“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly question that people in the U.S.A use to greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual question. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine”, even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn’t really a question and “Fine” isn’t really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello” or “Hi”.
Sometimes, people also don’t say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks “Do you agree?” the other person might think, “No, I disagree. I think you’re wrong...”But it isn’t very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say “I’m not sure.” It’s a nicer way to say that you don’t agree with someone.
People also don’t say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person say “I’ve to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse: “Someone’s at the door.” “Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn’t want to talk any more, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt the other person.
When they are greeting each other, talking about an idea or finishing a talk, people don’t say exactly what they are thinking. They are trying to be nice to each other, and it’s part of the game of language.When a person in America asks “How are you?”, he or she wants to hear “_____”.
| A．How are you? | B．Hello |
| C．I don’t know | D．Fine |
When a person disagrees with someone, it is polite to say “_____”
| A．I think you are wrong. | B．I’m not sure. |
| C．I agree | D．No, I disagree. |
When a person says “I’ve to go now. Someone is at the door.” he or she may be _____.
| A．giving an excuse | B．ill |
| C．hurting someone’s feeling | D．asking a question |
The rule of the game of language is probably _____.
| A．“Always say what you mean” |
| B．“Don’t disagree with others” |
| C．“Never ask questions ” |
| D．“Be polite” |
阅读下列短文，从每小题A、B、C三个选项中，选出一个最佳选项，并将其字母标号填入题前的括号内。
____________ found a set of keys.
A.Dale B. Alice C.Wei QingBob lost his ____________.
A. phone B. schoolbag C. dictionaryIf you find a dictionary, you can call____________.
A.4367825 B.19901106 C. 13824215079Bill’s notebook is ____________.
A.under the tree
B. in Room 406
C.on the teacher’s deskFrom the notice (布告) we know ____________.
A. Bob’s jacket is black.
B. Mr. Bush found Bill’s notebook.
C. Alice’s English dictionary is new.
任务型阅读
If you think you are too shy and want to be a little bit braver, just try the
following things;
Be open to others. Tell people you are shy. There is no need to hide it.
When they get to know you are a shy kid, they will understand you better. This also helps you feel more comfortable in talks.
Try to smile more. When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk with. Remember that other people have feelings, too; and most people will stay away from an angry-looking face.
Learn to be a good talker. If you find it hard to start a conversation, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn’t it make you want to keep talking to that person?
Get your attention elsewhere. Think more about ways to enjoy parties or games. Don’t waste time worrying about your look or whether people like you or not. You will become relaxed and find it’s not so hard to talk with others.
Take one small step at a time. Each time when you say “Hi!”or smile at someone, say to yourself ”You can make it.” Keep trying and one day you’ll never feel shy when you talk to others.
Advice on to be a little braver
| Advice |
Reasons |
| Don’t |
If you tell people you are shy, they will understand you better. It is comfortable in talks. |
| Smile more. |
People don’t |
| Start a conversation with words. |
People will feel great and want to |
| Pay more attention to ways to enjoy |
You will become relaxed. It’s |
| Encourage |
Keep doing this and you’ll be |
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation(手术) could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, “Only a miracle can save him now，” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore（药店）with the money in her hand. “And what do you want？” asked the shopkeeper. “It’s for my little brother,” the girl answered, “He’s really，really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon？” said the shopkeeper. “My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost？” “We don’t sell a miracle here，child. I’m sorry，” the shopkeeper said with a smile. “Listen，if it isn’t enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
A well-dressed man heard it and asked，“What kind of a miracle does your brother need？” “I don’t know,” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it，so I have brought all my money.” “How much do you have,” asked the man. “$ 1.11, but I can try and get some more,” she answered. “Well，Good luck! ” smiled the man. “$ 1.11，the price of a miracle for your little brother.”
He took up the girl’s hand and said，“Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn’t long before Andrew was at home again. How much did the miracle cost？What was the trouble in the little girl’s family？
A. Her brother was seriously ill.
B. They had no money.
C. Nothing could save her brother.
D. Both A and B.In the eye of the little girl，a miracle might be _______.
| A．something interesting | B．something beautiful |
| C．some wonderful medicine | D．some good food |
The little girl said again and again “…I can try and get some more.” That shows ___.
| A．she had still kept some money |
| B．she hoped the shopkeeper could sell her a miracle |
| C．There was no need to worry about money |
| D．she thought money was easy to get |
What made the miracle happen？
| A．The girl’s love for her brother. |
| B．The girl’s money. |
| C．The medicine from the drugstore. |
| D．Nobody can tell. |
From the passage we can infer (推断)that _______.
| A．The doctor didn’t ask for any pay |
| B．A miracle is sure to happen if you keep on |
| C．The little girl is lovely but not so clever |
| D．Andrew was in fact not too sick. |
Now cities are full of cars. Some families even have two or more cars. Parking is a great problem, and so is the traffic in and around the cities. Something will have to be done to change it.
What will the cars of tomorrow be like?
Little cars may some day take the place of today’s big cars. If everyone drives little cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will also be more space for parking cars in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. Three little cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size.
The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too. What is more, these little cars can go about 65 kilometers per hour.
Little cars of the future will be fine for getting around a city, but they will not be useful for long trips. If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be used for the big, fast cars, and other roads will be needed for the slower small ones. Cars in the future mustn’t bring ________ pollution in the air.
| A．more | B．fewer | C．less | D．no |
The little car’s size may be ________ today’s car’s size.
| A．one third of | B．two thirds of |
| C．as big as | D．as small as |
Little cars are very fine for ________.
| A．long trips | B．journeys |
| C．everyday life | D．sport |
The big cars are ________ the little cars for long trips.
| A．as useful as | B．not so useful as |
| C．more useful than | D．less useful than |
People began making clocks over 500 years ago. The first clocks had only one hand---the hour hand. At a later time the clocks had the minute hand. The first clocks were big and heavy. Some rich people had servants (仆人) to carry the clocks when they were out. Time passed and clocks became smaller.
Bells became a part of some large clocks in cities and towns. They were for people unable to see the clock. Some clocks were in large towers（塔）. Some of them are 400 or 500 years old now. Big Ben in London is a very famous tower clock.
Now many people have alarm clocks (闹钟) to wake them up to go to work or go to school.
So clocks are the very important part of people’s life. People began to make clocks ________ 500 years ago.
| A．less than | B．for | C．more than | D．without |
At the beginning the clocks had ________ .
| A．one hand | B．two hands |
| C．three hands | D．four hands |
Bells were made for ________ .
| A．the old people |
| B．everyone |
| C．the people unable to see the clock |
| D．the children |
Alarm clocks can help people ________ .
| A．work hard | B．wake up |
| C．see the time | D．go to bed |