Singles Day falls on every November 11th, and as the name indicates, this relatively new holiday is one exclusively for people who are still living the single life. I was a bit surprised when I googled “Singles Day” on the Internet, to find that China is the only country in the world that has set aside a special day for singles to celebrate their lives. To find out more about this celebration, please read on.
An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong.
One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the “four columns” card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov 11, or 11/11. In order to commemorate the day, they nicknamed it Singles Day.
Singles Day was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. It got the name Singles Day because the date consists of four “ones”. These college students have since graduated, and carried their university tradition into society. Singles Day is now a special day for all fashionable youths.
The main way to celebrate Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it’s important that each person pay their own fee to show their independence. People also hold “blind date” parties in an attempt to say goodbye to their single lives.
Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. Many attend “blind date” parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning “single” the four “ones” of the date can also mean “only one” as in “the only one for me.” Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only “one” in their heart.Singles Day got its name because _______.
| A．the persons who play Mahjong are four singles |
| B．the date consists of four “ones” |
| C．only single persons celebrate the day |
| D．it was first celebrated at universities in Nanjing |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．Singles Day was first celebrated in Nanjing’s universities. |
| B．Many singles choose Singles Day to say goodbye to their single lives. |
| C．The only way to celebrate the Singles Day is to have dinner with your single friends. |
| D．It was these college graduated students that carried their university’s tradition into society. |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．the four singles did not get married |
| B．Singles Day receives great popularity among young people |
| C．when having dinner, one pays the fee for all his friends |
| D．on Singles Day many attend parties where blind people were present |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Origin of Singles Day. | B．How to Celebrate Singles Day. |
| C．Singles Day. | D．Say Goodbye to Singles Day. |
Japanese professor Yoji Kimura believes laughter is a weapon that in healthy doses（剂量） can end the world’s wars. To measure it, the expert on communications has invented a machine to chart out laughter—and a new unit of “aH” to calculate it.
“We have found that children laugh more freely, releasing（释放）10 aH per second, which is about twice as much as an adult,” Kimura, a professor at Kansai University in the western city of Osaka, told reporters. “Adults tend to calculate whether it’s appropriate to laugh and under those restraints（克制） they eventually forget how,” he said.
“Laughing is like a restart function on a computer. Laughing freely is very important in the course of human development,” he said.
Kimura, who believes in “a change from a century of wars to a century of humor and tolerance,” has studied the science of laughter for decades in Osaka. In his theory, human laughter is produced in four emotional stages. “I believe there is a circuit（回路） in the human brain that creates laughter,” Kimura said confidently.
To measure laughter, he attaches sensors on the skin of a tested people’s stomach, particularly the diaphragm（横膈膜）, and detects muscle movements. “I have a theory that humor detected in the brain gets directly released through the movement of diaphragm,” he said. By checking the movement of the diaphragm and other parts of the body, it will be possible to see if a person is only pretending to laugh while also telling different types of laughter, Kimura said.
Kimura wants to make the measuring device as small as a mobile phone and possibly market it as a health and amusement device. Kimura said he planned to present his findings this summer to the US-based International Society for Humor Studies, adding that he looked forward to looking at differences in laughter internationally.According to the passage, Professor Yoji Kimura _____.
| A．thinks banning weapon can end wars in the world |
| B．has put his machine calculating laughter into market |
| C．has been studying laughing for many years |
| D．is an expert in people’s health problem |
Why do adults laugh less freely?
| A．Because they are busy with their work. |
| B．Because they are affected by some factors. |
| C．Because they use computers too often. |
| D．Because they don’t think it good to laugh much. |
The measuring device of Yoji Kimura _____.
| A．has functions of a mobile phone |
| B．can make people laugh more |
| C．can recognize different kinds of laughter |
| D．will be popular in the international market soon |
The passage mainly tells us something about _____.
| A．how to measure laughter | B．Yoji Kimura and laughing |
| C．laughing as much as possible | D．a device that is made to measure laughter |
Fresh out of Barnard College, I was hired as a secretary to the editor of Coupon Magazine. Tiny circulation, but a real job. So now I had an income and an apartment in Manhattan—heaven for a young woman from a small town on Long Island.
Like so many women of my generation, I went straight from college to secretarial school to learn speedwriting, despite the fact that I had already co-written a book called New York on $5 a Day. So I learned the ropes, or at least I tried.
As a former lefty(左撇子) turned righty, my handwriting was hard to recognize—so bad that after taking notes, I couldn’t translate it. The magazine was making advertisements, so in letters to the heads of the company which wanted to advertise in our magazine, I was told to offer them the opportunity to place their ads in four colors in our magazine for the price of $10,000. Unknowingly, the “d” in ads became an “s”, and the president of one of those big companies was invited to “have his ass (臀部) in four colors” in our publication.
Guess what? He didn’t like it, and I was fired, but luck showed her face. The editor was looking for a copywriter (广告文字撰稿人) eagerly. I was heading for the door, depressed, when I heard her call out, “You—Joan! Can you write better than you can type?” I said, “Yes, of course.” A copywriter was born.According to the first paragraph, we can know that the author _____.
| A．was satisfied with her job as a secretary |
| B．was an ambitious woman |
| C．was successful at college |
| D．had a dream to become a famous writer |
In which order did Joan do the following things?
a. She was hired as a secretary of a small magazine.
b. She worked as a copywriter.
c. She was fired because of the mistake of spelling.
d. She learned speedwriting at secretarial school.
e. She wrote a book called New York on $5 a Day.
| A．a, b, c, d, e. | B．e, d, a, c, b. |
| C．e, d, b, c, a. | D．d, a, c, b, e. |
According to the passage, we can infer that _____.
| A．the author had talent for writing |
| B．the author was very unlucky |
| C．the author’s parents were very strict with her |
| D．the magazine which the author worked for had no future |
Why did the boss intend to fire the author?
| A．She was a former lefty. |
| B．She didn’t work seriously. |
| C．She made a mistake about the price of the ads. |
| D．Her wrong spelling annoyed a big customer. |
Coolest Hotels in the World
Artau Aragon Towers
The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan Suite which is large enough for a big family. You'll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.
Prices: starting at $300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way up to $3000 for the Tarzan Suite.
For more information, visit the website: http://Hwww.ariautowers.com
The Ice Hotel
Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, a special kind of hotel called the lce Hotel is built. Each year, world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You'll have your choice between hot or cold rooms but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.
Prices: starting at $318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one. For more information, visit the website: http:Hwww.icehotel.com
Propeller Island
Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German artist. Each room provides you with the possibility of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furniture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand-made and each room is completely different. You'll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.
Prices: starting at just $91 a night, and an additional (另外) person for only 20 extra dollars. For more information, visit the website: http://www.propeller-island.com
For information about other cool hotels In the world, visit the website: http://www.bahamabeachclub.comWhat is special about the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel?
| A．You can sleep in the tree house. | B．You can choose any of the towers. |
| C．It is designed for big families. | D．Every room has a walkway. |
For more persons spending a night in one of these hotels, they have to pay at least
A $111 B. $182 C. $600 D. $636Which website should you visit if you want to find out whether there exists a hotel under the sea?
| A． http://www.icehotel.com | B． http：//www.ariantowers.com |
| C．http://www.propeller-island.com | D．htlp://www.bahamabeachclub.com |
Which hotel would invite artists to come to work every year?
| A．Propeller Bland City Lodge. | B．Arian Amazon Towers. |
| C．The Ice Hotel. | D．Bahama Beach Club. |
Language is always changing. In a society where life continues year after year with few changes, the language does not change either. The earliest known languages had difficult grammar but a small, limited vocabulary. Over the century, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew. For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth century gave names to all the new plants and animals they found. In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies. Today life is changing very fast, and language is changing fast too.
There are several major language families in the world. Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divide them differently. The languages in each family are connected, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language. About 3 percent of the people in the world speak languages that are not in these major families.The early language had ________.
| A．a lot of problems | B．words and easy grammar |
| C．words but no grammar | D．grammar but not many words |
In the next few hundred years we can expect language to _____.
| A．stay exactly the same | B．change a great deal |
| C．change only a little | D．ask more words and drop some grammar |
What this article shows is that _____.
| A．languages change fast | B．languages really don't want to change |
| C．language really with changes in society | D．Spanish and English change |
There are many ways to find a job. It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board. Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses.
Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.
Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet. For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job. Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month.
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job. Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute (降落伞)?” by Richard Bolles. This book has been helping people choose a career (职业) since it was first published in nineteen seventy.
Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W. Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Finding a job. | B．College students’ part-time jobs. |
| C．Craigslist Web site. | D．The relation between study and work. |
“What Color is Your Parachute?” is a book which gives tips to those who want to _____.
| A．work on the airplane | B．buy a parachute |
| C．publish a book | D．find a suitable job |
It can be learned from the passage that ______.
| A．companies often put job information in local shops |
| B．the Internet is the most popular tool for job hunters in the USA |
| C．Susan W. Miller’s company is helping people choose careers |
| D．California Career Services mainly serves university students |
How many ways of finding a job are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |