一Did you go to Taylor Swift's concert last night?
一I would rather I＿＿．But I was preparing a report for my boss.
| A．did | B．had |
| C．would | D．might |
There are over one million superstitions(迷信), and most people believe at least one or two of them.
Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers.
The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, "4" is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word "four" is pronounced the same as the word "death" .
Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything.
What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and "8" is considered a lucky number in Japan and China. In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8.
Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people--called numerologist--make a living by giving advice about numbers.
In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if "Toyoda" would be a good name for the company. The numerologist said it would not be. He explained that "Toyota" would be a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive "Toyota" and not "Toyoda" .
There are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching(抓痒). There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes.
There are even superstitions about superstitions. Those superstitions will tell people how to reverse bad luck.
When the Japanese bump heads, they immediately bump heads again. According to a Japanese superstition, the first-bump means their parents will die, but the second bump "erases" the first bump
To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pockets inside out, or put their hats on backwards.
In the United States, baseball players sometimes wear their caps backwards when their team is losing. It looks silly, but the baseball players do not mind if it helps them win the game.It can be inferred that superstitions about numbers are .
| A．popular neither in Japan nor in China |
| B．popular only in Japan and in China |
| C．popular both in Japan and in China |
| D．causing great troubles both in Japan and in China |
The underlined word " reverse " means .
| A．change to bad luck | B．cause to go in the opposite direction |
| C．change for the worse | D．exchange |
If a Japanese purposely bumps his head again after an accidental bump, we can be sure that .
| A．he is mad | B．he is happy | C．he is superstitious | D．he is very sad |
The writer wrote this passage with the purpose of .
| A．persuading us to believe superstitions |
| B．showing us some facts of superstitions |
| C．showing us the magic power of number |
| D．showing us a numerologist |
Food sometimes gets poisoned with harmful things. A person who eats such food can get an illness called food poisoning. Food poisoning is usually not serious, but some types are deadly, The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within hours of eating the poisoned food. Fever is one of the most common symptoms.
Certain microorganisms (微生物) cause most types of food poisoning. Bacteria and other microorganisms can poison eggs, meat, vegetables, and many other foods. After entering the body, these tiny living things release (释放) poisons that make people sick.
Some chemicals can also cause food poisoning. They are often added to food while it is being grown, processed, or prepaid. For example, many farmers spray chemicals on crops to kill weeds and insects. Some people may have a bad reaction to those chemicals when they eat the crops.
Some plants and animals contain natural poisons that are harmful to people. These include certain kinds of seafood, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and mushrooms.
When people handle food properly, the risk of food poisoning is very small Microorganisms multiply rapidly in dirty places and in warm temperatures. This means that people should never touch food with dirty hands or put food on unwashed surfaces. Food should be kept in a refrigerator to stop microorganisms from growing. Meat needs to be cooked thoroughly to kill any dangerous microorganisms. People should also wash food covered with chemicals before eating it. Finally, people should not eat raid mushrooms or other foods that grow in the wild. Some of these foods may contain natural materials that are poisonous to humans. In addition, some types of fish can be poisonous.
Most people recover from food poisoning after a few days of resting and drinking extra water. If people eat natural poisons, they must go to the hospital right away to have their stomachs emptied.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Food when poisoned can make people sick. |
| B．Food poisoning means death. |
| C．Food poisoning comes in varieties. |
| D．Food poisoning can be serious. |
We know from the passage that the symptoms of food poisoning.
| A．are always accompanied by a fever |
| B．are too common to be noted |
| C．can be noticed within hours |
| D．can be ignored |
Food poisoning can be caused by all the following EXCEPT.
| A．some chemicals | B．low temperatures |
| C．some tiny living things | D．certain natural materials |
It can be inferred from the passage that
| A．natural materials are safe in food processing |
| B．chemicals are needed in food processing |
| C．food poisoning can be kept under control |
| D．food poisoning is out of control |
Whether you’re headed to another country for business or pleasure, it is likely that you need to keep in
touch with family or business partners in the United States. But if you plan to do that using your cell phone,
you could have an unwelcome surprise—U.S. cell phones don’t work abroad. U. S. companies use different
forms of technology, not like most of the international community, including Europe.
However, there is an easy, cost-effective solution to staying in touch while you’re traveling. You can rent a
phone that is guaranteed to work in the countries you’re traveling. Roadpost offers a 30-day cell phone rental
plan that includes free incoming calls, free voicemail and call waiting services.
The service is convenient and simple. You can place your order online and your phone will be shipped to
arrive on the date you want. If an unexpected business trip comes up, Roadpost can provide next - day delivery
for most cities. In addition to the phone, Roadpost provides a spare battery, travel charger and a leather carrying case.
When your phone is shipped from Roadpost, you receive an e-mail confirmation that contains your international cell phone number so you can leave it with family members and business partners; Roadpost even
provides business cards preprinted with your international phone number.
Those who don’t want to be without e-mail while traveling can rent an international BlackBerry. It can be hard
to stay in touch by e-mail when traveling. With an international BlackBerry, you can email as much as you like, without worrying about an expensive bill. If you’re traveling to very remote areas, you may want to consider
renting a satellite phone: Because they Receive their signals from satellites, these phones work anywhere on the
planet, including oceans and mountains. When you return, simply ship the phone or BlackBerry back to Roadpost using the return kit the company provides.According to the text, Roadpost probably is.
| A．an organization that offers some free services |
| B．a person who offers some advice to foreign tourists |
| C．a company that rents cell phones to Americans going abroad |
| D．a person who makes travel plans for Americans |
The first paragraph mainly tells us that.
| A．Americans need to change their cell phones | B．European form of technology is different from America’s |
| C．U. S cell phones don’t work abroad | D．Americans who go abroad will meet an unwelcome surprise |
Which of the following will help you a lot in mountainous areas?
| A．BlackBerry | B．The return kit | C．E-mail | D．Satellite phones |
According to the text, it can be inferred that.
| A．an international BlackBerry is mainly used to send e-mail |
| B．Roadpost can offer cell phones using in different areas |
| C．you should select a bag used to send your cell phone |
| D．Roadpost’s service is convenient and simple |
Which of the free services can you get from Road post?
| A．Voicemail | B．Sending e-mail | C．Shipping the phone back | D．Call waiting services |
Speech—the act of uttering sounds to convey meaning—is a kind of human action. Like any other
constantly repeated action, speaking has to be learned, but once it is learned, it becomes a generally
unconscious and apparently automatic process.
As far as we can determine, human beings do not need to be forced to speak; most babies seem to possess a
sort of instinctive drive to produce speech like noises. How to speak and what to say are another matter
altogetner. There actions are learned from the particular society into which the baby is born; so that, like all
conduct that is learned from a society—from the people around us—speech is a patterned activity.
The meandering(漫目无地的)babble(咿呀学语)and chatter of a young child are eventually channeled by
imitation into a few orderly grooves that represent the pattern accepted as meaningful by the people around
him. Similarly, a child’s indiscriminate(不加分辨的)practice of putting things into his mouth becomes limited to putting food into his mouth in a certain way.
The sounds that a child can make are more varied and numerous than the sounds that any particular language uses. However, a child born into a society with a pattem of language is encouraged to make a small selection of sounds and to make these few sounds over and over until it is natural for him to make these
sounds and not others.For an adult, the process of speaking usually involves .
| A．conscious selection of sounds | B．imitation of those around him |
| C．a drive to make noises | D．unconscious actions |
The selection says that most babies have an instinctive drive to .
| A．express ideas in words | B．make speech like noise |
| C．convey meaning | D．imitate sounds around them |
Conduct that is learned from a society may be called .
| A．instinctive drive | B．selection | C．automatic activity | D．patterned activity |
The sounds that a child is able to make are .
| A．not as varied as those used in language | B．more varied and numerous than those in any language |
| C．far fewer than those needed to form a language | D．completely different from the sounds of language |
We may say that a child has learned to speak if he .
| A．makes varied sounds | B．carefully considers each sound he makes |
| C．makes only certain sounds naturally | D．imitates people around him |
Free Fun Guides
| Free Admission to Hundreds of Museums Sept.25 What a weekend! This Saturday, Sept.25, hundreds of U.S. museums admission free for the Smithsonian’s annual Museum Day. Unlike previous Museum Day celebrations, you must sign up for a free ticket that admits two people to any of the participating museums. That means filling out a form and having the ticket emailed to you. Not bad for a freebie that will give you admission to museums such as the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and the Air & Space Museum in San Diego. Some participating museums are closed on Saturday, so they offer free admission on Sunday, Sept.26, instead. |
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| Free Admission to National Parks & Public Lands Would you rather visit a National Park for free instead of a museum for free? The choice is yours on Saturday, Sept.25, as all 392National Parks and all other national public lands are admission free for National Public Lands Day. The fee-free day for national parks, forests, monuments and other public lands falls on the same day as the Smithsonian Museum Day, when hundreds of U. S. museums are also admission free. If you love the outdoors, consider signing up or just show up for one of the volunteer projects at the public lands sites on Saturday. Spend the morning helping clean up and restore our national natural treasures, then spend the afternoon just enjoying and exploring them. |
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| Free Books for Kid @ Barnes & Noble! If your kids love to read—and we hope they do!—be sure to sign them up for Barnes & Noble’s summer reading programs so they can earn a free book! It’s easy for kids ages 12 and under to participate. For Barnes & Noble’s Passport to Summer Reading program, just download and print out your passport. Read any eight books, log them into the passport and bring it to any Barnes & Noble by September 7. Choose your free book from the list on the back of the passport. |
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| FREE Night of Theater Across the U. S in October Hark! ‘Tis a chance to see this thing called the play, and not just Mr. Shakespeare’s! It’s the annual run of the Free Night of Theater, when hundreds of theaters in 120 U. S. cities give away thousands of tickets to local productions. While the kickoff date is October 15, many of the theaters start releasing their free tickets by Oct. 1 or in waves during the month of October for performance dates throughout the month. Ticket seekers are limited to two tickets for one performance. Find your city on the Free Night of Theater Website and check the listings for performances, their dates and their ticket giveaway times and locations. |
What is new about this year’s Museum Day?
| A．People can visit a museum for free | B．Two museums offer free admission |
| C．People will get free tickets online | D．Some museums open for free on Sunday |
How is National Public Lands Day different from the other three events?
| A．It comes on Sept. 25 | B．Visitors may offer help |
| C．All can visit the parks for free | D．Visitors may choose what to do |
How can kids get a free book?
| A．By choosing one of the books they have read | B．By downloading and printing out a passport |
| C．By reading eight books at any Barnes & Noble | D．By listening to B & N’s free online stories |
Which of the following shows the similarity between Museum Day and Free Night of Theater?
| A．They take place once a year | B．They last for the same length of time |
| C．The tickets can be used in any U.S cities | D．The same number of free tickets is given away |
The main purpose of the passage is to.
| A．help people who are very poor | B．introduce ways to save money |
| C．give guidance on how to have some fun | D．provide information about free things to do |