I really hadn’t meant to yell at them. But that grey afternoon saw it just as my son and daughter were making a terrible mess on the floor in the kitchen.
With a tiresome report to write, I felt bothered at my desk. Suddenly, it occurred to me that my kids were at fault. A voice inside me insisted that I do something quickly.
“Ok, you two here, but what an awful thing you are attempting!” I was shouting angrily. I made for them, while it became evident that the boy wanted no part of me. “Get away from us!” he shouted back, there being an expression of support from his sister.
All of a sudden, I found the fault in myself. Quickly I shaped my hands into pincers and crawled towards them, “Crabby Daddy is here. Ha, Ha, Ha, he likes to yell at children, and then eat them!” My son continued to keep me away, but now he was laughing and crying at the same time. My mission to repair the damage caused by my yelling seemed to work well. Still, I regretted not having controlled myself first in a right way.
Need I let them know how badly they were acting by blaming? This is a lesson that serves myself. It only shows just how to get rid of something (ill-feelings, responsibility…) by blaming others. It’s not my “best self”.
We have to search for our “best self” when with our children. They don’t need perfect parents, but they do need parents who are always trying to get better. Here, I am reminded of the words of a great thinker. “When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the book…” Then, in our lifetime, couldn’t we always speak to our kids in such a sweet voice since most of us consider them as the most precious in the world? And before we reach this level, what should we do when we come across various difficult cases with our children?The author couldn’t help yelling at his kids this time probably because________.
| A．the weather was so unpleasant | B．he was tired of his boring work |
| C．the kids didn’t ask him to join them | D．a Daddy has his right to do so |
Which of the following made the author aware of his fault?
| A．No obvious reason. |
| B．The boy’s yelling back. |
| C．His self-awareness. |
| D．The girl’s shouting back. |
According to the passage, the author will _____ in another similar situation.
| A．play a crab again like this time |
| B．apologize to kids in a sincere way |
| C．avoid blaming kids in a hurry |
| D．beat them up about such things |
What will the writer go on to write about in the next paragraph(s)?
| A．How to behave ourselves properly when kids are at fault. |
| B．How to play with our children in a more interesting way. |
| C．How to deal with the housework with children around us. |
| D．How to persuade children to do what they are told to. |
What does “the boy wanted no part of me” in the third paragraph mean?
| A．The boy was happy because I loved them. |
| B．The boy was curious because I wanted to help them. |
| C．The boy was very happy for I was angry. |
| D．The boy didn’t want me to join them. |
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. But you should not be upset (难受的) if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., and end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks(小吃). Do you want to be more polite? Say how much you like the room, or the picture on the wall. But remember—it is not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short thank you letter. British and American people like to say “ Thank you, thank you, thank you.” all the time!If you are going to attend a dinner party,____ .
| A．you’d better bring a certain present with you |
| B．you must leave home for it at 7 p.m. |
| C．you should ask your host when you should leave |
| D．you must arrive at it before 8 p.m. |
In which order will you eat or drink the following things at the meal?
| A．Snacks, vegetables, meat and coffee. |
| B．Coffee, drinks, soup, fish, vegetables and dessert. |
| C．Soup, meat with vegetables, dessert and coffee. |
| D．Drinks, soup, something small, fish and vegetables. |
Which is the correct way in which you express your enjoyment of the evening?
| A．Before leaving for home, you should say, “Thank you for inviting me.” |
| B．When you shake hands with your host, you should say, “I did enjoy the evening.” |
| C．You can write a thank you letter to your host after that. |
| D．You should finish everything on your plate and take more if you want it. |
An old friend from California called from the airport to tell me that he had arrived. I was not able to leave the office, but I had made plans for his arrival. After explaining (解释) where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat (门垫). Since I knew it would be pretty late before I could get home, I suggested that he make himself at home and help himself to anything that was in the refrigerator(电冰箱).
Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my records after having had a delicious meal. Now, he said, he was drinking a glass of orange juice. When I asked him if he had had any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat, but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next door neighbor's house!An old friend of mine called ______.
| A．to tell me to meet him at the airport |
| B．to tell me about his arrival |
| C．to ask me to leave the office |
| D．to ask me to make plans for his arrival |
My friend climbed into the room because ______ .
| A．there was an apple tree outside |
| B．the living room window was left open |
| C．he had difficulty opening the door |
| D．he hadn't found the key |
My friend telephoned me two hours later ______ .
| A．from my home | B．at the airport |
| C．in his office | D．from my neighbor's house |
Moods, say the experts, are feelings that are likely to become fixed, having effects on one's outlook (way of looking at things) for hours, days or even weeks. That's great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry, or simply lonely.
Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Modern pharmacology (药理学) offers a lot of tranquilizers (镇静剂) and anti-anxiety drugs. What many people don't realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non-drug methods to make you free from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous. So next time you feel out of sorts, don't head for the drug store―try the following method.
Of all the mood-changing self-help techniques, aerobic exercise (有氧运动) seem to be the best cure for a bad mood. ―If you could keep the exercise, you'd be in high spirits, says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty.
Researchers have explained biochemical and various other changes that make exercise a better mood-raiser than drugs. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercise – running, cycling, walking, swimming, or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate and circulation(循环), and improve the body's use of oxygen. Do them for at least 20 minutes a time, three to five times a week.What is the main subject of the passage?
| A．How to beat a bad mood. |
| B．How to talk bad moods out. |
| C．How to do physical exercises. |
| D．How to do aerobic exercise. |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
| A．when one is in a bad mood, he or she may not work very well |
| B．the best way to overcome a bad mood is to talk to oneself |
| C．some drugs are more effective than physical exercises |
| D．taking drugs is at risk of being poisonous |
The phrase "feel out of sorts", as is used in the second paragraph, could be best replaced by ___.
| A．put things in order | B．are in a bad mood |
| C．search for tranquilizers | D．want a mood-raiser |
Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?
| A．An exercise and its importance are explained |
| B．A problem is examined and solutions are given |
| C．Two different views of a problem are presented |
| D．Recent developments in medicine are described |
Our lifestyles today are very busy. We have family, school, sports, entertainment and social activities to fit into a time that seems never enough. We need to be healthy to meet the demands of daily life. But what does it mean to have a healthy lifestyle?
To have a healthy lifestyle, we need to:
◆ eat different kinds of healthy food most of the time
◆ do exercise often
◆ have time to relax
◆ get enough sleep to give our bodies time to grow healthy and strong
Read about a normal day in the lives of two children.
Abbey gets up at 7:00 am, feeds the dog, and has cereal (谷物) and a glass of juice for breakfast. She walks to school with her friend, Julia. She has a bag of chips for a morning snack, drinks water, and has a chicken and lettuce sandwich with a banana for lunch. She likes to play soccer with her friends at lunch and morning break time. She walks home with Julia, has some crackers with cheese and juice for afternoon snack and plays with the dog for a while. She plays computer games for an hour or two before dinner, then has a shower and does her homework. She watches her favorite television show for an hour, then usually goes to bed at about 9:30 pm.
Carl gets up at 8:30 am and has two pieces of bread with jam and a glass of milk for breakfast. His mother drives him to school on her way to work. He eats cookies with juice for morning snack and a pot pie ordered from the school lunch room with juice for lunch. He likes to play card games with his friends at lunchtime and climb the fixed equipment at morning break time. He catches the bus home, has a cereal bar and a can of soda for afternoon snack, then watches some television. He has a shower before dinner, then plays the computer for an hour or two. He goes to bed at about 10:30 pm.
No matter which kind of lifestyle you agree on, just remember it's important to balance all aspects of life.About a healthy lifestyle, the writer doesn't talk about __________.
| A．diet | B．exercise | C．relaxation | D．medicine |
What can we learn from the article?
| A．Abbey plays soccer with her friends at school. |
| B．Abbey does her homework first after school. |
| C．Carl goes to school by bus every day. |
| D．Carl has only juice for breakfast. |
Where is the article probably from?
| A．A health magazine. | B．A clothing website. |
| C．A sports guidebook. | D．A travel advertisement. |
The Future Body Network
Are you tired of wires that spread all over your desk and make your tea pour onto your keyboard? If so, you may consider using devices（设备）that use technologies like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Neither of them sends information through wires. It sounds perfect, doesn't it? But this is not the end of the story.
Scientists are now trying to use the human body to do a similar job. They have come up with the idea of sending information over the small electric field on the surface of the skin. To do this, a transmitter（传送器）could be built into your pocket or a portable device like an MP3 player. This transmitter would then use your skin's electrical field to send information to a receiving device. Since this kind of transmission can only go as far as 20cm, the receiver would have to be close to some part of your body.
By using this body network, you wouldn't need a wire to link your MP3 player in your pocket to the headphones in your ears, or to send to your computer the pictures from a digital camera hanging around your neck. Moreover, you can exchange electronic cards or share music files with others by shaking hands, dancing cheek（脸颊）to cheek, or kissing each other.
Now, here comes a question. Why would anyone want to use their body as a network when Wi-Fi and Bluetooth already exist? The answer lies in the fact that with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it is hard to limit the signals only to your own use. In a busy place, you can never know who might steal your information. However, body networking is safer. It is hard for other people to pick up signals sent over the surface of your skin since this body network only has a limit of 20cm from your body. Thus, no one else can easily pick up and interpret your signals.
Moreover, the most important use of body networking in the future may well be communication within the body rather than just on its surface. Imagine having a number of small devices implanted under your skin and using them to control your own nervous system. In other words, imagine that you have a powerful in-body computer. What do you think of this idea? Does it sound cool, like being a character in the movie RoboCop? Or would you prefer to be just an ordinary human being?
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Technology is causing us to be lazy. |
| B．Technology is doing harm to our body. |
| C．Technology is advancing too quickly. |
| D．Technology is making our life easier. |
Which of the following is NOT the way to exchange information over the skin?
| A．Shaking hands. | B．Looking into one's eyes. |
| C．Kissing each other. | D．Dancing cheek to cheek. |
The body network is safer because _________.
| A．the information is only important to you |
| B．the information is stored inside your body |
| C．the information is sent out only 20cm from your body |
| D．the information is controlled by your nervous system |
The movie RoboCop is most likely about________.
| A．a man that is controlled by a computer |
| B．a computer that turns into a man |
| C．a robot that catches a thief |
| D．a thief that steals a robot |