AmericanschoolsbegininSeptembe-优题课

"How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the USA greet each other. But "How are you?" is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't need an answer. 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 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 don't say exactly what they are thinking when they want to finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says "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.
Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people don't say exactly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try 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．You are wrong. I disagree.	B．I'm not sure.
C．I'm sure I disagree.	D．I don’t agree with you.

A polite way to finish a talk is to say"__________"

A．You have to go now.

B．I want to hang up.

C．I have to go now.

D．I don't want to talk any more.

When a person says "I've got to go now. Someone's at the door.", the person may be_______.

A．giving an excuse

B．hurting someone's feelings

C．talking to a person at the door

D．going to another place

The rule of the game of language is probably____________ .

A．"Always say what you mean"

B．"Don't disagree with people."

C．"Never say exactly what you're thinking."

D．"Be polite."

Celebrating New Year’s Day is one of the oldest and most exciting traditions around the world. Since this festival marks the beginning of the year, New Year’s Day is thought of as a perfect time for a “clean start”. People in the world decide to act better in the year just beginning than the year just ended.
No day has ever been celebrated in so many different ways. All over the world, countries have their own special beliefs about what the New Year means to them.
In Scotland, the New Year is called Hogmanay. In the villages of Scotland, barrels of tar (沥青) are set on fire. It represents that the old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.
New Year’s Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil in Canada. Children leave their shoes by the fireside on New Year’s Day with the hope that Saint Basil, who is famous for his kindness, will come and fill their shoes with gifts.
The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is an important time when Jews promise to do better in the future. Special services are held in the church, children are given new clothes and New Year bread is cooked to remind people of harvest time.
On New Year’s Day in Japan, everyone gets dressed in their new clothes and homes are decorated (装饰) with bamboos—symbols of long life.
In European countries such as Germany, France and Belgium, families start the New Year by first attending church services. Afterwards, they visit friends and relatives. In France, boys and girls receive gifts of money on New Year’s Day.
New Year celebrations around the

Country/people	Celebration activities	Special beliefs
Scotland	People barrels of tar.	The old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.
Canada	Children leave their by the fireside.	Their shoes will be with gifts by Saint Basil.
Jews	It is a time for people to to do better in the future. People New Year Bread to remind of harvest time.
Japan	People their new clothes. Homes are decorated with bamboos.	Symbols oflife
European	People attend church services visiting friends and relatives.

Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of the high IQ club Mensa?
Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’ IQ is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.
She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad!
Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two per cent of people in the world!
Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite (背诵) bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”
Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him.
Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.
Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.
“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world,” Ian said.
Alexis Martin is a girl who .

A．has many hobbies	B．has a high IQ
C．is good at telling stories	D．likes reading

According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as .

A．158

B．159

C．160

D．101

Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at .

A．the age of 2	B．the age of 1
C．one and a half years old	D．the age of 3

What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way?

A．She would refuse to listen.

B．She would try to recite it.

C．She would correct him.

D．She would laugh at it.

Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?

A．She is accepted by the Mensa Club.

B．She has made a lot of friends.

C．She learned to read at the age of 2.

D．She learned a foreign language by herself.

Last week Lu visited England. He stayed with my grandmother. He found it was strange.
‘I don’t know why, but I frightened your grandmother a lot. When I arrived, I gave her a purse from Dongtai. She looked in it and asked me to take it back. Then I saw a red spider (蜘蛛) on the table, and I killed it for her. She seemed very unhappy. Do English people like spiders?
‘Later we went shopping. Someone was painting a shop front, so there was a ladder. Grandmother stopped me from walking under it and said I must walk around it. I liked the shops and bought some lovely rose soap for my mother, a smart umbrella for my father and some new shoes for myself. When we got back, I put the shoes on the table and opened the umbrella to check if it was all right. Your grandmother came in and screamed!
‘Then I broke a small mirror in the bathroom. Your grandmother’s face went white. I felt very sorry. When I left, I gave your grandmother some flowers. She counted and there were 13. She didn’t like them.’
I explained to Lu, ‘My grandmother follows the old customs. You must not give someone an empty purse, or they will have no money. You must not kill a “money spider”, or the same will happen. Also it is very unlucky to walk under a ladder or put new shoes on the table. An open umbrella in a house means someone will die. Breaking a mirror brings seven years’ bad luck, and 13 is also a very unlucky number. You were really making my grandmother very afraid.’
Why did Lu frighten the writer’s grandmother?

A．Because he could not speak English.

B．Because he did many unlucky things.

C．Because he understood British customs.

D．Because he went shopping in England.

What do many British people think of spiders?

A．They are afraid of them.

B．They keep spiders as pets.

C．They hope to see every kind of spiders in their houses.

D．They think some kinds of spiders are lucky.

What did the writer’s grandmother feel when she saw the umbrella?

A．Excited.	B．Satisfied.
C．Afraid.	D．Happy.

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Thirteen is an unlucky number in England.

B．It is very unlucky to walk under a ladder or put new shoes on the table in England.

C．For most British people, breaking a mirror means bad luck.

D．People never give purses as presents in England.

How many wrong things did Lu do altogether?

A．5.

B．6.

C．8.

D．10.

Look at the notice from the Students’ Union. It’s a description of students’ activities for the coming winter vacation.

Winners of Super Boys will come to our school on January 30th, 2014. They are going to give a concert in the school hall at 2:00 pm. Please come to the Students’ Union to get a half-price ticket to the concert before this Friday.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could join us and go hiking around the West Hill for two days? We’ll start at 7:00 am on February 6th. Please come to the Students’ Union to sign your name and pay fifty yuan, 20 percent off for members of the Hiking Club.

Are you interested in being a volunteer? We’ll go to a mountain village to give away books to the children there. We’ll work and study with them for a whole day. Please come to the school gate at 6:00 am on February 13th, 2014. Free of charge(免费).

We’ll hold a party for the students who come from poor families and have to stay at school during the winter vacation. Would you like to join us? Please come to the reading room at 5:00 pm on January 28th.

The notice is about .

A．free tickets	B．students’ activities
C．the West Hill	D．poor children

Betty likes music and wants to go to the concert, so she must arrive at the school hall before on January 30th, 2014.

A．2:00 pm

B．7:00 am

C．6:00 am

D．5:00 pm

If you are a volunteer, you will go to a mountain village .

A．on January 30th	B．on February 6th
C．on February 13th	D．on January 28th

If you want to take part in a party for poor students, you should go to on January 28th.

A．the school hall	B．the West Hill、
C．a mountain village	D．the reading room

How much will Tom, a member of the Hiking Club, pay if he wants to go hiking around the West Hill?

A．2 yuan.	B．50 yuan.
C．40 yuan.	D．Nothing

A．September	B．February
C．June	D．January