Chinese Dinner Table
Of course, the main difference on the Chinese dinner table is chopsticks instead of knife and fork, but that’s only superficial. Besides, in decent restaurants, you can always ask for a pair of knife and fork, if you find the chopsticks not helpful enough. The real difference is that in the West, you have your own plate of food, while in China the dishes are placed on the table and everyone shares. If you are being treated to a formal dinner and particularly if the host thinks you’re in the country for the first time, he will do the best to give you a taste of many different types of dishes.
The meal usually begins with a set of at least four cold dishes, to be followed by the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes. Soup then will be served (unless in Guangdong style restaurants) to be followed by staple food ranging from rice, noodles to dumplings. If you wish to have your rice to go with other dishes, you should say so in good time, for most of the Chinese choose to have the staple food at last or have none of them at all.
Perhaps one of the things that surprise a western visitor most is that some of the Chinese hosts like to put food into the plates of their guests. In formal dinners, there are always “public” chopsticks and spoons for this purpose, but some hosts may use their own chopsticks. This is a sign of genuine friendship and politeness. It is always polite to eat the food. If you do not eat it, just leave the food in the plate.
People in China tend to over-order food, for they will find it embarrassing if all the food is consumed. When you have had enough, just say so. Or you will always overeat!The real difference on dinner table between China and West is that___________.
| A．You’re treated to a formal dinner for the first time. |
| B．On Chinese dinner table, chopsticks replace knife and fork. |
| C．The host will do the best to give you a taste of many different types of dishes. |
| D．You have your own plate of food in West while in China everyone shares the dishes. |
If you have a dinner in a Chinese home, in which order will the food be served?
a. serving soup.
b.a set of four cold dishes.
c. staple food such as rice, noodle or dumplings.
d. the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes.
| A．badc | B．cabd | C．bdac | D．cdab |
The “public chopsticks and spoons” are used to ______.
| A．taste different dishes |
| B．consume the food in the plate |
| C．show the friendship and politeness |
| D．put food into the plates of their guests |
According to the message, the author’s attitude towards Chinese dinner table is______
| A．critical | B．objective | C．negative | D．positive |
It was the first snow of winter – an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through first snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.
I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes. At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots.
In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence.
I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get the first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.
I announced, “They’re on the wrong feet.”
She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.
“They’re my brother’s boots, you know,” I said. “I hate them!”
Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying little girl, She pushed and pushed, less gently this time. With a greater sigh, seeing the end of her struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens（连指手套）?”
I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots.” The little girl was more satisfied with her__________.
| A．trousers | B．jacket | C．boots | D．hat |
Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl’s second boot mainly because_____.
| A．the girl got them from her brother |
| B．the girl put something in them |
| C．they were on the wrong feet |
| D．they did not fit the girl well |
Why does the author say Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?
| A．Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes. |
| B．Because it was the most exciting day of the winter. |
| C．Because the little girl played a trick on her. |
| D．Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf. |
Millions of years ago dinosaurs (恐龙) lived on the earth. In the days of dinosaurs the whole earth was warm and wet. There were green forests and they could find enough to eat. Later, parts of the earth became cold and dry. and the forests there died. Then dinosaurs could not find enough to cat. This must be one reason why dinosaurs died out.
We can guess another reason. New kinds of animals came on the earth. Some had big brains and were fast and strong. They could kill dinosaurs. There may be other reasons that we don’t know about yet. Scientists are trying to make more discoveries about dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs were of many sizes and shapes (形状). Some were as small as chickens, while some were about 90 feet long.
There were also terrible fights between dinosaurs. They might have happened more than 100 million years ago. Though there was no man to see any of the fights, we can be told by the animal’s footprints (足迹) that fight did take place. According to the passage, dinosaurs did exist only ______on the earth.
| A．for millions of years |
| B．millions of years ago |
| C．more than 100 millions years ago |
| D．when it was warm and wet somewhere |
One reason why dinosaurs died out is that______.
| A．there were too many dinosaurs |
| B．parts of the earth became cold and dry |
| C．the dead forests there could not supply them with enough food |
| D．they couldn’t find enough to eat |
. One more reason may be that ______.
| A．new kinds of animals came on the earth |
| B．some fast and strong animals with big brains could kill them |
| C．some dinosaurs were as small as chickens |
| D．some big dinosaurs died in the fights |
We can see from this passage ______.
| A．scientists are trying to make some dinosaurs |
| B．dinosaurs are dangerous enough |
| C．dinosaurs are worth studying |
| D．scientists know nothing about dinosaurs |
In ancient Egypt，the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace，if he brought good news. However，if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news，his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door，picnic basket in hand，a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said，“Oh boy，bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report，for his smile.
Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter，the sales agent said with a broad smile，“Oh，that bus left five minutes ago.” Dreams of head cutting!
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time，and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know，when delivering any bad news，they should share the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately，many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight，has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet？When you had your heart set on the toast beef，has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece？It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy，I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left，I probably would have said，“Oh，that’s all right. I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners，when they bear bad news，deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轰炸的)person is sure to have.In Paragraph 1，the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to________.
| A．make a comparison | B．introduce a topic |
| C．describe a scene | D．offer an argument |
In the writer’s opinion，his neighbor was________.
| A．friendly | B．warm-hearted |
| C．not helpful | D．not considerate |
From “Dreams of head-cutting!”(Paragraph 3)，we learn that the writer________.
| A．was mad at the sales agent |
| B．was reminded of the cruel pharaoh |
| C．wished that the sales agent would have bad dreams |
| D．dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Helping others sincerely is the key to business success. |
| B．Delivering bad news properly is important in communication. |
| C．Receiving bad news requires great courage. |
| D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful. |
Maybe it is true that we do not know what we have got until we lose it，but it is also true that we do not know what we have been missing until it arrives.
It takes an hour to like someone，and a day to love someone，but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance(保证)that they will love you back. Do not expect love in return；but if it does not，be content it has grown in yours. Do not rely on one's appearance；it can trick you. Do not rely on wealth；even that fades away. Rely on someone who makes you smile，because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them. Dream what you want to dream；go where you want to go；be what you want to be，because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You cannot go on well in life until you let your past failures and heartaches go off. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet，enough trials(考验)to make you strong，enough sorrow to keep you human，enough hope to make you happy. The happiest people do not necessarily have the best of everything；they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness waits for those who cry，those who appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you，it probably hurts the other person，too.
When you were born，you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die，you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.In this passage，the writer wants to tell us ______.
| A．what to do in our life |
| B．where to go with other persons |
| C．how to treat our life |
| D．how to get on well with other persons |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．If you give someone your love，you are sure to receive love in return. |
| B．We often don't know what we have lost until it happens someday. |
| C．It is wise not to rely on anybody because you are likely to be cheated. |
| D．If it takes you a short time to love someone，you will forget the person. |
One should ______ the painful past according to the writer.
| A．value | B．remember | C．consider | D．forget |
In the last paragraph the writer is actually telling us that a person in the world should be one who ______.
| A．can accept the suggestions made by others |
| B．can live happily and forget the past |
| C．does good for other people and is respected and loved by them |
| D．has made a lot of money for himself before he dies |
Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved (摇动) his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.
| A．to see one of his friends |
| B．because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there |
| C．because he wanted to do something there for his writing |
| D．to see one of his relatives |
The waiters felt sorry because _____.
| A．they did something wrong to Mark Twain |
| B．their hotel was too small |
| C．the room was not very clean |
| D．there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room |
All the people present laughed heartily because _____.
| A．the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room |
| B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number |
| C．Mark Twain made a joke |
| D．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents |
From the story we know _____.
| A．no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night |
| B．the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night |
| C．Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night |
| D．there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer |