Millions of British people have ditched the traditional “thank you” and took the place of it with the less formal “cheers”, according to a survey.
Although the common person will say “thank you” nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to add a “cheers” or “ta” where it’s needed to show they are fashionable.
One in twenty now say “nice one” instead, while the younger are more likely to offer a “cool” than a “thank you”.
“Merci”, “fab” and even “gracias” were also listed as common phrases to use, as “much appreciated(感激)”.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal “thank you” was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood. Most people stated that saying thank you was something that their parents trained them. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while one fifth avoid(避免)saying it when they know they should.
It seems our friends and family get the stress of our bad manners. Half of them admit (承认) they’re not good at thanking those closest to them. Many of them explain that they don’t say thank you because their family “already know I’m grateful”.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people.
One third will still send a handwritten thank-you note---but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they tried to send one.
A quarter of British people say “thank you” with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be angry because of not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.
Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _______.
A.when they are in good mood |
B.completely out of habit |
C.when they feel truly grateful |
D.purely out of politeness |
The underlined word “ditched” in Paragraph 1 means “________”.
A.gave up | B.used |
C.shared | D.knew |
It can be learned from the passage that _______.
A.different ways of expressing gratitude are all fashionable |
B.people should avoid saying “thank you” nowadays |
C.a thank-you note is still appreciated by most people |
D.people in a bad mood never say “thank you” |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Most people express their gratitude to others by buying food for them. |
B.About fifty percent of people try not to say thank you when they should. |
C.Most people may feel natural when they fail to receive others’ gratitude. |
D.Many people think it unnecessary to say thanks to their family members. |
There was a robbery at City Central Bank last yesterday afternoon. Two men entered the bank at about 4 p.m. and told the bank teller on duty to give them $ 1,000,000. The robbers were carrying guns(枪) and wearing black masks(面具) to cover their faces. The robbers told all the customers (顾客)in the bank to lie down on the floor. Witnesses (证人)said that everyone in the bank was very frightened and did what the robbers told them.
The teller agreed to give them the money but told them they’d have to wait a few minutes. She said the bank manager would have to get the money out of the safety. As the robbers were waiting for the money. the teller tried to press an alarm button(按警报按钮) that was hidden under the counter. It was a silent alarm, so the robbers didn’t realize it had been set off.
Just as the manager arrived with the money, ten police officers entered the bank. The robbers were very surprised that the officers caught them easily. The robbers are now in custody(拘留) , and will appear in court next week.
Police congratulated Miss Alston , the bank teller , on brave act. The bank manager said that he would give Miss Alston a week’s vacation to thank her.Everyone in the bank did what the robbers told them because _________.
A.they were frightened |
B.the robbers were very polite |
C.the bank manager told them to |
D.they knew the police were coming |
The bank teller said the money was __________.
A.under the counter | B.on the floor |
C.in custody | D.in the safety |
What did the bank teller do ?
A.She telephoned the police |
B.She didn’t want to give the money to the robbers |
C.She got the money out of the safe. |
D.She pressed an alarm button. |
The police caught the robbers so easily because the robbers didn’t ________
A.know who the police officers were |
B.get the money |
C.expect the police arrived at the bank so quickly |
D.expect the money to be in the safe |
Have you ever been ill? When you are ill, you must be unhappy because your body becomes hot, and there are pains all over your body. You don’t want to work, and you stay in bed, feeling very sad.
What makes us ill? It is germs(细菌). Germs are everywhere. They are very small and you can’t find them with your eyes, but you can see them with a microscope(显微镜). They are very very small and there could be hundreds of them on a very small thing.
Germs are always found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope, we shall see them in it. So your father and mother will not let you drink dirty water.
Germs can be found not only in water but also in air and dust(灰尘). If you cut your finger, if some of the dust from the floor goes into the cut(割开处), some of the germs would go into your finger. Your finger would become big and red, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs would go into all of your body, and you would have pain everywhere. Which of the following is true?
A.If things are very very small, they are germs. |
B.If things can’t be seen, they must be germs. |
C.Germs are only in dirty water. |
D.Germs are everywhere around us. |
Why don’t your parents let you drink dirty water?
A.You haven’t looked at it carefully. |
B.Water can’t be drunk in this way. |
C.There must be lots of germs in it. |
D.Water will make you ill. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Germs may make us ill. |
B.Germs are in dirty water. |
C.Don’t drink dirty water. |
D.Take care of your fingers. |
阅读短文,从所给的选项中选择四个句子完成短文,使其文理通顺。(有一项多余)
Imagine a normal day: you go to work, return home, and maybe buy somethings on your way home.. For a large number of people, the answer to that question is zero.
Ever since the Industrial Revolution(工业革命)began, many changes have taken place in our world..
Want to buy a pair of shoes? An MP3 player? A book? It’s only a few clicks(点击) away. Need a computer? A gift? A tennis racket? Click. No need to even leave your house.And the quality of crops that are grown and harvested(收割) by computers is getting better.
You are probably booking (预定) your hotel room online. When can we choose our own rooms and get our keys by ourselves? We also hope that everything we want to buy at the supermarket will be ready for us when we arrive.Researchers have already designed a robot to correctly find your preferred beer and bring it to you.
Will human jobs be completely done by robots? We don’t know. But computers are doing more and more jobs for humans.How many examples of ways of doing things does the author pick up to show the advantages of computers?
A. Five.B. Four.C. Six. D. Three.
A.On the farm, machines are used, and more and more farm jobs can be done by machines. B.In a factory, workers are busy making products. C.Many jobs done by humans in the past are now being done by technology(技术) instead. D.How many people do you have to talk with to do those everyday tasks? E.In fact, a restaurant in China recently started using some robots to serve people. |
One day, there was a blind man called John sitting on the bench(长条椅)with a hat by his feet and a sign that read,“I am blind. Please help me.”
A creative publicist(广告员) named Tom was walking by the blind man and stopped to see that the man only had a few coins in his hat. He put a few of his own coins in the hat. Without asking for permission, he took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new message. Then he put the sign by the feet of the blind man, and left.
Later that afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was almost full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized(认出,识别出)his footsteps and asked if it was he who had changed his sign. He also wanted to know what the man wrote on it.
The publicist said,“I just wrote the message a little differently.”He smiled and went on his way.
The new sign read,“Spring has come, but I can’t see anything.”What’s the blind man’s name?
A.Tom. | B.John. |
C.Tony. | D.Sorry, I don’t know. |
Who wrote a new message?
A.The blind man. | B.The teacher. |
C.The publicist. | D.The farmer. |
How did the blind man recognize the publicist?
A.By his sign. | B.By his footsteps. |
C.By his voice. | D.By his coins. |
When did the story happen?
A.In spring. | B.In summer. |
C.In autumn. | D.In winter. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.Publicists are always friendly and helpful. |
B.We can get more money by changing a sign. |
C.The blind man was very stupid, so he had little money. |
D.The power(力量)of language is great. |
What is your favourite English letter? Many of you may say Q. Why?Because so many of you chat with your friends on QQ. What do you like about QQ? What do you talk about? The CCTV reporter, Miss Wang, interviews three kids. Let’s listen to what they say.
When do you chat on QQ? What do you talk about?
Lin Yuhan, Xi’an: On weekends. We talk about homework and chat with each other.
Tang Xuting, Shanghai: At weekends and when I don't have much homework. We exchange test answers and chat.
Yang Yuhang, Dalian: Our class goes online together at 4——6 pm on weekends. We complain about homework, chat and talk about computer games.
What do you put on your QQ blog(博客)?
Lin: I put good articles I have found online on my blog. I also write articlesmyself. They are about funny things that have happened in my class.
Tang: I put pictures on my blog. Not my own photos, but pictures from myfavorite Japanese cartoons like Tennis Prince and Conan.
Yang: I put DV films on my blog. I shoot(拍摄) them during sports meetingsand school parties. The most popular one is about a dancing teacher. Itis so funny that everyone watches it.
How do you like QQ?
Lin: It’s a good place for us to make a record of our lives, of both good timesand sad times.
Tang: My friends and I may not have time to chat at school. But we can doit on QQ. It’s very helpful to our friendships.
Yang: If you chat with friends on the telephone, your parents sometimeslisten in on your conversation. There’s no such problem with QQ. Youcan relax and talk freely.How many kids are interviewed about QQ?
A.Nine. | B.Six. | C.Three. | D.Two. |
comes from Shanghai.
A.Miss Wang | B.Lin Yuhan |
C.Yang Yuhang | D.Tang Xuting |
What does Yang Yuhang talk about on QQ on weekends?
① homework② chat③ test answers④ computer games
A.①② | B.②③ | C.①②④ | D.②③④ |
What does Lin Yuhan put on her QQ blog?
A.Some pictures. | B.Good articles. |
C.DV films. | D.Japanese cartoons. |
Which one is TRUE according to this article?
A.Lin says QQ is very helpful to their friendships. |
B.Yang says he can chat freely with many friends and relax on QQ. |
C.Tang says QQ is a good space for them to make a record of their lives. |
D.Tang says he chats on QQ on weekdays though he has lots of homework. |