It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of the current US President. The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a wonderfully written book.” However, he then proceeded to talk about Mr. Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar(说谎者)．
And it seems that he is not the only one. Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In The World Book Day survey, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The survey lists top ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading. As I’m not one to lie too often, I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books. But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s absolutely outstanding．
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to. This could be difficult if the conversation became more in-depth!
The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it. It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and so on. But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, they named JK Rowling, Jilly Cooper, and Stephen King. Forty-one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story．
So which books have you lied about reading —if any — and which is your favorite?The main reason why people lie about reading is to __________.
| A．make fun of the listener | B．impress the listener |
| C．please the listener | D．interest the listener |
The underlined word “proceeded” in the passage probably means“___________”.
| A．wanted | B．happened | C．continued | D．stopped |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Are You A Book Liar? | B．Readers Are All Liars |
| C．World Book Day | D．Dreams From My Father |
Built in 1794 for the 5th Duke of Bedford, this hotel in the heart of Bedford overlooks the River Ouse, which winds through the beautiful Bedfordshire countryside.
We offer a flexible approach to conferencing. With purpose-built meeting rooms offering a flexible and functional space, our hotel is designed for comfort and convenience. Day Delegate（代表/代表团）, 24 Hour Delegate or room hire only can be arranged to meet your needs and we offer a range of food and drinks for all requirements.
The Bedford Swan Hotel provides an impressive range of conference, training and function rooms which are suitable for up to 250 delegates.
Our hotel is located 30 minutes drive from Luton Airport and a 20-minute walk from Bedford Train Station with regular trains to and from Central London.
What to expect:
• A professional service from the beginning
• Your own event consultant
• A great location with car parking
• Well equipped rooms perfect for your meeting or event
• Various Day Delegate packages
• Personalized dining and refreshment breaks
• Accurate billing
Discounted Day Delegate Rates from £35 per person
* Hold your meeting before 30th November 2013 and benefit from our special day delegate rates
* Day Delegate Rate from £35.00 per person
* Minimum numbers of 8 apply
Call us on 01234 346565 or e-mail us on info@bedfordswanhotel.co.ukBedford Swan Hotel is more suitable for _______.
| A．busy sightseers | B．conference travelers |
| C．fresh trainees | D．event consultants |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．It takes you 20 minutes to walk here from Central London. |
| B．The Bedford Swan Hotel was built in the late 18th century. |
| C．The hotel is located sixty kilometres from Luton Airport. |
| D．Guests can get professional service by offering extra tips. |
From the advertisement above we can learn that Bedford Swan Hotel _______.
| A．can serve up to 250 delegates |
| B．winds through Bedfordshire |
| C．can provide personalized billing |
| D．offers no car parking service |
The special discount will be given if _______.
| A．a delegate of 8 apply for 24-hour-meeting rooms |
| B．guests pay £35.00 per person for the rooms they live in |
| C．you book a purpose-built meeting room on a special day |
| D．8 delegates hold a day meeting on November 2, 2013 |
John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas city in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.
Fortunately he had a strong-willed (意志坚强的) caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success, ”she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”
These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago.
Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words—as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School .His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.
While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by. “Nothing beats a failure but a try. ”She also let him pawn(典当)her furniture to get the $ 500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.
It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind.“Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!”
Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America—worth $ 150 million.John’s mother decided to move to Chicago because _____.
| A．his father died when John was very young |
| B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown |
| C．John needed more education badly |
| D．there were no schools for Negroes in their hometown |
John’s mother______
| A．didn’t believe in or depend on others |
| B．thought one could be whatever one wanted to be |
| C．believed one would succeed without working hard |
| D．thought no one could succeed without working hard |
The underlined sentence “Nothing beats a failure but a try. ” means _____.
| A．if you try, you would succeed |
| B．a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try |
| C．a try is always followed by a failure |
| D．no failure can be beaten unless you try |
The story mainly tells us _____.
| A．how John H. Johnson became successful |
| B．about the mental (心理的) support John’s mother gave him |
| C．about the importance of a good education |
| D．about the key to success for blacks |
When I was growing up, 16 was always a magical age, a symbol of maturity, responsibility and of course more independence and freedom. I sat through the hours of Driver’s Ed classes eager to get out on the road. I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license.
But it’s a different story for today’s teens. In January, the U.S. Department Transportation released 2012 data that showed only 30.7 percent of U.S. teens got their license at age 16, Twenty years before, that number was almost 45 percent.
There are numbers of reasons for the fall – off. The growing responsibilities like paying for insurance and high gas prices discourage teens from getting behind the wheel. Plus, many teens today are so busy with homework, endless hours of activities and part-time jobs, that finding the time for Driver’s Ed classes may be more difficult that ever.
In addition, many states have raised the driving age, or restricted when teens can drive and who they can have in the car. Parents may also be making their own personal restrictions until they feel their teens are responsible enough to drive safely.
Driving is part of the American culture, but it’s not the central focus like it was 25 years ago. They have so many other things to do now. One of the more interesting factors delaying teens driving might be the change of their social life. Today, teens need to look no further than Face book or other social networking sites to connect with their friends. There is simply less need, maybe less desire, to be able to grab the keys and go.
Michelle Wei got her license as a senior in high school because her digital social life made it easy not to drive. “If I couldn’t get a ride to see my friend who lives a town over,” the 19-year-old said, “I could talk on IM or Skype.”
Research has shown that these online relationships can lead to higher quality friendships, so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it’s important to find a balance. If old face-to-face friendships are good, why not drive to find them?We can infer from the first paragraph that _______ .
| A．Driver’s Ed classes allowed teens to know what maturity was |
| B．getting a driving license at 16 was a must for American teens |
| C．16 was considered an age when one could get his driver’s license |
| D．teens could drive on the road without taking Driver’s Ed classes |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Desire to drive on the road declines among American teens. |
| B．Getting a license costs much more than ever before. |
| C．Social networking sites are changing the life of American teens. |
| D．American teens are becoming more responsible than ever. |
Michelle’s Wei’s example is used to explain ________.
| A．why American teens are crazy about digital social life |
| B．what social networking websites are bringing to American teens |
| C．to what degree the Internet is affecting the American car culture |
| D．what the Internet does to help teens to get a driving license |
The last paragraph is reminding the readers that _______ .
| A．the Internet has a bad effect on the teen’s social life |
| B．teens should keep a balance in choosing their lifestyle |
| C．actual contacts can be replaced by talking on line |
| D．face-to-face friendship is always the best choice |
It was Molly’s job to hand her father his brown paper lunch bag each morning before he headed off to work.
One morning, in addition to his usual lunch bag, Molly handed him a second paper bag. This one was worn and held together with staples(书钉).
“Why two bags?”her father asked.“The other is something else,” Molly answered. “What’s in it?”“Just some stuff(东西). Take it with you.”
Not wanting to discuss the matter, he put both sacks into his briefcase, kissed Molly and rushed off. At midday he opened Molly’s bag and took out the contents: two hair ribbons(丝带), three small stones, a plastic dinosaur, a tiny sea shell, a small doll, and 13 pennies...The busy father smiled, finished eating, and swept the desk clean into the wastebasket, Molly’s stuff included.
That evening, Molly ran up behind him as he read the paper. “Where’s my bag?”“What bag?”“The one I gave you this morning.”“I left it at the office. Why?”“I forgot to put this note in it,”she said.“And, besides, Daddy, the things in the sack are the things I really like—I thought you might like to play with them. You didn’t lose the bag, did you, Daddy?”“Oh, no,”he said, lying. “I just forgot to bring it home. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”While Molly hugged her father’s neck, he unfolded the note that read:“I love you, Daddy.”Molly had given him her treasures—all that a 7 year old held.
Love in a paper bag, and he missed it—not only missed it, but had thrown it in the wastebasket. So back he went to the office. Just ahead of the night janitor(看门人), he picked up the wastebasket. He put the treasures inside and carried it home carefully. The bag didn’t look so good, but the stuff was all there and that’s what counted.
After dinner, he asked Molly to tell him about the stuff in the sack. It took a long time to tell. Everything had a story or a memory.
“Sometimes I think of all the great times in this sweet life,”he thought.
We should all remember that it’s not the destination that counts in life, but the journey. That journey with the people we love is all that really matters. It is such a simple truth but it is so easily forgotten. Why did Molly give her father a second bag?
| A．She didn't want to keep the things in the bag. |
| B．She hoped those things would bring happiness to her father. |
| C．She wanted to remind her father of the stories behind the things. |
| D．She enjoyed playing with her father. |
How did Father deal with the bag after he opened it?
| A．He kept it in the drawer. | B．He took it back home. |
| C．He threw it into the wastebasket. | D．He put it on his table. |
After father heard what his daughter said，he felt ________.
| A．regretful | B．surprised | C．sad | D．satisfied |
Which of the following is the most suitable title of the passage?
| A．An important journey | B．Two bags |
| C．Father and daughter | D．Love in a paper bag |
WHAT’S ON
| STAGE Russian dances: The famous “Little White Birth” Dance Troupe will travel from Russia to present performances in Beijing. The troupe, founded in 1948, is famous for their combination of Russian folk dances and classical dancing art. It has been invited by the Beijing Foreign Culture Exchange Co. in order to give four performances in Beijing. Tickets are available through ticket hotlines and website such as www. paio. com. cn, www. Chinaticket. com and www. ticket. elong. com. * Time: 7: 30 pm, January 18 - 21 * Place: Beizhan Theatre, 135, Xiwai Dajie, Xicheng District * Tel: 6606-4258 EXHIBITIONS Kite show: All together 81 kites collected by the China National Art Museum is on show in the Yanhuang Art Museum. Kong Xiangze, an expert on Chinese kites, published a book on kites, explaining the origins of the kite-making process. The exhibited kites are made in a traditional Chinese style. * Time: 9 am-5 pm until February 11 * Place: 9 Huizhong Lu * Tel: 6491-2902 |
CONCERTS Folk music: A concert of classics of Chinese folk music will greet audiences on the first day of the Year of Snake at the Beijing Concert Hall. The China Song and Dance Ensemble will perform dozens of traditional instrumental pieces, such as “Full of Joy”, “Colourful Cloud Chasing the Moon” and “Spring Festival Suite”. * Time: 7: 30 pm, January 24 * Place: 1, Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District * Tel: 6559-8285 EVENTS Flower festival: The Beijing Botanical Garden is bringing people a blooming festival with the beautiful flowers in its tropical plants greenhouse. The garden has introduced nearly 80 kinds of flowers abroad for the exhibition. There is also an exhibition of potted narcissus (水仙) landscapes (盆景). More than 300 mini landscapes involving imported narcissus will be displayed, people can get a preview of the show by visiting www.beijingbd.com, the garden’s website. * Time: 8:30 am-5 pm until January 28 * Place: Wofosi Lu near the Fragant Hills * Tel: 8259-5547 |
Suppose you are too far away from Beijing or you can’t spare time to go there in person, which of the following shows can you enjoy all the same?
| A．Russian dances. | B．Kite show | C．Folk music | D．Flower festival |
The phrase “get a preview of” used in the passage means ______.
| A．watch in advance | B．see more clearly |
| C．get good position of | D．get a general idea of |
f you and your classmates have a free evening to spend on the 19th of January, which is a useful number to call?
| A．6606-4258 | B．6491-2902 | C．6559-8285 | D．8259-5547 |