Have you ever noticed how families on TV always find time to eat meals together? In reality, people today are than ever before and getting the whole family together for an evening meal is often , as all members of the family have their own activities to get on with. For most of us, sitting down together at the table is a thing of the past, but what effect does this have on family members and the relationships between them?
One of the most important of eating together as a family is that the family has a chance to communicate with one another in a social environment. Many families that the evening meal is the best time to discuss problems and share experiences. “Eating together makes us feel , and we often have our most useful conversations at these times,” says Jane Digby, mother of three. So, although organizing a family meal everyday can be a(n) , it can benefit family relationships.
In addition, family meals help to improve children’s skills. They learn how to talk, how to listen and how to show consideration for other in the conversation. Furthermore, eating together gives a sense of security. Family psychotherapist (心理治疗专家) Sue Taylor believes that children who eat with their are far more confident as well as much more faithful to their families than children who don’t.
In spite of the many advantages of eating together, the of modern life make it almost impossible for many people to do so. However, Sue Taylor insists that we should try to make for family meals. “Mealtimes are the most valuable time a family can spend together,” she says. “If you can’t eat together every day, why not and eat together three or four times a week? It really is worth the effort.”
A．smarter B．busier C．luckier D．happier
A．convenient B．necessary C．impossible D．important
A．corner B．dinner C．window D．problems
A．advantages B．challenges C．adventures D．problems
A．slowly B．calmly C．instantly D．regularly
A．doubt B．worry C．find D．hope
A．relaxed B．close C．special D．tired
A．effort B．method C．idea D．mistake
A．social B．professional C．technical D．managerial
A．topics B．audience C．teachers D．participants
A．elders B．customers C．parents D．children
A．friends B．classmates C．families D．neighbors
A．varieties B．comforts C．demands D．pleasures
A．time B．money C．food D．progress
A．escape B．ask C．pray D．try
I’d been travelling for long hours on a lonely country road when I had a flat tyre. So I had to and get the tools to fix the problem. It certainly wasn’t doing this with a white shirt and suit on.
Nightfall was approaching. Suddenly a car pulled up beside me. A man got out and offered to me. Seeing tattoos (纹身) on his arm, I became as thoughts of robberies flashed through my mind. But I could say anything, he had already begun to take the tools to change the . While watching him, I happened to look back at his car and noticed someone sitting in the passenger seat. This me.
Then, without warning, it began to rain. He suggested that I wait in his car because my car was unsafe. As the rain increased, I unwillingly agreed. When I settled into the back seat, a woman’s voice came from the front seat. I replied with much when seeing an old woman there. It must be his mother, I thought. To my surprise, the old woman was a neighbor of the man who was helping me. “Jeff insisted on stopping when he saw you the tyre.” “I am grateful for his help,” I said. “Me too!” she said with a smile. He helped drive her to see her husband twice a week in a nursing home. She also said that he at the church and taught disadvantaged students for free.
Finally, Jeff helped me change the tyre. I tried to offer him money and of course he refused it. As we shook hands to say goodbye I apologized for my stupid at the first sight of him, and this incident warned us that we shouldn’t judge people by the way they .
A．stop B．move C．see D．look
A．difficult B．easy C．bad D．polite
A．lift B．carry C．drive D．help
A．discouraged B．disappointed C．frightened D．astonished
A．as B．before C．until D．when
A．tyre B．suit C．shirt D．tools
A．puzzled B．embarrassed C．calmed D．concerned
A．fear B．relief C．satisfaction D．delight
A．taking on B．fighting for C．picking out D．struggling with
A．volunteered B．studied C．grew D．performed
A．ignorance B．words C．reaction D．comment
A．drove B．walked C．behaved D．looked
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do . When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other when you choose your food. You may it because it smells good or because it good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice.
Different use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda eats only one type of bamboo. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the . A kind of white butterfly will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other in the garden. However, most animals have a more diet. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The of these animals will be different depending on the season.
have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much . This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal , such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modem life.
A．males B．children C．humans D．adults
A．organs B．senses C．parts D．means
A．hate B．sell C．like D．fancy
A．digests B．consumes C．touches D．tastes
A．creatures B．mammals C．people D．animals
A．different B．rare C．familiar D．unique
A．typical B．particular C．special D．unusual
A．food B．meal C．choice D．diet
A．flowers B．vegetables C．fruits D．branches
A．varied B．creative C．random D．nutritious
A．fish B．fruit C．diet D．insect
A．Animals B．Chinese C．Humans D．Foreigners
A．effective B．beneficial C．delicious D．attractive
A．sugar B．nicotine C．fiber D．alcohol
A．products B．attachments C．goods D．subscriptions
Now you’re a fool for helping. “I don’t want to get involved” seems to have become a national motto. One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City, California to New Orleans, Louisiana. In the middle of the desert, I passed a young man standing by the roadside. He had his out and held a gas can in his other hand. I drove right by him. There was a time you’d be called a jerk (混蛋) for passing by somebody .
Several days later I was still about the hitchhiker (搭便车的人), about how I didn’t even lift my foot the accelerator (加速踏板) for him. “Does anyone stop any more?” I wondered. I recalled Blanche DuBois’s famous line—”I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Was that these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey the US without any money, just on the good will of others. What would happen? Would he find food, shelter and support?
The idea intrigued (激起兴趣) me.
The week I 37, I realized that I had never done something truly crazy. I decided to really do it: travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic without a penny. I would only accept of rides, food and places to sleep. For six weeks I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. I was treated kindly I went. I was by people’s readiness to help a stranger.
In Oregon, a house painter named Mike the cold weather and asked if I had a coat. I didn’t, so he gave me a big green army-style jacket. A lumber-mill worker in Michigan named Tim invited me to a dinner with his family in their shabby house. Then he offered me a tent. I refused, but Tim insisted, packing it into my bag himself. I found people were generally compassionate. Hearing I had no money and would take none, people bought me food or with them whatever they happened to have. Those who had the to give often gave the most.
I’m to all the people I met for their rides, their food, their shelter and their gifts. My faith in ordinary folks was. I was proud to live in a country where people were still willing to help. In spite of everything, you can still depend on the of strangers.
A．thumb B．finger C．foot D．hand
A．that B．where C．which D．when
A．in danger B．in need C．in trouble D．in favor
A．worrying B．considering C．bringing D．thinking
A．off B．on C．away D．from
A．interesting B．possible C．necessary D．important
A．across B．through C．in D．over
A．basing B．relying C．insisting D．relating
A．seemed B．got C．became D．turned
A．But B．So C．And D．Howeve
A．jobs B．supplies C．helps D．offers
A．nowhere B．everywhere C．anywhere D．somewhere
A．frightened B．annoyed C．disappointed D．amazed
A．noted B．saw C．felt D．sensed
A．simple B．rich C．delicious D．interesting
A．supplied B．offered C．shared D．provided
A．fewest B．most C．least D．best
A．careful B．grateful C．hopeful D．helpful
A．created B．reminded C．renewed D．returned
A．kindness B．happiness C．fairness D．brightness
The night was dark, though sometimes the moving clouds allowed a star or two to be seen in the sky.The poor men held on to any bit of ____ they could find. They called to the Marie for but she was far the reach of the human voice. At one o’clock in the morning suddenly some were seen in the distance: another ship! The shouts of the were heard on board, and willing hands pulled them out of the water. The of the ship that had arrived at the scene to save their lives was Ellen. What had her to the exact spot the darkness and the pathless sea? Her captain had known of the wreck and had, indeed, to sail away from it. But let him speak for himself.
“ I was forced by the wind to change my course, a small bird flew across the ship once or twice and then flew at my face. I of this until exactly the same thing happened a second time, caused me to think it rather . While I was this , the same bird, for the third time, made its appearance and flew in the same way as before. I was then to change my course back to the original one. I had not gone far I heard a strange voice; and when I tried to where they came from, I found I was in the middle of people who had been shipwrecked. I immediately did my best to save them.”
A．land B．grass C．hope D．wood
A．food B．help C．rest D．stop
A．off B．out C．beyond D．from
A．people B．lights C．ships D．houses
A．sailors B．captains C．rescuers D．swimmers
A．name B．owner C．captain D．finder
A．ahead of time B．at times C．on time D．in time
A．brought B．carried C．kept D．caused
A．in B．on C．through D．around
A．everything B．nothing C．something D．Anything
A．attempted B．managed C．allowed D．demanded
A．Just as B．In case C．Only because D．Even though
A．paid no attention B．took good care C．took no notice D．kept close watch
A．which B．what C．that D．this
A．Interesting B．funny C．friendly D．unusual
A．searching B．expecting C．considering D．studying
A．back B．about C．up D．down
A．forced B．decided C．persuaded D．forbidden
A．when B．until C．then D．while
A．listen to B．search for C．make sure D．look out
One sunny afternoon, a seven-year-old girl went for a walk. She crossed a large area of grassland into the woods ____ she realized that she was lost.
Sitting on a rock and ____ what to do, she began crying. After a while，she____ to walk along a wide path lined with tall trees and thick bushes. ____ it was getting dark, she saw a small, dark wooden house. She opened the door and ____ stepped in. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise, and she ran out of the door and back to the ____. Cold and tired, she fell asleep near a ____.
The girl's parents were out and her dog, Laddy, was at home. Laddy ____ that his mistress（女主人）was in danger. He jumped ____ a window, breaking the glass. He looked in the fields. But he couldn't find his mistress anywhere. However, from the ground came a ____ scent (气味) as he lowered his head. He ____ the scent and walked across the grassland. Barking ____ into the air, the dog ____ through the woods until he found the ____ . But the girl was not there, so he headed back to the woods. Much to his ____ , he saw his mistress's blue shirt in the distance. He ____ over some bushes and saw the little stream, where the girl was ____.
When she opened her eyes and her dog standing beside her, the girl said, "you me, Laddy," and she kissed him several times. Seeing their daughter and dog coming back, the parents burst into tears of . That night Laddy had a hero's supper: a huge meal of steak
A．as B．since C．while D．before
A．forgetting B．wondering C．remembering D．regretting
A．decided B．expected C．failed D．preferred
A．If B．Until C．When D．Because
A．cautiously B．carelessly C．hopelessly D．unwillingly
A．trees B．woods C． bushes D．grasses
A．house B．rock C．tree D．stream
A．found B．heard C．sensed D．smelt
A．at B．through C．in D．onto
A．familiar B．strange C．pleasant D．terrible
A．missed B．discovered C．ignored D．followed
A．calmly B．loudly C．merrily D．gently
A．searched B．wandered C．looked D．travelled
A．window B．girl C．house D．hero
A．satisfaction B．disappointment C．embarrassment D．delight
A．climbed B．jumped C．walked D．flew
A．awake B．abandoned C．asleep D．available
A．said B．watched C．observed D．saw
A．disturbed B．rescued C．comforted D．scared
A．pain B．shock C．relief D．sorrow