In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up withthe Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant(仆人) and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’ s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they _______.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbors |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don't want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to make themselves happy |
It can be inferred（推断）from the story that rich people like to_______.
| A．live outside New York City | B．live in New York city |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbors |
According to the writer, it is_______ to keep up with the Joneses.
| A．correct | B．interesting |
| C．impossible | D．good |
There are some special traditions in Hawaii . People there are very friendly and always welcome visitors . They give visitors a lei , a long necklace of beautiful fresh flowers . Men wear bright flowered shirts , and women often wear long flowered dresses .
In Hawaii you may find some traditional Chinese , Japanese and Philippine holidays . Of course , many holidays are from the United States . People call Hawaii the Aloha State . Aloha means both “hello” and “good--bye”. It also means “I love you ” .
Usually when people from different countries , races or traditions lives together , there are serious problems . But in Hawaii there are few problems , people have learned to live together in peace .
Hawaiians earn most of their money from tourists , most of whom come from the mainland and from Japan . The families of the first people who came from the U.S. mainland own the important banks and companies . Japanese are also starting business and buying more and more land .The underlined word “lei” in Paragraph One means ____________.
| A．a necklace of flower | B．a plant in Hawaii. |
| C．a group of flower | D．a flowered dress |
Which of the following is TRUE about the people in Hawaii according to the passage?
| A．They live together in peace. |
| B．There are no problems at all in Hawaii . |
| C．It is difficult for them to live together . |
| D．There are serious problems among them . |
Most of the rich men in Hawaii are _____________ .
| A．Japanese | B．Americans and Chinese |
| C．Japanese and Americans | D．Chinese and Japanese |
The holiday in Hawwaii come from ______________ .
| A．America | B．Philippines | C．China and Japan | D．All the above |
From the passage we know that Hawaiians are mostly __________.
| A．rude to others |
| B．friendly to others |
| C．visitors from the mainland |
| D．tourists from Japan |
BEIJING--Lights went out for an hour at some famous landmarks and homes all over the world on March 28 for Earth Hour 2010. It is a global event created by the WWF(World Wildlife Fund) to make people pay more attention to climate change.
From the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge to the Eiffel Tower in Pari sand London’s Houses of Parliament, lights went out to encourage people to cut energy use.
Organizers said the action showed that a great number of people wanted the government to take measures to fight global warming by the end of 2010. "We have been dreaming of a new climate deal for a long time," said Kim Carstensen, head of a global climate organization. "Now we’re no longer alone with the dream. We’re sharing it with all these people turning off their lights," he said.
Australia first held Earth Hour in 2007 and it went global in 2008, attracting 50 million people. WWF is hoping one billion people from 1,000 cities in nearly 90 countries will take part in the event.
Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and many other famous buildings in China also joined in this event.The event "Earth Hour" was created to make people pay more attention to __
A. Sydney Opera House B. climate change C. March 28According to the passage people who took part in the event__ on March 28.
A. turned off the lights for one hour B. turned down the lights for 2 hours
C. turned on the lights for 3 hourscreated Earth Hour event first in
A. America, 2008 B. Canada, 2010 C. Australia, 2007__ famous landmarks are mentioned in the passage.
A. Four B. FiveC. SixThe Earth Hour event was created by __
A. Global Climate Organization B. World Wildlife Fund C. Kim Cartensen
Expressions cover all parts of our life. They may be around your ears every day. You may know a lot of Chinese expressions that describe how you feel. Here are some English ones for your enjoyment.
Have Your Heart in Your Mouth
This expression means that you’re really afraid or anxious about something. When your heart starts beating so much that you can feel a thumping(怦怦跳) in your throat, it may feel like you "have your heart in your mouth."
Have Butterflies in the Stomach
How did butterflies get in your stomach? Well, those really aren’t butterflies in there. It is a way of describing those nervous feelings you might get before a test or a very important decision.
These stomach flutters (跳动) are normal and happen to many people. Some people believe having a few butterflies might even help you perform better.
Sick as a Dog
If you’ve ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it’s all right to describe someone who’s not feeling well as being "sick as a dog".
Under the Weather
When it’s rainy all day outside, how would you feel? This expression comes from the idea that bad weather might hurt a person’s health and mood(心情). The expression "__" is most probably used while you are watching a thriller.
A. have your heart in your mouth B. sick as a dog C. under the weatherSomeone believes__ if you "have butterflies in the stomach" before a test.
A. you’re sure to fail B. you will forget everything C. you might do betterIt’s __ to say somebody is "sick as a dog" when he is not feeling well.
A. impolite B. suitable C. wrongWhen somebody says "under the weather", he must feel
A. upset B. happy C. calmAll expressions discussed in this passage are about
A. health B. habits C. feelings
A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him round. Thinking nothing of it, he continued.
Finally, he went to the check-out line, but the old lady got in front of him. "Excuse me," she said, "I’m sorry if my staring at(盯着看) you has made you feel uncomfortable,it’s just because you look like my son, whom I haven’t seen for a long time"
"What a pity," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes," she said, "as I’m leaving, can you say ’Good bye, mother’? It would make me feel so much better."
"Sure," answered the young man. So, when the old woman was leaving, he called out, "Goodbye, mother !"
As he stepped up to the check-out counter(收银台), he saw that his total was $127. 50. "How can that be?" he asked, "I only buy a few things!"
The clerk replied, "Your mother said that you would pay for her. "The young man was __ that day.
A. doing some shopping B. having a walk C. visiting his motherThe old lady stood__ the young man on the check-out line.
A.beside B.behind C.before__ wasn’t an honest person in this story?
A. The clerk B. The old lady C. The young man At last, what the young man had to pay was __ what he expected.
A. more than B. less than C. as much as We know from the story that the old lady__
A. liked shopping B. had a son C. paid nothing
House of Porridge
Welcome to Clark’s Porridge House. We have different kinds
of porridge. We have meat porridge, vegetable porridge, and fruit
porridge is our special. It is only RMB 4 for one bowl. A bowl
of meat porridge is RMB 5.Vegtable porridge is RMB 3 for one
bowl, but RMB 5 for two. We have thin pancakes, too. They are RMB5
for ten. Come and taste delicious the food here. If you are too
busy to come, call us and we can deliver the food to you in
20 minutes.
Fill in the blanks according to the passage Only one word for
each blank
The owner of this porridge house is (1)____. The cheapest
is the (2)___porridge. If you eat a bowl of meat porridge and
five thin pancakes, you will pay RMB(3)____. (You can explain
it either in Chinese or in English.) The word“deliver”in the
last sentences probably means(4)____. If you order some good
in this restaurant at 6 o’clock, you will probably get it before
(5)_____