My favorite English teacher could draw humor out of the driest material. It wasn’t forced on us either. He took Samuel Johnson’s dictionary, Addison’s essays, and many other literary wonders from the eighteenth century and made them hilarious, even at eight o’clock in the morning. The thing that amazed me most was that the first time I read these works on my own, some of them seemed dead, but the second time, after his explanation, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen the humor. The stories and poems and plays were suddenly filled with allusions(典故) and irony and hilarious moments. I learned more from him than from any other teacher.
My least favorite English teacher also made people laugh. Some students found him to be wonderfully funny. Many others did not. He assigned journals over a six-week period, to be written every day. At the end of the six weeks I had a notebook full of bits and pieces about my ideas, short stories, reactions to what we had read, and so on. Our teacher announced that we would be grading each other’s journals. Mine was passed to Joe, that class clown, who always behaved in a funny or silly way. He saw it fit to make a joke of and said, “This writing isn’t fit to line the bottom of a birdcage.” Our teacher laughed at that funny remark. It hurt me so much that the anger from it has driven my writing and teaching ever since.
So what makes the difference? Humor is one of the most powerful tools teachers or writers have. It can build up students and classes and make them excited about literature and writing, or it can tear them apart. It is true that humor is either productive or counter-productive and self-defeating. The passage mainly discusses ________.
| A．teaching | B．literature | C．humor | D．knowledge |
The underlined word “hilarious” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
| A．funny | B．tiring | C．inspiring | D．brilliant |
The English teacher the writer disliked most ________.
| A．was not able to make students laugh |
| B．hurt his student’s feelings |
| C．didn’t let his students do the grading |
| D．had no sense of humor |
Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place. Around 1870,it was experiencing an economic(经济的)boom, and the capital, Buenos Aires, attracted many people. Farmers, as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy, came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs. These jobs didn′t pay well, and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city. As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city, the dance known an the tango(探戈舞)came into being
At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes. It was danced in the bars and streets. At that time there many fewer women the men, so if a man didn′t want to be left out, his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women. Gradually, the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.
In Europe at this time, strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning. This interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris. Every kind of dance from ballet(芭蕾舞)to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters of the Paris theaters. After tango dances from Argentina arrive in Europe, they began to draw the interest of the public an they performed their exciting dance in cafes. Though not everyone approved of the new dance, saying it was a little too shocking, the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.
The popularity（流行）Of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world. Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America. It reached Japan in 1926,and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act an a kind of dance ambassador, and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea.The origin of the tango is associated with
A Belly dances B. American soldiers
C. Spanish city D. the capital of ArgentinaWhith of the following is true about the tango?
| A．It was created by foreigners from Spain and Italy. |
| B．People of the upper classes loved the tango most |
| C．It was often danced by two male in the beginning |
| D．A dancer in Seoul became the Argentinean ambassador. |
Before World War I, the tango spread to
| A．America | B．Japan | C．France | D．South Korea |
Going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the tow of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My life and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle. We now shop at organic(有机的)stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green. | B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignore others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger ,but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways .You may wonder how paving(铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater . Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers .It come from underground . The more roads and parking lots we pave ,the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater .
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages(短缺). Driver climates are of course more likely to have droughts(干旱) than areas with more rainfall ,but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs .
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference ,too In the United States ,a family of four can use 1.5tons of water a day ! This shows how much we depend on water to live ,but there’s a lot we can do to lower the number .
You can take steps to save water in your home .To start with ,use the same glass for your drinking water all day .Wash it only once a day .Run your dishwasher (洗碗机)only when it is full .Help your parents fix any leaks in your home . You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away .Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater ?
| A．Using river water . |
| B．Throwing batteries away . |
| C．paving parking lots . |
| D．Throwing rubbish into lakes . |
What can be inferred from the text ?
| A．All water shortages are due to human behavior . |
| B．It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs . |
| C．There is much we can do to reduce family size . |
| D．The average family in America makes proper use of water . |
The last paragraph is intended to.
| A．show us how to fix leaks at home |
| B．tell us how to run a dishwasher |
| C．prove what drinking glass is best for us |
| D．suggest what we do to save water at home |
The text is mainly about .
| A．Why paving roads reduces our water |
| B．how much we depend on water to live |
| C．why droughts occur more in dry climates |
| D．how human activity affects our water supply |
The Healthy Habits Survey（调查）shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.
1.How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?
•Finding：A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day.
•Step：Remove the 300 types of bacteria in your mouth each morning with a battery-operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes, at least twice a day.
2.How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday?
•Finding：Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30%wash their hands only 4 times a day-half of the number doctors recommend.
•Step：We touch our faces around 3,000 times a day-often inviting germs（病菌）to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes. Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot running water and soap for 20 seconds.
3. How often do you think about fighting germs?
•Finding：Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should.
•Step：Be aware of germs. Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge（海绵）that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds.What is found out American seniors?
| A．Most of then have good habits. |
| B．Nearly 30%of then bathe three days a week . |
| C．All of then are fighting germs better than expected . |
| D．About one third of them brush their teeth only once a day |
Doctors suggest that people should wash their hands .
| A．twice a day | B．three times a day |
| C．four times a day | D．eight times a day |
Which of the following is true according to the text ?
| A．We should keep from touching our faces . |
| B．There are less than 300 types of bacteria in the mouth . |
| C．A kitchen sponge can carry more germs than a toilet . |
| D．We should wash our hands before touching a door handle . |
The text probably comes from .
| A．a guide book | B．a popular magazine |
| C．a book review | D．an official document |
People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog’s life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.
Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. She may not treat him nicely until he apologizes. However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.
Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.To achieve success, you must ______.
| A．feel dog-tired |
| B．work like a dog |
| C．become sick as a dog |
| D．be meaner than a junkyard dog |
To everyone’s surprise, Jack has been employed by a big company, about which we can say, “_______”.
| A．Every dog has its day |
| B．Jack works like a dog |
| C．His bark is worse than his bite |
| D．Jack really lives in a dog-eat-dog world |
What kind of people live a difficult life?
| A．Those who are in the doghouse. |
| B．Those who have the dog days. |
| C．Those who lead a dog’s life. |
| D．Those whose bark is worse than his bite. |
What does the article mainly talk about?
| A．Dogs’ life in America. |
| B．How to treat dogs well. |
| C．Why Americans love dogs. |
| D．Expressions with the word “dog”. |