Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.What does the author tell us in paragraph 1? _____________.
| A．how the Irish fought against the English |
| B．how Ireland gained independence |
| C．how English rulers tried to conquer Ireland |
| D．how two “Irelands” came into being |
We learn from the text that in Ireland________.
| A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
| B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
| C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
| D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
The last paragraph is mainly about_________.
| A．the Irish character | B．Irish culture |
| C．Irish musical instruments | D．a famous Irish writer |
According to the author, all the following words can be used to describe the Irish EXCEPT ___________.
| A．brave | B．kind | C．pleasant | D．hard-working |
What can be the best title for the text?________
| A．Life in Ireland | B．A Very difficult history |
| C．Ireland, past and present | D．The independence of Ireland |
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Where can you experience the latest way of teaching languages?
| A．International Language Center. |
| B．TAFE International. |
| C．Club Francais |
| D．Global Language Learning Center. |
The underlined word “picturesque” is closest in meaning to ____.
| A．modern |
| B．traditional |
| C．beautiful |
| D．industrial |
Which of the following is true of Club Francais?
| A．Adults Normal Course lasts about eight weeks. |
| B．Adults Normal Course is intended for beginners. |
| C．Adults Crash Course can be attended in the afternoon. |
| D．You should pay $50 an hour if you attend High School Crash Course. |
In which column of a newspaper can you most probably find this text?
| A．News. | B．Knowledge | C．Advertisement | D．Health. |
Apologizing is both an Art and a Science. The Art lies in the manner in which the apology is delivered while the Science is the recipe that forms the apology itself. A proper apology should always include several ingredients. Now let’s take a closer look at these ingredients.
Give a detailed account of the offense, and make sure both you and the other person are talking about the same thing. Whether you make it in secret or public doesn’t matter, but your apology should be focused on the particular event.
Next, by acknowledging the hurt or damage done, you are making the recipient (接受者) begin to sense that you understand the situation. It is important to rebuild your relationship because it makes them feel their anger is understandable.
Don’t try to defend yourself by offering any excuses, which is important to let them know that you understand the event and you actions do cause them harm. The apology is all about THEM and how they feel. It doesn’t matter if the actions were intentional or not, the end result is the same and that is what needs to be focused on when learning how to say, “I’m sorry”.
Give a sincere statement of regret such as “I apologize” or “I’m sorry”. Above all, tell them it won’t happen again. After all, there is no value in apologizing for something that you will do again and again.
Finally, asking for forgiveness at the end of the apology gives the power back to the recipient. It tells them, that you have done all that you can do by apologizing and providing whatever form of restitution(补偿)you can. The next move is up to them.
By including all these ingredients and applying them to your situation, you will know exactly how to say “I’m sorry” next time you need to.The passage mainly tells readers ____.
| A．the importance of apologizing |
| B．the process of apologizing |
| C．how to apologize effectively |
| D．how to repair a broken friendship |
How will the recipient react when you admit hurting them?
| A．They will be sorry for being angry with you. |
| B．They will treat you differently right away. |
| C．They will understand the situation better. |
| D．They will think their former reaction normal. |
When you make an apology, you should concentrate on ____.
| A．finding out better excuses |
| B．taking responsibility for the event |
| C．defending yourself from more harm |
| D．understanding the current situation |
What is the key to any apology?
| A．A sincere statement of regret. |
| B．Giving the recipient more power. |
| C．A promise that you won’t repeat your wrongdoings. |
| D．Giving the recipient a detailed account of the event. |
Everybody knows that colors are connected with certain feelings. For example, why do some people paint the walls of their rooms yellow and others pink? The same is true in stores. They want us to feel something when we look at their products.
Green, for example, tries to show the quality of a product: how good it is for us or for our environment. It also suggests that the product is healthier, has less fat and maybe fewer calories. Red, on the other hand is an aggressive color that is often used for packaging food. Red wants us to become hungry or thirsty. Purple is a kind of color that is often seen as royal. It indicates that it is something special. Producers use purple to show that something is of good quality. Blue is not very often found in food packaging because there are not very many foods that have a blue color.
Colors can also have different meaning in different cultures and countries. For example, while the color white is used in many Western countries to represent purity and innocence, it is seen as a symbol of mourning in many Eastern countries. The Egyptian pharaohs(法老) wore white crowns. A white sale is a sale of sheets, towels, and other bed and bath items. A white flag is the universal symbol for truce(休战). A white elephant is a rare, pale elephant sacred(神圣的) to the people of India, Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. In these countries, something that is a white elephant is either a possession that costs more than it is worth to keep or an item that the owner doesn’t want but can’t get rid of.
Consumers are aware that certain foods must have certain colors. When Pepsi brought out a crystal clear cola in 1992, it thought that consumers would buy it because clear meant pure and healthy. After a few months Pepsi found out that a cola had to be dark-colored. Crystal Pepsi failed and the company pulled it off the market.
Advertising professionals often need to look at a product through the consumers’ eyes when choosing a color. The right packaging colors can truly improve the sales of a product but choosing a wrong color could end in failure.According to the passage, blue is rarely used in food packaging because ____.
| A．most consumers dislike it |
| B．it matches very few foods |
| C．it brings people low spirits |
| D．it doesn’t catch people’s eyes |
According to the passage, in India if something is expensive but useless, it can be called ____.
| A．a white flag | B．a white elephant |
| C．a white sale | D．a white crown |
Pepsi’s example is used to show ____.
| A．Pepsi’s success comes from failures |
| B．health is the main concern in drink making |
| C．crystal clear drinks can’t attract consumers |
| D．people have fixed ideas about products and colors |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Colors in advertising |
| B．Colors in food packaging |
| C．Our everyday life and colors |
| D．Foods in different colors |
Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we “fit”in society．As we go about our everyday lives，we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses．For example，we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian，whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman，whether the unfamiliar person on our property is a thief or a meter reader，and so on．
The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter，and change throughout life．Most of us can，at very high speed，assume the statuses that various situations require．Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us．This means that we fit our actions to those of other people，based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation．Although some of us find the task more difficult than others．most of us perform it rather effortlessly．
A status has been compared to ready－made clothes．Within certain limits the buyer can choose style and fabric．But an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince．We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society．Further more，our choice is limited to a size that will fit，as well as by our pocketbook．Having made a choice within these limits，we can have certain alterations made，but apart from minor adjustments．We tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks．Statuses too come ready made，and the range of choice among them is limited．In the first paragraph the writer tells us that statuses can help us_________．
| A．protect ourselves in unfamiliar situations |
| B．make friends with other people |
| C．determine whether a person is fit for a certain job |
| D．behave appropriately in relation to other people |
According to the writer，people often assume different statuses ________．
| A．in order to identify themselves with others |
| B．as the situation changes |
| C．in order to better identify others |
| D．as their mental processes change |
The underlined word“appraisal”in the 2nd paragraph most likely means_______．
| A．judgment | B．appreciation | C．involvement | D．presentation |
In the last sentence of the second paragraph，“it”refers to“_________”．
| A．identification of other people’s statuses |
| B．fitting our actions to those of other people appropriately |
| C．selecting one’s own statuses |
| D．constant mental process |
By saying that“an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince”，the writer means___________．
| A．different people have different styles of clothes |
| B．ready－made clothes may need alterations |
| C．our choice of statuses is limited |
| D．statuses come ready made just like clothes |
My cat Toto is aging，and as she ages，her body is failing her．Mentally，she seems sharp，but after nearly sixteen years，Toto’s hips are causing her obvious trouble．In fact，they make it so that she can’t use a litter box effectively．She tries to squat（蹲坐），but mostly she just pisses（撒尿）out the back end of the box．
I spent the summer working with my vet to find things to help Toto，but nothing works．Since we can’t stand the smell of cat urine in the house，two weeks ago I took drastic measures．I banished Toto outside．（She gets to come in while I work，but I put her out for 80％of the day and night．）
Because Toto now lives outside，she eats and drinks outside．I’ ve set up a heating pad on the porch．and given her own food and water area nearby．She seems perfectly content with this arrangement except when she’s out of food，or she wants to be petted．
Strangely enough，she’s been out of food a lot lately．“I think another cat is eating Toto’s food．”I told Kris when I first noticed how quickly she was going through her bowl．
“Actually，”I said a couple of days later，“maybe it’s a dog．Whoever is eating Toto’s food keeps knocking the bowl over．”
But a few days after that，I realized that the food thief probably wasn’t even a dog．Whatever the critter（动物）was，it was messy． Every morning，Toto’s water dish was filled with mud．The food bowl was tipped over and the porch scattered with mud and debris（残渣）．“I’ ll bet it’s a coon（浣熊），”I told Kris．Though we live in a residential neighborhood not far from Portland，we’ ve seen plenty of raccoons in the six years since we moved in．
Today I got to see the cat－food thievery first－hand．Turns out it’s not one raccoon－it’s a family of four．I was lucky enough to have my camera handy as they performed their daring raid：My favorite part of this video is how Toto simply sits on her heating pad and watches the raccoons eat her food．She isn’t bothered at all．Which of the following about Toto is true?
| A．She is physically sharp． |
| B．She is at least sixteen years old． |
| C．She can’t use a litter box properly． |
| D．She stays outside all the while recently． |
The underlined part in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to________．
| A．drove away or forced somebody or something to leave |
| B．put away or stored something |
| C．protected somebody or something from being harmed |
| D．threw something away |
What does the writer like most about what he filmed?
| A．How Toto fought against the raccoons． |
| B．A family of raccoons stole the food together． |
| C．Toto’s casual attitude toward the raccoons． |
| D．How the raccoons made the writer’s porch dirty． |
What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．My Aged Cat | B．A Banished Cat |
| C．An Unforgettable Experience | D．The Raccoons on My Porch |