Let’s say you have a piece of wood, a nail, and hammer. Pretend the wood is a person, the nail is a mean rumor (谣言) about that person. If you hammer in the nail, you’re obviously hurting him or her. If you then pull out the nail, there’s still a hole in the wood, and the damage has been done.
There are many reasons why that nail of a rumor can be so harmful. Rumors are, quite simply, a form of bullying (欺悔). When a person or a group makes up a rumor about someone or decides to spread gossip, it’s usually to hurt someone, break up a friendship, or make someone less popular. It’s the same thing as teasing, only it’s done behind someone’s back instead of to his or her face.
When you spread a rumor about someone, you’re sending a signal that the person is outside of the group, and somehow less worthy of friendship than others. You’re making fun of that person or pointing out negative things about him or her. This can let others think that it’s okay to make the person feel bad, and make him or her an outsider.
We need to be able to trust our friends, and gossip and rumors can break this trust. If you tell a personal secret to a friend, and he turns around and tells it to someone else, you might feel like you will get burned if you ever get close to him again.
Letting a rumor influence your behavior is like letting someone else make a big decision for you. Let’s say you hear that the teacher plans to call a Snow Day tomorrow because a blizzard (暴风雪) is coming. Expecting a day off, you don’t do your homework. The next morning, the blizzard turns out to be nothing more than a drizzle（毛毛雨）, and school isn’t off after all. You get zeroes on your work.The purpose of the first paragraph is to .
| A．help readers know what a rumor is | B．attract readers to read the following paragraphs |
| C．emphasize the damaging effects of rumors | D．explain how a rumor spreads |
To tell a rumor and a tease apart, you depend on .
| A．whether it is done behind someone | B．whether it is painful or not |
| C．whether it is a kind if bullying | D．whether it is spread fast |
If a rumor is spread about someone, others may .
| A．point out his or her advantages | B．keep away from him or her |
| C．not feel he or she is an outsider | D．be hurt if getting close to him or her again |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that .
| A．it is hard to keep rumors a secret | B．rumors can destroy your interest in learning |
| C．believing rumors can lead to bad choices | D．rumors can control your whole life |
The purpose of this passage is to .
| A．advise on how to deal with rumors | B．teach us how to judge a rumor |
| C．find out why rumors spread fast | D．explain why rumors hurt |
How often do you use your car? Can you use your car less often? Do you know the following facts in the UK?
• About 50% of all car journeys are just for fun.
• Over 80% people go to work by car.
• 25% car journeys are under two miles.
• 70% car journeys are under five miles.
WALKING & CYCLING
Instead of using the car for short journeys, why not walk or ride a bicycle? Walking is a most popular form of exercise—it’s healthy and it can save you money. If you work nearby, try walking or cycling instead of driving. Walking your children to school gives them valuable road experience.
BUSES
Bus companies are using new buses: some run on new fuels which produce less pollution; some have easier access for disabled and old people. There are special traffic lanes (行车道) to make bus journeys easier and more reliable. So do something to help solve the pollution problem—let the bus take you to work and your children to school.
TRAINS
All car journeys, long or short, can be hard work. For some trips it is wiser to take the train. Leave your car at home and walk, cycle or take a bus to and from the station. Train travel is fast, safe and comfortable. Train tickets are not always expensive; some are quite cheap at discount.The writer believes that ________ can give children valuable road experience.
| A．walking to school | B．travelling by train |
| C．taking new fuel buses | D．having car journeys for fun |
What does the writer think of travelling by train?
| A．Tiring. | B．Comfortable. |
| C．Exciting. | D．Awful. |
What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To advise people to use cars less often. |
| B．To encourage people to travel by train. |
| C．To teach people how to use the buses. |
| D．To tell people to obey traffic rules. |
I love charity shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won’t find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity’s appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations(捐赠物). They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children’s books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don’t encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.
The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding（资助）medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment. The author loves the charity shop mainly because of _______.
| A．its convenient location |
| B．its great variety of goods |
| C．its spirit of goodwill |
| D．its nice shopping environment |
The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ____.
| A．sell cheap products |
| B．deal with unwanted things |
| C．raise money for patients |
| D．help a foreign country |
Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?
| A．The operating costs are very low. |
| B．The staff are usually well paid. |
| C．90% of the donations are second-hand. |
| D．They are open twenty-four hours a day. |
Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
| A．What to Buy a Charity Shops. |
| B．Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development. |
| C．Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate. |
| D．The Public’s Concern about Charity Shops. |
Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in "small talk", usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries -- like the UK or France -- people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to _______.
| A．develop closer relations | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．keep each other company |
The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _________.
| A．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| B．too many words are of no use |
| C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature |
| D．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
| A．By sharing different ways of life. | B．By accepting different habits. |
| C．By recognizing different values. | D．By speaking each other' s languages. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Multicultural Environment. | B．Cross-Cultural Differences. |
| C．How to Understand Each Other. | D．How to Build Up a Relationship. |
Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something wonderful but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertiser, hoping to sell their products.
The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people’s lives. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item(商品) that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors.
It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in design and production help quicken the process. Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety.What does the author try to argue in Paragraph 1?
| A．The exercise of rights is a luxury. |
| B．The practice of choice is difficult. |
| C．The right of choice is given but at a price. |
| D．Choice and right exist at the same time. |
Why do more choices of goods give rise to anxiety?
| A．Professionals find it hard to decide on a suitable product. |
| B．People are likely to find themselves overcome by business persuasion. |
| C．Shoppers may find themselves lost in the broad range of items. |
| D．Companies and advertisers are often misleading about the rage of choice. |
By using computers as an example, the author wants to prove that _______.
| A．advanced products meet the needs of people |
| B．products of the latest design flood the market |
| C．competitions are fierce in high-tech industry |
| D．everyday goods need to be replaced often |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．The variety of choices in modern society. |
| B．The opinions on people’s right in different countries |
| C．The Problems about the availability of everyday goods. |
| D．The helplessness in purchasing decisions |
How often do you use your car? Can you use your car less often? Do you know the following facts in the UK?
• About 50% of all car journeys are just for fun.
• Over 80% people go to work by car.
• 25% car journeys are under two miles.
• 70% car journeys are under five miles.
WALKING & CYCLING
Instead of using the car for short journeys, why not walk or ride a bicycle? Walking is a most popular form of exercise—it’s healthy and it can save you money. If you work nearby, try walking or cycling instead of driving. Walking your children to school gives them valuable road experience.
BUSES
Bus companies are using new buses: some run on new fuels which produce less pollution; some have easier access for disabled and old people. There are special traffic lanes (行车道) to make bus journeys easier and more reliable. So do something to help solve the pollution problem—let the bus take you to work and your children to school.
TRAINS
All car journeys, long or short, can be hard work. For some trips it is wiser to take the train. Leave your car at home and walk, cycle or take a bus to and from the station. Train travel is fast, safe and comfortable. Train tickets are not always expensive; some are quite cheap at discount.The writer believes that ________ can give children valuable road experience.
| A．walking to school | B．travelling by train |
| C．taking new fuel buses | D．having car journeys for fun |
What does the writer think of travelling by train?
| A．Tiring. | B．Comfortable. |
| C．Exciting. | D．Awful. |
What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To advise people to use cars less often. |
| B．To encourage people to travel by train. |
| C．To teach people how to use the buses. |
| D．To tell people to obey traffic rules. |