There is one word that is on the lips of Americans, day and night: “Sorry.”
One time as I was walking on the street, a young man ran by hurriedly, brushing against my handbag. Even as he continued on his way, he turned back and said “sorry” to me. Even in a rush, he didn’t forget to apologize. One day, after I bought a mango, the salesman was giving me the change, but I wasn’t ready for it and a coin dropped to the ground. “I’m sorry,” he said while bending down to pick it up. I was puzzled—why would he apologize when it is my fault?
Another time, I stepped on a man’s foot in an escalator, at the same time, we both said “sorry”. I thought it interesting, was it really necessary for him to apologize? Later on, an American friend explained to me that according to the American mentality, the escalators a public place, and everyone should be able to stand in it. After someone occupies a position in the elevator, making it difficult for someone else to find a place to stand, isn’t it necessary to express an apology?
If you go to the movies and the tickets happen to be sold out, the ticket seller will say: “Sorry, the tickets are sold out.” Whenever one of your hopes goes unfulfilled, an American will say “sorry” as a sign of sympathy.
During my stay in America, I often came across situations in which I was supposed to say “sorry”. Gradually, I realized that when friction（摩擦）appears in daily life, Americans don’t care much about who is wrong; If someone is troubled, a “sorry” is always necessary. When this happens, even if the other person is hurt, the “sorry” cools tempers and human kindness is shown. Perhaps this is why I never saw anyone quarreling on the buses, subways or streets of America. How many examples are given to show that Americans like to say “sorry”?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
When the author was walking on the street, a young man ran by hurriedly ______.
| A．and took away his bag | B．and touched his bag |
| C．to help him with his bag | D．to brush his bag |
Which of the following plays a different role in the passage?
| A．Paragraph 2 | B．Paragraph 3 | C．Paragraph 4 | D．Paragraph 5 |
At last, the author’s attitude towards the Americans’ “sorry” seems to be ______.
| A．angry | B．interested | C．approving(赞成) | D．disappointed |
The best title for the passage can be “_______”.
| A．My life in America | B．Americans’ “sorry” |
| C．My experience in an escalator | D．The meaning of “sorry” |
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 in Gary, Indiana. Being the seventh child in his family, Michael was often physically abused (虐待) by his father, beaten up and also orally abused. But Michael also owed his success to his father’s strict discipline.
Michael was always an entertainer. Even when he just started school, he would perform in front of his friends and classmates. He started his professional music career at the age of 11, as a member of The Jackson Five.
He is well-known for increasing the popularity of MTV through his music videos. Before this, music videos were made just to promote the album. But Michael’s videos managed to change that by making them an art and a big business. Some of the music videos that are good examples of this are Beat It, Billie Jean, and thriller。Through these works the world got caught onto the idea of music videos and focused on music video channels.
Michael enthralled his fans and audience with his style of singing, dressing, and his complex dance moves, especially the moonwalks all around the world to show their love for him.
Through his work and various foundations(基金会), Michael raised and donated millions to charity, which is much more than any showman. He supported 39 charities in all. Apart from that, he had a great love for children, especially the poor ones, and he felt that children were the best thing than God.
Michael planned to start a 50-concert tour in July 2009. Sadly on June 25th, 2009, Michael passed away at home. Besides a great performer, showman and entertainer, he was a good and charitable person. Nobody can be another graeter entertainer like Michael Jackson ever again.According to the passage, Michael Jackson _____.
| A．had nine brothers and sisters |
| B．live a happy life as a child |
| C．loved performing at school |
| D．fell in love with music at the age of 11 |
The underlined word “enthralled”in Paragraph 4 probably means ____.
| A．encouraged | B．puzzled | C．developed | D．attracted |
In the author’s opinion, Michael Jackson ‘s greatest contribution lies in _____.
| A．Five making MTV popular | B．creating music video channel |
| C．joining the Jackson | D．popularizing the moonwalk |
Five people are at our table, including myself. I’ve already learnt a great deal about them in the short time we’ve been at sea, although we rarely meet except at mealtimes.
First of all, there is Dr. Stone. He is a man of about sixty-five, with gray hair and a friendly face. He gave up his work a short while ago and is now traveling round the world before he retires to some quite country village. As a young man, he served for many years as a doctor in the army and visited many countries. He’s told us a great deal about the city to which they are going.
Then there is “Grandmother”. I call her that because her name escapes me. In spite of being a grandmother, she looks remarkable young, no more than fifty. She is on her way to visit a daughter who went to Australia some years ago. Naturally she is very excited at the thought of seeing her again, and her three grandchildren, whom she has never seen.
Then there is a man I don’t care for very much, the engineer by the name of Barlow. He has been on leave in England and is now returning to his work in Singapore.
The other person who sits at our table is Mrs. Hunt. I’ve found out hardly anything about her. She’s extremely quiet and rarely talks, except to consult the doctor about children’s various illnesses. She is on her way to join her husband in India.What can we know about Mr. Stone?
| A． He knows a lot about the city the author is going to visit. |
| B．He is going to give up his work. |
| C．He has been retired for many years. |
| D．He is a doctor in the army now |
Who lives in India?
| A．Mrs. Hunt | B．Grandmother | C．The doctor | D．Mr. Hunt |
The writer calls the second person “Grandmother”because _____.
A. She looks old. B. he can’t think of her name
C. She has three daughters D he respects herThe underlined phrase“on leave”in Paragragh 4 probably means _____.
| A．leaving | B．at home | C．about to leave | D．on vacation |
根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Should Good Sportsmanship Be Taught in School?
Almost everyone feels that it is important for young people to win fairly and show respect toward others．Should good sportsmanship, then, be taught in school? Critics do not think so． 1Presented here are the most important benefits of teaching sportsmanship．
Teaching good sportsmanship and having a positive attitude in activities like sports, class elections, and science fair competitions are critical to success in school．2Acting calmly under pressure helps young adults succeed not only in sports but also in life．
3A person cannot play by the rules if he or she does not understand what the rules are．Knowing the rules also applies to other activities．If students enter a science fair competition, for example, they must follow the guidelines． Those who know the rules are much more likely to succeed．When students learn sportsmanship, they discover, how knowing the rules relates to achievement．
Good players become skilled at handling responsibility．When people accept responsibility, they achieve their best．Positive thinkers, moreover, influence others, especially those who are struggling with a problem．A gifted basketball player, for example, might teach skills to a less-talented player．Helping others raises the performance of the entire team．The team, consequently, could reach new heights and set new records． 4Those who do not practice sportsmanship pass off responsibility．For them, if an opportunity is lost, it is someone else' s fault．When students participate on a team, they benefit by learning to accept responsibility, encourage others and own up to（认错） mistakes．
Sportsmanship is a winning idea．It must be taught in school．Students need direction to become good sports"．Students will be responsible for their own actions and will have a positive influence on others．As students enter the workforce, businesses benefit．The community also benefits because these students will someday become leaders． 5
| A．We need to educate students about how sportsmanship pays off for everyone． |
| B．However, the stronger argument favors teaching good sportsmanship． |
| C．Sports help young adults learn how to team up with others． |
| D．Good sportsmanship also means admitting mistakes． |
E．Activities involving winning or losing can be tense．
F．It is natural that players should be eager to win．
G．Good team players know the rules of the game．
Learning to drive is important to the independence of teenagers, but it is also a great responsibility．Although having a law that keeps 16-year-old drivers from having more than one teenager in the car with them at first seems unfair, there are convincing reasons for this requirement．
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that teens are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in an automobile accident．It also reports that 16-and 17-year-old drivers are twice as likely to have an accident if they have two teenage friends in the car and four times as likely to have one if they have three or more teenage friends in the car with them．Fatal （ 致命的） crashes of 16-year-old drivers involve the highest percentage of speeding, driver error, and number of passengers．This information is enough to cause any reasonable person to wonder about the wisdom of allowing new teen drivers to take a carload of friends anywhere, even if the law permits it．
A study at the National Institutes of Health indicates that the part of the human brain that controls judgment and evaluates the consequences of our actions might not be fully formed until the age of 25．Until this study, researchers had placed the age at 18．If this is true, it could explain the reckless （鲁莽的） behavior of many teens, behavior that often extends into their twenties．It also could be a strong reason for being cautious about the driving circumstances of young people．
This is not the only study that indicates such caution is necessary．One study at Temple University in Philadelphia examines the results of peer（同龄人） pressure in risky driving situations．The study, which uses a driving game, has an individual guide a car through a course, both alone and in the presence of friends．Three different age groups participated in the study: 13-16, 18-22, and 24 and older．Members of the oldest group showed caution whether driving alone or with friends present, but the two younger groups took more chances when they were with their friends．Furthermore, because these drivers were accustomed to the noise and distraction of many passengers, they were unable to see their own mistakes．Once again, this is a good indication that a law restricting the number of teenagers in the car with a young driver is a good idea．What does the author mainly tell us in Paragraph 2?
| A．Many deaths have occurred because of inexperience and overconfidence． |
| B．It' s reasonable to severely limit the passenger number of teen drivers． |
| C．New teen drivers have to ask permission before driving with friends． |
| D．There are many causes behind the teens' driving accidents． |
From the two studies, the author probably suggests that ______．
| A．different age groups have different peer pressure |
| B．teenagers often give wrong judgments above passengers' noise |
| C．underdeveloped brain makes teens ignore their mistakes |
| D．driving circumstances are bound up with（与…密切相关） the risk of accidents |
We can infer that the law restriction can probably ______．
| A．protect teens on the highway |
| B．raise teens' sense of responsibility |
| C．reduce the number of fatal crashes |
| D．force teens to drive with caution |
With which statement would the author most likely disagree?
| A．Some teenagers have risky behavior while driving． |
| B．Certain laws treat teenagers and adults differently． |
| C．We still need more studies on teen driving． |
| D．Driving is important to a teenager' s sense of independence． |
Some wonderfully creative uses of X-rays have been in the world of art．But the most impressive one is to uncover what has been covered up．Details unfolded by an X-ray of a painting can ' t be seen any other way．For example, in the past, paintings were often repaired if small pieces of paint fell off the canvas （帆布）． These repairs cannot be seen just by looking at the painting．It takes an X-ray to discover where the repairs have been made．
An X-ray of a painting is one of the best ways to tell if it was created by a famous painter or if it is a forgery（赝品）．If there is a question as to whether an old master has painted a certain painting or not, X-rays are made and compared to those of paintings that are known to be original．If the brushstrokes （笔迹） , for example, are shown to be totally different than in other work done by a certain artist, then the painting is proved to be a fake copy．
Since modern paints are usually made from different materials than paints of hundreds of years ago, the image they leave on an X-ray film looks different．This is another way X-rays can be used to spot a forgery．A modem artist will try to make a forgery look hundreds of years old by painting dirty varnish on it or by using artificial means to get the varnish to look cracked．To the naked eye the forgery may look old, but when a careful study of the X-ray image is made, the deception is obvious．
It was common many years ago for an artist to finish a painting, decide it wasn't any good, and paint a completely different picture on top of it．Or artists would paint over others' work —it was their version of recycling．Taking an X-ray is the only way to find out if there is a picture underneath the picture you see with your eyes．Sometimes museums will be more interested in the painting beneath than the one on top, and will restore the older one by having the top layer painstakingly removed．What is the main purpose of the article?
| A．To provide information to police who are looking for stolen art． |
| B．To persuade art dealers to check for fake copies before selling art． |
| C．To explain how modern technology can be applied in unique ways． |
| D．To help artists restore damaged artwork to its original appearance． |
According to the passage，X-rays are used to ______．
| A．make repairs on paintings in the past |
| B．identify the authenticity of an artwork |
| C．change the materials of a forgery |
| D．remove the recyclable paints |
In Paragraph 3, the word "deception" probably means ______．
| A．comparison | B．drawback | C．trickery | D．judgement |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．X-ray Detectives |
| B．Creative Uses of Technology |
| C．Forgery Studies |
| D．X-ray Painting Techniques |