Dutch treat is a late-nineteenth-century term, and it originally refers to a dinner where everyone is expected to pay for his own share of the food and drink. If people go “Dutch treat”, or simply “go Dutch”, it means that they will share the expenses of a social engagement.
There are many other “Dutch” expressions in English, many of which were invented in Britain in the seventeenth century, when the Dutch and the English were commercial and military rivals. The British used “Dutch” to refer to something bad, cheap and shameful. A “Dutch bargain” at that time was an uneven, one-sided deal; “Dutch reckoning” was an unitemized(未逐条记载的) account; and “Dutch widow” was slang for prostitute. Later centuries brought in “Dutch courage”, for bravery caused by drink; “Dutch concert”, for noisy music; “Dutch nightingale”, meaning a frog; and “double Dutch”, for incomprehensible language or talk.
Some of the expressions are still in use today, but some are not. In fact, in American English, some “Dutch” expressions have nothing to do with the Dutch, but something with the German. It was probably because of the similar spelling and pronunciation that people made a mistake in distinguishing between “Dutch” and “Deutsch” (the German word for German), when German immigrants came to America in the 1700s. For instance, “the Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the German descendants, instead of the Dutch descendants, living in Pennsylvania. Many of the “Dutch” expressions were invented with negative sense, because ___________.
| A．The Dutch were underdeveloped people. |
| B．Britain and Holland were competitors at that time. |
| C．The Dutch had many bad habits. |
| D．The British were superior to the Dutch. |
With the information you get from Paragraph 2, make a guess at the meaning of the sentence “You are in Dutch”. It probably means ____________ .
| A．You are in Holland. | B．You are welcome. |
| C．You are in trouble. | D．You are lucky. |
According to the passage, some native American “Dutch” expressions were related to the German instead of the Dutch, simply because ______________.
| A．People hated the German as much as the Dutch. |
| B．People made a mistake at the beginning. |
| C．People made a joke about the German. |
| D．The German immigrants proclaimed that they were Dutch. |
As a volunteer, you will discover the unique opportunity of visiting the real world beyond the tourist window and became immersed（沉浸）in the culture you visit. For most travelers, this time spent working on meaningful projects, and getting to know the local area and its people, is often cited as their most memorable, enjoyable and fulfilling life experience.
Who can volunteer？
Kaya Volunteers are 18-80 years old people with an adventurous spirit. Whether you have time for a 2-week trip or a 6-month break, travelling on your own, with a group or with your family, or you are a student, taking a break from your job, or have even retired, they will find a project that can use your help.
Countries where you can volunteer:
Asia-Pacific (Australia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam.)
Africa (Botswana,Ghana,Kenya,Mozambique,South Africa,Zambia,Zimbabwe)
Latin America (Belize,Bolivia,Brazil,Costa Rica,Ecuador,Peru)
What type of projects can you do?
Kaya's Project advisors work with you to decide which project is best for you and what type of work you would like to do. you can work in the following fields:
Environmental preservation- From the Ecuadorian rain forest to the jungles of Thailand, repair the damage done to some of the most beautiful and diverse places on earth.
Work with children- They have over 40 projects working with children across the world in orphanages, schools and shelters for the abused, disabled and disadvantaged.
Sports - Through sports, their projects that can provide opportunities for health education and the development of life skills, such as teamwork, communication, discipline and self- confidence.
Education - From English teaching to education programs for special needs and minority groups, give greater opportunity to the disadvantaged through education.
All projects include airport pick-ups and drop-offs, accommodation, orientation and 24-hour support. Many of their placements also include all meals and some language classes so that you can get even more involved.The author wrote the passage for the purpose of __________.
| A．explaining different projects for volunteers |
| B．calling in volunteers for sightseeing projects |
| C．showing us the advantages of volunteers |
| D．encouraging us to do some voluntary work. |
While doing the advertised voluntary work, a volunteer can __________.
| A．pay a visit to his or her placement |
| B．receive some extra pay for his work |
| C．be free of charge while visiting around |
| D．get in touch with the local people |
What can we infer from the second part of this passage?
| A．Only experienced people are needed. |
| B．Only grown-up people are welcome. |
| C．There isn't any restriction set on volunteers. |
| D．Few people are willing to do the voluntary work. |
Some voluntary placements offer free meals and language classes to __________.
| A．attract more people to do voluntary work. |
| B．encourage voluntary as to work harder. |
| C．save more money for the volunteers. |
| D．help volunteer get more involved. |
According to the article, volunteers can get the following except __________.
| A．air tickets. |
| B．accommodation. |
| C．24-hour support. |
| D．pre-job training |
Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost ￡169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost ￡118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you're looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self－catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for ￡420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE London's “Boris bikes” have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around ￡1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or ￡5 per day)．The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may ________．
| A．help travelers pass time |
| B．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation |
| C．allow travelers to make flexible plans |
| D．attract lots of travelers to the UK |
“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably ________．
| A．an ideal holiday destination |
| B．the tube line to Covent Garden |
| C．a hotel far away from the train station |
| D．the name of a travel agency |
The passage shows that the O'Neill Flat ________．
| A．provides cooking facilities for tourists |
| B．is located in central London |
| C．lies on the ground floor |
| D．costs over ￡100 on average per day in late September |
Cardiff's program allows a free bike for a maximum period of ________．
| A．two hours |
| B．one hour |
| C．one hour and a half |
| D．half an hour |
The main purpose of the passage is ________．
| A．to tell visitors how to book in advance |
| B．to offer visitors some money－saving tips |
| C．to show visitors the importance of self－help |
| D．to supply visitors with hotel information |
The temperature of the sun is over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface, but it rises to perhaps more than 16 million degrees at the center. The sun is so much hotter than the earth that matter can exist only as a gas, except at the core. In the core of the sun, the pressures are so great against the gases that, despite the high temperature, there may be a small solid core. However, no one really knows, since the center of the sun can never be directly observed.
Solar astronomers do know that the sun is divided into five layers or zones. Starting at the outside and going down into the sun, the zones are the corona, chromosphere, photosphere, convection zone and finally the core. The first three zones are regarded as the sun’s atmosphere ends and the main body of the sun begins.
The sun’s outermost layer begins about 10,000 miles above the visible surface and goes outward for millions of miles. This is the only part of the sun that can be seen during an eclipse such as the one in February 1979. At any other time, the corona can be seen only when special instruments are used on cameras and telescopes to shut out the glare of the sun’s rays.
The corona is a brilliant, pearly white, filmy light, about as bright as the full moon. Its beautiful rays are a sensational sight during an eclipse. The corona’s rays flash out in a brilliant fan that has wispy spikelike (一束束穗状) rays near the sun’s north and south poles. The corona is thickest at the sun’s equator.
The corona rays are made up of gases streaming outward at tremendous speeds and reaching a temperature of more than 2 million degrees Fahrenheit. The rays of gas thin out as they reach the space around the planets. By the time the sun’s corona rays reach the earth, they are weak and invisible.Matter on the sun can exist only in the form of gas because of the sun’s ______.
| A．size | B．age | C．location | D．temperature |
With what topic is the second paragraph mainly concerned?
| A．How the sun evolved. |
| B．The structure of the sun. |
| C．Why scientists study the sun. |
| D．The distance of the sun from the planets. |
All of the following are parts of the sun’s atmosphere EXCEPT the _______.
| A．corona | B．chromospheres |
| C．photosphere | D．core |
According to the passage, as the corona rays reach the planets, they become _______.
| A．hotter | B．clearer |
| C．thinner | D．stronger |
The paragraph following the passage most likely discusses which of the following?
| A．The remaining layers of the sun. |
| B．The evolution of the sun to its present form. |
| C．The eclipse of February 1979. |
| D．Scientists will cost more money on researching the corona. |
Barditch High School decided to have an All-School Reunion. Over 450 people came to the event. There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park. Several former teachers were on hands to tell stories about the old days. Ms. Mabel Yates, the English teacher for fifty years, was wheeled to the Park.
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans (嘟嚷声) when Ms. Yates was about to speak. Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined.
Then Ms. Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be here. I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies. I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students. Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the birth of your children, in my imagination. ”
Ms. Yates paused and started crying a bit. Then she continued：
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me. Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in your chosen path. ”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping. The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar. Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown.What activity was organized for the school reunion?
| A．Sightseeing in the park. |
| B．A picnic on the school playground. |
| C．Telling stories about past events. |
| D．Graduates’ report in the old building. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?
| A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms. Yates’ speech. |
| B．Many graduates disliked Ms. Yates’ ways of teaching. |
| C．Some people got tired from the reunion activities. |
| D．Most people had little interest in the reunion. |
We can learn from Ms. Yates’ speech that she .
| A．keep track of her students’ progress |
| B．gave her students advice on their careers |
| C．attended her students’ college graduations |
| D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies |
What was Ms. Yates’ belief in teaching teenagers?
| A．Teachers’ knowledge is the key to students’ achievement. |
| B．Pressure on students from teachers should be reduced. |
| C．Hard-pushed students are more likely to succeed. |
| D．Students’ respect is the best reward for teachers. |
Which of the following can best describe Ms. Yates?
| A．Reliable and devoted. | B．Tough and generous. |
| C．Proud but patient. | D．Strict but caring. |
As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows， there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-worker carried out their study by videotaping (录像) the families while they are having ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger，conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. "In general the more question-asking the parents do， the higher the children's IQ scores，"Lewis says. " And the more children there are， the less question-asking there is. "
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings (兄弟姐妹) . Lewis found that in families with three or four children， dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child， who has the most to talk about, and the youngest， who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,”says Lewis. When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner，chances are for the middle child. "There is, however，one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: ”When the TV is on，"Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event ".The writer's purpose in writing the text is to______.
| A．show the relationship between parents and children |
| B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table |
| C．report on the findings of a study |
| D．give information about family problems |
Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because______.
| A．they are busy serving food to their children |
| B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table |
| C．they have to pay more attention to younger children |
| D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family |
By saying" Middle children are invisible" in paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children______.
| A．get the least attention from the family |
| B．have to help their parents to serve dinner |
| C．are often kept away from the dinner table |
| D．find it hard to keep up with other children |
Lewis' research provides an answer to the question______.
| A．why TV is important in family life |
| B．why parents should keep good order |
| C．why children in small families seem to be quieter |
| D．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life |
Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?
| A．It is important to have the right food for children. |
| B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner. |
| C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently. |
| D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner. |