It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly(精彩地)written book”. ①However, he then went on to talk about Mr Obamain a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out ), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. ②But I am pleased to saythat, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in-depth!
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so). How did the author find his friend a book liar?
A.By judging his manner of speaking. |
B.By looking into his background. |
C.By mentioning a famous name. |
D.By discussing the book itself. |
Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?
A.Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list. |
B.42% of people pretended to have read 1984. |
C.The author admitted having read 9 books. |
D.Dreams From My Father is hardly read. |
By lying about reading, a person hopes to __________.
A.control the conversation |
B.appear knowledgeable |
C.learn about the book |
D.make more friends |
What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?
A.Favorable. |
B.Uncaring |
C.Doubtful. |
D.Friendly. |
One of the most famous nursery rhymes(摇篮曲) in the English language is Mary Had a Little Lamb(羔羊). It has touched many children who have read it. It is about the deep love between a young girl and her pet lamb. The poem is from a true story that happened in the early part of the 19th century in the town of Sterling, Massachusetts, in the USA.
Mary Sawyer (1806-1889) lived on a farm with her family. One day, when she was about nine years old, she saw a little lamb that had just been born and left behind by its mother. It was very weak and looked as if it would die at very moment. Mary took pity on the lamb and spent the whole night looking after it. Eventually, it grew strong and became a very close friend with Mary, following her everywhere she went.
One day, the lamb even followed Mary to school. At first she wanted to turn it back but her brother suggested that it would be fun to take the lamb to school. During the class, she hid the lamb under her desk. But when she was called to go to the front of the class, to her surprise, the lamb followed her. Though the students and the teacher thought it was funny to see a lamb at school, the teacher had to ask Mary to keep the lamb outside of the school.
That very day, a young man called John Roulstone was visiting Mary’s school. He was so moved by the love between the child and her little pet lamb that he wrote a poem which he handed to Mary the next day. His poem contained twelve lines.
Later, Sara Josepha Hale added another twelve lines to the poem and published it in 1930 under the title “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. The poem has become a classic, loved by children all over the world. The appeal (吸引力) of the poem lies not only in the funny idea of a sheep going to school but also in the true love between the little girl and her pet. The town of Sterling has honoured Mary’s lamb by building a statue (雕像) of the lamb with Mr Roulstone’s poem below the statue.
The underlined word “eventually” in the second paragraph most probably means .
A.fortunately | B.gradually | C.finally | D.kindly |
Why did the poem become a classic?
A.It had another twelve lines added. |
B.It was written by a young man. |
C.It describes the true love between a little girl and her pet lamb. |
D.A statue of lamb was built in the town of Sterling. |
Which could be the right order of the following events according to the passage?
a. The poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb” became popular.
b. Mary’s brother suggested that she take the lamb to school.
c. People built a statue to honor the lamb.
d. Mary found a little lamb.
e. A young man was moved by the story and wrote a poem.
A. d. b. e. c. a | B. d. b. e. a. c |
C. d. e. b. c. a | D. d. e. b. a. c |
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
A.Mary’s mother was also fond of the little lamb. |
B.Mary and the little lamb developed a very close friendship. |
C.Mary wrote to John Roulstone and asked him to write the poem. |
D.All children were allowed to take their pets to school in America. |
Jeremy Wirick, 9, has been back in school for less than two months, but he has already had several asthma(哮喘)attacks. A recent attack happened on October 2, after he pushed himself too hard in physical exercise. Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll. When Jeremy got home an hour or two later, he was out of breath. He needed to use a nebulizer(喷雾器), a machine that helps send medicine quickly to the lungs, to get his breathing back to normal.
Asthma attacks like Jeremy increase in September and October. More than six times as many asthma sufferers who are primary-school age need hospital treatment in the fall as in the summer.
Experts believe many factors can cause back-to-school asthma. Kids get together in close spaces, they start passing viruses around. A viral infection(感染) can cause an asthma attack. There are also certain fall allergies(过敏症)that can cause attacks. Exercise is another common cause of an attack. Besides, the stress of school can make asthma worse.
Parents can play a big role in helping kids with asthma start the school year right. Dawne Gee’s 10-year-old son, Alexander, has had asthma since he was a baby. Before the school year starts, she tells school workers in writing about her son’s asthma.
The Gees live in Kentucky, which has passed laws allowing students to carry their asthma medication(药物治疗)with them at school. Alexander’s mom makes sure he has his inhaler(人工呼吸器)with him when he goes to school and that he keeps it on hand at all times. In Delaware, where Jeremy lives, kids are allowed to carry their inhalers at school.
The American Lung Association says that about 6.2 million American children suffer from asthma. Asthma is the chronic (慢性) illness that causes students to miss the most days of school. There are many things that schools can do to help students control their asthma The passage mainly deals with _______.
A.how to pr![]() |
B.what Asthma is and its medication |
C.the side-effects Asthma has on kids | D.the causes of Asthma and how to control it at school |
By saying “Running, power walkin
g, jogging and push-ups took their toll.”, the writer means that_____.
A.physical exercise affected their health |
B.physical exercise gave them a deep thought |
C.asthma attacks made them like physical exercise |
D.asthma attacks could be cured through physical exercise |
Which of the following statements is NOT supported by the passage?
A.Kids are likely to suffer asthma attacks in the fall |
B.Stress can add to the risk of asthma attacks |
C.Medication can cure asthma quickly |
D.Asthma attacks will need necessary medical treatment |
The passage lists many factors that cause asthma attacks except_____.
A.A viral infection | B.unhealthy habits | C.certain fall allergies | D.physical exercise |
The following paragraph is probably going to talk about______.
A.tips ![]() |
B.a survey on students with asthma |
C.the effects asthma has on students | D.further understanding of Asthma |
Recently Dr. Cleiman has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle. During the hours when you labor through your work, you may say that you are “hot”. That is true, the time of day when you feel most energetic (full of energy) is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak(top). For some people the peak comes during the forenoon(上午前). For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so.
Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what this energy cycle means and which cycle each member of the family has.
You cannot change your cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. “Habits can help,” Dr. Cleiman believes. If your energy cycle is low in the morning but you have an important job early in the day, rise before your usual hour, and then you will work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a lazy yawn(哈欠) and stretch. Sit on the edge of bed before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome searching for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Dr. Cleiman did
not explain in the passage ___________.
A.how people can make their life fit their cycle |
B.whether everyo![]() |
C.why people have their energy cycle of body at different times |
D.what will happen in the![]() |
For what reason may husbands and wives quarrel with each other?
A.Either of them ge![]() |
B.Husbands and wives have different cycles of energy. |
C.Either of them wants to change the cycle of the other’s. |
D.They do not know which cycle they themselves have. |
According to the passage,____________.
A.one should get up earlier if he wants to work better at his low point in the morning |
B.one can change his cycle |
C.whenever you feel hot, your energy cycle reaches the highest |
D.your cycle must be in the morning if you can get up early |
Which of the following can save your energy in the morning?
A.Getting up late. | B.Jumping out of bed as quickly as possible. |
C.Looking for clean clothes. | D.Sitting for a while before getting out of bed. |
Which of the following statements is wrong?
A.If you know your cycle you can make good use of time. |
B.If you know your cycle you can change it to fit your life. |
C.Father and son do not necessarily have the same cycle. |
D.Having a habit of doing something can make people affected less by their energy cycle. |
For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions.People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer.For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer.He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing.
Cold can affect other parts of the body.The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet.The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do.For example, you agree to be president of an organization.But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility.You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face.You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you.Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.
A cold fish is not a fish.It is a person.But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth.A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted.Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy(同情心).Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers.
Out in the cold means not getting something that everybody else got.A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise---he was left out in the cold.And it is not a pleasant place to be.There are _________ expressions related to cold that are mentioned in the passage.
A.3 | B.4 | C.6 | D.7 |
When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by “_________”.
A.I give him the cold shoulder | B.I think he is a cold-blooded man |
C.I think he is a cold fish | D.I’m likely to get cold feet |
If Sue shows absolutely no reaction(反应) to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say
_________.
A.she is a cold-blooded killer | B.she gets cold feet |
C.she is a cold fish | D.she is out in the cold |
We can use the expression “__________” to describe a man who hurts his lover without mercy.
A.cold-blooded | B.cold shoulder | C.cold feet | D.cold-hearted |
The topic of this passage is about _________.
A.the relationship between cold and our body |
B.some expressions about friendship |
C.some expressions connected with cold |
D.how cold weather comes into being |
It has been found that less than one shopper in five makes a complete shopping list before going to the store. The reason for this is that seven out of ten of today’s purchases(购买) are decided in the store, where the shoppers tend toward impulse(冲动) buying. Buying groceries on impulse had risen for the past forty years, and this rise has coincided(巧合) with the growth of self-service shopping. However, in grocery stores where clerks wait on customers there is much less impulse buying. It is hard for people to buy on impulse if they have to address a clerk.
Psychologists have joined forces with merchandising(商品) experts. It is their job to persuade people to buy products which they may not need or even want until they see them attractively presented. It was discovered by the psychologists that shoppers want help in their purchases. Having so many choices confuses them, and they prefer the package that attracts them. Therefore, it is now more usual for food packers to pay attention to their package design. Attraction depends heavily on the position of the product on the shelf, however. Thus, persuading the shopper to buy is easier if the product is located at eye-level.According to the information in the first paragraph, ______ make a complete list.
A.only five shoppers | B.less than twenty percent of the shoppers |
C.only ten percent of the shoppers | D.not even five percent of the shoppers |
The reason for the above mentioned phenomenon is that _______.
A.people have difficulty making up their mind before going shopping |
B.people don’t know what is available in the store |
C.people tend to decide on buying products when they see them |
D.people are easily deceived(欺骗) by the attractive products |
In grocery stores where customers are served there is less impulse shopping. This may be because ________.
A.the clerks ignore the customers |
B.the clerks are too eager to serve the customers |
C.the stores have to send the shopper’s purchases to his house |
D.customers hesitate to ask for help if they haven’t decided what to buy |
Shoppers tend to buy the products put on _______.
A.the top shelf | B.the bottom shelf |
C.the shelf which people can see easily | D.the shelf where there is less confusion |
Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?
A.Psychologists and Merchandising Experts. | B.Impulse Buying. |
C.The more Products the More Confusion. | D.Self-service Shopping. |