For the British, the home is a private place in which he or she goes to hide away from the troubles of life. It is very seldom that one would be invited to a British person’s home. It is rude to knock on a person’s door if you are not invited. If you are invited, don’t ask to see more than the downstairs that your British host invites you into. Never ask how much the house or any of the items in it cost.
To the American, most of them want their home to be a place where they can entertain (款待) and share their lives with their friends. They may be delighted to give you a full tour of their houses. They may also be pleased when you show your interest and pleasure in their houses.
Both British and American people will engage in quite a bit of chat and a drink or two before the meal is served. After the first mouthful, you should say how delicious the food is and ask something about it. Remember, never eat with your mouth open and make very little noise while eating. It would be nice of you to help your host in any way. Maybe offer to pour some drinks or clear up after the meal.British people _______ invite friends to their home.
| A．often | B．always | C．seldom | D．never |
If your British friend invites you to his home, you can ____.
| A．see anything you like |
| B．ask how much his house is |
| C．ask the cost of any of the items in it |
| D．only see the downstairs that you are invited into |
When you show your interest and pleasure in American people’s house, they may be _____.
| A．angry | B．happy | C．sad | D．worried |
What does the underlined “engage in” mean in Chinese?
| A．陷入 | B．参与 | C．回避 | D．限制 |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Some manners on visiting British and American people’s home. |
| B．Different table manners between British and American people. |
| C．Different ideas about the home between British and American people |
| D．Different ideas about how to get along well with neighbors between British and American people. |
“All I could see was two sets of red eyes below me,” said Dave Gatty, an Australian farmer who spent seven days up a tree in remote bush land to escape crocodiles. Gatty, 52, said he was forced to take such drastic action after he accidentally went into a crocodile-infested area of Queensland. He only had two meat sandwiches to keep him going, as crocodiles moved beneath his tree each night until his rescue. Gatty said he decided it was safer to hold out for a rescue team than try to make a run for it. His problems began after he fell off his horse while out in the northern Australia outback. Dazed and bleeding, he climbed back on his horse and hoped it would lead him home. It was only when he regained his senses he realized that he had been taken into crocodile-infested area. “I had to get off the horse and I fell straight into a crocodile nest,” he told reporters.
“That frightened me. I couldn’t go back, it was too far and too dangerous, so I headed to the nearest high ground and stayed there, hoping someone would come and find me before the crocs did.”
Gatty explained how each night two crocodiles would sit at the bottom of the tree staring at him. Although Gatty’s two sandwiches ran out after three days, he was able to get running water during the day and knew rescuers were looking for him as he could see helicopters in the air above his tree.
“If I hadn’t seen the crocs circling me, and if I hadn’t fallen into the croc nest, I would have made a push for it. But I knew the safest thing was for me to sit and wait,” he said. A chocolate bar, given to him by rescuers after being moved to safety by using a winch(卷扬机), “was like a gourmet (delicious)meal,” he said.Gaddy felt _______ when he found himself trapped in the crocodile- infested area.
| A．panicked but optimistic | B．nervous and hopeless |
| C．upset and regretful | D．frightened but calm |
Which of the following did not help Gatty survive the accident?
| A．Sandwiches | B．Running water |
| C．Chocolates | D．Staying up in a tree |
What’s the right order of the events related to the accident?
a. Gaddy climbed up onto his horse unconscious.
b. Gaddy climbed up a tree and stayed there.
c. Gaddy was moved by a winch to safety.
d. Gaddy fell off his horse accidentally.
e. Gaddy found himself in a crocodile-infested area.
| A．a d e c b | B． d a e b c | C．a d e b c | D．d e a b c |
The article can be classified as _________.
| A．a news story | B．a scientific fiction |
| C．a personal essay | D．a literary report |
Something that has always interested me about Abraham Lincoln is，not surprisingly，his sense of humor. As far as I can tell，he's the first American President to have one．
That's because the term“sense of humor” really wasn't in common usage until the eighteen-sixties and seventies．In the eighteen-forties and fifties，it was called“the sense of the ridiculous," and didn't have the positive connotations（隐含意义）that“sense of humor" has today. Back then，what was ridiculous was what invited ridicule（讥笑）．Funniness and cruelty went hand in hand．Of course，they still do a lot of arm-in-arm walking in our day as well．
Lincoln’s humor was very different because，for one thing，it was actually "humor＂as what the word meant in his time. We don't make the distinction between "wit（风趣）”and "humor”anymore; but in the nineteenth century people did．Wit was unpleasant and offensive while humor was pleasant and sympathetic．It’s the difference we note now when we distinguish between "laughing with”and“laughing at．”Lincoln was much more about "laughing with”than "laughing at．”And when“laughing at，”it was often himself he was teasing.
In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates，when Douglas accused Lincoln of being two-faced，Lincoln replied，referencing his plain looking，“Honestly，if I were two-faced，would I be showing you this one？”And，in a way，Lincoln's face itself tells us much about his sense of humor．
You can comb through thousands of photographs of politicians，soldiers，and the like from Lincoln's time and not find a single smile．
True, the long exposures（曝光）required for photographs of that time made smiling difficult．Yet Lincoln alone，as far as I can tell，overcame that difficulty.
Interestingly, while having a sense of humor，or at least the appearance of one provided by comedy writers has become a necessary characteristic for an American President in our time，in the nineteenth century，too much humor was considered problem. And that was the case for Lincoln．A journalist covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates commented that“I could not take a real personal liking to the man，owing to an inborn weakness. . .that he was extremely, fond of jokes，anecdotes，and stories．”We can infer from Paragraph 2 that＿＿
| A．the American President could influence the use of English |
| B．the term "sense of humor”wasn't invented until the 1860s |
| C．what is funny to someone might be offensive to someone else |
| D．the concept of humor remains the same despite the passing of time |
The underlined words“this one”in Paragraph 4 refer to＿＿．
| A．Lincoln's unattractive face |
| B．Lincoln's sense of humor |
| C．the debate they were having |
| D．cruelty that went with funniness |
We rarely see people from Lincoln's time wear smile in their photos because＿．
| A．being humorous was considered inappropriate |
| B．they found it quite funny to smile before camera |
| C．not smiling for photographs was the fashion |
| D．photography technology then was not advanced |
What might the writer think of the journalist covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates？
| A．His comment accurately reflected his time |
| B．He created a false picture of Lincoln |
| C．He was prejudiced and self-centered |
| D．He was brave to point out Lincoln's weakness |
The Green Microgym in Portland，Oregon has all the usual stuff you'd expect-sweaty people，loud music，smooth exercise equipment-but it has some extras as well. Everywhere you look，there are power wires. And these aren't the typical kind that let you surf the Web while you ride a spin cycle-although. you can do that too．The gym uses special exercise equipment that captures（捕获）the energy you create while riding, converts（转换）it into electricity and channels it into the power outlets（插座）．
The idea of using exercise equipment to produce electricity is not new. A gym in Hong Kong has been doing this since 2007. But clean (and healthy）energy is just now starting to catch on in U. S. gyms·"We have seen a significant increase in interest in the past six months，which is a good sign that fitness centers are ready to spend money on green technologies，” says Mike Curnyn，co-founder of the Green Revolution，a Connecticut-based firm that wires bikes into a central battery that can store energy.
The Green Microgym，first opened in 2008，has more than 200 members and is doing so well that owner Adam Boesel opened another one five miles from the original．Although membership costs about the same as ordinary gyms，customers can earn gift certificates from local businesses for watts produced while exercising．An average workout creates 37. 5 watt hours，which is enough to power a phone for a week．
Boesel uses spin bikes made by Resource Fitness，a Seattle company he co-owns，that captures energy produced from the flywheel. Wires send the converted AC current（交流电流）into any standard wall outlet-for this reason，the product line's name is Plug Out-and the energy created is used before the building draws power from the grid（电网）．Unlike the Green Revolution equipment，Plug Out machines cannot store extra energy. A third company，the Florida-based ReRev，is adding converters to a specific brand of spin bikes. But since the converters add＄1，000 to the price of the equipment，the ReRev and Green Revolution machines are at a disadvantage．
Resource Fitness，by contrast，sells its equipment for the same＄1，200 price as non- electricity-producing machines，removing the question of how long it will be until the energy savings pay for the cost of the unit．The company can afford to do this because its designs don’t call for the extra wiring needed for battery packs and large converters．It is also trying to price competitively with standard equipment so more gyms-and gym goers-will make the switch．Members of the Green Microgym earn gift certificates for_______．
| A．using the man-powered exercise equipment |
| B．saving electricity for local businesses |
| C．producing green electricity to power their phones |
| D．paying higher membership fees |
The spin bikes made by Resource Fitness are different from those by Green Revolution in that_______.
| A．they are easier to ride |
| B．they are more expensive |
| C．they don't have wires connected |
| D．they can not store extra electricity |
What might prevent the green exercise equipment from getting more popular？
| A．People's unwillingness to go green． |
| B．The high cost of making it. |
| C．Safety problems concerning electricity. |
| D．Lack of certificates． |
The underlined words“make the switch”in the last paragraph most probably mean_____.
| A．change to a different gym |
| B．use green exercise equipment |
| C．switch on the spin bikes |
| D．add a battery to the machine |
Once on a dark winter's day，when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they did at night，an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the main street.
Sara Crewe leaned against her father，who held her in his arms，as she stared out of the window at the passing people with an old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes. At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had just made from Bombay with her father，Captain Crewe. She was thinking of what a strange thing it was that at one time one was in India in the hot sun，and then in the middle of the ocean，and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets.
“Papa，” she said in a low，mysterious little voice which was almost a whisper.
“What is it，darling?”Captain Crewe answered，holding her closer and looking down into her face．
"Is this the place？＂Sara whispered.
"Yes，little Sara，it is. We have reached it at last.”
It seemed to her many years since he had begun to prepare her mind for "the place”，as she always called it. Her mother had died when she was born，so she had never known or missed her.Her young，handsome，rich father seemed to be the only relation she had in the world．
During her short life only one thing had troubled her，and that thing was "the place” she was to be taken to some day. The climate of India was very bad for children，and as soon as possible they were sent away from it-generally to England and to school.
"Couldn't you go to that place with me，Papa？＂she had asked when she was five years old．
"Couldn't you go to school，too？ I would help you with your lessons.”
"But you will not have to stay for a very long time，little Sara，”he had always said. "You will grow so fast that it will seem scarcely a year before you are big enough and clever enough to come back and take care of Papa.”
She had liked to think of that．She liked to talk to him and read his books-that would be what she would like most in the world，and if one must go away to "the place” in England to attain it，she must make up her mind to go．She liked books more than anything else，and was，in fact，always inventing stories of beautiful things and telling them to herself.
Captain Crewe held her very closely in his arms as the cab rolled into the big，dull square in which stood the house which was their destination．The story happened_______．
| A．on a moonless night | B．on a foggy day |
| C．on a hot day | D．on a starry night |
Sara Crewe came to England to_______
| A．visit her relatives | B．see her mother's house |
| C．receive education | D．buy books for her father |
We can learn from the story that Sara Crewe was_______．
| A．sceptical | B．curious | C．cheerful | D．imaginative |
Taylor Swift，23，US
Unlucky in love as she may be，Swift was lucky at the Billboard Viusic Awards on Sunday night. The singer received the night's top honor,Artist of the Year, as well as Top billboard 20 Artist Top Female Artist，Top country Artist and Top Digital songs Artist. Her album Red topped the billboard 200 and country album categories，and her single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together was named Top
Country Song.
Adele，25，UK
Adele has been appointed a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire this week during Queen Elizabeth II's annual Birthday Honors，the BBC reports．The singer was recognized for her service to music．The award is another highlight in a fruitful year for Adele，who，in addition to a Grammy and a Golden Globe，won a Best Original Song for Skyfall in Oscar 2013.
Robert Downey Jr，48，US
The actor, best known for playing the superhero Iron Man, left an 18-month-old fan in floods of tears because he wasn't wearing his character's red and gold suit in public. The heartbreaking meeting happened last Thursday while the actor was out for a walk in the Massachusetts towns of Sunderland and Shelburne Falls. A photo of the crying kid and Downey looking both concerned and awkward quickly made its way into the international news.
Jennifer Aniston，44，US
In the 10 months since her August 2012 engagement（订婚）to Justin Theroux，all eyes have been on Aniston，with fans wondering just when she will become Mrs Theroux. But multiple sources in contact with Aniston and her inner circle say that plans for the much expected wedding appear to be left for the present time. The couple decided to delay the big day because they're both busy with work.On which page of a newspaper can you find the above material？
| A．On the front page. | B．On the entertainment page. |
| C．On the sports page. | D．On the education page. |
2013 has been a fruitful year for Adele for she has won all the following awards EXCEPT_______
| A．the Golden Globe |
| B．the Grammy |
| C．Artist of the Year in Billboard |
| D．Best Original Song in Oscar |
The anecdote about Robert Downey Jr happened_______．
| A．on a casual occasion | B．at a fan meeting |
| C．at a movie promotion | D．at a press conference |
Which of the following is true according to the text？
| A．We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together was written for Taylor Swift's country. |
| B．Adele sang on the BBC to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday. |
| C．Robert Downey did not know what to do when the kid started crying. |
| D．Jennifer Aniston is working on her wedding despite her busy schedule. |