Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city.
1. Take pictures
One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with the person later. Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves, and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”. This can be the seed that leads to new connections. The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it.
2. Eat alone in public
You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit: you are much easier to approach when you are alone. People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else. Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious). Plus, having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it.
3. Join a class, sports team, or club
Yoga, salsa dancing, volleyball, Toastmasters (a public speaking club), a class for work, etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!
These are all great places to meet new people, primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the class. You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again.
Tips:
* In the beginning, never turn down an invitation from someone, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do.
* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are. If they have a better plan you can drop yours and join them. This will help establish you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend).
* Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person. People don’t want to be around someone like that! ____ can give you an excuse to start new connections.
| A.Taking pictures of others | B.Eating by yourself in public |
| C.Reading interesting books | D.Joining group activities |
When having meals, you’d better ____ if you want to make new friends.
| A.sit on your own in public places |
| B.start a conversation with those who have friends aside |
| C.invite others to your apartment to eat together |
| D.approach others to show conscious friendliness |
According to the text, which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of joining a class?
| A.It helps you find out your interest and take up a new hobby. |
| B.It helps you find out people who share a common interest with you. |
| C.It offers an opportunity to meet the same people repeatedly. |
| D.It is a good way to meet new people and make friends in a new city. |
Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?
| A.Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy. |
| B.Never turn down an invitation from your friends. |
| C.Offer suggestions on how to spend time together. |
| D.Don’t give a negative response to any request. |
By writing the text, the author intends to tell us ____.
| A.why you should change when you move to a new city |
| B.why you should make new friends in a new city |
| C.how you can make new friends in a new city |
| D.how you can keep in touch with strangers |
Nearly a quarter-century after a German boy threw a message in a bottle off a ship in the Baltic Sea, he’s received an answer.
A 13-year-old Russian, Daniil Korotkikh, was walking with his parents on a beach when he saw something lying in the sand.
“I saw that bottle and it looked interesting,” Korotkikh told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “it looked like a German beer bottle and there was a message inside. ”
It said, “My name is Frank, and I’m five years old. My dad and I are traveling on a ship to Denmark. If you find this letter, please write back to me, and I will write back to you.” The letter, dated 1987, included an address in the town of Coesfeld.
The boy in the letter, Frank Uesbeck, is now 29. His parents still live at the letter’s address.
The Russian boy and the German man met each other earlier this month through an internet video link. The Russian boy said he did not believe that the bottle actually spent 24 years in the sea. He believed it had been hidden under the sand where he found it for a long time.
Uesbeck was especially happy that he was able to have a positive effect on a life of a young person far away from Germany. “It‘s really a wonderful story,” he said. “And who knows? Perhaps one day we will actually be able to arrange a meeting in person. ”What is this passage mainly about?
| A.Message in a bottle. |
| B.A beautiful beer bottle. |
| C.Traveling on a ship. |
| D.Meeting an old friend. |
When the German boy threw the bottle into the sea, ________________.
| A.he was going back home. |
| B.he was already 29 years old. |
| C.he was walking with his parents on a beach. |
| D.he was traveling to Denmark by ship with his dad. |
According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A.Korotkikh’s parents still live in the town of Coesfeld. |
| B.The German boy did not believe that the bottle actually spent 24 years in the sea. |
| C.Frank Uesbeck and Daniil Korotkikh have met each other in person. |
| D.Daniil Korotkikh and Frank Uesbeck have got in touch with each other. |
Why was Uesbeck very happy when he got the information of the 24 years’ beer bottle?
| A.Because he could have a new friend. |
| B.Because the two boys could surf the internet together. |
| C.Because he finally got what he had lost. |
| D.Because he could have a positive influence on a life of a young person. |
A teenager who is preparing to go to high school has probably heard all kinds of different things about high school freshmen from his parents , fiends , or old brothers and sisters. The change from middle school to high school can seem like a frightening experience for teens going into high school , but it is not always so hard as it may seem. Usually , middle school students can get used to high school life within a few months of their freshman year. A few tips for high school freshmen are as follows.
Grades are important . While it is important for a student to try to do his best in school , the grades that he gets in high school are even more important , since they are what colleges will look like when considering his application (申请)for their school .
Classes . The classes a freshman takes throughout his whole high school can help them a lot when he gets ready to go to college or look for a job . Some special classes allow students to get college credits(学分)while they are still in high school in some countries . Most high school classes will have more homework than middle school classes and this can be a hard adjustment (适应) at first .
Being prepared . Middle school classes might not request students to prepare very much before they attend them . But high school teachers will expect students to get everything ready before the class begins .It is also important for students to study for tests and do all homework that is required during class.
Making good choices. Most high school students have more freedom than middle school students, but what a student does with this freedom is very important to his future life for many years after high school is over. Peer pressure(同龄人压力), while it can be good sometimes, is often a problem with younger teens .It is important for a teen to make good choices throughout his high school career so that he can be successful later on in his life .
High school is a memorable experience for teenagers .They should not be afraid of becoming a freshmen . After studying for a period of time , they will surely enjoy it. The first paragraph mainly tells readers that _________.
| A.It is necessary for teens to worry about something |
| B.there are few differences between high school and middle school |
| C.teens are too worried to go to high school |
| D.It is not so difficult for teens to get used to high school life |
According to the passage , which of the following is right ?
| A.The grades in middle school are not important |
| B.All the classes don’t allow the students to get credits in high school in some countries |
| C.A teenager may hear things about high school from their teachers |
| D.What a teen does with his freedom in high school has nothing to do with his college life. |
What will be considered when a college decides whether to accept a student’s application or not ?
| A.His choice in middle school |
| B.His unforgettable experience in high school |
| C.His grades in high school |
| D.His college credits in high school |
The passage suggests that ________.
| A.The teens don’t always have a problem with peer pressure |
| B.If a teen makes good choices in his high school , he will surely succeed in later life |
| C.The life in high school is less difficult than it looks |
| D.A teen needn’t be worried about his high school life because everything will be exactly the same as before. |
Donald Watson was a man who thought very much about the food he ate. He was born in yorkshire, England , in September 1910. And he died in November 2005, at the age of 95. That is a very great age. Watson explained that it was because he never ate any food from animals.
When he was a boy , Watson stayed on a farm. .He loved to see the animals. He said that they gave so much to people. And all the animals were so friendly. Then , one day , he saw a man killing a pig . He was very sad. . From then on, Watson decided that he would never again eat meat . Twenty years later he decided that he wouldn’t eat anything from animals, such as milk, cheese or eggs. He became vegan (素食主义者).
Watson formed a group called “The Vegan Society”. In its newspaper, The Vegan Society thought it was terrible and wrong to eat food from animals. At first, there were not many people who agreed with him . They thought it was crazy to do it .Most people thought it was too difficult and unhealthy. However, over time , more and more people began to agree with Watson and The Vegan Society.
People become vegans for many reasons. Watson and his friend stopped eating because they loved animals. They believed that it was wrong to hurt another living thing .
Now, people also become vegans for environmental reasons. Keeping animals takes a lot of resources(资源), including water and food. Also, in some places, people are cutting down trees to create more land for cows. By avoiding food from animals, vegans hope to protect these forest areas.
Finally, just like Watson, some people believe that being a vegan is healthier. They believe that food from animals causes heart problems, a high body weight and many other health problems. We know from the text that Watson __________.
| A.lived a very long life |
| B.refused to eat meat at 20 |
| C.helped kill a pig on a farm |
| D.enjoyed good food very much |
The underlined word “it’ in paragraph 3 means “ ________”.
| A.agreeing with Watson |
| B.publishing a newspaper |
| C.forming “The Vegan Society” |
| D.avoiding all food from animals |
Watson refused to eat meat ______.
| A.because of his love of animals |
| B.because of environmental reasons |
| C.because he had a lot of health problems |
| D.because keeping animals needs lots of resources |
What’s the best title (标题)for the text?
| A.Donald Watson : a new way to eat |
| B.Animal protection in England |
| C.The Vegan Society:a special group |
| D.Healthy eating habits |
You probably know that frogs hop ( 双足跳 ). But did you know that there’s a small frog in the Pacific Northwest that bellyflops(肚子先着水)? It’s called a tailed frog.
Dr.Rick Essner, who has been studying tailed frogs for the past few years, says, “ I’ve looked at thousands of jumps and have never seen them land on their feet like other frogs.” Most of the time, tailed frogs land on their stomachs and then bring their back legs in to prepare for another jump.
Essner forst noticed these frogs because of the way they swim. Other frogs kick both of their back legs at the same time. But when a tailed frog swims, it pushes first with one leg and then the other.
To try to find out why tailed frogs bellyflop, Essner and other scientists collected and filmed different kinds of frogs. They found that all of the frogs start their jumps the same way: they hold out their legs. The change comes in the landing. Tailed frogs can't move their back legs as quickly as other frogs do. Maybe they don’t need to. Tailed frogs live around water and quickly jump into the water to escape danger.
Early frogs developed around watery areas and could jump quickly into the water to escape danger. Scientists think those frogs blended in with (与…融合在一起) the green plants on the side of the rocky rivers, just like today’s tailed frogs. “Iwould guess that other animals would have problems detecting them, ” explains Essner. When other animals find those early frogs, the frogs could jump into the river. They didn’t need to continue hopping.
Tailed frogs and other kinds of frogs went their own ways about 200 million years ago. Tailed frogs stayed by rivers. Other kinds of frogs moved to places where new hopping skills allowed them to survive. What’s special about the detailed frog ?
| A.It has a long tail |
| B.It jumps on one foot |
| C.It stars its jump differently |
| D.It lands differently from other frogs. |
Why do tailed frogs bellyflop?
| A.They have never left the water to live . |
| B.They have trouble in holding out their legs |
| C.Their back legs can’t catch up while jumping.. |
| D.Their front legs develop better than the back ones. |
The underlined word “detecting” in Paragraph 5 means “______”.
| A.eating | B.killing |
| C.using | D.discovering |
When they are in danger, the detailed frogs would _________.
| A.jump into the water for protection |
| B.hop around quickly |
| C.hide in the green plants near the river |
| D.jump into the rock |
It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable when they are with their parents . They say their parents don’t understand them .They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways , that they are too serious(严肃) — too strict with their children and that they seldom give their children a free hand . It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their children’s trust(信任) and they often forget how they themselves felt when they were young .
For example , young people like to act on the spot without much thinking . It is one of their ways to show they have grown up and that they can face any difficult situation . However , older people worry more easily . Most of old people plan things ahead , at least in the back of their minds , and do not like their plans to be upset by something unexpected .
When you want your parents to let you do something , you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it .
Young people often make their parents angry with their choices in clothes and in music . But they do not want to cause any trouble ; it is just that they feel cut off from the older people’s world , into which they have not yet been accepted . That’s why young people want to make a new culture of their own . And if their parents do not like their music or hairstyle or clothes or their ways of speech , this will make the young people very happy .
Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say “yes” to what you do . All you want is to be left alone and do what you like . It is natural enough , after being a child for so many years , when you were completely under your parents’ control .
If you plan to control your life , you’d better win your parents over and try to get them to understand
you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility , they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do .Whom is this text written for ?
| A.Parents |
| B.Both parents and their children |
| C.Young people |
| D.Teachers |
The underlined expression “on the spot ” means ______ .
| A.at the place where something happened. |
| B.by oneself |
| C.immediately |
| D.angrily |
According to the text , young people usually ______ .
| A.ask for advice before they really start to do anything |
| B.do things without thinking carefully ahead |
| C.are very strict with themselves |
| D.think in the same way as their parents do |
Why do young people like to have clothes and music in their own way ?
| A.Because they want to make their parents angry . |
| B.Because they try to get their parents into trouble . |
| C.Because they want to try something new and look different from the older people . |
| D.Because they know they are cleverer than the older people . |