph 3 probably means “__________”.
| A．add to | B．break down |
| C．cut down | D．pay for |
The author felt __________ to watch the couple taking some items out.
| A．sad | B．angry | C．excited | D．interested |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
| A．the young father felt so sorry to accept help |
| B．the young mother didn’t have a job then |
| C．the cashier treated the young couple impolitely |
| D．the young couple bought something unnecessary |
The author’s main purpose in sharing the story is to tell us __________.
| A．what a great plan she made |
| B．to take a cart while shopping |
| C．how to pick out basic necessities |
| D．to help those who are in need |
They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories(配饰)．Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies．A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favoring the same high street looks worn by those half their age．
Professor Julia Twiggy, a social policy expert，said，“Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s．In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter．It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years—now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to．Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly．” Professor Twiggy analyzed family expending data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same—about 5 or 6 percent of spending，the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply．
The professor said，“Clothes are now 70 percent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East．In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from，but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere．Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them．’’
Fashion designer Angela Barnard，who runs her own fashion business in London，said older women were much more affected by celebrity style than in previous years．She said,“When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties，they want to follow them．Older women are much more aware of celebrities．There’s also the boom in TV programmers showing people how they can change their look，and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties．When I started my business a few years ago，my older customers tended to be very rich，but now they are what I would call ordinary women. My own mother is 6l and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago．”It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because___________．
| A．they get tired of themselves more quickly |
| B．TV shows teach them how to stay in shape |
| C． they feel much younger now |
| D．clothes are much cheaper than before |
What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion?
| A．They are often ignored by fashion designers． |
| B．They are now mole easily influenced by stars． |
| C．They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion． |
| D．They are more interested in clothes because of their old age． |
Which is the best possible title of the passage?
| A．Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans． |
| B．The More Fashionable，the Less Expensive． |
| C．Unexpected changes in Fashion． |
| D．Boom of the British Fashion Industry |
Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours. This kind of loneliness is not serious. In fact, it is quite normal. For some people, though, loneliness can last for years. Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness.
The first kind of loneliness is temporary. This is the most common type. It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention. The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation — for example, family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place. Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year.
The third kind of loneliness is the most severe. Unlike the second type, habitual loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause. People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others. Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.
Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person's social contacts, e.g. friends, family members, co-workers, etc. We depend on various people for different reasons. For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities. However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more. They question their popularity.
Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons: they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between habitual loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease. While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, habitual loneliness can be a sad and sometimes dangerous condition.How would you treat temporary loneliness according to the passage?
| A．Talk to friends. |
| B．Just ignore it. |
| C．Go to see a doctor. |
| D．Ask your teachers for guidance. |
"It" in the last sentence of the second paragraph refers to _____.
| A．a physical problem | B．sleeplessness |
| C．temporary loneliness | D．situational loneliness |
The topic of the 4th paragraph is that____.
| A．lonely people don't have many social problems |
| B．we depend on various persons for different reasons |
| C．one problem of loneliness is a person's social contacts |
| D．lonely people don't have many friends |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Get Rid of Loneliness |
| B．Loneliness and Diseases |
| C．Loneliness and Social Contacts |
| D．Three Types of Loneliness |
Charles Blackman：Alice in Wonderland
An Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV),Australia
10 June —12 August 2015
Venue (地点) The Ian Potter Centre
Admission Free entry
Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful painting of dreams. In 1956, he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland –the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole, meets a lot of funny characters and experiences all kinds of things. At that time, Blackman’s wife was suffering form progressive blindness. The story of Alice moving through the strange situations, often disheartened by various events, was similar to his wife’s experiences. It also reflected so much of his own life. All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.
Illustrator Workshop
Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration. The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques, workshop exercise and group projects.
Dates Sunday 17 June &Sunday 5Aug.10am—1pm
Venue Gas Works Arts Park
Wonderful World
Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day, including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit
Date Sunday 24 June, 11am—4pm
Venue Exhibition Space, Level 3
Topsy-Turvy
Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box. Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened.
Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July, and Tuesday 24-Friday 27 July, 12noon—3pm
Venue Theatre, NGV Australia
Drawing Workshop
Distortions of scale ( 比例失真) can make artworks strange but interesting. Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world. Then experiment with scale in your own drawings. More information upon booking.
Date Friday 27 July, 10:30am-3pm
Venue Foyer, Level 3Charles Blackman’s paintings come from ________.
| A．his wish to express his own feelings |
| B．his dream of becoming a famous artist |
| C．his admiration for Lewis Carroll |
| D．his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness |
Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?_________
| A．Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop. |
| B．Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop. |
| C．Wonderful World and Topsy –Turvy. |
| D．Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World. |
To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings, you should go to ________.
| A．Exhibition Space .Level 3 | B．Gas Works Arts Park |
| C．Theatre, NGV Australia | D．Foyer, Level 3 |
Activities concerning children’s books are to be held
| A．on July 24, 2015 | B．on July15, 2015 |
| C．on June 24, 2015 | D．on August 5, 2015 |
At the age of ten I could not figure out what this Elvis Presley guy had that the rest of us boys did not have．I mean，he had a head，two arms and two legs，just like the rest of us．About nine o’clock on Saturday morning I decided to ask Eugene Correthers，one of the older boys，what it was that made this Elvis guy so special．He told me that it was Elvis’ wavy hair and the way he moved his body．
About half an hour later all the boys in the orphanage(孤儿院)were called to the main dining-room and told we were all going to downtown Jacksonville，Florida to get a new pair of Buster Brown shoes and a haircut．That is when I got this big idea，which hit me like a ton of bricks. If the Elvis hair cut was the big secret，then that’s what I was going to get．
A11 the way to town I told everybody, including the matron(女管家)from the orphanage who was taking us to town，that I was going to look just like Elvis Presley and that I would learn to move around just like he did and that I would be rich and famous one day, just like him．
When I got my new Buster Brown shoes, I could hardly wait for my new hair cut and now that I had my new Busier Brown shoes I would be very happy to go back to the orphanage and practice being like Elvis.
We finally arrived at the big barber shop，where they cut our hair for free because we were orphans(孤儿)．I looked at the barber and said，“I want an Elvis hair cut. Can you make my hair like Elvis?”I asked him，with a big smile on my face．“Let's just see what we can do for you，little man，”he said．I was so happy when he started to cut my hair．Just as he started to cut my hair, the matron signed for him to come over to where she was standing．She whispered something into his ear and then he shook his head，like he was telling her “No”．Then he told me they were not allowed to give us Elvis hair cuts．Then I saw my hair falling onto the floor．In the author’s eyes，Elvis Presley was_________．
| A．disgusting | B．admirable |
| C．ambitious | D．dynamic |
From the passage，we can know that______________．
| A．Buster Brown was more appealing than Elvis Presley |
| B．An Elvis hair cut cost the orphans a lot of money |
| C．The matron did not want the boy to have an Elvis hair cut |
| D．The barber was unwilling to give the boy an Elvis hair cut |
We can learn from the underlined sentence that the boy was______．
| A．excited to have an Elvis hair cut |
| B．worried to think about the secret |
| C．anxious to remove the ton of bricks |
| D．careful to seize the chance |
How would the boy probably feel when he walked out of the barber shop?
| A．Delighted． | B．Guilty． |
| C．Self-satisfied． | D．Depressed． |