We would probably all be amazed if we watched a videotape of ourselves performing basically unconscious acts as we go about the business of the day. These unconscious acts consist of all the little personal habits that we don’t even think about, but definitely should. These are some of the things that present an image of who we are to others, and if we are careless in performing them, this image may well be other than we would like it to be.
Parents who insist that their children practice good manners and habits at home are doing them a great service, for these habits then become lifelong and the natural way they do things. It proves true that their unconscious actions will reflect a well-mannered person.
People who, for example, eat with both arms on the table at home will likely do so when out. Those who are lazy and slow in private will certainly be so in public. Children who are permitted to be disrespectful to their parents will follow suit with other adults, and will, most likely, become adults who are disrespectful of others. This is an area where the saying “practice makes perfect” may be applied.
There is an article about the actress, Audrey Hepburn, known for her beautiful carriage and posture. According to her biographer, her grandmother tied her neck to the back of her chair, at table, so that she would not drop down suddenly over her food, but rather would learn to put only small amounts of food on her spoon or fork and bring them to her mouth. This is a rather extreme “at home” method for the development of erect (直立的) posture, but it does illustrate the effectiveness of practicing good habits so that, when in public, they are instinctive.Which of the following expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．Parents should be responsible for their children’s good habits. |
| B．The actress is well known for her beautiful posture. |
| C．We should always be aware of our manners. |
| D．Without good manners, one can never be perfect. |
Those who eat with both arms on the table at home ______.
| A．will probably change the habit when eating out with their relatives |
| B．will probably have the same habit when they have meals in the restaurant |
| C．will feel embarrassed when having meals with so many strangers in public |
| D．will always put their arms on the table no matter where they eat |
The meaning of “practice makes perfect” in the third paragraph is ______.
| A．the more practice one has, the better job he will do |
| B．the more perfect one is, the more practice he needs |
| C．if one has enough practice, he will become perfect |
| D．perfect makes a person practice more |
Which of the following are NOT true?
| A．If we are not careful about our unconscious acts, the images of ourselves presented to others will be quite undesirable. |
| B．The good habits formed in one’s childhood will benefit him throughout his life. |
| C．If parents do not care about the disrespectful attitude adopted by their children towards themselves, their children might be disrespectful to others. |
| D．It is unlikely that a well-mannered person will not embarrass himself in public. |
Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Bras Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.
| A．the government is usually the first to name a place |
| B．many places tend to have more than one name |
| C．a ceremony will be held when a place is named |
| D．people prefer the place names given by the government |
What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Change suddenly. | B．Change significantly. | C．Disappear mysteriously. | D．Disappear very slowly. |
Which of the following places is named after a person? ______________.
| A．Raffles Place. | B．Selector Airbase. | C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
Bras Basah Road is named _______.
| A．after a person | B．after a place | C．after an activity | D．by its shape |
What can be inferred from the passage? ______________.
| A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare and the tortoise. At the end I said, “ Son, remember: Be slow and steady, and that will win the race. Don’t you think there’s something to learn from the tortoise?”
Sonny opened his eyes wide, “Do you mean next time when I’m entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?”
I was shocked, “But the tortoise didn’t wish that the hare would fall asleep!”
“He must have wished that,” Sonny said, “Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did.”
“He didn’t have such a wish,” I insisted. “He won the race by perseverance, by pushing on steadily.”
Sonny thought a while. “That’s a lie,” he said. “He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn’t happened to fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he’d never have won the race. That’s for sure.”
I gave up. Today’s children are not like what we used to be. They’re just hopeless.The writer argued with his son because _______.
| A．he liked tortoises while his son liked hares |
| B．they disagreed about whether the tortoise was stupid |
| C．he tried to teach his son the moral lesson of the story but the son refused it |
| D．he liked the story of the hare and the tortoise while his son didn't |
Sonny believed that the tortoise ______________.
| A．won the race by his own hard working |
| B．took a risk by agreeing to run a race |
| C．was not given a fair chance in the race |
| D．in fact did win the race luckily |
Billy, Tony and Sandy must be_______________.
| A．boys who were unknown to Sonny’s father |
| B．boys who Sonny has run races with before |
| C．boys who Sonny has never raced with before |
| D．boys who Sonny did not expect to race with again |
The writer thinks that his generation (一代人) ______________.
| A．are cleverer than Sonny’s generation |
| B．have the same ideas about life as Sonny’s generation |
| C．are more hopeful than Sonny’s generation |
| D．have different ideas about life from Sonny’s generation |
According to the passage, who do you think learnt a lesson? ______________.
| A．The tortoise | B．Sonny |
| C．The hare | D．Sonny’s father |
Please excuse me if I'm a little sad today. Mark is leaving, and I'm feeling kind of sad.
You probably don't know Mark, but you might be lucky enough to know someone just like him. He's been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of years combining great professional skills with a sweet nature. He just wants to do his job, and to do it superbly well. And now he's moving on to an exciting new professional opportunity. It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime, and we're genuinely, sincerely pleased for him. But that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and trusted colleague.
Life has a way of throwing these curve balls at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation. A terrific neighbor moves away. Someone in the family graduates. A child finds new love and loyalties through marriage. The family's principle bread-winner is laid off.
But how do we do that? A friend of mine who works for the government once told me that the answer to life's problems can be summed up in four words: "Go with the flow."
"It's like surfing," Chris explained. "You can't organize the ocean. Waves just happen. You ride them where they take you, then you paddle back out there and catch the next one. Sure, you're always hoping for the perfect wave where you can get. But mostly you just take them the way they come.
I'm not exactly sure, but I think Chris was saying that life is a series of events—both good and bad. There will always be life-influencing factors over which you have no control. That doesn't mean you don't keep trying to make all your dreams come true. It just means that when things come up that aren't exactly in your plan, you work around them—and then you move on. Of course, some bumps along the road of life are easier to take than others. A rained-out picnic, for example, is easier to cope with than the sudden death of a loved one. But the principle is the same.
We're going to miss Mark, just like you'll miss that graduate, that neighbor or that newlywed. But rather than drown ourselves in the sadness of our parting, we'll focus on our hopes for a brighter future—for him, and for us. And then we'll go out and do everything we can to make that future happen.The passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．how to change yourself successfully |
| B．how to do if your colleague (同事) leaves |
| C．how to deal with unhappy things in life |
| D．how to deal with unexpected things in life |
In Paragraph 1 , the writer tells the story about Mike to _________.
| A．let us know his colleague | B．praise his colleague |
| C．introduce a topic | D．describe his life |
The leaving of Mike makes the writer feel _________________.
| A．really unpleasant | B．very angry |
| C．both happy and sad | D．a little disappointed |
Which is not an unexpected thing in life mentioned in the passage?
| A．A rained-out picnic. |
| B．A terrific neighbor’s apology. |
| C．The sudden death of a loved. |
| D．The graduation of a family member. |
In the writer’s opinion, one should ________ when unexpected things come up.
| A．accept them and hope for a better future |
| B．do as planned |
| C．overcome difficulties and let them in control |
| D．never give up until he succeeds |
People are being lured(引诱) onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service, and don’t realize that they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data（资料） to advertisers that want to send targeted (目标的)messages.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook, because people don’t really know what their personal details are worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you could keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things—your city, your photo, your friends’ names—were set, by default（默认）, to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience.”
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites. “I think the senators rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade（侵犯）our privacy, it’s only the beginning，which is why I’m considering deactivating（撤销） my account(账号). Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t trust. That is too high a price to pay.What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?
| A．It is a website that sends messages to targeted users. |
| B．It makes money by putting on advertisements. |
| C．It earns money by selling its user’s personal data |
| D．It provides a lot of information to its users |
What does the author say about most Facebook users?
| A．They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook |
| B．They are unwilling to give up their personal information |
| C．They don’t identify themselves when using website |
| D．They care very little about their personal information |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
| A．To help its users make more friends |
| B．To obey the Federal guidelines |
| C．To make money by attracting more users |
| D．To offer better service to its users |
What does Senator Charles Schumer argue for?
| A．Setting guidelines for advertising on websites |
| B．Setting rules for social-networking sites |
| C．Stopping sharing user’s personal information |
| D．Removing ads from all social-networking sites |
Why does the author plan to stop using his Facebook account?
| A．He is dissatisfied with its service. |
| B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy. |
| C．He doesn’t want his personal data badly used. |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes. |
With more and more cars on the road, traffic jams are inevitable. Traffic jams can lead to increased accidents as there are more cars, with more people trying to get to their destination, all the while getting worse. Although it’s impossible to avoid traffic jams altogether, there are some tips you can follow to reduce the amount of time on the road.
Check for traffic jams before you leave. You can listen to the radio for traffic news, or check on the Internet to get up-to-minute information on traffic. If the route you want to take is heavy with traffic, you can choose another.
Look for a different route all the time. Most traffic jams happen on busy roads. Using country roads could see you avoiding a lot of traffic. Although the distance you may have to travel is further, it can work out quicker.
Set your car radio to receive traffic bulletins. Many new car stereo systems (汽车音响系 统) are equipped with a radio system by which you can hear the traffic channel. This way you can get the latest traffic information and change your journey if necessary.
__________ Most traffic jams usually occur during rush hour, so try to avoid this time period if possible. Some jobs offer flexible working hours so that you can travel to work outside of rush hour. Some jobs even allow you to work at home so as to avoid moving altogether. Ask your manager to see what you can do if traffic is a problem for you.
Use public transport alternatives where available. The easiest way to avoid traffic jams is to take buses or the underground instead of driving your own car. Not only will you avoid traffic jams but you will most likely be saving money as the cost of motoring rises.The underlined word “inevitable” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.
| A．hard to accept | B．impossible to avoid |
| C．getting less serious | D．seen everywhere |
The author wrote the text in order to ______.
| A．explain why there are traffic jams |
| B．tell us how to save time on the road |
| C．tell us what we can do on the road |
| D．tell us the negative effects of traffic jams |
To get the latest traffic information, you could do the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．surfing the Internet |
| B．listening to the radio for traffic news |
| C．listening to the traffic channel |
| D．turning to other drivers for information |
Which of the following can be put in the blank in the text?
| A．Choose a job that has flexible working hours |
| B．Make friends with your manager |
| C．Try traveling at different time |
| D．Work from home |
According to the author, we should use public transport because __________.
| A．it is cheaper and can avoid traffic jams |
| B．it is useful to us |
| C．it is environmentally-friendly |
| D．it is completely free from traffic jams |