Bright red post boxes, the Queen and queuing—what do they all have in common? They are all important parts of British life. At least I thought so.
However, the ability to queue for long periods of time, once believed to be a traditional characteristic of the British, is no longer tolerated by people in the UK, according to a survey done for British bank Barclays.
Once upon a time, queuing was seen as normal. During World WarⅡ, everyone had to queue up to receive their daily supply of foods. In fact, if you didn't stand up and wait in line with all the others, it was seen as uncivilized.
The famous English double-decker buses, with only one entrance, might also help explain why queuing was seen as a part of British life. Almost always, there is queue to get on.
But perhaps the British are tired of being pushed past by the Spanish, the Italians or the French as they queue up to get a table at a restaurant. The people of these other European countries have more than one entrance to their buses, which explains their more relaxed attitude to the queue.
Two minutes is now the longest time most British people are prepared to stand and wait. But could it be that the Internet, which allows us to carry out tasks quickly, is the main reason why British people are no longer prepared to queue?
"Used to buying without delay, customers are even giving up purchases rather than wait their turn," says Stuart Neal of Barclaycard. "Shoppers are also less likely to queue for long if the item they are buying is of low value."
Perhaps I will have to replace "queuing" with "impatience" in my list of things I relate to the British. What can we learn about the tradition of queuing in Britain?
| A．It was considered a symbol of a civilized behavior. |
| B．It was a long time tradition as old as the Queen. |
| C．It was a product of the slow pace of life. |
| D．It has made the Britain different from other Europeans. |
According to the passage, the British gradually stopped queuing because ______.
| A．they prefer shopping online |
| B．the Internet has changed their way of life |
| C．what they are buying is of low value |
| D．they follow the example of foreigners |
It can be learned from the text that ______.
| A．the British used to buy without delay |
| B．the British have to queue to receive food |
| C．the British get impatient with queuing for long |
| D．the British prefer to take double-decker buses |
The author's main purpose of writing the passage is _______.
| A．to tell us the influence of the Internet on the British ways of life |
| B．to compare the cultural difference between Britain and other countries |
| C．to report his research on the British ways of life |
| D．to talk about the changes in the attitude to queuing in Britain |
Online Money Earning
Yes, you can earn money online without any investment or without anytime limit. I have many useful easy methods for earning easy money while we all spend our useful time on the Internet by surfing, chatting, downloading and other work. There is no need to stop any other work. We can earn with or without our daily routine. Here I tell you the complete method for online earning.
First Method
Earn money with“Bux. to”. You can earn money through “Bux.to” by clicking on ads on“Bux. To” site. First you need to open an account at“Bux. To”.
“Bux. To” is a new international and free English based service that allows advertisers to reach thousands of potential customers by displaying their ads on our“Surf Ads”page. An exact calculated percentage of all advertising income is paid to our members. “Bux. to” makes money through advertising.
How you make money
You view websites in 30 seconds through the “Surf Ads” page. Once the 30 seconds is up, you’ll either get a green tick(对号) sign or a red “x”. The green tick sign means you’ve earned $0.01and the “x” means you have not earned money for the visit. You’ll get red “x”s when you have more than one website from the “Surf Ads” page open. When this happens, you get no credit.
Earnings example
You click 10 ads per day =$0.10
20 referrals(转送) click 10 ads per day =$2.00
Your daily earnings =$2.10
Your weekly earnings =$14.70
Your monthly earnings =$63.00
How to get paid
If you have at least $10.00 accumulated, you can click on your account balance within your states area and it will meet your request. At present, it only makes payments through “AlertPay”. It will soon be using other methods of payment.
AlertPay is the payment processing solution that we use to pay members. Your AlertPay address is the e-mail address you use to register with AlertPay. You can get a free AlertPay account at http:// alertpay. com.
Method 2 will publish soon…What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To tell an interesting story. |
| B．To introduce a surprising way to earn money. |
| C．To solve a puzzling problem. |
| D．To present an exciting research. |
You can earn money by ________.
| A．chatting online |
| B．advertising some products |
| C．clicking on advertisements |
| D．choosing green ticks or “x”s |
The underlined word “accumulated” can be replaced by “________”.
| A．wasted. | B．spent. |
| C．lost. | D．gathered. |
Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn't I be learning more moves?”“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy skillfully used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.
“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?” “You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”
The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.we can infer from Paragraph 2 that the teacher__________.
| A．was unwilling to teach the boy |
| B．regarded mastering one move as extremely important. |
| C．worried about the boys ability |
| D．trained the boy to win judo tournaments |
After the boy came in the finals, __________.
| A．he feared to get hurt. |
| B．the teacher felt satisfied |
| C．he thought of giving up. |
| D．the judge stopped the game. |
The underlined expression “be overmatched” in Paragraph 3 is closed in meaning to__________.
| A．lose heart |
| B．lose patience |
| C．be defeated |
| D．be monitored |
How did the boy’s teacher explain his success of the tournament?
| A．His opponent was too confident and careless. |
| B．The boy was experienced in playing the games. |
| C．His opponent didn't notice the boys left hand. |
| D．The boy made use of his judo skill and weakness. |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To suggest we turn weakness into strength. |
| B．To encourage us to insist in a match. |
| C．To show us how to win a match luckily. |
| D．To tell us to choose an experienced teacher. |
Why do people feel so rushed? Part of this is a perception (认知) problem. Generally, people in rich countries have more free time than they used to. This is particularly true in Europe, but even in America free time has been inching up. Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period，but their time in unpaid work，like cooking and cleaning, has fallen even more significantly, thanks in part to dishwashers, washing machines and microwaves, and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to.
The problem, then, is less how much time people have than how they see it. Ever since a clock was first used at a workplace to record labor hours in the 18th century, time has been understood in relation to money. Once hours are financially quantified (量化), people worry more about wasting, but tend to save or use them more profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone's time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the rarer it seems.
Once seeing their time in terms of money, people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter. Workers who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more upset when they are not working.
The relationship between time, money and anxiety is something Gary Becker noticed in America's post-war boom years. "If anything, time is used more carefully today than a century ago," he noted in 1965. He found that when people are paid more to work, they tend to work longer hours, because working becomes a more profitable use of time. So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time. Leisure time starts to seem more stressful, as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all.Women's time in unpaid work has fallen partly because ______.
| A．men's ability to support a family has been improved |
| B．men's involvement in housework has increased |
| C．women's leisure time was taken up by heavy housework |
| D．women become more skilled at household equipment |
From the second paragraph, we learn that ______.
| A．labor hours were recorded with a clock |
| B．people haven't realized the value of time |
| C．more work hours bring in more money |
| D．The rise of incomes makes time less valuable |
The underlined phrase grow stingy with can probably be replaced by "______".
| A．refuses to delay |
| B．intend to kill |
| C．try to accumulate |
| D．hesitate to spend |
According to Gary Becker, what causes people feel anxious about time?
| A．The wrong way of time being spent. |
| B．People's willingness to work hard. |
| C．The increasing value of work time. |
| D．More and more leisure time. |
“You are going abroad and will live there? Oh, wonderful! You are so lucky.”
Perhaps your family and friends said similar things to you when you left home. But is it true all the time? Is your life in the new country always wonderful and exciting?
Specialists say that it isn’t that easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” (冲击) is the term specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. “There are three stages of culture shock,” say the specialists. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers adapt to their surroundings and finally enjoy their life there.
Culture shock arises from many obvious factors. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems such as the telephone, post office, or transportation may be difficult to work out. Even the simplest things become headaches. Still worse, the language may be difficult.
Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their home countries and were successful in their community. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same established positions. They find themselves without a role, almost without an identity. They have to build a new selfimage.
Culture shock leads to a feeling of disorientation (迷惘). This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create and escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience are the long term solutions to the problem of culture shock.When people move to a new country, they ________.
| A．find their new life always wonderful and exciting. |
| B．dislike the new surroundings from the beginning. |
| C．quickly get accustomed to the new culture there. |
| D．will get used to the new life with certain difficulty. |
Based on the passage, which of the following results from culture shock?
| A．weather conditions and customs |
| B．public service and transportation |
| C．feeling homesick and disoriented |
| D．language communication issues |
According to the passage, the more successful you are at home, ________.
| A．the fewer difficulties you will meet with abroad |
| B．the more problems you may have to face abroad |
| C．the greater success you are likely to make abroad |
| D．the less homesick you will eventually feel abroad |
Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?
| A．Cultural shock affects and surprises those who live in a new culture. |
| B．A new culture makes everything difficult except the simplest things. |
| C．Since culture shock is painful, we can never get over it completely. |
| D．Escaping by staying inside does solve the problem of culture shock. |
John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew，but whose face he didn’t，the girl with the rose．Thirteen months ago，in a Florida library he took a book off the shell and found himself interested in the notes in the margin(页边)．The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightful(有洞察力的)mind．
In front of the book，he discovered the name，Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he got her address．He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to keep in touch．
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail．A romance started．John requested a photograph，but she refused．She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like．Later they agreed on their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York．
“You’ll recognize me,” she wrote，“by the red rose I’ll be wearing my coat.” So at 7：00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose．
A girl in a green suit was coming toward him，her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers．Almost uncontrollably came to her，and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40．The girl was walking quickly away．
He did not hesitate(犹豫)，saying，“I’m John，and you must be Miss Maynell．I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?”
The woman smiled, “I don’t know what this is about，son，” she answered，“but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat．And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner，I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street．She said it was some kind of test!”
It’s not difficult to admire Miss Maynell’s wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.John was attracted by Miss Hollis Maynell because ________.
| A．John believed her one of her old friends |
| B．she took good notes with a soft handwriting |
| C．John thought her a considerate and thinking lady |
| D．she was beautiful with a slim figure and blue eyes |
Why did John uncontrollably go up to the young girl in the green suit?
| A．Because he knew it was Miss Hollis Maynell. |
| B．Because she was the very lady he was waiting for. |
| C．Because he was drawn to her beautiful appearance. |
| D．Because John didn’t want to meet Miss Hollis Maynell |
We can find John was a person who ________.
| A．was easy to change his mind |
| B．was casual and independent |
| C．judged a person by his looks |
| D．valued a person’s inner spirit |
What’s the theme of the story?
| A．The wisdom is shown in one’s action. |
| B．Love can be met by chance if you like. |
| C．You should never judge a book by its cover. |
| D．A noble heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. |