A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man--the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual (体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the near- by bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.From Paragraph 1 , we can know that in America
| A．people tend to have a high opinion of the self--made man |
| B．people can always rise to the top through their own efforts |
| C．college professors win great respect from common workers |
| D．people feel painful to mention their fathers as laborers |
According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because
| A．servants in America are hard to get |
| B．she takes pride in what she can do herself |
| C．she can hardly afford servants |
| D．it is easy to prepare a meal with canned food |
The expression "wait on table" in the second paragraph means
| A．work in a furniture shop |
| B．keep accounts for a bar |
| C．wait to lay the table |
| D．serve customers in a restaurant |
Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?
| A．A Respectable Self--made Family |
| B．American Attitude toward Manual Labor |
| C．Characteristics of American Culture |
| D．The Development of Manual Labor |
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch (大牧场) in San Isidro. He lets me use his house to hold events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he greeted me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let you use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a poor horse trainer who would go from stable (马厩) to stable, farm to farm, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school was continually interrupted (打断). One day in the last year of high school, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“He wrote a seven-page paper about his goal of owning a horse ranch in great detail. He put a great deal of his heart into the project and even drew a detailed floor plan for the dream ranch. Then the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. But he got a low mark with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’
“The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive a low mark?’
“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from a poor family. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. There’s no way you could ever do it, your dream couldn’t come true . ’Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper, I will reconsider your mark.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’
“Finally, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He wrote, ‘You can keep the low mark and I’ll keep my dream.’
“I was that boy twenty years ago.” My friend said, smiling.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Monty Roberts?
| A．He was born in a poor family. |
| B．He received a good education. |
| C．He is raising money for the poor. |
| D．He is a horse trainer who works from farm to farm. |
From Paragraph 3, we know Monty Roberts _____.
| A．was just a daydreamer |
| B．decided to follow his father’s example |
| C．expected the teacher to praise him |
| D．had a great plan for his future |
The teacher thought Monty Roberts’s dream was _____.
| A．strange | B．great | C．pleasant | D．impossible |
From the end of the text, we can infer that Monty Roberts was very _____.
| A．careful | B．clever | C．determined | D．active |
The purpose of the text is to tell readers that _____.
| A．seeing is believing |
| B．knowledge is power |
| C．all roads lead to Rome |
| D．where there is a will, there is a way |
In much society, there is often greater acceptance of light skin than dark
skin; Light skin may be seen as a mark of beauty, intelligence and success.
These beliefs can lead to social pressures even within the same group, if some members are darker than others. The result is that skin lightening has become very common across Africa, Asia and other areas of the world and more people with dark skin are using skin-lighting products, even if it means they may face health risks. They believe that having whiter skin will improve the quality of their lives. Many people think they will have a better family. Or they want to look like what their society generally considers beautiful.
Some beauty care（美容）products and soaps contain chemicals
that make skin lighter. However, some of the chemicals are extremely dangerous. The chemicals in the products block and break down the natural barrier(障碍) to protect against sunlight. Then the skin can become thick and discolored. Usually the person will use more of the product in an effort to correct the problem, which just makes things even worse. Doctor Ly says some chemicals are so dangerous that they may lead to blackened fingernails, infections(感染) and serious skin damage.
And these are not the only problems. Experts say some people who change their skin color suffer emotional damage. They feel regretful and sad. They feel that instead of risking their health, they should have learned to live and accept their skin color as it was.What’s the result of the wrong understanding of darker skin?
| A．Many people with dark skin try to make their skin whiter. |
| B．Many people with whiter skin live a better life than others. |
| C．People with darker skin try to marry people with light skin. |
| D．People with darker skin try to protect themselves against social pressures. |
The third paragraph is about .
| A．some medical effects that skin-lightening products have brought about |
| B．the mental damage that skin-lightening products have caused |
| C．the physical damage that skin-lightening products have caused |
| D．the causes why skin-lightening products can make skin whiter |
Why are chemicals in beauty care products dangerous?
| A．They can damage the skin’s color producing progress. |
| B．They can control people’s emotions and feelings. |
| C．They can make the fingernails and skin black. |
| D．They make more people decide to change their skin colors. |
Loma just had to get in touch with someone: “I had to tell my best
friend something important. I tried calling her but I couldn’t get through. So I sent her an e-mail and then I spoke to her on MSN. Without technology I would not have been able to tell her. ”
Staying connected with friends and family is important for us. That’s
why we asked our readers to tell us how cell-phones, e-mail, blogs, text messaging, and personal pages help them keep in touch. More than 1,500 responded.
Most of them told us they couldn’t live without technology: 80％of
teens said they need technology to stay in touch. Almost 30％said they’d be completely out of their friends without their cell-phones and other methods of communication.
What do they do when they’ve got news they need to share now? Most
teens say they try to reach their friends by phone. But if they don’t reach them, they use QQ, e-mails, and text messaging to get the words out.
Lots of people use one way of communication—like text messaging—to
get a friend’s attention and then use another where they can talk more. “My friends and I always tell each other everything that happens. So I send them text messages to tell them to come online so we can talk about it,” said Sabeiha.
“When planning to get together with friends”, Julian said, “the easiest
and fastest way I know is to send a text message to my contact group.”
Jocelyn said. “If I want to go to see a movie with a few friends, I usually
send text message to them. By telephone, you have to call every single friend
one by one. But text messaging allows you to send the same message to as
many as you’d like, which saves a lot of time. ”Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．E-mails. | B．Blogs. | C．Personal pages. | D．Personal letters. |
What do most young people use first when they have news to tell their friends?
| A．MSN. | B．QQ. | C．Phones. | D．Text message. |
The underlined part “get the words out” means“”.
| A．send the message | B．send the e-mail |
| C．talk with their friends | D．meet their friends |
In which part of a newspaper can you find this passage?
| A．Sport. | B．Education. | C．Technology. | D．Culture. |
When you are curious about something, and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The steps below can guide you during the research.
Step 1
On a note card or piece of paper，write down the subject that you are interested in. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write: Discover more about dinosaurs.
Step 2
Next, stop and think for a moment about what you already know about your subject. List what you already know like the sentences below：
（1）Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeared.
（2）Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years.
（3）Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat.
Step 3
What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions. On your paper，start writing down questions about the dinosaurs as you think of them：
（1）What’s the best weather for dinosaurs to live in？
（2）How many kinds of dinosaurs are there？
（3）Have dinosaurs really disappeared？
Step 4
Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you’ll probably discover some new questions. For example，you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago. Why？What happened？Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.
The next time you find something interesting to research，take time to
organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember—learning more always bring more questions.When you do some research，you should take the following steps： _____.
①list what you want to know
②choose a research subject
③list what you already know
④discover new problems
| A．①④③② | B．②③①④ | C．③②④① | D．④③①② |
What does the underlined sentence “Armed with your list of questions” mean?
| A．Putting your list of questions under your arm. |
| B．Discussing your questions with your classmates. |
| C．Writing down your list of questions. |
| D．Taking your list of questions with you. |
According to the passage, which of the following is true？
| A．You can find all the answers online. |
| B．Learn more, and you’ll have no questions. |
| C．During the research, you may keep finding new questions. |
| D．Asking questions is the only way for research. |
The best title for this passage is _____.
| A．Discovering Dinosaurs |
| B．Asking Good Questions |
| C．Finding Subjects |
| D．Having Interesting Answer |
Sri Lanka is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, and it is easy to see why. This little country never fails to please visitors.
Arrive
The national airline is Sri Lankan Airlines, which flies from Colombo to London and a couple of other European cities. The country’s main airport is Colombo Bandaranaike, located 29km north of the capital city.
Why now?
The best time to visit Sri Lanka’s southern beaches is from November to April. So by going early in the season, you’ll get the best weather. Also in November, Deepavali, known as “Diwali” or the “Festival of Lights”, is Sri Lanka’s main religious festival, celebrated throughout the country.
See
There is plenty to see in Sri Lanka. The ancient capital cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura are worth seeing, and so are many outstanding ruins. Other must sees are the rock fortress (要塞) of Sigiriya, towering over the jungle as far as the eye can see, and Dambulla’s cave temple, the country’s largest and best preserved. Both are UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) Sites. Kandy is a picture-like town, which was the last stronghold of the Kandyan Kings. Today it is a cultural relic centre where age-old customs, arts, and crafts remain.
Do
Sri Lanka owns about 1,600km of beautiful palm-shaded beaches as well as warm, pure seas and colourful coral reefs. You can explore the underwater world, and surfing and diving are available too. Away from the shore, wildlife is a big draw for Sri Lanka, and Yala National Park is one of the best places in the word to see wild animals including leopards (豹) and elephants.
Taste
Sri Lanka is celebrated for its excellent food, with a particular emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables on menus everywhere. Fish and seafood are a big part of the local diet.
Did you know?
Sri Lanka is known for its tea, but it is also the world’s largest producer and exporter of cinnamon(肉桂).Which of the following is a cultural relic centre of Sri Lanka?
| A．Kandy. | B．Anuradhapura. | C．Polonnaruwa. | D．Colombo. |
If you want to know something about “Diwali”, you’d better go
there in.
| A．September. | B．October. | C．November. | D．May. |
We learn from the passage that Sri Lanka .
| A．is in the Pacific Ocean |
| B．is famous for its excellent food |
| C．is the world’s largest producer of tea |
| D．has only flights to London |
The author wrote the article in order to.
| A．introduce the picturesque landscape of Sri Lanka |
| B．let readers know what is famous for in Sri Lanka |
| C．make Sri Lanka well known throughout the world |
| D．let people get more travel information about Sri Lanka |