If the rose can be said to be a special flower, then the apple can be said to be a special fruit. It is very important in American culture. American stories speak of Johnny Appleseed, who went throughout America collecting apple seeds and planting apple trees. He had a great love for nature and went through fields and farms adding richness and beauty to the country.
One of the first sayings taught to school children is, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” This short saying encourages children to eat fresh fruit to keep healthy. If someone always says good words to a person, people will call him an “apple polisher”. This, however, is not a good name. If someone is very dear to us, we say that he or she is the “apple of our eye”.
Most people believe that the fruit which Eve gave to Adam was an apple, even though the Bible(圣经) never says so. The apple, therefore, is a deep part of the language and stories of America.
An apple is also delicious. Apples can be cooked in many ways, used as a dessert, and made into sweet juice.
In many parts of the country during the harvest season, a popular activity is to go into an apple garden to pick apples. Washington, D. C. and New York are both famous for their apples.
Finally, when it’s time to take a vacation to American cities, one can always visit New York, which is “the biggest apple” of all the American cities.What does the underlined phrase “apple polisher” mean?
A.Something for cutting apples. |
B.A person who likes to please others. |
C.A person who is dealing with fruits. |
D.A machine for cleaning apples quickly. |
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb about ____________.
A.cooking | B.medicine | C.shopping | D.health |
Which of the following is TRUE with apples?
A.Apples are medicine. |
B.Apples are the most important food. |
C.New York is famous for its big apples. |
D.The Bible says Adam was given an apple. |
The passage is mainly about___________.
A.stories about the apple |
B.apples in American culture |
C.some famous sayings of the apple |
D.big cities that is famous for apples |
My Year Abroad
This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers’ experiences in year-abroad programmes.
Mariko Okada – Tokyo
My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I’m not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.
Carla Fonseca – Rio de Janeiro
I spent last year studying English in London. I’m from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I’m glad to be home!
Alvin Chen – Hong Kong
Studying in New Zealand was a fun experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week——with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my homestay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I’m really glad I went!
All the three teenagers went abroad .
A.to study English | B.to visit friends |
C.to have a holiday | D.to find a job |
Who didn’t really enjoy the stay in a foreign country very much?
A.Mariko. | B.Carla. | C.Alvin. | D.None of them. |
Travelers Corner is most probably .
A.a sports club newsletter | B.a science documentary |
C.a travel magazine | D.a news website |
The Slender West Lake. named National AAAAA Tourist Area in 2010, includes the Great Rainbow Bridge, the White Pagoda, Five-pavilion Bridge, the Twenty-four Bridge, the Small Golden Hill and so on. The best time to tour the Slender West Lake is in March. During the visit to the park, the boat travels on the water and visitors travel in the picture.
Ticket: Mar. - May. ¥ 150; Other months ¥90
Time: 8:30 - 17:00
Bus: No. 4, 5, 6, 17, 61 buses
Tel: 0514-87357803; 0514-87370091
Website: http://www.shouxihu.com
He garden, the most famous garden in the late Qing Dynasty, is known for its long double-way corridor(走廊), which is regarded as the earliest footbridge.
Ticket: Mar. - May. ¥ 40; Other months ¥30
Time: 7:30 - 17:15
Bus: No. 19, 61 buses
Te: 0514-87900345; 0514-87222353
Website: http://www.he-garden.net
Six months ago. Jack came to China to study. He has heard that Yangzhou is famous for its gardens. And he plans to visit some gardens in July, so he has collected information about them online as follows:
How much will a ticket cost Jack if he visits the Slender West lake?
A.30 yuan. | B.40 yuan. |
C.90 yuan. | D.150 yuan. |
What's He Garden famous for?
A.The long corridor. | B.The green bamboo. |
C.The man-made hills. | D.The boat travelling. |
根据短文(C)
任务 1:完成表格,每空一词
On October 31 every year, children in the US will see “witches” and “ghosts” walking on the street. Is this the end of the world? No, but it is Halloween!
Halloween is exciting and popular with the people in the US and Canada. There are many colorful activities to celebrate it. One traditional, and favorite game is trick-or-treat. During the night of Halloween, children in scary clothes walk around the town. They knock on nearby houses and shout, “trick or treat!” This means “You can give us some candy, or we’ll play a trick on you!” Most people love giving sweets to children. So there are seldom any tricks. Some schools also hold Halloween parties. Sometimes, teachers are also happy to dress up and join in the party. Grown-ups may visit haunted(闹鬼的) houses. It can be very scary sometimes. But they just love following the saying “The scarier, the better.” What exciting night of scares!
根据短文( B )
任务1根据英文释义及首字母提示,拼写单词。
The Chinese and Western eating habits are different. Everyone has his or her own plate of food in the western countries. In China, we put the dishes on the table and everybody shares. It is always polite to let guests or older people at the table taste every dish first.
Although there are no strict rules on how to set chopsticks and spoons, there are some things
you should never do during a Chinese meal. Firstly, and the most importantly, we will put your chopsticks on the dish instead of putting them upright (直立的)in the rice bowl. If you stick your chopsticks in the rice bowl, it seems you want someone at the table to die. Don’t tap on your bowl with your chopsticks. Beggars tap on their bowls, so this is not polite, especially when you eat in a friend’s home.
b __________a person who lives by asking people for money or food
s __________to have or use something at the same time as sb. Else
任务2:同义句转换,每空一词。
We will put our chopsticks on the dish instead of putting them upright (直立的)in the rice bowl.
Chopsticks will _______ ______ on the dish instead of putting them upright in the rice bowl.
任务 3:根据短文内容简答问题。
Where does everyone have his or her own plate of food?
_______________________________________
For hundreds of years, scientists have been trying to answer what things have an effect on people’s emotions(情感). How you feel is controlled by many things. Your emotions can be affected by your personality, by the actions of others and by events around you. Perhaps you don’t know your emotions can be affected by the weather as well.
People often say they feel good when the sun is shining and sad when it is cloudy. In fact, sunlight makes us feel good. When sunlight hits our skins, it helps our bodies produce vitamin D(维生素). Vitamin D helps our bodies make a special chemical. This special chemical affects our brains and makes us feel happy. For example, there are long, dark winters of little sunlight in some countries in the world, so many people in these countries often feel sad. Without much sunlight, their bodies produce less vitamin D. Without enough vitamin D, their bodies make less of this special chemical which makes them feel good. To help the people in these countries feel better, special “sunrooms” with artificial lights have been built. People can go there and get “sunlight” for an hour or two!
The weather can also affect people’s emotions in other ways. Hot weather can make people angry because people feel uncomfortable when they are hot. In the same way, rain can make people angry because being wet can be unpleasant. As you can see, the weather can have an effect on the chemicals which control our brains. Through these days, the weather can affect our emotions. Sadly, while the weather can change us, we can hardly change the weather.
The underlined word “artificial” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.
A. 天然的 B. 人造的 C. 虚构的
From the passage we know that _______.
A.people feel good when it is cloudy
B.in the countries where there are long, dark winters of little sunlight, many people feel sad
C.special “sunrooms” have been built all over the worldWhich of the following is NOT mentioned as a factor (因素) that can affect one's emotions?
A.Weather. | B.Actions of others. |
C.Personality. | D.Age. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Enough vitamin D makes people feel good
B.Both hot weather and rainy weather can make people angry
C.Only weather can control our emotions.
The best title for this passage should be _______
A.People Need More Vitamin D
B.We Can Hardly Change the Weather
C.Weather Affects People’s Emotions