When Joan gave birth to the first boy in her family in three generations, she and her husband were overjoyed. So were her parents. Joan expected her elder sister, Sally, to be just as delighted as them. Joan had always admired Sally--the beauty and the star of the family--and felt happy about her achievements.
But since the baby's arrival, the sisters have become distant. Joan feels hurt for Sally seems completely uninterested in her baby. Sally, who has no children, claims that her younger sister "acts as if no one ever had a baby before."
Neither Sally nor Joan understands that the real cause of the current coldness is that their family roles have suddenly changed to the opposite. Finally Joan seems to be better than her elder sister--and Sally doesn't like it! Their distance may be temporary, but it shows that childhood competition don't fade easily as ages grow. It can remain powerful in relationships throughout life.
In a study of the University of Cincinnati, 65 men and women between ages 25 and 93 were asked how they felt about their brothers and sisters. Nearly 75 percent admitted having hidden competitive feelings. In a few cases, these emotions were so strong as to have affected their entire lives.
Many adult brothers and sisters are close, supportive--yet still tend to compete. Two brothers I know turn into killers when on opposite sides of a tennis net. Off the court, they are the best of friends. My own younger sister can't wait to tell me when I've put on weight. However, she's a terrible cook and that pleases me; I tease her when she comes to dinner. Happily, despite these small failings, we have been an important resource for each other.
In between the very competitive and the generally supportive children lie those who say that no friendship should survive. Some brothers and sisters stay at arm's length, but never give up competition completely. Why do these puzzling, unproductive, often painful relationships continue to exist?When Joan's son was born, Sally .
| A．felt very happy | B．felt not delighted | C．moved away | D．admired her a lot |
What happens to children's desire to compete with their brothers and sisters?
| A．It sometimes will disappear when they grow up. |
| B．It will never disappear throughout life. |
| C．It will improve their relationships when they grow up. |
| D．It will never harm their relationships when they grow up. |
Why does the author's sister often tell her when she's put on weight?
| A．Because she wants the author to go on a diet. |
| B．Because she wants the author to stop calling her a bad cook. |
| C．Because she wants to make fun of the author's weight. |
| D．Because she wants to be honest with the author. |
The underlined sentence means that although some brothers and sisters .
| A．live near each other, they still have competitions |
| B．live away from each other, they stop their competitions |
| C．live together, they often think of ending their competitions |
| D．live within a big family, they often try to end their competitions |
Do you ever wonder why the English have one word for some animals and a different one for their meat?
Why do they use pig and pork, cow and beef, and sheep and mutton?
To find out, we have to go back to 1066, when the Norman French invaded England and put a French king on the English throne (王位), which not only changed the government but also changed the language. French became the language of the upper classes of society. And it remained that way for 300 years. Only these high society people could afford to eat meat. As a result, French words like porc（pork）and beouf （beef） came into the English language. However, poor English farmers raised the animals. So the English language retained the words pig and cow from the Native Anglo-Saxon．
The Norman French added about 10,000 French words to the English language. Seventy-five percent of them are still in use today.
According to language experts, English speakers who have never studied French may already know 15,000 French words! Between one-third and two-thirds of all English words have French origins. Some words such as “possible” and “avenue” are the same in French and English; only the pronunciations change. Other words such as “ballet” keep their French pronunciations in both languages.
In French grammar, nouns have either a male or female gender (性别), so adjectives take different forms for each. English has only one adjective that does this, and it came from French. The word “blond” describes someone with light-colored hair. “Blond” is used for men, and “blonde” describes women. And they are also nouns.
Some French words that entered the English language have completely different meanings. The French phrase “a la mode” means “in style”. In English, the phrase means “with the ice cream”. Someone must have decided something eaten with ice cream was in style!
Now, as you learn English, you’re on your way to learning French!French was once popular among the upper classes of the UK because __________.
| A．too many French moved to Britain |
| B．French brought animals with them |
| C．the king and his officials spoke French |
| D．the king allowed French to be spoken |
Why does an English speaker find French easy to learn?
| A．Because English and French share similar pronunciations． |
| B．Because English grammar and French grammar are similar． |
| C．Because a large number of English words have French origins． |
| D．Because English has great influences on the French language． |
What conclusion can we draw from the text?
| A．Language is closely related to history and culture. |
| B．French and English words have little in common. |
| C．Language is controlled by the upper classes of society. |
| D．French combines English and the Native Anglo-Saxon. |
Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there is no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children’s strong desire to know about things. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven–year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in science. Finally I said,” Now that we’ve finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”
After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, “have you ever seen a grasshopper (蚱蜢) eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”
This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.
Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that. After asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete and creative answers.
Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right” or “very good”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying, “That’s interesting” or “I’d never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas.
Never push a child to “think”. It doesn’t make sense; children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a small target for your disagreement.
Lastly, show; don’t tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass, and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates(蒸发), set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is______.
| A．to share the children’s curiosity |
| B．to let them see the world around |
| C．to explain difficult phrases about science |
| D．to supply the children with lab equipment |
In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word “list” could best be replaced by______.
| A．any problems | B．questions from the textbooks |
| C．any questions | D．any number of questions |
According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults______.
| A．ask them to answer quickly |
| B．wait for one or two seconds after a question |
| C．wait at least for three seconds after a question |
| D．tell them to answer the next day |
The author mentions all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children’s curiosity EXCEPT that adults should______.
| A．encourage their children to ask questions of their own |
| B．offer their children chances to see things for themselves |
| C．be patient enough when their children answer questions |
| D．tell their children stories instead of reciting (背诵) facts |
For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions．People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer．For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer．He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing．
Cold can affect other parts of the body．The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet．The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do．For example, you agree to be president of an organization．But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility．You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face．You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you．Or, to someone who has lied about you to others．
A cold fish is not a fish．It is a person．But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth．A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone．Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted．Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy．Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers．
Out in the cold means not getting something that everybody else got．A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise---he was left out in the cold．And it is not a pleasant place to be．When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by “____”．
| A．I give him the cold shoulder |
| B．I think he is a cold-blooded man |
| C．I think he is a cold fish |
| D．I’m likely to get cold feet |
If Sue shows absolutely no reaction to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say _________．
| A．she is a cold-blooded killer | B．she gets cold feet |
| C．she is a cold fish | D．she is out in the cold |
We can use the expression “__________” to describe a man who abandons or hurts his lover without mercy．
| A．cold-blooded | B．cold shoulder |
| C．cold feet | D．cold-hearted |
The topic of this passage is about _________．
| A．the relationship between cold and our body |
| B．some expressions about friendship |
| C．some expressions connected with cold |
| D．how cold weather comes into being |
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent hard work won’t ensure you the level of success you may want, but it will ensure that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.
| A．the meaning of success | B．the reasons for success |
| C．the standards of success | D．the importance of success |
In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “that” refers to ______.
| A．setting a practical goal | B．being good at something |
| C．putting in more time | D．succeeding in life |
Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ______.
| A．it takes a lot of time to succeed |
| B．work makes one feel pain |
| C．one gives up his work easily |
| D．one tends to enjoy his work |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．Successful people like to show their great skills. |
| B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent. |
| C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life. |
| D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success. |
Hey, mom, I want you to stop dropping me off at the airport for some trip that I am about to take and start becoming my seatmate. I want to travel with you---just you.
I want to explore a new place alongside a woman who raised me, who put up with my teenager anxiety and my rebellious (叛逆的) college years. I want to see my favorite cities with the lady who taught me basic life lessons, such as looking both ways before crossing the street, how to use a glue gun, and that the most important thing in the world is to help others.
I always appreciated the vacations you planned for our family. I also remember how you watched me as I read The Great Gatsby on the balcony at midday. I wonder if you felt proud of me. These days, I am sick of traveling to places with wishy-washy(无主见的) friends. I want to travel with a strong woman who can see how capable I am of learning to speak French or hiking on a glacier or eating something as unpleasant-smelling fruit.
Now I want you to see how much I grow up while abroad---I’m a different person, Mom. And I know you’d be different too. I know that someone has shared a similar burst of emotion while diving into Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for the first time.
So what do you say, Mom? Will you throw responsibility to the wind? I want to travel with you. Let’s just go---we can go anywhere in the world, just you and I. You can pick the place, and I will do the rest.
Love,
KatkaWhich life lesson does Katka think the most valuable?
| A． Exploring a new place alongside her mother. |
| B． Visiting favorite cities with her mother. |
| C． Looking both ways when crossing the street. |
| D． Offering help to others when it’s possible. |
What do the underlined words in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A． Keep my promise. |
| B． Take care of me. |
| C． Bear much responsibility. |
| D． Have a break from work. |
What’s the daughter’s purpose of writing this letter?
| A． To thank her mother for all she has sacrificed for her. |
| B． To invite her mother to see the world together. |
| C． To recall her childhood with her mother. |
| D． To show her mother how talented she is. |