When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By JackJack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
| A．the manager asked him to do so | B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so | D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.
| A．nervous | B．satisfied | C．unhappy | D．excited |
In Jack’s hometown, _______.
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
After this experience, Jack _______.
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
If you are looking to putting a tree in your home for Christmas, there is always one debate that seems to arise in most households: whether you want a real tree or fake tree. Year after year, as we find ourselves cleaning old pine needles (松针) for months on end, we decide that we will never get another real tree. So that begs the question: Which kind of tree is better?
There is certainly a lot to be said for real trees. There is something fun about gathering the family together, going to a Christmas tree farm, and selecting or even cutting down your own tree. Real Christmas trees have that lovely holiday pine needle smell and they look great in your home.
Of course, on the other hand, they also leave a complete mess behind and needles that seem to keep appearing for weeks or even months after the tree comes down. You must also find a way to deal with your real Christmas tree after you’re done, which may mean cutting it into pieces so it will fit in the trash. Many dustmen will refuse to take away a tree that is left beside your regular trash, especially if it is a big tree or an old, yellow one with falling needles, making it hard to pick up. They don’t want a face full of sharp needles any more than you do!
With a fake Christmas tree, there is no mess, but there is also no Christmas smell and no exciting trip to the Christmas tree farm. Of course, these trees look the same in appearance as a real tree when decorated. Many of them come already with lights, so using that old, messy string of lights will be a thing of the past. For some people, a can of pine air freshener is enough to recreate the pleasant smell of a real tree.
As to which tree is the better choice, it is really a matter of personal preference. Both real and fake trees certainly have their benefits, and knowing which is better for you this Christmas really depends on what your family wants.Which of the following shows the benefits of real Christmas trees?
a.providing more fun
b.easy to clean up
c.giving off a natural smell
d.easy to decorate
| A．a, c | B．a, d | C．b, c | D．b, d |
The third paragraph is mainly about ________.
| A．why many dustmen refuse to take away a real tree |
| B．how long a real tree can live |
| C．how to cut a real tree into pieces |
| D．what weaknesses a real tree has |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 shows that fake Christmas trees _______.
| A．look more beautiful | B．are more fashionable |
| C．can be used longer | D．are more convenient |
What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
| A．Objective. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Skeptical. | D．Optimistic. |
About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, an exchange of greetings was followed by his questions: “Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry: “Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer! What kind of person would not speak English to her son at home and at all times? “Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and send them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of “those people.” Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的).
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others; it teaches people about other cultures and other places — something very basic and obviously lacking in the “educator” I met in New Jersey.The teacher asked the author to his office ______.
| A．to discuss Scola’s in-class performance |
| B．to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten |
| C．to find a language partner for Scola |
| D．to work out a study plan for Scola |
What does the underlined word “disrupting” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Breaking | B．Following |
| C．Attending | D．Disturbing |
The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as ______.
| A．critical | B．casual | C．positive | D．passive |
This text is likely to be selected from a book of _______.
| A．medicine | B．education | C．geography | D．History |
Baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time.
Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700’s has also become popular in the United States.
For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided, and perfume was often used to cover up body smells!
By the 1700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became common.
In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “The Great Unwashed!” In one American city, for example, a person was only allowed to take a bath every thirty days! That was a law!
Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health. Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bathe once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential to good health.In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was _______.
| A．unimportant | B．good for health |
| C．harmful | D．popular |
During the Victorian Age _______.
| A．the Americans ever took a bath every thirty days |
| B．frequent bathing was avoided |
| C．people used perfume to cover up body smells after bathing |
| D．the British people generally took a bath once a week. |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．bathing in the USA |
| B．the good points and bad points of bathing |
| C．the history of bathing |
| D．the modern medical bathing |
It was a Saturday morning, a day I believed would end in victory. For weeks, I had been preparing for the match at the county fairgrounds, sponsored(赞助) by our local riding club. My horse, Tonka, and I could run faster than any kid in the county, and I hoped to bring home a blue ribbon.
My mother usually drove me to the riding events, but on this day, my father planned to drop us off at the fairgrounds with the horse trailer(马车) .
Although we never discussed it, my father’s struggle with alcoholism had become the silent center of our family life. My mother was paralyzed (瘫痪的) with fear and indecision. Her salary as a part-time nurse couldn’t possibly support four children. No one talked about alcoholism in those days, and it was my family secret.
We climbed on the trailer and my father pulled out of our driveway and headed toward the fairgrounds, picking up speed once we hit the main road. It wasn’t until we felt a big bump that I realized the trailer was out of control. The dream of my riding winner disappeared. Tonka lay on the floor, completely still. No words were possible. I knew he was dead.
Suddenly a man appeared. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Yes.”I answered, although I knew that nothing was all right. “Sit here on the grass,” he said. He bent down to look into the trailer. Tonka remained still. He touched Tonka and then turned to face me. “He is going to be OK. He has just been knocked unconscious.” He rubbed Tonka’s cheeks and gently pulled his ears. Tonka rose to his feet.
Our father was talking to a police officer. He was upset and in pain and took little notice of me. I looked back; the man was gone.
I never forgot him. He gave me strength and a sense of hope in a dark and frightening moment.The writer went to the fairgrounds because he wanted to ________.
| A．take part in a horse racing |
| B．buy Mum a blue ribbon |
| C．join the local riding club |
| D．train his horse there |
We can learn from the third paragraph that ________.
| A．the family kept silent at home |
| B．the family lived a secret life |
| C．Father was addicted to alcohol |
| D．Mum was physically disabled |
What does “he” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
| A．Father | B．The stranger |
| C．The horse | D．The winner |
What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
| A．Once formed, bad habits are difficult to break. |
| B．Unexpected kindness is a light that shines in the darkness. |
| C．However mean your life is, meet it and live it. |
| D．Family is a place of encouragement, a safe harbor in the storms. |
Robots make me nervous-especially the ones which seem to think for themselves．I was embarrassed to admit this till I heard that Bill Gates，the founder of Microsoft，felt the same way．Gates said in an interview with the website Reddit：“I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence．First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent．That should be positive if we manage well．A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern．”
Well，maybe I don’t have to worry about my laptop and kitchen appliances yet．After I use them I can always pull the plug．But in the future，machines might find a way to prevent us from switching them off．There’s a scary thought!
Professor Stephen Hawking warned a few months ago about the possibility that artificial intelligence could evolve and end up beyond human contro1．He suggested that machines could“spell the end of the human race”．
Maybe the problem with computers too clever for us is not that they are evil or rebellious．What could put us in danger is that they might be too efficient．That’s what philosopher Nick Bostrom from the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University believes．He says that machines are indifferent to humans and in pursuit of their own goals，the destruction of people might be just collateral(附带的)damage．A machine would not take pity on you．
I’m glad my machines at home are“dumb”．All my vacuum cleaner wants to take over is the carpet in my living room．Let’s hope they don’t create an appliance which wants to take over the world!We can conclude from Gates’statements that ___________．
| A．he is embarrassed that he is afraid of robots |
| B．he doesn’t think machines are intelligent |
| C．machines should be fully employed |
| D．machines’super intelligence should be a concern |
The underlined word“spell”in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____________．
| A．record | B．cause | C．explain | D．develop |
Why are computers dangerous according to Nick Bostrom?
| A．They are too evil and rebellious． |
| B．They are indifferent to humans． |
| C．They show pity on humans. |
| D．They are too clever and efficient． |
What can be inferred about the author?
| A．He doesn’t agree with Bill Gates． |
| B．He is not content with the present kitchen appliances． |
| C．He is scared about the super intelligence of machines． |
| D．He expects that machines will take place of humans． |