MY Chinese friend is going to the US and he is nervous about what to talk about. “Talk about the weather,” is my advice.
“How are you?” is often followed by comments about the weather. “Nice day today.” “Cold/hot enough for you?” “Will it ever stop raining?” “Some winter we’re having.” “Can’t remember a winter/summer so cold/hot.” “Whew, it’s hot out there.”
These introductory statements are often followed by a long conversation entirely about weather conditions. Past, present and – with global warming – speculation (推测) about the future.
Our fascination with weather might seem silly, but the real purpose behind those endless discussions is small talk. Weather’s a safe topic of conversation. As a group, we Americans seem to enjoy chatting with those around us. Whenever we stand in line at the grocery store, we tend to engage in this sort of conversation with other people standing in line with us. If I were seated next to another American on any form of public transport, I’d expect both of us to make some harmless comment about the weather as a way of acknowledging (承认) each other’s presence (存在). At parties, the weather is a common topic, especially with those you are meeting for the first time.
In contrast we are taught to avoid certain topics like religion and politics. Weather is neutral (中性的); you don’t have to have an opinion about it, just make a statement of a fact. What is truly interesting is the fact that we can go on and on about it.
My Chinese friend has a hard time understanding why we put so much effort into this topic – and why I warn him about bringing up much more “interesting” subjects like salaries or how much something costs.
Sometimes it is tricky (复杂的) to wend (行走) one’s way through winding cultural roads, especially those that are never taught in books.What does the writer suggest her Chinese friend should talk about with people in the US? (No more than two words)
Why do Americans enjoy talking to people around them about the weather, in writer’s opinion? (No more than ten words)
List four topics that people should avoid talking about in the US. ( No more than 5 words)
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as Mumbet or Mum Bett.
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashleys wife tried to strike Mumbets sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious(狂怒的), she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbets tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
| A．She was born a slave |
| B．She was a slaveholder |
| C．She had a famous sister |
| D．She was born into a rich family |
What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new consititution?
| A．She should always obey her owners’ orders |
| B．How to apply for a job |
| C．How to be a good servant |
| D．She should be as free and equal as whites |
What did Mumbet do after the trial?
| A．She chose to work for a lawyer |
| B．She found the NAACP |
| C．She continued to serve the Ashleys |
| D．She went to live with her grandchildren |
What is the test mainly about?
| A．A story of a famous writer and spokesperson |
| B．The friendship between a lawyer and a slave |
| C．A trial that shocked the whole world |
| D．The life of a brave African American woman |
When I was 13, my bedroom walls were covered with posters of the Monkees and Beatles. I wrote fan letters and daydreamed about meeting the objects of my affections. I begged my parents to attend every rock concert and watch every TV show featuring my favorite celebrities (名人) ; my friends and I discussed for hours all the things we would say and do when we met our favorite movie stars and pop singers. I drove my mother crazy! But after a few years, my obsession (迷恋) stars faded as I matured and gained the confidence to socialize with "real" boys.
In the 35 years since I was a teenager, celebrity worship (崇拜) has increased among teens due to the explosion of television celebrity gossip shows, and instant access to celebrity news on the Internet. It's no wonder that many teens are obsessed with stars when news programs often are filled with entertainment stories and the lives of celebrities.
Celebrity worship syndrome (综合征) is now considered a personality disorder. While it is normal for teenagers to follow the lives of their favorite stars, parents should try to monitor everything their child finds interesting. Parents should take action if they suspect a teen is too obsessed with celebrities and showing little interest in school or withdrawing from the family. When teens talk a lot about celebrities and view them as just means of entertainment, this is considered normal celebrity worship. However, when a teenager is obsessed with a star and often expresses a desire to have a close personal relationship with a celebrity or feels they have a special connection to a star, this may be the time for concern.
Recent studies have shown that teens who develop an unhealthy obsession with celebrities often suffer from low self confidence and depression. Teens who are overly obsessed with stars often have damaged relationships with their parents.We learn from the second paragraph that ____.
| A．teens today are not so obsessed with celebrities |
| B．the author is surprised at celebrity worship |
| C．the media greatly contributes to celebrity worship today |
| D．celebrities expose their lives too much |
Parents should become concerned when their children ____.
| A．talk a lot about celebrities with others |
| B．put up celebrity posters in their bedrooms |
| C．ask to go to their favorite star's concert |
| D．desire a close personal relationship with their favorite star |
The last paragraph implies that ____.
| A．parents should not care too much about a child's celebrity worship |
| B．children can normally get out of celebrity worship when they are older |
| C．children with celebrity worship usually have high opinion of themselves |
| D．celebrity worship syndrome can be a serious problem if left overlooked |
What is most likely to be talked about in the paragraph following the passage?
| A．The harm of celebrity worship syndrome. |
| B．What to do with children's celebrity worship syndrome. |
| C．More signs of celebrity worship syndrome. |
| D．Who will suffer most from celebrity worship syndrome. |
For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.
| A．take photos |
| B．cheer herself up |
| C．hop along the path |
| D．find a solution to the project |
The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________".
| A．uninteresting | B．unrelated |
| C．unsuccessful | D．unexpected |
In the author's opinion, __________.
| A．a bath can make people relaxed |
| B．adults should express their inner feelings freely |
| C．walking in a busy city centre harms people's health |
| D．depression is usually caused by hard work |
The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.
| A． suggestion | B．explanation |
| C．introduction | D．reminder |
After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first train that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English of course a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage （车厢） subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into bad luck.The author decided to take the subway because ________.
| A．he lived near the city center |
| B．the network covered most of the stops |
| C．he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
| D．he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
Having been shown the room card, the young man_________.
| A．understood the author well |
| B．still remained puzzled |
| C．answered the author directly |
| D．pointed at the subway map |
Which of the following can’t be used to describe the young man?
| A．helpful | B．rude |
| C．warmhearted | D．caring |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to ________.
| A．prove the importance of being careful |
| B．appreciate the kindness of the young man |
| C．complain some cultural misunderstanding |
| D．describe one of his adventurous experiences |
You may have noticed something different when you ate at your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps you picked up on it while looking through your social media apps （社交媒体软件） . You guessed it ---we’re becoming a foodie （吃货） culture.
For some, that means photographing every dish, but others are taking it one step further. Sophia Hampton, a senior at Staples High School in US, chooses to make her own food. She has been published in Future Chefs, a cookbook of recipes （食谱） by teens.
Hampton’s best advice for those who want to be foodies is to get in the kitchen.
“Start cooking,” she said. “There are so many resources online, like recipes and articles about food. Go to your local farmers’ market and start cooking with them.
Besides blogs and online resources, there are also hands-on cooking classes for students. The Chopping Block, a Chicago cooking school, offers many different classes for teens, including courses on chocolate and French food.
By attending cooking classes, surfing online and going to restaurants, you can find endless recipes. But sometimes becoming a real foodie means being behind a camera. As our food-loving culture becomes more popular and teen-friendly, social media apps like Facebook, have become major players in food culture.
“Getting involved in foodie culture is as easy as having a camera and a social media app,” one foodie said. “I always go to streets and farmers’ markets to take beautiful pictures of food. Wherever food prices are expensive, the photos are free.”What does Hampton advise those who want to be foodies to do?
| A．Post their recipes online. |
| B．Cook food by themselves. |
| C．Eat at their favorite restaurant. |
| D．Take photos of every dish they eat. |
Where can students find new recipes, according to the article?
①cooking classes ②online resources
③new restaurant④public libraries
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
What has made foodie culture more popular, according to the article?
| A．People’s growing interest in traditional culture. |
| B．The convenience of getting different food. |
| C．The use of cameras and social media. |
| D．The drop in food prices. |