Amid Italy's rapid recovery, Christmas was celebrated on Friday with greater enthusiasm and optimism compared to last year.
The mood in the country is brighter. This year's festivities were less gloomy (忧郁的）than those in 2008，with consumer confidence and expenditures on the rise.
" I have spent much more money on gifts，" said the 27-year-old Martina Dello Russo, a communication expert.
"When I went shopping last week many boutiques (专卖店）had sold out several items and for the first time in months people were actually buying，" she added, explaining that it was a good sign demonstrating the recovery of consumer confidence and purchasing power.
The center-right government under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has recently issued positive data on the state of Italy's economy, despite long-lasting effects of the downturn such as high unemployment.
Christmas in Italy is a traditional religious festivity when families stay at home and gather, rather than go out eating or go on holiday.
This year, Italians spent about 2. 8 billion euros in “intelligent gifts" such as food, wine and other typical Made-in-Italy goods, ac-cording to a survey by farmers' association Coldiretti.
For Italians the cook traditions are very important and we prefer spending on food rather than on clothes or other things, said the61-year-old businessman, Mario Corradi.
The traditional Christmas lunch is a three-course menu ： home-made meat ravioli(馄饨），lamb, artichokes(洋蓟）and fried fish. The celebration on Friday for Christmas is full of __________.
| A．flowers and smiles |
| B．men and women |
| C．exciting activities |
| D．enthusiasm and optimism |
The atmosphere of festivities tell us that __________.
| A．Italians welcome another new Christmas |
| B．Italians hope for a good coming luck |
| C．Consumer confidence and purchasing power is beginning to recover |
| D．Italy has made great progress in all the fields |
What will Italians do on Christmas Day?
| A．They will gather all friends to have a big deal. |
| B．All the family members gather to celebrate the festival at home. |
| C．All the members of family will go out eating. |
| D．They will do something they like at home or other places. |
One thing Italians must do on Christmas Day is __________.
| A．showing their culinary skills |
| B．showing their latest fashion |
| C．telling their contributions |
| D．making out their future plans |
As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture for our living room,” says John Ross, “and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course. I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself. We can learn from the text that many newly married people ________.
| A．find it hard to pay for what they need |
| B．have to learn to make their own furniture |
| C．take DIY courses run by the government |
| D．seldom go to a department store to buy things |
John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to ________.
| A．run a DIY shop | B．make or repair things |
| C．save time and money | D．improve the quality of life |
When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ________.
| A．keeps house and looks after his children | B．does his own car and home repairs |
| C．does extra work at night | D．makes shoes in his home |
Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when ________.
| A．he had to raise the children all by himself | B．the car repair class was not helpful |
| C．he could not possibly do two jobs | D．his car repairs cost too much |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．the Joy of DIY | B．You Can Do It Too! |
| C．Welcome to Our DIY Course! | D．Ross and Hatfield: Believers in DIY |
When Ben delivered milk to my home one morning before Christmas，he wasn’t his usual sunny self. He told me a customer had left without paying the bill，$79，nor leaving her new address. So it meant that he had to cover the loss.
“She was a pretty woman，”he said， “with six children and another on the way. She was always saying. ‘I’m going to pay you soon when my husband gets a second job.’ I believed her，but she left. Isn’t it annoying?”
“Give her the milk. Make it a Christmas present to the kids who need it.” I said.
The holidays came and went. On a sunny January morning two weeks later，Ben was rushing to deliver milk when he saw a woman running down the street，waving money. He recognized her immediately--the woman who didn’t pay her bill.
“I’m so sorry.” she said. “I really have been meaning to pay you.”
She explained that her husband had come home one night and announced he' d found cheaper apartment. He' d also got a new job. With all that happened, she' d forgotten to leave the new address. “But I've been saving,” she said. “Here's $20 toward the bill.
“That' s all right,” Ben replied. “It's been paid.”
“Paid!” she exclaimed (惊叫). “What do you mean? Who paid it?”
“I did,” Ben said,“It went to the children as a Christmas present!”Ben was upset one morning because _______.
| A．a customer left without paying the bill |
| B．he lost $ 79 on the way of the delivery |
| C．he had to buy a present for the children |
| D．he was going to lose his job |
The author helped Ben by offering him _______.
| A．a Christmas present | B．the debtor' s new address |
| C．some money to cover the loss | D．a suggestion to cheer him up |
We can probably infer from the passage that the woman _______.
| A．cheated to raise her children | B．moved to escape paying back the debts |
| C．was a person with honesty | D．wanted to give her children a Christmas gift |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．An Unhappy Christmas | B．An Unusual Present |
| C．A Poor Couple's Life | D．A Helpful Customer |
Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.
There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime (消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?
| A．Those who often take exercise. |
| B．Those who often watch television. |
| C．Those who often have meals at home. |
| D．Those who often walk to school. |
The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because _______.
| A．their parents often cook meals for them |
| B．they are too busy to go out and play |
| C．they can't choose what to eat |
| D．there are too many fast food shops around |
The main purpose of the text is to _________.
| A．tell a story | B．provide facts |
| C．give advice | D．compare opinions |
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious (明显的) to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech — “I Have a dream”, you may notice that he stumbles (结巴) his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don’t remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.
People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech–making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication (交流). They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performance. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being perfect. Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______.
| A．be smarter than you | B．notice your mistakes |
| C．do better than you | D．know what you are talking about |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
| A．giving a speech is like giving a performance |
| B．one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad |
| C．the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made |
| D．the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Be a Perfect Speaker |
| B．How to Make a Perfect Speech |
| C．Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech |
| D．Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech |
Winter is dangerous for drivers because it is so difficult to know what is going to happen and accidents take place easily. Bad weather can be waiting to meet you. Ice might be hiding under the snow, waiting to send you off the road. The car coming towards you might suddenly move across the road. Here are two rules for driving safely on icy roads:
Rule Number One is to drive smoothly. Irregular movements can make a car very difficult to manage. So each time you turn the wheel, touch the brake or increase your speed, you must be as gently and slow as possible. Just imagine you are driving with a full cup of hot coffee on the seat next to you. You should drive carefully enough in order that you would not get the coffee out of the cup.
Rule Number Two is to pay attention to what might happen. The more ice there is, the farther you have to look down the road. Test how long it takes to stop by gently braking. Remember that you may be driving more quickly than you think. Generally speaking, allow double your normal stopping distance when the road is wet, three times this distance on snow, and even more on ice. Try to stay in control of your car at all times, or you will get into trouble.Which of the following can be used to explain why driving in winter is very dangerous?
| A．People drive more gently and slowly. |
| B．People drive three times faster than usual. |
| C．Unexpected things may often take place. |
| D．Drivers usually have too much coffee. |
What is the main idea of Rule Number One?
| A．To increase the driving speed. |
| B．To drive smoothly on icy roads. |
| C．To manage your car irregularly. |
| D．To drive fast on snowy roads. |
Why does the writer want to take an example “a full cup of hot coffee” in Paragraph 2?
| A．Because drinks are necessary for drivers. |
| B．Because he wants to remind drivers to take a rest. |
| C．To enjoy the driving with a cup of coffee. |
| D．To explain the importance of careful and smooth driving. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Traffic Accidents. | B．Careless Driving. |
| C．Bad Weather. | D．Winter Driving. |