DEARAUNTYf
My husband’s niece is 13 and what I would call “a handful”. She wants to stay with us for while, and her mother and grandmother have told me what a great influence I would be on her. Her visit ,no doubt, would bring about a long list of demands’ and she’d want to bring a friend too. I don t feel comfortable hosting her, but I don 3r know how to tell my husband’s family members without hurting their feelings.
-Reluctant Aunt
Dear Reluctant,
Let’s get you out of this mess. Your husband’s family is making a request that borders on a demand and sugarcoating it with self-serving flattery (恭维)• Put your foot down, and tell the truth. Say you don’t feel equipped or comfortable hosting the little darling, and regretfully decline (拒绝).Under no circumstances should you take part in any discussion that attempts to change your mind through flattery.
DEAR AUNTY
have two stepdaughters, 21 and 24. On holidays, the older one always buys me gift but adds her sister’s name on the card. I feel insincere thanking the younger daughter -Vd rather get no gift than be a part of this pretence. Is it tacky (俗气)to ask the 24-year-old to stop giving her sister credit while it isn t deserved? Will the younger one ever learn to be thoughtful?
-Mindful Mum
Dear Mindful,
Lighten up! Your older stepdaughter is a considerate and generous sister who covers for and protects her younger sister. Good for her! The girls’ relationship is between them. As for your role, you can’t punish anyone into being thoughtful. You can, however, model thoughtful behavior. Spend some time with her, and get to know her better.The underlined word “a handful” would probably mean a person who______
A.is difficult to deal with | B.enjoys making friends |
C.is easy to get along with | D.gets easily influenced |
AUNTY suggested that Reluctant Aunt______
A.kindly host the guest |
B.discuss with her husband |
C.politely turn down the request |
D.try to meet all the demands |
Which of the following is TRUE about the second case?
A.Mindful Mum is very proud of her two step daughters. |
B.The two stepdaughters always buy Mindful Mum gifts. |
C.AUNTY thinks the older sister should be punished. |
D.The older stepdaughter cares for her sister. |
In which section does the passage most probably appear in a magazine?
A.Entertainment. | B.Advice. | C.Health. | D.Food &Recipes. |
D
Theatre
City Varieties:
The Headrow, Leeds.
Tel. 430808 Oct 10-11 only A Night at the Varieties.
All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Duval and the Tony Harrison Trio. Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favourite songs.
Performances: 8 pm nightly.
Admission: £5; under 16 or over 60: £4.
York Theatre Royal
Tel. 223568 St Leonard’s Place, York.
Sept 23-Oct 17 Groping for Words-a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy.
Admission: First night, Mon: £2; Tues-Fri:£3.25-5.50; Sat:£3.50-5.75.
Halifax Playhouse
Tel. 365998 King’s Cross Street, Halifax.
Oct 10-17 on Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy bout real people. A beautiful produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don’t miss it.
Performances: 7:30pm.
Admission: £2. Mon: 2 seats for the price of one.
Grand Theatre
Tel. 5022116 Restaurant and Cafe. Oxford Street, Leeds.
Oct 1-17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book.
Performances: Evening 7:45. Oct 1-17, at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances.
Admission: Tues-Thurs: £2-5; Fri & Sat: £2-6.
48. Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?
A. Halifax Playhouse.B. City Varieties. C. Grand Theatre.D. York Theatre Royal.
49. If you want to see a play with old jokes and songs, which phone number will you ring to book a seat?
A. 502116 B. 223568 C. 365998 D. 430808
50. We may learn from the text that Sue Townsend is _______.
A. a writerB. an actressC. a musicianD. a director
C
Hank Viscardi was born without legs. He had no legs but stumps(残肢) that could be fitted with a kind of special boots. People stared at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ because his arms practically dragged on the ground.
Hank went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve. After graduating from school, he worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. He would soon have to use a wheel chair.
Hank felt himself got cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs(假腿). Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror. For the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be--- a full five feet eight inches tall. By this time he was already 26 years old.
Hank had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it.
When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs.
44. It can be inferred from the story that five feet eight inches tall is _______.
A. an average height for a fully grown person
B.too tall for an average person
C. too short for an average person
D. none of the above
45. The sentence “he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job” implies that the Red Cross _______.
A. was only glad to give him a job
B. gave him a job because he was a good soldier
C.gave him a job after he talked to someone whom he knew in the organization
D. was not willing to give him a job at first
46. When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he _______.
A. did everything the other soldiers did
B. did most of the things the other soldiers did
C. did some of the things the other soldiers did
D. took some special training
47. The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi _______.
A. had no friends B. never saw himself as different from others
C. was very shy D. was too proud to accept help from others
B
The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty-four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm of the sun.
Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light which strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.
This characteristic probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely controlled inside the living body of the crab.
The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!
40. The crab’s changing colour _______.
A. tells the crab what time it is
B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies
C. keeps the crab warm
D. is of no real use
41. When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark, they _______.
A. did not change colour B. changed colour more quickly
C. changed colour more slowly D. changed colour on the same timetable
42. The crab’s colour—changing ability was probably developed _______.
A. in the process of evolution (进化) B. over millions of years
C. by the work of biologists D. both A and B
43. The best title for this selection would be _______.
A. The Sun and the Tides B. Discoveries in Biology
C. A scientific Study D. A Living Clock
第二部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分
A
Sam and Joe were astronauts. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced astronauts knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive. Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be exciting though a little dangerous. “We’re the best men for the job,” they said to the boss. “There may be problems, but we can find the answers.” “They’re the last people I’d trust,” thought the boss. “But all the other astronauts have refused to go.”
Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said, “Who’s there?” “It’s me! Who else could it be?” shouted Joe. Sam let him in all right but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!
36. Most of the astronauts were unwilling to go on a trip because _______.
A.there was little chance of being selected B.they weren’t experienced enough
C. they thought they might get killedD. it wasn’t exciting enough
37. Why were Sam and Joe chosen?
A. The boss wanted them to get more experience.
B. The boss trusted them more than anyone else.
C. They were the last people who wanted to go.
D. They were the only men who offered to go.
38 Joe didn’t want to work with Sam again probably because he thought Sam _______.
A. was very slow and possibly deaf B.didn’t know how to operate the door
C. was less experienced than he wasD. didn’t know how to do repairs
39. The writer tells this story to _______.
A. show the dangerous side of the astronauts’ life B. make people laugh
C. show the funny side of the astronauts’ life D. make people think
E
In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.
Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit patients— even when those patients are their parents. This deprives(剥夺)the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.
Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.
It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients’ communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies. Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their reat need to be informed, to be kept up-to-date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to deal with the coming of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death.
82.The elders of today's Americans________ .
A. are often absent when a family member is born or dying
B. usually see the birth or death of a family member
C. are unfamiliar with birth and death
D. have often experienced the fear of death as part of life
83.Children in America are deprived of the chance to________.
A. visit a patient at hospital B. visit their family members
C. look after the patients D. learn how to face death
84.The need of a dying patient for people to accompany him shows________.
A. his wish for communication with other people
B. his fear of death
C. his unwillingness to die
D. he feels very upset about his condition
85.It may be concluded from the passage that________.
A. dying patients should be truthfully informed of their condition
B. dying patients are afraid of being told of the coming of death
C. most patients are unable to accept death until it can’t be avoided
D. dying patients are not likely to be informed about their condition