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. |
The garden city was largely the invention of Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928). After immigrating from England to the USA, and an unsuccessful attempt to make a living as a farmer, he moved to Chicago, where he saw the reconstruction of the city after the disastrous(灾难性的) fire of 1871. In those days, it was nicknamed “the Garden City”, almost certainly the source of Howard’s name for his later building plan of towns. Returning to London, Howard developed his design in the 1880s and 1890s, drawing on ideas that were popular at the time, but creating a unique combination（结合） of designs.
The nineteenth-century poor city was in many ways a terrible place, dirty and crowded; but it offered economic and social opportunities. At the same time, the British countryside was in fact equally unattractive: though it promised fresh air and nature, it suffered from agricultural depression(萧条) and it offered neither enough work and wages, nor much social life. Howard’s idea was to combine the best of town and country in a new kind of settlement, the garden city. Howard’s idea was that a group of people should set up a company, borrowing money to establish a garden city in the depressed countryside; far enough from existing cities to make sure that the land was bought at the bottom price.
Garden cities would provide a central public open space, radial avenues and connecting industries. They would be surrounded by a much larger area of green belt, also owned by the company, containing not merely farms but also some industrial institutions. As more and more people moved in, the garden city would reach its planned limit-----Howard suggested 32,000 people; then, another would be started a short distance away. Thus, over time, there would develop a vast planned house collection, extending almost without limit; within it, each garden city would offer a wide rang of jobs and services, but each would also be connected to the others by a rapid transportation system, thus giving all the economic and social opportunities of a big city.How did Howard get the name for his building plan of garden cities?
| A．Through his observation of the country life. |
| B．Through the combination of different ideas. |
| C．By taking other people’s advice. |
| D．By using the nickname of the reconstructed Chicago. |
The underlined phrase “drawing on ”in Paragraph 1 probably means______.
| A．making use of | B．making comments on |
| C．giving an explanation of | D．giving a description of |
According to Howard, garden cities should be built______.
| A．as far as possible from existing cities |
| B．in the countryside where the land was cheap |
| C．in the countryside where agriculture was developed |
| D．near cities where employment opportunities already existed |
What can we learn about garden cities from the last paragraph?
| A．Their number would continue to rise |
| B．Each one would continue to become larger |
| C．People would live and work in the same place |
| D．Each one would contain a certain type of business |
What could be the best title for the passage?
| A．City and Countryside | B．The Invention of the Garden City |
| C．A New City in Chicago | D．A Famous Garden City in England |
They are the sort of friends who are so close they trust each other with their lives.If one falls, the other is there to catch him.
They are Wellman, whose legs were permanently injured nine years ago in a rock-climbing accident and Corbett, an experienced rock climber. Together, they climbed up Half Dome. the famous 2,000-foot rock in the Yosemite National park, through one of the most difficult routes(路线).
During the climb, Corbett took the lead, hit in the metal spikes (尖状物)that guided the ropes and climbed up. Then, after Wellman pulled himself up the rope, Corbett went down to remove the spikes and climbed up again. This process was repeated time and again, inch by inch, for 13 days Wellman’s job was not easy either. He got himself up the rope through upper body strength alone. In all, Wellman figured(计算) that he had done 5.000 pull-ups up the rope on the climb.
However, when the two men first met, they never talked about climbing. “He knew that was how I got injured.”Wellman said. Until one day Wellman decided that be wanted to climb again and they started training
Their climb of Half Dome was not all smooth. At one point, pieces of rock gave way, and Corbett dropped down quickly. Wellman locked their rope in place, stopping the fall at 20 feet. His quick action probably saved his friend’s life.
“Your partner can save your life—you can sane your partner’s life” Wellman said as the pair received congratulations from friends “there are real close tic.”Which of the following was a challenge for Corbett in climbing Half Dome?
| A．To climb up to remove the spikes. | B．To climb it twice. |
| C．To do 5,000 pall-ups up the rope. | D．To lock the rope in place. |
Why did the two men never talk about climbing when they first met?
| A．climbed was poorly trained. |
| B．Wellman had lost interest in climbing. |
| C．Corbett didn’t want to hurt Wellman. |
| D．Wellman hadn’t decided whether to climb again. |
What do we know about Wellman?
| A．He climbed Half Dome by himself. |
| B．He was disabled in a traffic accident. |
| C．He stopped rock-climbing for some time. |
| D．He was saved by Corbett during the climb. |
The main idea of the text is that.
| A．two heads are better than one. |
| B．friendship is precious in life |
| C．the disabled should never give up. |
| D．a man can be destroyed but cannot be defeated. |
As a professor at a large American university, there is a phrase that I hear often from students: “I’m only a 1050. ”The unlucky students are speaking of the score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT）, which is used to determine whether they will be admitted to the college or university of their choice, or even have a chance to get a higher education at all. The SAT score, whether it is 800, 1 100 or 1550, has becomes the focus at this time of their life.
It is obvious that if students value highly their test scores, then a great amount of their self-respect is put in the number. Students who perform poorly on the exam are left feeling that it is all over. The low test score, they think, will make it impossible for them to get into a good college. And without a degree from a prestigious university, they fear that many of life’s doors will remain forever closed.
According to a study done in the 1990s, the SAT is only a reliable indicator(指示物) of a student’s future performance in most cases. Interestingly, it becomes much more accurate when it is set together with other indicators——like a student’s high school grades. Even if standardized tests like the SAT could show a student’s academic proficiency（学业水平）,they will never be able to test things like confidence, efforts and willpower, and are unable to give us the full picture of a student’s potentialities（潜力）. This is not to suggest that we should stop using SAT scores in our college admission process. The SAT is an excellent test in many ways, and the score is still a useful means of testing students. However, it should be only one of many methods used. The purpose of the SAT is to test students’.
| A．strong will | B．academic ability |
| C．full potentialities | D．confidence in school work |
Students’ self-respect is influenced by their.
| A．scores in the SAT | B．achievements in mathematic |
| C．job opportunities | D．money spent on education |
“A prestigious university” is most probably.
| A．a famous university | B．a technical university |
| C．a traditional university | D．an expensive university |
This passage is mainly about.
| A．how to prepare for the SAT | B．stress caused by the SAT |
| C．American higher education | D．the SAT and its effects |
Most people think that the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language. That is, they believe that children learn more easily and efficiently than adults. Thus, at some point in our lives, maybe around age 12 or 13, we lose the ability to learn languages well. Is this idea a fact or myth(悬念)？
Is it true that children learn a foreign language more efficiently than adults? On the contrary, research studies suggest that the opposite may be true. One report, on 2,000 Danish children studying Swedish, concluded that the teenagers learned more, in less time, than the younger children. Another report, on Americans learning Russian, showed a direct improvement of ability over the age range tested; that is, the ability to learn increased as the age increased, from childhood to adulthood.
There are several possible explanations for these findings. For one thing, adults know more about the world and therefore are able to understand meanings more easily than children. Moreover, adults can use logical(逻辑的) thinking to help themselves see patterns in the language. Finally, adults have more self-discipline (self-control) than children.
All in all, it seems that the common idea that children are better language learners than adults may not be a fact, but a myth.The main idea of the passage is ____.
| A．teenagers are more difficult to teach |
| B．Danish teenagers can learn Swedish faster than younger children |
| C．adults are more logical than children |
| D．the ability to learn languages increases with age |
According to the passage, teenagers can learn a foreign language _____ than younger children.
| A．harder | B．more efficiently |
| C．more slowly | D．more carefully |
Which of the following possible explanations for older student’s better achievement is not mentioned in the above passage?
| A．Adults know more about the world. | B．Adults can use logical thinking |
| C．Adults have more self-discipline. | D．Adults can read better. |
The porter(行李搬运工) brings your bags to your room and helpfully explains all you want to know．Then he points to the phone and says：“If there’s anything else you need, just call．”All this time you have been thinking of one thing：“How much should I tip(付小费)him?” To make your next trip a little easier, here’s guide to tipping across some Asian countries.
Bangkok(曼谷)
In general, the more westernized the place is, the more likely you will be expected to leave a tip．Some top-end restaurants will add a 10％ service charge to the bill．If not, waiters will appreciate your tacking on(附加)the 10％ yourself．However, if you’re eating at a lower-end restaurant, a tip is not necessary．If you’re staying at one of Bangkok’s many five-star hotels, expect to tip the porter 20 to 50 baht(泰国货币单位),depending on how many bags you have．Taxis are now metered in Bangkok．Local custom is to round up(凑整数)the fare to the nearest five baht．
Hong Kong
Tipping is customary in this money-mad metropolis(大都市)．Most restaurants add a 10％ service charge to the bill, but the extra money often ends up in the pocket of the owner. If the service is good, add another 10％ to the bill, up to HKMYMl00 in an especially nice restaurant．For HK MYM10 hotel porters should do it at all but the nicest hotels where a new HKMYM20 bill may be more acceptable．When in a taxi, round up to the nearest dollar．
Kuala Lumpur（吉隆坡）
Tipping in Malaysia is limited to the expensive westernized hotels, which often add a 10％ service charge to your meal or hotel room．If you are at a hotel restaurant, expect a 10％ service charge．
But at local restaurants, there’s no need to add a tip. At five-star hotels, one or two ringgit(马来西亚货币单位)will satisfy a porter. At lower-end buildings don’t feel you have to tip Like Bangkok, many taxis are now metered so you can just round up to the nearest ringgit．
Seoul
Tipping is not part of Korean culture, although it has become a matter of course in international hotels where a 10％ service charge is often added．If you’re at a Korean barbecue joint(烧烤处), there’s no need to add anything extra．But a nice Italian restaurant may require a 10％ contribution．
If you’re at a top-end hotel, so expect to pay 500～l,000 won per bag．Taxi drivers don’t accept a tip．Keep the change for yourself．Which of the following is NOT the unit of money?．
| A．Charge | B．Baht | C．Won | D．Ringgit |
In which of the following cities is it unnecessary to tip the taxi-drivers?
| A．Bangkok | B．Hongkong | C．Kuala Lumpur | D．Seoul |
If you stay at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur, how much will you pay the porter at least?
| A．10％ of service charge | B．Three ringgit | C．Half a ringgit | D．One ringgit |
The writer seems．
| A．to tell the readers how to travel |
| B．to give the readers some advice on how to tip |
| C．to ask the readers to go on a travel to Asian cities |
| D．to make the trip more pleasant |