One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine tea. Today, when we think of Western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china tea cups.
Afternoon tea
People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries. the English ate only two main meals each day ,breakfast and a heavy supper that would last for several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o’clock. This meal included cakes and sandwiches. and tea was served(提供)to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates, and silver teapots. knives, forks and spoons were used .Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in modern Britain.
Will you come for coffee?
Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use the words“Will you come for coffee?” to mean “Would you like to come to my home for a chat?” Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange Juice will be served as well as coffee. and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a "coffee" party.
Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange
In the 17th century London, coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange(股票交易所) is believed to have started from these coffeehouses Anna introduced the idea of drinking afternoon tee because she _______.
A enjoyed chatting with her friends at home
B loved fine tea and beautiful china tea cups
C. wanted to share nice food with her friends
D found people felt hungry during the long wait between the two meals What does “social occasions” mean in Chinese?
| A．集体婚礼 | B．社交活动 | C．社区表演 | D．公共场合 |
f someone says to you “Will you come for coffee?”, you _______.
| A．will be offered coffee only |
| B．are asked what you would like to drink |
| C．will be asked to have a chat with him or her |
| D．are invited to take part in an afternoon tea party |
From the last paragraph (段落) we can see _______.
| A．a new business was started in coffeehouses |
| B．coffeehouses are still used by businessmen and bankers |
| C．businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses just for coffee |
| D．most people wouldn’t like to go to coffeehouses because of the noise |
AFRICAN MANGO FAQs
Q : How do I use AFRICAN MANGO?
A : It’s simple… Just take one rapid – release capsule, 3 times daily before meals (i.e., 30 minutes before breakfast, lunch, and dinner.)
Q : Is it safe?
A : Yes. Unlike other diet pills, Pure African Mango Extract (lrvingia gabonensis) does not contain any natural or artificial stimulants. Clinical studies have shown this nutrient to be both safe and well-tolerated. It’s easy on your system and helps you lose body fat naturally.
Q : Who uses AFRICAN MANGO?
A : Everybody from A-List Hollywood movie stars to everyday men and women who want to lose pounds and inches of excess body fat. It’s currently popular in Hollywood today because many of today’s movie scripts call for actors and actresses to be in their absolute best shape.
Q : Do I have to exercise and diet in order to see results?
A : Research shows 100% Pure African Mango Extract helped people lose weight and belly fat without additional diet or exercise. However, in order to achieve your best weight–loss results, we highly recommend incorporating fun lifestyle exercises (like walking, tennis, etc.) and replacing high-calorie foods with healthy nutrient–dense foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and lean proteins. Also, drinking more water daily speeds weight loss, according to a new study from Viginia Tech University.
Q : When I place my order, it’s a one-time-only transaction (交易), right?
A : Yes. Rest assured. When you shop with us, you can shop with confidence and peace of mind. Every order placed with us is 100% safe and secure. Our site is scanned and tested daily by McAfee SECURE. “The McAfee SECURE” trust mark (see the upper-left corner of our website) only appears when the website has passed their intensive, daily security scan.
What’s more, our customers never have to worry about being enrolled in auto-reship or auto-rebilling (自动付款) scams (骗局). Each and every order placed with us is a one-time-only transaction.
CONSUMER TIP: Beware of sites that offer “free trials”, which claim to charge only a small fee for shipping. However, more often than not, these “free trials” websites will continue to charge your card for regular monthly shipments if you don’t return your “free trials” within 10 to 14 days.
As the Official Website of African Mango, we offer only the purest, most effective African Mango available. What’s more, as an accredited business, we do not engage in auto-rebilling, auto-reshipping, or any other business practices that are considered morally unacceptable. Your results, and your satisfaction, are 100% guaranteed. What does the word FAQs in the title of the article mean?
| A．Fully accepted qualities. |
| B．Fantastic African qualities. |
| C．Face – to – face associated quotations. |
| D．Frequently asked questions. |
In what way will the medicine take effect to its fullest?
| A．Take pills regularly and you are sure to achieve your absolute best shape. |
| B．Drinking more water daily will guarantee the pills to work efficiently. |
| C．A healthy diet, adequate water and more exercise will contribute. |
| D．High-calorie food and enough water are essential to make the pills work well. |
It can be learned from the passage that___________________. .
| A．the pills are unpopular with film stars |
| B．auto-rebilling and auto-reshipping are reliable business practices |
| C．Virginia Tech University doubted whether drinking water helps lose weight |
| D．the one-time-only transaction service ensures customers’ confidence |
How can we buy African Mango securely?
| A．We can place an order securely with the help of search engine. |
| B．The official web site is your best choice. |
| C．McAfee SECURE promises the security of your order. |
| D．Many web sites providing “free trials” service are considered to be secure. |
Dear Alcohol,
You’ve been around forever. I can remember all the pain you’ve caused for me.
Do you remember the night you almost took my father’s life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He’s addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn’t the only one hurt by you that night.
Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friendswere intrigued byyou. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. “I’m so embarrassed,” they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit (呕吐). “I’m sorry,” they said when I called taxies for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. “This won’t happen again,” they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.
Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it’s all your fault.
I wish you’d walk out of my life forever. I don’t want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you’ve caused. Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.
Sincerely,AnonymousWhat is author’s purpose in writing to alcohol?
| A．To introduce Mr. Alcohol to the readers |
| B．To describe the harm alcohol did to his family. |
| C．To show how much alcohol can hurt people. |
| D．To show the great fun that alcohol can bring to people’s life. |
What did alcohol do to the author’s father?
| A．It made him crash into two other cars and took his life. |
| B．It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped. |
| C．It made him kill two other people when driving. |
| D．It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself. |
The underlined phrase “were intrigued by” is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．were familiar with | B．were interested in |
| C．were disappointed with | D．were satisfied with |
What is the tone of the article?
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Humorous. |
What is the main writing technique of the passage?
| A．Making something more noticeable than usual. |
| B．Representing something in the form of a person. |
| C．Describing something by listing its harmfulness. |
| D．Comparing one thing with another to make his point clear. |
We are always told that TV is not good for us. If it is true, how come the TV-addicted kids of our young generation nowadays are much smarter than we are? In my family, the only persons who can work the TV remote control well are the children.
Probably TV really educates us. For example, we can learn a very useful medical fact: A man that has been shot always has time to speak a broken sentence when he is dying. “The killer was…” (dies)
But I suppose the biggest things that we learn from TV can be regarded as “Life Skills”. Bad things simply happen on either stormy or dark nights. Emotional breakdowns make people wander in the heavy rain without raincoats or umbrellas. And contrary to the scientists, the crack of lightning and the accompanying flash come on at exactly the same time, wherever the scenes are.
I’ve even got to know useful geographical facts from science-fiction shows: Aliens only speak the language of English no matter which planet they come from.
To make good use of something that we learn from TV can make our security better. Consider these truths. When you are really attacked by 20 bad guys, you needn’t worry about your being outnumbered. The criminals will hang back and take turns to approach you in ones and twos just so you can conveniently defeat them all. Bad guys who are completely covered in black clothes always remove their black masks to reveal that they are in fact, aha, women.
TV often teaches us a lot of important information as well about escaping from danger. Watch and learn. (1) If anyone is running after you down a passage, you will find that boxes have been conveniently placed near all the walls you need to jump over. (2) If you are tall and handsome, you can run from any number of armed criminals, and every shot will miss you.
Be warned, however, if your name card says “henchman” (帮凶) and you are part of a group of plain-looking people trying to catch a handsome individual, a single shot will kill you. But don’t be anxious: TV also delivers useful information for bad guys. All cars are inflammable (易燃的) and have amazing shock absorbers that enable them to fly into the air and land without damage — except police cars.
TV even teaches us about TV. Whenever anyone turns on a TV, it shows a news flash about someone they know. They then turn the box off immediately after that news item. When the writer says “A man that has been shot always has time to speak a broken sentence when he is dying” (Paragraph 2), he shows his________.
| A．humor | B．sympathy | C．deep concern | D．medical knowledge |
We can learn from Paragraph 3 that in the real world________.
| A．bad things cause people to break down in the rain |
| B．bad things never happen on dark and stormy nights |
| C．people with emotional problems like to walk in the rain without umbrellas |
| D．you can’t hear the crack of lightning and see the accompanying flash exactly at the same time |
On TV what usually happens when a person turns it on?
| A．The program shown is always about the importance of TV. |
| B．The person always turns off the TV when it’s time for news. |
| C．The news shown is always about someone the person knows. |
| D．TV always shows news about famous people. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Life skills can be learned from TV. |
| B．What happens in TV is quite different from reality. |
| C．Watching TV makes people more creative. |
| D．TV plays an important role in society. |
The writer of this passage takes a(n) ________ attitude towards TV plays.
| A．positive | B．casual | C．negative | D．indifferent |
For as early as I could remember, my mother had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. However, in the last fifteen years of her life, she had to live with senile dementia (老年痴呆). I would go to my home to pay her a visit in California and she would curiously look at me and then ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I’m your own son, of course.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In Virginia”, I would tell her. “Isn’t that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in Virginia.”
Mother seemed only forgetful as well as confused at the beginning of that disease, but sometime later she would go through different time of intense anxiety. She would keep walk ing through the house she used to live in most of her life crying uneasily that she would like to go home. Or sometimes she left home and wandered away if she were unattended for a short time.
Hoping to make her happy and put her mind at ease I would take her in my car, visiting sites where she used to live when she was a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn(草坪). I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I think it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still energetic and attentive.
Watching my mother’s suffering set me wondering where I would have in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of senile dementia is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance. What’s the main idea of the first and second paragraphs?
| A．The mother of the author could not find her home. |
| B．The mother of the author could not remember who’s his son. |
| C．The author’s mother suffered with serious senile dementia. |
| D．The author didn’t know how to cure his mother. |
Which of the following is NOT the symptom of the mother of the author?
| A．forgetful | B．confused | C．cheerful | D．uneasy |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “picture”?
| A．photograph | B．describe | C．appear | D．paint |
What can you infer from the third paragraph?
| A．The author cared much about his mother. |
| B．The mother of the author liked pet lambs very much. |
| C．The author found a very little girl who was playing with a pet lamb. |
| D．The mother of the author did not like her usual home. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Where Is Home? | B．A story about a son and a mother. |
| C．Everyone will suffer with senile dementia. | D．Take Mother Home. |
Attention STARBUCKS
Owners of Stainless Steel(不锈钢) Travel Mug
Mug lid Recall---16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug
We’ve recognized a fault at the cup. The fault might cause some lids to lift slightly from the body of the mug, and could possibly result in injury from hot liquid leaking. So, we have given a lid recall notice immediately. The notice is only related to STARBUCKS 16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mugs which were sold between November 2012 and February 2013. The bottom of the mug is stamped with “ThermoSServ”, the distributor’s (经销商) name. There is not any printing on the mug handle.
At STARBUCKS, customers’ safety is valued above anything else. Therefore, no matter whether your lid is leaking , in the interest of your safety, we request you bring your mug to your nearest STARBUCKS (excluding Esso STARBUCKS), where they are sure exchange the lid for a new lid that fits well and safely. The new lids are going to be available March 1, 2013.
Don’t use your mug until you exchange the lid, please.
Here’s what you do:
* Please do not use your mug until you have exchanged the lid for a new one.
* New lids will be available March 1, 2013.
* Return your travel mug to a STARBUCKS store.
* Your lid will be exchanged for a new lid.
If you’d like to return the entire mug, bring it back at any time for a full repayment.
If you have any questions regarding this recall, please don’t hesitate to us at:
Toll Free Number: 1-999-701-1717
9:30 am - 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time STARBUCKS The passage is written in order to ________.
| A．warn against the danger of using the mugs |
| B．inform people of exchanging a lid |
| C．persuade people to buy a new lid |
| D．introduce a new type of mugs |
The advertisement is mainly aimed at those who ________.
| A．have 16 oz Stainless mugs | B．often travel around |
| C．want to buy 16 oz stainless mugs | D．are selling the mugs |
According to the advertisement, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．People should stop using the mug immediately. |
| B．People can get the money back if they return the mug. |
| C．People with questions can call the company free of charge. |
| D．People can return the lid between October 2012 and January 2013. |
We can learn that STARBUCKS from the passage ________.
| A．is a club for travelers |
| B．wants to make more money |
| C．is an organization helping customers |
| D．cares about the customers’ safety |
The passage is most likely taken from a(n) ________.
| A．news report | B．advertisement | C．tour-guide book | D．novel |