My grandmother seems to be wrong when she says that good manners will never go out of style.
Several days ago, I tried entering a lift with one of my arms fixed in a bandage(绷带) while carrying a computer bag in the other. Not being fast enough, I was passed by two young people who managed to get into the lift before me. The lift door closed only after I entered. Having already pressed their wanted floor button, the young people waited impatiently for me to press the button for where I was going. If they had decided to help, we could have moved much faster. But they had not. So I did my best and pressed the button with my arm. The two young people looked very angry with me. I was losing heart.
The memory of this incident has stayed with me because it followed shortly after my building’s watchman refused to help me carry a heavy box full of books. His answer was that he could not carry the books a few meters because it was not his job. However, I remembered myself helping people for so many years carrying boxes, shopping bags, or pushing wheelchairs upon the request of a stranger in need or when my conscience(良心) called on me. "Oh, this young generation, they have no manners, ”my grandmother would say. The idea of good manners refers to the considering of other people’s feelings. We need more and more people to have good manners. Good manners should be-come part of our lives. The author believes that ________.
| A．good manners will never go out of style |
| B．her grandmother is right |
| C．good manners are disappearing little by little |
| D．it never rains, but it pours |
How did the two young people feel when the author pressed the button?
| A．Excited. | B．Angry. | C．Sad. | D．Confident. |
The watchman didn’t help the author because ______.
| A．the box was full of books |
| B．the box was too heavy |
| C．the author was a stranger |
| D．he thought it was not his job |
We can infer from the passage that the author ______.
| A．always offers help to people in need |
| B．always has difficulty carrying things |
| C．has a better memory than anyone else |
| D．agreed with her grandmother at first |
Every English learner hopes to find a patient native speaker who will politely correct mistakes and teach him some useful new vocabulary. But native speakers can be hard to find. If you’re having trouble communicating in English, American situation comedies are one good way to help.
They can not only give you a lot of information about American culture, but also offer some useful daily expressions. Watching them will help you enlarge your vocabulary and teach you correct language usage in different situations. Best of all, situation comedies are a fun way to learn.
The Apprentice
The American reality (现实) TV show is hosted by the famous businessman Donald Trump. It’s based on the idea of the final job interview for the final job. The show picks 16 people to compete for a job with Trump’s business. Those who fail their weekly tasks have to meet with Trump. They have to explain why they should not be fired (解雇).
The Apprentice is useful for English students who want to learn how to make up a persuasive (令人信服的) argument. For example, rather than say “I think I did a good job”, one may also learn to throw off the possibility of uncertainty by saying, “I did a good job.”
Desperate Housewives (DH)
Desperate Housewives is set in an invented American town, Wisteria Lane. It follows a group of middle-aged women as they go through their daily family lives. But in fact, those women live a life of lies, secrets, criminal (犯罪的) acts, and mystery.
This program is good at expressing the funny life of American neighbors. And, it’s the perfect comedy series for foreign learners wanting to see how to hold a relaxed daily conversation.
Another reason for watching DH is to learn some expressions American families use that are not in your English language textbooks. For example, the mothers often use words such as “sport” and “you guys” to speak about their kids. According to the passage, The Apprentice and DH are introduced because _____.
| A．they are now the most popular programs |
| B．they are helpful in English learning |
| C．they are advertised for English beginners |
| D．they are enjoyed by most young people |
Through watching the two American comedy series, English learners can do the following EXCEPT _____.
| A．communicate with native speakers |
| B．know about American culture |
| C．pick up English daily expressions |
| D．learn more English words |
In the author’s opinion, learning English through TV series is _____.
| A．common | B．difficult | C．enjoyable | D．possible |
We can learn from the passage that The Apprentice _____.
| A．tells a story of school life | B．is about real life |
| C．has 15 actors | D．is about some businessmen |
Which of the following statements about DH can we get from the introduction?
| A．The story happens in a village of America. |
| B．The housewives join in the same job interview. |
| C．The women in the American town lead a life full of sadness. |
| D．It does well in describing an interesting neighborhood in America. |
If you were on the street in Mexico today you might think you were in an operating room, surrounded by doctors. You could see many concerned people with masks (口罩) trying their best to stop the swine flu (猪流感). And the masks aren’t only being used in Mexico. A friend of mine traveling from New York City to Florida was given a mask and a pair of gloves just after he reached the airport. And another friend went to get a haircut only to be faced with a hairdresser wearing a mask!
But do the masks really work? Is covering your nose and mouth the key to stopping the swine flu? To find out the truth, ABC’s reporter Sharyn Alfonsi talked with germ (细菌) expert Dr. Elaine Larsen. It turns out that when you sneeze (打喷嚏) the air coming out of your mouth at a speed of one hundred miles per hour carries germs which can travel anywhere around you and make people around you infected (被感染).
However, whether you become infected actually depends on the weather. As Sharyn reported, when you sneeze, the germs leave your body in small drops of water coming out of your mouth. If the weather is wet, the wet air will make the small drops bigger and heavier and they drop down towards our feet. If this happens, we won’t become infected. But if the air is dry, those small drops can float higher up, making it possible for them to touch someone else’s nose, mouth or their mask.
Larsen says the masks can stop the germs well but after a few hours, they start to get wet, holding a lot of germs they come across and causing you to breathe them in. The masks do work, but the key to stopping the germs is changing your masks often.According to Para.1, in Mexico you can see that ____.
| A．the patients are treated in the open air |
| B．some doctors work in the street |
| C．people speak little to each other in the street |
| D．many people wear masks in the street |
According to the passage a patient spreads germs mainly through ____.
| A．breathing | B．Speaking | C．touching others | D．sneezing |
We learn from the passage that on a wet day ____.
| A．sick people will be infected |
| B．germs can spread very far |
| C．germs spread very quickly |
| D．few people will be infected |
If you keep wearing a mask for a long time, ____.
| A．the mask will be old and worn out |
| B．you’ll love the feeling of wearing it |
| C．germs will be kept away from you |
| D．it will be easy for you to be infected |
What should we pay attention to when wearing masks?
| A．Keeping the masks dry. | B．Changing the masks often. |
| C．Choosing very thick masks. | D．Wearing big masks. |
Last night I drove a long way (about 500 km) to return home. It was late and I was driving fast because I wanted to get home as soon as possible. So several times when I was driving behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road, I wanted to shout at the driver ahead.
Then I came to a crossroad with a traffic light. As I drove near, it turned red. I stopped my car at once. I looked left，right and behind. I found no cars or persons — I was alone on the road. The person who would come to the crossroad was at least a mile away in any direction. Certainly going through the light would cause no danger. I could pass the traffic light. But strangely enough, I just stopped there, waiting for several minutes until the light went green. I asked myself why I refused to run the light. Surely it was unnecessary for me to be afraid of danger or being fined (罚款), because there were no cars or police around at all. But I remained waiting until the light changed.
When I finally got home, it was near midnight. My wife had fallen asleep. The question of why I stopped for that light came back to me again, because I stopped another two times for the red lights as “special” as the first one. I stopped, not because of the law, but because it was a good habit I had developed. In fact, we were used to doing something right just because we have made obeying the rules a good habit. We do it just because we should do it. I thought if another man met with the same thing, he would make the same choice. I believed so. And I could be trusted (信任) by others. I believed that everyone would and could control (控制) himself/herself well. It was amazing that we trusted each other to do the right things, wasn’t it? When the author drove behind the slow-moving truck, he felt ____.
| A．confused but happy | B．sleepy and tired | C．excited but tired | D．angry and worried |
Who made the author stopped at the crossroad?
| A．A policeman. | B．The author’s wife. | C．The author himself. | D．Another driver. |
The author waited until the light went green because ____.
| A．running the light would make him fined | B．he was afraid to cause an accident |
| C．he was prevented by the passers-by | D．he was used to obeying traffic rules |
The author is a person who ____.
| A．believes others easily | B．can control himself well |
| C．treats others very unfriendly | D．is very experienced in driving |
We can infer from the passage that ____.
| A．running the light could help the author get home earlier |
| B．the author’s wife was angry because he got home late |
| C．the truck driver in front of the author might be drunk |
| D．it was very necessary to have very strict traffic rules |
The structure and workings of the university are ever changing. The university of the past is not like the university of the present and the university of the present will not be like the university of the future. This “adaptation” to the times is what can make some universities great or make some universities among the worst in the nation.
In the past the university was very set in their ways. They did things the way they wanted them done. They paid no attention to the rest of the society and the way the ones paying the bills wanted them done. In the past the professors would lecture endlessly to the students, which often left the students bored and with no idea what was really said to them in the lecture. This is no way to try and teach students; students need interaction with the professors that are paid to teach them. As Paulo Freire believed there needs to be communication between the students and the professors and the class should not be totally memorization. This is the way that things were done in the past.
In the present many universities have either changed or are changing the way that they run their universities. The universities now are taking on many of the modern educational beliefs in order to make changes in the teaching methods. Universities are breaking down many of the divides between majors that they offer. By breaking these barriers the universities are becoming less specialized and more diverse. This goes along with the ideas of Berry who believes that the schools are over-specialized and that the universities are now just machines that are merely meant to produce workers. In the past few years the colleges have been lowering the standards of admission, which in turn lowers the standards of all the schools below the college level. The universities are now on the right track by increasing the standards of admission into their colleges. In the author’s view, what can decide a university’s quality?
| A．What its structure is like. | B．How its workings are run. |
| C．What times it belongs to. | D．Whether it’ll adjust itself. |
Which of the following is NOT a feature of universities in the past?
| A．They were run in a fixed way. |
| B．They ignored the needs of society. |
| C．They had lower standards of admission. |
| D．Professors lacked interaction with students. |
What is the author’s main attitude towards universities in the present?
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Passive. | D．Uncertain. |
What would the author most probably focus on in the following part of this passage?
| A．Universities in the future. |
| B．The standards of schools. |
| C．The admission into some colleges. |
| D．Other changes of teaching methods. |
U.S. Bottled Water Sales Are Booming Again Despite Opposition
Despite organized anti-bottled-water campaigns across the country and a noisy debate about bottled water’s environmental impact, Americans are buying more bottled water than ever.
Why do so many people seem to think they should have any input on what other American’s choose to buy or do?
If they want to buy bottled water, let them.
If they want to eat fast food, let them.
If they want to smoke pot, let them.
— Barackalypse
People just get tired of paying for others’ bad behavior. If many people eat excessive fast food, you pay higher insurance premiums. If many people frequently buy bottled water, your trash bills go up and landfills fill up quickly.
It’s about personal responsibility, which really should be a cornerstone of libertarianism.
— Bdbr
So? This is the price you pay to live in a free society. You want to control the life of another just so you can save a few bucks? What would you say when someone do the same to you?
— Norman619
Defend selfish pricks all you like; I’m just glad there are still people who still believe personal responsibility is a good and decent thing. We make your life cheaper and less bothersome.
— Yoyo
What a waste of money! It’s fine when you’re on the road and you need a cold drink, but people who buy cases of bottled water for home are completely crazy.
— Agmlauncher
I wish we all can find a way to improve things and benefit from this. The environment needs a lot of help but businesses will always work on what people would need and demand. Is this part of the balance? Hope we can find better ways.
— SkipweisWhat can we know about bottled water in America?
| A．Americans are consuming more bottled water than tap. |
| B．US bottled water sales have increased for the first time. |
| C．Activists in several regions have been fighting against it. |
| D．Some people worry about its bad effect on the environment. |
Who would agree with Barackalypse on this matter?
| A．Bdbr. | B．Norman619. | C．Yoyo. | D．Agmlauncher. |
According to the text, Agmlauncher is _____ bottled water.
| A．partly supportive of | B．extremely against |
| C．strongly in favor of | D．not concerned about |
Which of the following statements goes with Skipweis’ opinion?
| A．The environment is emphasized too much. |
| B．It’s impossible for people to find a better way. |
| C．Business is not totally responsible for the problem. |
| D．At present we can’t benefit from bottled water at all. |