The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington. “Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the proud newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room.
Carlos smiled broadly. “But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice president. “How come?” I kept asking myself. “How come this shrimp(虾) who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular.”
So on that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, “It doesn’t seem to bother you—being short.” He looked up at me. “Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted. “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red...
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The writer cared much about Reed’s attitude. |
| B．Carlos isn’t popular with the classmates. |
| C．The writer is always confident with herself. |
| D．Carlos always makes fun of the writer. |
From the passage, we can conclude _______________.
| A．Carlos is as tall as the writer |
| B．Carlos fell love with the writer later |
| C．the writer is very tall |
| D．Reed, Carlos and the writer became good friends later |
What can we use to describe Carlos’ character?
| A．Handsome and proud | B．Humorous and confident |
| C．Diligent and helpful | D．Hardworking and popular |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A girl and a boy. | B．My shortcomings. |
| C．My helpful classmates. | D．A change in my life. |
Women turn to online shopping
Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping，according to a study published last week in the US.
For Years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women，but during the 2004 holiday season 58 percent of those making online purchases were women.
“It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming”，said Lee Rainie，director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group，which carried out the study.
Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men. This is because women traditionally make decisions about spending.
Users were more likely to shop online to save time. Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the most dramatic（显著的）increases in the online gift-buying population this time around.
However，three-quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2004．They worried about credit card security，or just compared online prices with off-line prices，then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals.
“But even if shoppers don’t buy online，websites are becoming promotion tools for stores，”said Dan Hess，vice president of Comscore Networks Inc．Hess said that actually most stores’ websites can make customers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers. And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive on time.
“It’s all about making the shopping experience more efficient，more reliable and more comfortable，” Hess said.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．There were fewer women online shoppers than men in 2004． |
| B．Most of the Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are women. |
| C．People in the US were more likely to buy gifts online. |
| D．More women shopped online than men in 2004. |
From the passage we can infer that________.
| A．men usually decide how to spend money in the family |
| B．women usually decide what to buy in the family |
| C．the Internet is used in all the shops. |
| D．more and more shops will sell their goods online. |
According to Dan Hess，shopping online___________.
| A．is unsafe | B．is convenient | C．is a waste of time | D．is cheaper |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．American people only buy gifts in holidays. |
| B．Shopping online is fun for women. |
| C．Shopping off-line provides better service. |
| D．Young people like to do gift-shopping online. |
“Mom, can I bake some bread?” We were 15, my best friend, Hanna, and I, determined to try our hands at creating some beautiful bread.
“It’s not worth the trouble,” my mother said. “It takes lots of time and makes a big mess. Our bakery bread is delicious without all that effort.”
Begging was useless. Mom’s “no” meant “No!”
But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.
We studied the recipe. That was easy. “Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt.”
We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.
“Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough (面团) holds together, squeeze it.”
We took turns working like that. “Is the dough ‘holding together’?” we asked each other.
I remembered my neighbor’s instructions: “If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water.”
We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.
“Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth,” the recipe instructed.
We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.
“Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour.”
This was good news --- we’d have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. “See?” we would tell my mom. “Isn’t it worth the work?”
Hanna and I couldn’t help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.
“Maybe something will happen in the hot oven,” I said.
Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.
Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right.To the writer, what her mother said was __________.
| A．law | B．rubbish | C．advice | D．warning |
Which of the following can best describe the children’s feelings while making their first bread?
| A．Confident; hopeful; disappointed. | B．Curious; hopeful; disappointed. |
| C．Interested; excited; satisfied. | D．Worried; satisfied; proud. |
Which of the following did the writer do without instructions?
| A．Placed dough on floured surface. | B．Added eight cups of flour to eggs. |
| C．Returned dough to a cleaned bowl. | D．Placed the dough into the hot oven. |
The passage mainly tells us ______________.
| A．the process of making bread | B．the conflict between mother and daughter |
| C．the first experience of making bread | D．the way of doing housework |
How do you get a man to do his share of the housework? If you are like most women, you’ve faced this question the hard way.
A man will enjoy a clean, orderly house, but he usually won’t make the effort to clean or organise it. This doesn't mean that a woman has to do all the housework:; she may have to manage many of the household duties, and request her partner’s participation（参与）. A woman can often say that men and women should take equal responsibility（责任） for housework.
Very few men are raised to be fully responsible for housework, and many men look on housework as women’s work. On the other hand, most men will readily work around the yard, make repairs and complete projects on weekends or evenings, and it’s important that you give your man appreciation for those things, too. Most men will take on a little additional housework around the house if asked politely. They are even more likely to do housework if they can choose what they want to do, and do it without being monitored.
Here’s the key: men want to feel that they are doing housework either because they want to do a task, or because they simply want to please their women. Men are much less likely to take on household tasks they consider uninteresting and unimportant. In other words, men are likely to do a household task just for the good of the house. The passage is mainly about how to _____.
| A．get men to take on some housework |
| B．get men to serve their families |
| C．praise men’ housework |
| D．make men do all the housework |
According to the passage, a man_____.
| A．is willing to do housework |
| B．likes to be told to do housework |
| C．is taught to be responsible for housework from childhood |
| D．likes a clean house but doesn’t make efforts to clean it |
In order to get men to do some housework, women should often_____.
| A．order them to do their share |
| B．ask them to do some housework politely |
| C．blame men’s laziness |
| D．monitor men’s work |
According to the passage, the underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that men won’t _____.
| A．work without any payment |
| B．do unimportant household tasks |
| C．do housework without women’s praise |
| D．please their wives |
According to the passage, which of the following would a husband most probably like to do?
| A．Cleaning the table. | B．Doing some sewing. |
| C．Painting the fence. | D．Asking his wife to work on the yard. |
Ever since humans have lived on the earth, they have made use of various forms of communication．Generally, this expression of thoughts and feelings has been in the form of oral speech．When there is a language barrier(障碍), communication is completed through sign language in which motions stand for letters, words, and ideas．Tourists and the people unable to hear or speak have had to turn to this form of expression．Many of these symbols of whole words are very lively and exact and can be used internationally; spelling, however, cannot．
Body language sends ideas or thoughts by certain actions, either meaningfully or not．A wink(眨眼) can be a way of showing that the party is only joking．A nod means agreement, while shaking the head indicates disagreement．
Other forms of nonlinguistic(非语言的) language can be found in Braille (a system of raised dots read with the fingertips), signal flags, Morse code, and smoke signals．Road maps and picture signs also guide and warn people．While language is the most common form of communication, other systems and techniques also express human thoughts and feelings．Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．There are many forms of communication in use today． |
| B．Language is the most common form of communication． |
| C．Tourists are unable to use an oral form of communication． |
| D．Ideas and thoughts can be expressed by body language． |
Which form other than oral speech could be most commonly used among deaf people?
| A．Picture signs． | B．Body language | C．Braille | D．Signal flags． |
Sign language is said to be very lively and exact and can be used meaningfully except for ____．
| A．spelling | B．idea | C．whole words | D．expressions |
How many different forms of communication are mentioned here?
| A．Five | B．Eight | C．Nine | D．Three |
While reading a book in English, every few lines of text, you run across a word or two that you don’t know. You look up every new word in the dictionary. Bad move. All that does slow you down. Even electric or CD –ROM dictionaries can get in the way of your reading progress. A dictionary is like a road map. It can help you if you get lost and point you in the right direction. But if you stop to look at the “map” each time you take a step, you’ll get nowhere fast.
On your English learning “journey”, a dictionary can be a helpful “travel companion ”--if it is not overused. To help you start thinking in English, use an English-to-English dictionary. Otherwise, you will always depend on your native language and end up translating in your head.
A good dictionary can help you do more than just find the meaning of a word. It can help you verify (test and check) spelling, check word forms and grammar usage, find example sentence and learn pronunciation. Some dictionaries even provide exercises to teach you how to use their resources (资源) .
Take time to get to know your dictionary. Learn the pronunciation symbols (符号). Understand what the abbreviations (缩写字) mean. Try to master the important grammar rules. Look for charts, diagrams and lists that might be useful in the future. You will discover how helpful it can be to make friends with your dictionary. And as they say, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”Why do we need a good English-to-English dictionary?
| A．Because it is a good friend. |
| B．Because it can help us to find the right direction if we get lost. |
| C．Without it we’ll always depend on our native language and end up translating in our head. |
| D．Because it can help us to start thinking in English and in Chinese. |
The underlined word “that ” in the last paragraph refers to __________.
| A．pronunciation symbols and grammar rules |
| B．abbreviations and usage for grammar rules |
| C．the meaning of a word, spelling and grammar usage |
| D．charts, diagrams and lists |
According to the passage , which statement can lead you to believe?
| A．The more you use a dictionary, the better you can understand the article. |
| B．The more you use a dictionary, the faster you may read. |
| C．The more you use the resources in a dictionary, the more you can benefit (受益) from it. |
| D．The better a dictionary is, the more expensive it is. |