For many years it was common in the United States to associate Chinese Americans wi
th restaurants and places that wash clothes. People did not realize that the Chinese had been driven into these occupations by the prejudice and discrimination that faced them in this country.
The first Chinese to reach the United States came during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Like most of the other people there，they had come to search for gold. In that largely unoccupied land， the men st
aked a claim (立界标表明所有权) for themselves by placing makers’ in the ground. However，either because the Chinese were so different from the others or because they worked so patiently that they sometimes succeeded in getting a mining claim to make a profit ( where others saw no way to do so) ,they became the target".Of their competitors. They were troubled and attacked in many ways. Often they were prevented from working their claims; some places even passed regulations forbidding them to own claims. The Chinese therefore started to seek out other ways of earning a living. Some of them began to wash clothes for the white miners; others set up small restaurants. (There were almost no women in California in those days and the Chinese filled a real need by doing this" women's work". ) Some went to work as farmhands or as fishermen.
In the early 1860's many more Chinese arrived in California. This time railroad companies brought the men in to build the first railroad line from California to the East. They were sorely needed because the work was so hard and dangerous，and it was carried on in such an isolated part of the country that the railroad company could not find other laborers for the job. As in the case of the first Chinese in America， these Chinese were almost all males; and like them，too，they encountered a great deal of prejudice. The hostility grew especially strong after the railroad project was completed，and the Chinese laborers returned to California—thousands of them，all out of work
Many of today's Chinese Americans are the descendants of some of the early miners and railroad workers. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The first Chinese to reach the United States came during the California Gold Rush of 1849. |
| B．Many more Chinese arrived in California to construct the first railroad from California to the East. |
| C．Early Chinese immigrants to America experienced a lot of prejudice and discrimination. |
| D．Prejudice and discrimination that Chinese Americans met. |
Why did the Chinese become the target of their competitors?
| A．Because the Chinese were different and they worked patiently to achieve a lot of success while others couldn't. |
| B．The Chinese were so different from the others. |
| C．They worked so patiently with little payment |
| D．There were almost no women in California in those days. |
What was the fate of the Chinese after the construction of the railroad?
| A．They went back to their own country |
B．They stayed to work in the ra ilroad companies. |
| C．They went to California to search for gold. |
| D．The hostility grew especially strong. |
What is the meaning of the word" encountered"?
| A．face. | B．Count. | C．Enter. | D．Handle. |
The following statements are true EXCEPT .
| A．during the California Gold Rush of 1849，people staked a claim for themselves by placing markers in the ground |
| B．the first Chinese went to America because they wanted to work as farmhands or as fishermen |
| C．many of today's Chinese Americans are the descendants of the early miners and railroad workers |
| D．the Chinese were sorely needed because the work was so dangerous |
As we all know, millions of people worldwide cook their food over smoky fire every day. It is often difficult to find wood for the fire. People who do not have wood must spend large amounts of money on cooking fuel. However, there is a much easier way to cook food using energy from the sun.
Solar cooker, or ovens, have been used for centuries. A Swiss scientist made the first solar oven in seventeen sixty-seven. Today, people are using solar cookers in many countries around the world. People use solar ovens to cook food and to heat drinking water to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms.
There are three kinds of solar ovens. The first is a box cooker, It is designed with a special wall that shines or reflects sunlight into the box .Heat gets trapped under a piece of glass or plastic covering the top of the cooker. A box oven is effective for slow cooking of large amounts of food.
The second kind of solar oven is a panel cooker. It includes several flat walls or panels that directly reflect the sun’s light onto the food. The food is inside a separate container of plastic or glass that traps heat energy. People can build panel cookers quickly and with very few supplies. They do not cost much. In Kenya ,for example ,panel cookers are being manufactured for just two dollars.
The third kind of solar oven is a parabolic cooker. It has rounded walls that aim sunlight directly into the bottom of the oven .Food cooks quickly in parabolic ovens .However, these cookers are hard to make. They must be re-aimed often to follow the sun .Parabolic cookers can also cause burns and eye injuries if they are not used correctly.
You can make solar ovens from boxes or heavy paper. They will not catch fire. Paper burns at two hundred thirty-two degrees Celsius. A solar cooker never gets that hot. Solar ovens cook food at low temperatures over long periods of time. This permits people to leave food to cook while they do other things.If you have much food to cook , you’d better choose________ .
| A．a box cooker | B．a panel cooker |
| C．a parabolic cooker | D．a paper cooker |
According to the passage we can conclude that ______.
| A．panel cooker is easy to make |
| B．box cooker is easy to make |
| C．box cooker is the most effective oven |
| D．panel cooker is the cheapest oven of the three |
What is the main purpose of the author in writing the passage?
| A．To advertise the solar ovens. |
| B．To help readers to save cost on fuel. |
| C．To tell the readers how to make solar ovens. |
| D．To give the readers brief introduction of solar ovens. |
Myth: If you cut your hair, it will grow long faster.
Truth: That’s not true. “Your hair isn’t like a lawn or a rosebush, where cutting can stimulate fresh growth,” says Phillip Kingsley. The length of your hair is genetically determined. When it reaches a certain length, it stops growing. When you clear up the dead split ends, this make your hair look healthier, but not necessarily longer.
Myth: If you skip meals, you lose weight fast.
Truth: There’s no truth in this advice. Not only will you lose weight by starving yourself, but according to Carol Ann Rinzler, this may actually cause you to gain weight. Rinzler reasons that missing a meal causes your metabolism(新陈代谢) to slow down so that you burn food more slowly. This only makes you feel hungrier and by the time you finally do reach the table you will probably eat more food. Strange as it may seem, studies show that eating several small meals and snacks throughout the day is a more healthy way to lose pounds.
Myth: If you swallow gum，it will stay inside your stomach for seven years.
Truth: Actually, it takes just a few days for gum to make its exit---not seven years, says NeiIzenberg, M. D., editor of Kids Health Organization. But because gum is made of the same thing as rubber, it cannot be fully digested in your stomach--- so if you gum up the works on a regular basis, you might find yourself in a sticky situation.
Myth: The best way to stop a nosebleed is to lift your head back.
Truth: Now that’s bad advice. Bloody noses are caused by broken blood vessels, so while lifting your head back might stop the fluid from rushing out of your nose, it won’t stop the bleeding; you’ll just end up swallowing lots of blood. Your best bet? “Rest quietly. Don’t poke or pick, and the blood will naturally clot (凝结) within a minute or two”. Suggests Dr. Izenberg.The length of your hair is determined by ________
| A．cutting it often | B．your gene |
| C．the food you eat | D．clearing up the dead split ends |
According to Carol Ann Rinzler, skipping meals will __________.
| A．help you lose weight fast |
| B．help you lose weight slowly |
| C．cause you to become fatter |
| D．make you burning food more quickly |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Gum cannot be fully digested in the stomach |
| B．Gum can stay inside your stomach for seven years if you swallow it |
| C．Gum can leave your stomach after you swallow in a few days later |
| D．If you often swallow gum, you might find yourself in a sticky situation |
A long time before I was born, my grandma and grandpa had a young family of four little girls. During the Great Depression (大萧条时期), work was hard to find, so Grandpa did whatever jobs he could. On weekends he and Grandma dug a garden to grow some of their own food.
Everybody worked to keep the garden growing. All summer long, the family ate food and enjoyed flowers from the garden. Grandma put up strawberry jam, tomatoes, beans, peppers, pears and peaches in canning jars. They were good to eat through the long winter.
The family grew up, and grandparents grew old. It became hard to keep up the garden, so they made it a little smaller. There was still plenty to eat from the garden and lovely flowers to enjoy.
Then one summer when Grandpa was eighty-nine years old, all he could do was watch from his lawn chair as the vegetables grew and the roses bloomed. Summer slowly faded, and Grandpa died before it was time to bring in the harvest.
It was a lonely winter for Grandma. She sat near the window, looking out at the yard and wondering if she could plant a garden in the spring. When spring came, she planted only a little garden.
One sunny day in the early summer, Grandma heard a commotion (骚动) in the front yard and looked out the window to see a frightening sight. A huge swarm of bees filled the air between two tall trees. The buzzing sound was very loud.
The bees made their way into a hole up in one of the trees. Before long, every one of those bees had disappeared into its new home. During the next few days, the bees were busy minding their own business. Grandma could always see a few bees buzzing in and out around the opening high in the tree. Before long, she decided the bees weren’t bothering anyone, so she didn’t give them another thought.
That summer, Grandma’s little garden grew and grew. The neighbors would stop to admire the huge crop of vegetables and puzzle over their own gardens weren’t doing well.
One day, Grandma’s brother Frank visited from Arizona. As Grandma made Frank a delicious lunch of squash cakes and homemade applesauce, she told him the story about the swarm of bees. Frank said, “In Arizona, the farmers often hired beekeepers to set up beehives near their fields. The bees pollinated (授粉) the crops and helped them to grow.”
That was when Grandma realized that her bees had helped with her garden all summer. “So that’s why my little garden had such a big crop!” she exclaimed.
From that time on, Grandma always believed that since Grandpa couldn’t be there to help her that summer, he had sent the bees to take his place and make Grandma’s little garden grow and grow.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The garden was dug by Grandparents during the Great Depression. |
| B．The garden provided enough food and flowers for the family. |
| C．The garden was made smaller as Grandparents grew older. |
| D．The garden once lay in waste after Grandpa passed away. |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
| A．Grandma was too busy to hire someone to deal with the bees. |
| B．Grandma felt very lonely and helpless when Grandpa passed away. |
| C．Frank hired beekeepers to help Grandma keep the garden growing. |
| D．Grandpa turned into bees to help Grandma keep up the garden. |
The method the author uses in the underlined sentence is _______.
| A．offering analyses | B．providing explanations |
| C．making comparison | D．giving examples |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Grandpa’s Bees | B．Grandparents’ Garden |
| C．The Harvest of Summer | D．The Secret of the Garden |
Millions of Americans began 2015 with the same resolution (决定) they started 2014 with, a goal of losing weight. However, setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake.
To reach our goal of losing weight — the output, we need to control what we eat —the input (输入). That is, we tend to care about the output but not to control the input. This is a bad way to achieve goals. The alternative is to focus your resolution on the input. Instead of determining to lose weight, try an actionable resolution: “I’ll stop having dessert for lunch,” or “I’ll walk every day for 20 minutes.” Creating a goal that focuses on a specific (具体的) input will likely be more effective than concentrating on the outcome.
Recently a new science behind incentives (激励), including in education, has been discussed. For example, researcher Roland Fryer wanted to see what works best in motivating children to do better in school. In some cases, he gave students incentives based on input, like reading certain books, while in others, the incentives were based on output, like results on exams. His main finding was that incentives increased achievement when based on input but had no effect when based on output. Fryer’s conclusion was that the incentives for inputs might be more effective because students do not know how to do better on exam, apart from general rules like “study harder”. Reading certain books, on the other hand, is a well-set task over which they have much more control.
As long as you have direct control over your goal, you have a much higher chance of success. For instance, if you want to spend more time with your family, don’t stop with this general wish. Think about an actionable goal that you could stick to, like a family movie night every Wednesday.
In the long run, these new goals could become a habit.The writer thinks that setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake because _________.
| A．it is focused too much on the result |
| B．it is hard to achieve for ordinary people |
| C．it is dependent on too many things |
| D．it is based on actionable decisions |
In Roland Fryer’s research, some students did better than the others because ________.
| A．they obeyed the general rules of learning |
| B．they benefited from reading certain books |
| C．they attached more importance to exams |
| D．they were greatly inspired by their instructors |
According to the writer, which of the following statements is a good goal?
| A．“I’ll study harder than before.” |
| B．“I’ll cut down my expense.” |
| C．“I’ll spend more time with my family.” |
| D．“I’ll walk every day for 15 minutes.” |
The writer strongly believes that we should __________.
| A．be optimistic about final goals and stick to them |
| B．focus more on the outcome and form good habits |
| C．create general goals that can balance the input and output |
| D．take specific actions that can be turned into good habits |
Here is some must-know information from a handbook on how people behave in doing business in some countries.
In Brazil
Brazilians are warm and friendly. They often stand close when talking and it is common for them to touch the person on the shoulder. People often greet each other (particularly women) with light cheek kisses. Schedules tend to be flexible, with business meetings sometimes starting later than planned. But to be safe, be on time. Meals can last for hours—there’s no such thing as rushing a meal in Brazil.
In Singapore
Singaporeans shake hands when they meet and often also greet each other with a small, polite bow. Arriving late is considered disrespectful. So be on time. Efficiency (效率) is the goal, so meetings are fast-paced. Singaporeans are direct in their discussions, even when the subject is about money. Rank is important and authority is respected. People avoid disagreeing outright with someone with a higher rank.
In the United Arab Emirates
In the UAE, status is important, so the most senior or oldest should be greeted first with their titles. The handshake seems to be longer than elsewhere. So, do not pull away the handshake. People do not avoid entertaining in their homes, but they also hold business meals at restaurants. Touching or passing food or eating with your left hand is to be avoided.
In Switzerland
The Swiss tend to be formal and address each other by last name. They also are respectful of private lives. You should be careful not to ask about personal topics. Punctuality (守时) is important, so arrive at any meeting or event a few minutes early to be safe. The Swiss follow formal table manners. They also keep their hands visible at the table and their elbows(肘部) off the table. It is polite to finish the food on your plate.The passage mainly deals with ________.
| A．various types of communication |
| B．the atmosphere in workplace |
| C．living conditions and standards |
| D．customs and social manners |
Why do Singaporeans avoid arguing with their boss?
| A．They regard efficiency as the most important. |
| B．They dislike face-to-face communication. |
| C．They are supposed to obey the person of a higher rank. |
| D．They are used to having a fast-paced and direct talk. |
In which country do people care about where to put their hands at the dinner table?
| A．In Brazil. | B．In Singapore. |
| C．In the United Arab Emirate. | D．In Switzerland. |