One’s style of the dress reveals the human obsession with both novelty and tradition. People use clothing to declare their membership in a particular social group; however, the rules for what is acceptable dress for that group may change. In affluent societies, this changing of the rules is the driving force behind fashions. By keeping up with fashions, that is, by changing their clothing style frequently but meanwhile, members of a group both satisfy their desire for novelty and obey the rules, thus demonstrating their membership in the group.
There are some interesting variations (变种) regarding individual status. Some people, particularly in the West, consider themselves of such high status that they do not need to display it with their clothing. For example, many wealthy people in the entertainment industry appear in very casual clothes, such as the worn jeans and work boots of a manual laborer. However, it is likely that a subtle but important signal, such as an expensive wristwatch, will prevail over the message of the casual dress. Such an inverted (颠倒的)status display is most likely to occur where the person’s high status is conveyed in ways other than with clothing, such as having a famous face.According to the author, fashions serve all the following purposes EXCEPT
| A．satisfying an interest in novelty |
| B．signaling a change in personal beliefs |
| C．displaying membership in a social group |
| D．following traditional rules |
Why does the author discuss individual status in paragraph 2?
| A．To state that individual’s status is not important in the West |
| B．To argue that individuals need not obey every fashion rule |
| C．To contrast the status of entertainers with that of manual laborers |
| D．To explain how high status may involve an inverted status display |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word?
| A．newness | B．convention | C．nobleness | D．benzene |
If English is not your first language, it is a good idea to take English language classes to improve your written and spoken communication skills. There are many ways to learn English. You can learn from a book, a DVD, on the Internet or by attending classes. One of the most successful ways to improve your English is to join a course in a country where English is widely spoken. The more you practice, the more you will learn. But why learn the English language? English is an important language for anyone who is planning to travel or become involved in business.
Many people love traveling, but if their English is poor, it can be difficult to understand signs, read directions and make themselves understood. Before traveling, it is important to understand the culture and customs of the places you visit. Learning basic English before you travel will help you to understand these customs and avoid mistakes that could be embarrassing. When you are traveling, you will also enjoy meeting new people. If you can speak English, you will have a better chance of being able to communicate with the people you meet. Many of your new friends will speak English and others will have English as a second language. Without English, your friendships will be limited as you travel around the world.
If you are involved in business, it is important to be able to communicate in English. The Internet, world travel and modern communication systems have made the world seem like a much smaller place. These days business people interact with customers and other business people from all over the world. That makes your English language skills more important than ever. There are many English language courses that major in business communications. Improving your English skills is one of the best things you could ever do to increase your chances of business success.What kind of people is English important to according to the passage?
| A．Travelers. | B．Teachers. | C．Students. | D．Language experts. |
Which of the following is the best way to learn English well?
| A．Traveling around the world with English-speakers. |
| B．Taking a course in an English-speaking country. |
| C．Learning from all kinds of books or DVDs. |
| D．Learning on the Internet by yourselves. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the aim of learning basic English?
| A．To have more opportunities to communicate with others. |
| B．To understand the customs of your destination. |
| C．To avoid embarrassing mistakes on your journey. |
| D．To research the causes of cultural differences. |
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
| A．The more you practice, the more you will learn. |
| B．Doing business helps to improve your communication skills. |
| C．English is important for anyone who is involved in business. |
| D．The Internet has made the world become smaller and smaller. |
We can infer from the passage that _____.
| A．learning English well will make you achieve goals more easily |
| B．learning English only aims at achieving business success |
| C．without learning English, your friendships will be limited wherever you are |
| D．you needn’t learn English if you don’t want to travel |
It had been three months since Ms Miller had started teaching. She was gradually being able to understand all her students, except one, Bob. Bob was the only boy who came to school dressed untidily and sat in the class completely lost in his own world. His performance had been deteriorating gradually with every single day.
Ms Miller searched through the progress reports of Bob and was shocked to see Bob used to be the topper in his class. Bob's performance began to slowly decline when his mother fell ill. He was doing badly in each and every subject when his mother died leaving him alone with his father, who was a businessman and had to travel always. Apart from his performance worsening gradually, Bob's nature too began to change. He had forgotten to laugh and showed no interest in any activity. All his friends had abandoned him.
One day, Bob was asked to stay back.Ms Miller asked him if he had any problem understanding his lessons. Gradually she began to give him a comfort zone so that he could talk and share. After three weeks, she found Bob gradually improving. He was being able to answer the questions he previously failed. Every day after all the students went away, Ms Miller gave personal attention to Bob and began to spend time with him. Bob improved a lot over the next semester, showing definite signs of progress in his performance.
On a Friday, Bob came up to Ms Miller, handed her a box and requested her to open the box on Sunday. On Sunday morning, curious, she opened it and saw a bottle of perfume, half filled. Together with it was a small letter, saying that this bottle of perfume used to be his mother's and he wished Ms Miller to wear it so that every time she was around, he could feel his Mom near him. He thanked her for everything. Ms Miller took the bottle of perfume in her hand and saw a new tag attached to it; it said "Happy Mother's Day”!
Ms Miller suddenly realized that it was not she who had made a difference to Bob's life but it was Bob who made her realize what true humanity is!According to the text, Bob________.
| A．wore clean clothes all the time |
| B．was taller than any other one in his class |
| C．lost all of his friends after his mother's death |
| D．could always have his father for company at home |
The underlined word "deteriorating" in Paragraph l probably means________.
| A．worsening | B．changing | C．thrilling | D．Improving |
Paragraph 3 is mainly about________.
| A．why Ms Miller would like to help Bob. |
| B．what Ms Miller did to help Bob. |
| C．how Bob attracted Ms Miller’s attention. |
| D．where Bob could sit comfortably |
The bottle of perfume given to Ms Miller______.
| A．showed Bob was thankful for Ms Miller’s help |
| B．was given on Mother’s Day |
| C．made Bob a different student |
| D．was new and never used before |
What does the author wanted to tell us ______.
| A．a teacher can totally change a student’s life |
| B．family is the most important place for kids |
| C．children don’t have to solve problems by themselves |
| D．one should have sympathy for another’s suffering and offer help |
Doctors say obesity，also known as severe overweight，is a complex condition.A doctor may advise medical interventions(医疗干预) in addition to changes in behavior.But experts say the more successful weightloss plans include a wellbalanced diet and exercise.
People who want to avoid weight gain have to balance the number of calories they eat with the number of calories they use.To lose weight，you can reduce the number of calories you take in，or increase the number you use，or both.Experts at the National Institutes of Health say to lose weight，a person should do some moderate or intensive physical exercise most days of the week.This could include fast walking，sports or strength training.
A recent study looked at four of the most popular dieting plans in the United States.Researchers at Stanford University studied more than three hundred overweight women，mostly in their thirties or forties.Each woman went on one of the four plans：Atkins，The Zone，Ornish or LEARN.The women attended diet classes and received written information about the food plans.At the end of a year，the women on the Atkins diet had lost the most，more than four and a half kilograms on average.
Christopher Gardner led the study，reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He said the Atkins diet may be more successful because of its simple message to lower the intake of sugar.Also，he said the advice to increase protein in the diet leads to more satisfying meals.
But last week，another report suggested that only a small minority of people have longterm success in dieting.Researchers at the University of California found that most dieters regained their lost weight within five years.And often they gained back even more.But those who kept the weight off generally were the ones who exercised.All the following is helpful to lose weight EXCEPT________.
| A．a healthy diet | B．physical exercise |
| C．medical interventions | D．being polite to others |
You are most likely to gain too much weight if________.
| A．you eat the same number of calories as the number you use |
| B．you take in less calories than the number you use |
| C．you take in more calories than the number you use |
| D．you take exercise regularly on the weekdays |
The third paragraph mainly tells us that________.
| A．there are four popular dieting plans in the USA |
| B．the Atkins diet has the best effect on losing weight |
| C．lots of women attended diet classes every day |
| D．dieting plan is the most important |
Which one of the following is NOT right according to this passage?
| A．The change of your life habits can help you lose weight. |
| B．You’d better exercise once a week to lose some weight. |
| C．The Atkins diet may be good because of lowering the intake of sugar. |
| D．Some people gain weight back for their unhealthy diet. |
Which one of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．Successful Weightloss Plans | B．Four Popular Dieting Plans |
| C．What Is the Atkins Diet? | D．Few People Fail in Losing Weight |
Wikipedia: The Online Know-It-All
If you want to find out a piece of information about anything, the best place to search for it is Wikipedia. The name “Wikipedia” is from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning “quick”. This online encyclopedia (百科全书) is written by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with Internet access can write, add or make changes to Wikipedia articles if he or she finds it incorrect or not well written. In this way, people who know a lot about a certain subject can write about it even if they are not university professors. But contributions cannot damage Wikipedia because many experienced editors are watching pages and techies (技术专家) can write editing programs to keep track of or correct bad edits. Where there are disagreements on how to present facts, editors work together to arrive at an article that fairly represents current expert opinion on the subject.
Wikipedia is quite different from paper-based reference sources in important ways. Unlike printed encyclopedias, it is continually created and updated, with articles on historic events appearing within minutes, rather than months or years.
What’s more, Wikipedia includes articles written in about 285 languages. This fact makes it one of the few websites on the Internet that are truly international. It was started in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales, as a free online English-language encyclopedia project. Since its creation, it has grown rapidly into one of the largest reference websites, attracting nearly 500million unique visitors monthly. There are more than 77,000active contributors working on more than 22,000,000articles in differentlanguages. As of today, there are 4,396,866articles in English.
So, if you are looking for some information, why not try Wikipedia? It’s free, multilingual，and informative.According to the passage, what is Wikipedia?
| A．A free website encyclopedia. | B．A computer game. |
| C．A free encyclopedia in book form. | D．An online university. |
From the passage we know that ______.
| A．Wikipedia only charges users a small fee |
| B．Wikipedia catches a wide audience |
| C．incorrect editions might do great harm to Wikipedia |
| D．it will take long to update the information on Wikipedia |
Where can we probably read the passage?
| A．In a story book. | B．In a research report. |
| C．In a science magazine. | D．In a travel brochure. |
The Couch Surfing network is an online community stretching across the globe with over one and a half million members. The basic concept is to provide a platform for travelers to contact people who are willing to put them up free of charge. Travelers connect with potential hosts online and, if they like each other, exchange details to make farther arrangements.
Basil is one traveler from Switzerland who is currently couch surfing with a Chinese host in Beijing. "I thought staying in hostel is nice but you mostly meet foreigners and speak English. If you use Couch Surfing you have chance to meet people living here and really get a chance to know the life of the place you visit. " Basil was speaking during a regular meeting of Beijing network of Couch Surfing with a membership of almost 2,000.
Although some people may have concerns about meeting complete strangers and giving them full access to your house, Beijing group member Fred Sharp from California says that the Couch Surfing community is one that generally attracts trustworthy people.
"I have never had a problem with guests. I'd say that this Couch Surfing community worldwide is a fairly trustworthy community like I say, always be cautious, make sure that you read everyone's profile that you're considering hosting, and if it doesn't feel right just say' no', it's OK. "
Originally launched in the US as a non-profit organization in 2004, Couch Surfing is growing fast across the world. China is no exception with around 30,000 members and hundreds more signing up each week. One of them is Beijing resident Hai Yan who joined in November 2009. She says the first time she hosted a guest was a very positive experience. "My first guest was from Italy. He was very kind and helpful. He bought me a present from Italy, a handbag. It's a famous brand!"
As the organization grows from strength to strength, hotel owners across the world will be watching very closely and possibly thinking twice about raising their prices too high. The Couch Surfing network is intended to __________ .
| A．offer travelers convenience to find suitable hosts for free accommodations |
| B．provide people with a platform to contact each other |
| C．find potential hosts who want to supply travelers with couches |
| D．give reliable information about hotels |
According to Fred Sharp, ______________.
| A．couch surfers can fully rely on Couch Surfing community |
| B．Couch Surfing community enables you to meet different people |
| C．Couch Surfing community is trusted by all couch surfers |
| D．Hosts may form a judgment on couch surfers and make a final decision |
We can infer from the passage that ________________.
| A．Couch Surfing has a long history |
| B．Hai Yan is satisfied with her host |
| C．Couch Surfing is getting popular in China |
| D．Basil works at the Beijing Network |
The last paragraph suggests that hotels will ___________ .
| A．be replaced by the organization |
| B．probably not charge too much |
| C．not consider raising their prices |
| D．show no concern about the organization |