Thousands of years ago, birthdays were considered special days. On birthdays, the bad spirits were able to harm you and change your life. It was believed that the only way to solve the problem was to have your friends and family around you, so that good wishes and presents would keep the bad spirits away. Also, noisemakers were thought to be used at parties as a way of scaring away the evil spirits.
The custom of lighting candles was created by people believing that the gods lived in the sky. By lighting candles and torches, they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods, so they could be answered. Blowing out the candles and making a wish were thought to be another way of sending a signal or a message.
This is how the way we celebrate our birthdays came about. But different cultures celebrate in different ways.
The birthday story in the Bible（圣经） that we know best is about the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem（地名：伯利恒）. For nearly 2000 years since that day, the Christian world has been honoring this birth. The day many Englishmen celebrate is, of course, Christmas. There are other references to birthday parties. King Pharaoh celebrated his birthday by making a feast for his court followers. That was over 4000 years ago. The story of King Herod tells that on his birthday he made a supper for his lords, high captains and other special friends in Galilee (地名：加利利). According to the passage, good wishes and presents given by one’s friends and family on his birthday can _____________________.
| A．cheer him up | B．prove that he’s a popular person |
| C．bring him a big fortune | D．push bad spirits away |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The custom of lighting candles originated with the gods. |
| B．The gods celebrate their birthdays by lighting candles. |
| C．People send messages to the gods by lighting or blowing out the candles. |
| D．The gods will help people realize their dreams on their birthdays. |
The two ancient kings’ ways of celebrating their birthdays show__________________.
| A．how great the two kings were |
| B．how different cultures celebrate in different ways |
| C．the two kings’ excellent cooking skills |
| D．that their court followers were awarded the special honors |
The passage is mainly about __________________.
| A．the functions of the noises made on birthdays. |
| B．how to scare away the bad spirits on birthdays |
| C．the origin of a famous day Christmas |
| D．how birthdays came about |
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 develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) 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(好客) 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!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| B．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| C．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| D．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
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/her home |
| C．treated hospitably at his/her home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
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 |
I still remember the last time I went to the playground with two of my children. It had rained during the night and the playground was very muddy (泥泞的). They had just put on clean clothes, so I was a little worried about the mud on the playground. It was not long before Kathy got her beautiful skirt dirty on the playground. She dug through the rocks. I was about to blame (指责) her for getting her clothes dirty when she ran towards me with a smile on her face. When she got to me, she handed me a little heart-shaped rock and said, “Here, Mom! Here is a heart for you —just because I love you! Keep it!” With tears in my eyes, I thanked her.
Should I blame her for getting her clothes muddy? No way! I still have that little heart-shaped rock. It is one of the best gifts that I have ever received. I realized that many times it was not necessary for us adults to worry about the small things our children did. Let them do what they’d like to.
I will spend a lot more time on the playground with my children. I’m sure I will learn a lot from them. It makes me think of the days when my grandfather told me, “You would not enter the kingdom of happiness until you pretended (假装) to be a small child.”At first, the author wanted to blame Kathy because she __________.
| A．ran on the playground |
| B．dug through rocks |
| C．gave her a muddy rock |
| D．got her clothes dirty |
The author was deeply moved by her daughter’s _____.
| A．digging task on the playground |
| B．special way to show her love |
| C．smile on her face when running |
| D．love of the muddy playground |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn that the author thought parents should _________.
| A．not worry about the small things their children do |
| B．allow kids to do whatever they like |
| C．keep the presents given by children |
| D．not give too much care to their own children |
The author’s grandfather’s words imply that _______.
| A．children care more about happiness than adults |
| B．adults can not share children’s happiness |
| C．children may find happiness more easily in life |
| D．adults find it hard to know children’s happiness |
Richard’s father died when he was five. Later on he 36 his mother. The poor boy had to 37 on his own, so he went to work for a rich farmer, who paid him nothing except food and clothes. An old woman felt 38 for him and often helped him. The boy wanted to go to (the) 39 very much, but he had no money. But he 40 lost heart and found some old books near the school and 41 himself to read and write.
There was a narrow 42 between two mountains which connected the village and the town. One morning people 43 there was a big stone on the path. It brought them 44 : they had to move it away, or they had to cross the mountains to the town. 45 the stone weighed thirty tons at least and even the strongest young man couldn’t move it. They 46 for a long time, but nobody knew what to do.
Richard looked at it carefully for a while and said, “I have a 47 to move it away.” But 48 men believed him. Some villagers even 49 him. The night 50 and people went back. Only the boy stayed there. To their surprise, the villagers found the stone was 51 the next morning. They didn’t 52 who had moved it away. The old woman said Richard had done it all by himself.
“How could he?” the rich farmer called out, “He’s 53 fifteen! He couldn’t move it at all!”
“He 54 a big hole beside the stone.” said the old woman, “and then he could 55 push it into the hole!”
Looking at each other, the villagers couldn’t say a word.
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"Hey, don't read in the hallway. Your eyesight will be damaged." You must have heard such warnings many times. Don’t read in dim (暗的)light! This is one of the “pearls of wisdom” that are supposed to help us live a healthy life. Such common beliefs, however, lack scientific basis, according to a paper published recently in the British Medical Journal.
Do you believe in the following everyday wisdom?
Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
In dim light, you might blink (眨眼) more, feel discomfort from drying and have trouble focusing. But the majority of eye experts believe it is unlikely to do any permanent damage.
We must drink at least eight glasses of water a day
In 1945, the Nutrition Council in US suggested that people need to consume 2.5 litres of water a day. But the water contained in food, particularly fruit and vegetables, as well as in milk, juice and soft drinks, also counts towards the total.
We only use 10 percent of our brains.
This myth arose as early as 1907. People have long argued about our power of self-improvement and our brains’ potential abilities. But detailed imaging shows that no area of the brain is silent or inactive.
Shaving your legs causes hair to grow black faster and thicker.
This theory is also illusion. Shaving has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair growth,
studies say. Just over time, the edge of hair gets worn away and thus the edge of long hair becomes finer (更细). So hair that is newly grown gives the impression of darkness.What does the paper say about some common beliefs?
| A．They are pearls of wisdom | B．They help us live in healthy ways |
| C．They are well-known theories. | D．They do not have scientific basis. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage ?
| A．Reading in dim light does harm to one’s eyes. |
| B．People need a total of 2.5 litres of water a day |
| C．People use 90 percent of their brains. |
| D．Shaving your legs will give you thicker hair. |
This passage is most likely to be found in __________ ?
| A．a newspaper | B．a science fiction |
| C．a biology textbook | D．a medical book |
We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people. "Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?" "When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?" "And why didn’t Paul pick up that he was friendly just because I had a car?" When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, it’s too late.
Why do we go wrong about our friends – or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don’t really listen we miss the feelings behind the words. Suppose someone tells you，"You’re a lucky dog." that’s being friendly. But "lucky dog"? There’s a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the "dog" bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck.
"Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for" is another noise that says one thing and means another. It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole. But is he? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important. It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night.
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person while talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake.In the first paragraph, the writer recalls some things that happened between some friends and they __________.
| A．think it was a mistake to have broken up with their girl friends |
| B．feel happy, thinking of how nice their friends were to them in the past |
| C．feel very sorry that their friends didn't help them and let them down |
| D．feel they may not have "read" their friends' true feelings correctly |
In this passage, the writer tries to tell us how to __________.
| A．avoid mistakes about money and our friends |
| B．avoid mistakes in understanding what people really want to tell us |
| C．"size up" people in a more scientific and meaningful way |
| D．keep people friendly without trusting them any more |
While we are listening to a person, the important thing for us is __________.
| A．to check his words against his manner, tone of voice and posture |
| B．to notice his tone of voice, his posture, and the look in his eyes |
| C．to listen to how he pronounces his words in front of you |
| D．not to believe what he says in any situation or any time |
According to this passage, the underlined phrase "puts you down" can be replaced by another phrase "__________".
| A．reduces you to silence | B．presses you down |
| C．makes you humble | D．makes you sad |