We may have hosted some difficult house guests once or on even more occasions. Are you still worrying about how to deal with them? Here below are some tips on how to deal with those difficult house guests.
You’ve been waiting an hour to eat breakfast but your guests are still sleeping.
“Unless you adjusted a time for breakfast the evening before, let your guests sleep-in and enjoy your breakfast without them. If possible, keep their breakfast warm. Or better yet, when entertaining it’s always a good idea to have cold breakfast (as well as lunch, dinner and snack) food on-hand.”
——Pamela Eyring，president and director of The Protocol School of Washington
Your guest’s teenage son is a Facebook addict and hogs your computer all day long.
“If you have a guest whose fingers are fixated to your keyboard, kindly let him know that you are expecting work email and give him enough time to finish using it.”
——Ummu Bradley Thomas, founder of the Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School, Inc.
Your couch surfing, unemployed nephew has been here a month and is showing no sign of leaving.
“There is nothing wrong with saying ‘John, you have been here a month and have not put in any applications. What can I do to help you get your resume together? I would like to make a plan that will assist you in getting back on your feet and allow me to eventually have my extra room back for guests that will soon be arriving.’”
——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas
Your guests expect you to accompany them to every single tourist attraction in your city. It’s tiring and expensive.
“If your guests didn’t offer to treat you, politely decline and offer to meet them afterwards for dinner or drinks. That way they know you enjoy their company.”
——Pamela Eyring, president and director of The Protocol School of Washington
You gave your friend a closet shelf for her stuff but her clothes are thrown all over the place.
“You should simply say ‘I am happy to have you use my closet but your clothes seem to have a mind of their own. Would you mind keeping your clothes on the top shelf? It would make it easier for me to find my things when I am in a rush and looking for them. Thank you.’”
——Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of TexasAccording to Ummu Bradley Thomas, which of the following is the best way to deal with the guests?
| A．Kindly explaining to him you need to use the computer. |
| B．Politely asking him to stop using the computer at once. |
| C．Introducing other toys to him to play with. |
| D．Simply letting him keep using the computer as he likes. |
The passage gives the following tips EXCEPT that _______.
| A．declining the guests’ requests if you hate to accompany them everywhere |
| B．reminding them to keep their clothes on the top shelf |
| C．trying to offer at least one dish based on his or her preferences |
| D．keeping their breakfast warm or having cold breakfast food on-hand |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．How to Entertain Your Guests |
| B．How to Keep Good Personal Relations |
| C．How to Find the Best Solution |
| D．How to Deal with Difficult House Guests |
In which section of a magazine can we most probably see this passage?
| A．Science | B．Society | C．Economy | D．Education |
Lack of exercise is considered a risk factor for cancer. There is considerable evidence that inactivity is connected with increased risk for lung cancer, breast cancer, etc.
In the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, more than 32,000 people (25,000 men and 7,000 women) were given a preventive medical examination that included a machine exercise test to measure physical fitness. They were given a physical fitness score, with one being the lowest and five being the highest fitness level. Then these people were followed for an average of 8 years. During this time, 179 men and 44 women died of cancer.
Data from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study show people have lower rates of cancer with higher levels of physical fitness. Studies from the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas suggest that men with high fitness levels are less likely to die of cancer.
The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study also found that fitness level was more important than weight in predicting longevity (长寿). While results showed that fitness and normal weight are the ideal combination, researchers found that men who were fat but performed well in the machine performance had just a slightly increased all-cause death rate, including cancer, compared to the more slim men. The fat, but fit, men particularly lived longer than the slim, but flabby (肌肉松弛的), men.
These statistics called for a warning to the overweight: The first health goal for the overweight should be to become as fit as possible at their current weight.
67. The text mainly talks about________.
| A．the effect of exercise on reducing chances of cancer |
| B．how to lose weight effectively |
| C．different ways to keep slim |
| D．fat men live longer than slim ones |
68. What’s Paragraph 2 mainly about?
| A．The study on the life of the overweight. |
| B．The study on the relationship between taking exercise and cancer. |
| C．The study on the ways of losing weight. |
| D．The study on the effects of machine exercise. |
69. Which of the following is NOT true according to Paragraph 4?
| A．Fitness levels have more effects than weight on people’s longevity. |
| B．A man who is fit and has normal weight is most likely to live longer. |
| C．Slim men are more likely to live longer. |
| D．Fat people who like exercising are also likely to live longer. |
70. The author thinks the most important thing for the overweight is to ______.
| A．increase their fitness levels | B．choose to eat vegetables |
| C．be on a diet | D．ask for help from doctors |
Just when scientists think they have discovered and recorded every species of insect that crawls the earth they find something new. Earlier this month, Peter Jager, the head of Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Research Institute reported the discovery of a unique eyeless spider.
The creature that has a leg span (跨度) of six centimeters and a body size of just twelve millimeters was found in a cave inside the tiny nation of Laos, in Southeast Asia. It was identified as a member of the Huntsman spider, a large family that consists of 1100 species. However, the other members of the family all have eyes. The spider is the first one that has no eyes. They believe that the kind of spider has adapted to the fact that they do not really need the eyes to such a degree that they have dispensed with them altogether.
But they are not the only creature to have done that. Over the years, scientists have discovered completely blind cave fish, and even a freshwater crab, which happens to live in the same cave as this eyeless spider!
Surrounded by Burma and China on the northwest, Vietnam on the east, Cambodia on the south and Thailand on the west, the landlocked nation of Laos is filled with a large number of new and exotic (新奇的) species. In the last few years researchers have discovered the Saola—never-before-seen antelope-like creature, a small deer species called muntjacs, a tiny stripped rabbit and a rock rat that was thought to have been extinct 11 millions years ago. In addition to that it is also home to over one hundred species of large mammals ranging from tigers to macaques and over 165 species of amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles like the terrible King cobra and the noisy Tokay gecko, a permanent resident inside most Laos households.
64. Which of the following is the best title of passage?
| A．Laos full of a large number of exotic species |
| B．Laos popular with plenty of strange species |
| C．Every species of insect discovered and recorded by scientists |
| D．World’s first eyeless spider discovery in Southeast Asia. |
65. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us about the unique eyeless spider?
| A．The eyesight, identification and family members. |
| B．The size, identification and the reason for being eyeless |
| C．The body, species and living environment |
| D．The size, identification and the species |
66. The underlined part “dispensed with” (in 2nd Para) means _________.
| A．got rid of | B．put up with | C．carried away | D．taken no notice of |
Worried about how many calories you will get in that piece of pizza, chocolate cake or bag of chips? A new iphone application Mealsnap may help. Users just need to take a picture of the meal with the phone, and it will give a calorie read-out almost immediately.
Mealsnap was developed by DailyBurn, a health social network that focuses on helping its users lead healthier lifestyles. It has created several other health and diet-related iphone applications. The applications gives users a quick reply. To do that, it matches the taken picture to a databank containing the calorie information of nearly 500,000 kinds of food. Users then get the range of calories for the meal that is photographed.
We started with something simple — an apple. A couple of minutes later the application replied that it was an apple and between 64 and 96 calories. More impressive was the reply we received after sending a photo of mixed salad bowl. Mealsnap replied that the bowl contained “yellow rice with corn, boiled eggs and beans” and that the food was between 532 and 798 calories.
Mr. Smith, director of DailyBurn, said that usual calorie counting needed a long time, but that the application made it easier to know the calories in food. That’s why it is so popular among those who are trying hard to lose weight.
In addition, Mealsnap can serve as a food diary. No need to write down what they’ve eaten, the photos will be stored. Then users can keep a visual log (记录). Mr. Smith said: “It’s like a food journal, but easier. All you do is to take the picture. The simple act of recording something can cause a psychological change that can help people on their health journey. Knowing the calorie range makes me think more about what I’m eating.
60. The purpose of DailyBurn is to _______.
| A．help people have a healthy life |
| B．make iphone more popular |
| C．help people find ways to lose weight |
| D．persuade people to buy iphone products |
61. We can know from the passage that Mealsnap is ________.
| A．a camera | B．a phone | C．a calculator | D．an application |
62. What can be learned from the third paragraph?
| A．Mealsnap can also tell what the food is. |
| B．Mealsnap is only useful for simple things. |
| C．The result of Mealsnap isn’t always right. |
| D．Mealsnap needs a long time to show the calorie range. |
63. Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Mealsnap iphones work as a health signal |
| B．Mealsnap iphones offer you a health signal |
| C．Mealsnap iphones — the best-selling phones |
| D．Mealsnap iphones count your calories |
I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart.
Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he’s an old guy!
For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, “How’s it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation.
I thought it was odd (古怪的). I have grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don’t give any thought to the question and just say something back. I could say, “I just found out I have six months to live,” and someone would reply, “Have a great day!”
But that wasn’t the end. He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked the customers in the eyes. “I sure want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.”
The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins (咧嘴一笑). All had been touched by his simple gesture—and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling.
Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name, Marty.
56. The checkout line the writer was standing in moved slower than expected because ________.
| A．the cashier couldn’t work as fast as others |
| B．there were some big purchases |
| C．the cashier did more than scanning the items |
| D．the writer was not patient enough |
57．According to the writer, when common people ask you “How’s it going?”________.
| A．they don’t really care what you may answer |
| B．they are just practicing their conversation ability |
| C．they are asking about your private information |
| D．they don’t expect to hear any negative answers |
58．What was most customers reaction on Marty’s behaviors?
| A．They thought it priceless. | B．They were in some way moved. |
| C．They thought it awful and odd. | D．They felt somewhat annoyed.. |
59．What does the writer intend to express through the text?
| A．Our everyday life is always full of surprises. |
| B．Most customers enjoy being treated this way. |
| C．Being different is a good way of doing business. |
| D．A little positive action can make a big difference. |
[1] Scientist proves better busy than doing nothing, research has found. Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negativeemotions, the study found.
[2] However, the bad news is that humans seem born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christopher Hsee, a behavioural scientist at Chicago University.
[3] In a study 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever choice they chose, they received a chocolate bar. Two-thirds (68 per cent) chose to take a shortcut. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put. Prof Hsee concluded __________________ helped keep people happy.
[4] He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy guidance. "Governments may increase the happiness of idle（闲散的）citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless", he suggested.
[5] At the individual level, he advised: "Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it." He added, "By the way, thinking deeply or busy with self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too. You do not need to be running around—you just need to be busy, either physically or mentally."What is the purpose of the text? (no more than 8 words)
____________________________________________________________________________Why did two-thirds (68 per cent) choose to take a shortcut? (no more than 8 words)
____________________________________________________________________________Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with proper words. (no more than 2 words)
____________________________________________________________________________What does the word “it” in Paragraph 5 probably refer to? ( no more than 2 words)
____________________________________________________________________________What is the main idea of the last paragraph? (no more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________