Would you like to be a king or queen? To have people waiting on you hand and foot? Many Americans experience this royal treatment every day. How? By being customers. The American idea of customer service is to make each customer the center of attention. Need proof? Just listen to the commercials. Most of them sound like the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you.” Actually, not all stores in America roll out the red carpet for their customers. But wherever you go, good customer service means making customers feel special.
People going shopping in America can expect to be treated with respect from the very beginning. Most places don’t have a “furniture street” or a “computer road” which allow you to compare prices easily. Instead, people often “let their fingers do the walking” through the store hot lines. From the first “hello”, customers receive a satisfying response to their questions. This initial contact can help them decide where to shop.
When customers get to the store, they are treated as honored guests. Customers don’t usually find store clerks sitting around watching TV or playing cards. Instead, the clerks greet them warmly and offer to help them find what they want. In most stores, the clear signs that label each department make shopping a breeze. Customers usually don’t have to ask how much items cost, since prices are clearly marked. And unless they’re at a flea market or a yard sale, they don’t bother trying to bargain.
When customers are ready to check out, they find the nearest and shortest checkout lane. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, whichever lane they get in, all the other lanes will move faster. Good stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes get too long. Some even offer express lanes for customers with 10 items or less. After they pay for their purchases, customers receive a smile and a warm “thank you” from the clerk. Many stores even allow customers to take their shopping carts out to the parking lot. That way, they don’t have to carry heavy bags out to the car. By quoting (引用) the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you”, the author intends to_______.
| A．suggest that customers believe what commercials say deeply |
| B．show readers the American idea on good customer service |
| C．express all the stores pay much attention to the customers |
| D．persuade readers to choose the stores with ads correctly |
In the USA, what may you do at first if you want to do some shopping?
| A．To visit a professional street with lots of similar stores. |
| B．To compare prices in many shops in the same street. |
| C．To make phone calls and get better shopping choices. |
| D．To receive other customers’ answers to the questions. |
Which of the followings shows American stores offer convenience to customers in this passage?
| A．The store clerks don’t usually sit around watching TV or playing cards. |
| B．Some stores offer price bargain to the customers like a yard sale. |
| C．The clerks give customers a smile and a warm “thank you” after paying. |
| D．Some stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes are crowded. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．Customer Service in America | B．Excellent Stores in America |
| C．Shopping Rules in America | D．Being King or Queen in America |
Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study finding that being sad makes people less gullible (轻信), improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were 
told.
"Although positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger (引发) more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world," Forgas wrote.
"Our research suggests that sadness ... promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."
For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumors and found that people in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodati
ve and ultimately more successful communication style."
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions（扭曲）and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Forgas wrote.
The study was published in the November/December edition of the Australian Science journal. _ The study suggests that when someone is in a bad mood, he ________ .
| A．is particular about everything | B．shows less concern about others |
| C．is willing to believe what he hears | D．cares more about his surroundings |
_Which of the following is connected with positive mood?
| A．New ideas. | B．Being stubborn. | C．Being careful. | D．Concentration. |
_ How did researcher put the subjects in good or bad moods?
| A．By watching sports programs. | B．By listening to happy or sad stories. |
| C．By dealing with demanding situations. | D．By thinking back on their past exp erience. |
_ Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Positive mood leads to better judgement. |
B．Sad people rem embered what they saw precisely. |
| C．Cheerful people were less likely to believe rumors. |
| D．People in bad mood tend to make quick decisions. |
_The author intends to convince(说服) us that __________ .
| A．Joseph Forgas made a great discovery | B．bad moods can actually be good for us |
| C．we should think positively and negatively | D．the Australian study is of practical value |
The easy way out isn't always easiest. I learned that lesson when I decided to treat Doug, my hus
band of one month, to a special meal. I glanced through my cookbook and chose a menu(菜谱) which included homemade bread. Knowing the bread would take time , I started on it as soon as Doug
left for work. As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozens would be better, so I doubled（加倍）everything. As Doug loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl. Soon there was a sticky dough (面团) covered with ugly yellowish marks. Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn't have to face Doug laughing at my work. I went on preparing the rest of the meal, and, when Doug got home , we sat down to eat Cornish chicken with rice. He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed. Twice he got up
and went outside , saying he thought he heard a noise. The third time he left, I went to the windows to see what he was doing. Looking out, I saw Doug standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container. When I came out of the house, he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in our rubbish bin. Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see. I felt cold. But I stepped closer and looked harder. Without doubt it was my work. The hot sun had cau
sed the dough to double in size and the fermenting yeast (酵母)made the surface shake and sigh as though it were breathing. It looked like some unknown being from outer space. I could see why Doug was so shaken. I had to admit what the “living thing” was and why it was there. I don't know who was more embarrassed(尴尬)by the whole thing -- Doug or me._The writer's purpose in writing this story is ___________
| A．to tell an interesting experience |
| B．to show the easiest way out of a difficulty |
| C．to describe the trouble facing a newly married woman |
| D．to explain the difficulty of learning to cook from books |
_ Why did the woman's attempt at making the bread turn out to be unsuccessful?
| A．The canned orange had gone bad. | B．She didn't use the right kind of flour. |
| C．The cookbook was hard to understand. | D．She d id not follow the directions closely. |
_ Why did the woman put the dough in the rubbish bin?
| A．She didn't see the use of keeping it | B．She meant to joke with her husband. |
| C．She didn't want her husband to see it . | D．She hoped it would soon dry in the sun. |
_ What made the dough in the rubbish bin look frightening?
| A．The rising and falling movement. | B．The strange-looking marks. |
| C．Its shape. | D．Its size. |
_When Doug went out the third time, the woman looked out of the window because she was ____.
| A．surprised at his being interested in the bin | B．afraid that he would discover her secret |
C．unhap py that he didn't enjoy the meal |
D．curious to know what disturbed him |
In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
But Roebling refused to listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but several months
after it began, a tragic accid
ent on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again.
"We told them so", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish to chase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on
her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but the project was
under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.
Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and hi
s determination not to be defeated by circumstances._ What did most people think about Roebling's idea to build the bridge?
| A．It would never become a reality. | B．Washington was not experienced enough. |
| C．It would take a lot of time. | D．Finding the money would be impossible. |
_The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) is closest in meaning to '______'.
| A．unpleasant | B．scared | C．amazed | D．determined |
_ Which of the following shows the correct order of the events that happened in the story?
a. Roebling convinced his son.
b. Washington found a new way to communicate.
c. They hired the crew.
d. The bridge was completed.
e. Roebling wanted to build a bridge.
f. There was a tragic accident.
A．e, a, c, f, d, b |
B．e, a, f, b, c, d | C．e, f, a, b, c, d | D．e, a, c, f, b, d |
_ What can we learn about Washington's wife?
| A．She knew sign language very well. |
| B．She was devoted to her husband. |
| C．She developed a code to communicate with her husband. |
| D．She helped her husband design the plan. |
_ What does the story tell us?
| A．Success will come with the passing of time. |
B．Struggle s are exactly what we need in our lives. |
| C．Even the most distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude. |
| D．The people who make a difference in our life should be remembered forever. |
Football is, I believe, the most popular game in England: one has only to go to the important matches to see this. Rich and poor, young and old, one can see them all there, shouting for one side or the other.
To a stranger, one of the most surprising things about football in England is the great knowledge of the game which even the smallest boy seems to have. He can tell you the names of the players in most of the important teams. He will tell you who he expects will win such a match, and his opinion is usually as good as that of men three or four times his age.
Most schools in England take football seriously-much more seriously than nearly all European schools, where lessons are all very important and games are left for the children themselves. In England it is believed that education is not only a matter filling a boy’s mind with facts in the classroom: education also means the training of character; and one of the best ways of training character is by means of games, especially team games; where a boy or girl has to learn to work with others for his or her team, instead of working for oneself alone. The school therefore plans games and matches for its students. Football is a good team game. It is good both for the body and the mind. That’s why it is every school’s game in England.In passage 1, by “this” the author means ________.
| A．people often go to football games. |
| B．people, rich and poor, young and old, play football |
| C．football is the most popular game in England |
| D．people usually shout at each other in a football match |
In England, a boy’s opinion of a match is often ________.
| A．three or four times better than that of adults | B．more than that of adults |
| C．as good as that of adults | D．worth considering three or four times than adults |
In England, education means_______.
| A．filling a boy’s mind with stories | B．more than the teaching of knowledge |
| C．the teaching of knowledge only | D．training character by means of football games |
People tend to become more personal and hide less of themselves when using email . Researchers from Open University in Britain have found in a recent study that there are good reasons for this .
The team of researchers asked 83 pairs of students , all strangers to each other , to solve a problem . They had to discuss this question : If only five people in the world could be saved from a world disaster , who should they be ? The pairs of students had to talk over the problem either face to face or by computers . Dr. Johnson said , “They told their partners four times as much about themselves when they talked over the Internet as when they talked face to face . When the computers were fitted with cameras so that students could see each other , this limited the personal side of the conversation.”
Generally the information was not extremely personal . It was mainly about things such as where they went to school, or where they used to live . But some students discussed their love stories , and personal childhood experiences .
Dr. Johnson believes that emailing encourages people to focus on themselves . And when they do this , they become more open , especially if there are no cameras. “If you cannot see the other person, it becomes easier to talk about yourself . This is because you are not thinking what the other person is thinking of you. So emailing has become the modern way of talking,” said Dr. Johnson. However , this style of talking is not entirely new . “In the 19th century people started to use the ‘telegraph’ to communicate . Now the same kind of thing has happened and people ended up speaking more freely .”
Dr. Johnson thinks that emailers need to know about these effects of emailing , especially when they start work in a company . “If you don’t know about it , you could find yourself saying more about yourself than you wanted to .”The subject discussed in this passage is .
| A．how people open up when emailing | B．how people do research studies |
| C．how to communicate at work | D．how to discuss and solve a problem |
The reason that some couples talked freely about themselves is that .
| A．they didn’t talk about very personal things | B．they couldn’t see each other |
| C．the cameras on the computers were turned on | D．they had to discuss a question |
What do the underlined words (in para. 4) refer to ?
| A．The telegraph | B．The computer | C．Emailing . | D．Face-to-face talk . |
．In the writer’s opinion , one should .
| A．focus on oneself when emailing | B．talk more freely in email than usual |
| C．discuss any subject that one wants to | D．consider how one uses email at work |