阅读理解
While popular in the US，the April Fool’s Day tradition is even more popular in European countries，such as France and Great Britain．Although the roots of the traditional tricking are unclear，the French and the British both have their own stories about the origin of the celebration．
One story holds that the first April Fool’s Day was on April 1 of the year when the king of France introduced the new calendar．This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April l．Many people were not used to the new calendar and continued(继续)to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April．Thus，they became the first April Fools．Others began to give funny gifts on the day to laugh at the fools who continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1．
An English story about the day，however，says that it began sometime during the 1200s．At the time，King John was in the habit of making roads out of the paths he most often walked along．The people of one particular farm village were aware of this．To avoid having their green grasslands and pastures(牧场)disturbed by one of the king’s roads，they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside．
The king sent a group of messengers(使者)to inform the villagers that they must remove the fence．Upon hearing that the king was planning to do this，however，the villagers developed a plan of their own．When the king’s messengers arrived，they were met by the villagers pretending to be mad．The people just throw things and ran around wildly．The messengers were surprised by this and reported to King John that these people were so mad that there was no necessity of punishing them．So，the villagers saved their farmland by tricking the king．In Great Britain，tradition only allows April Fool’s tricks from midnight to noon on April l．Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves．Which country has the origin of the celebration of April Fool’s Day？
A．Japan．
B．France．
C．Great Britain．
D．Both B and C．When was the first April Fool’s Day？
| A．It was on April lst． |
| B．It was on April 2nd． |
| C．It was on March lst． |
| D．It was on May lst． |
Why did French people become the first April Fools？
| A．Because they were stupid． |
| B．Because they were not used to the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April． |
| C．Because they were happy to become the first April Fools． |
| D．Because they were given funny gifts on the day． |
The underlined word“avoid”probably means“________”in Chinese．
| A．加强 |
| B．倡议 |
| C．避免 |
| D．建造 |
From the passage we can know that________．
| A．April Fool’s Day is very popular in Asian countries |
| B．according to the English story，April Fool’s Day began sometime during the 1300s |
| C．according to the English story，King John of England was in the habit of making a building |
| D．according to the English story，the citizens of one particular farm village were against what the king did |
Three rich ladies met every day by the river. They sat there and talked the whole day. Once the three ladies quarreled(争吵). One of them said. “Look, how white and beautiful my hands are!” Another one said, “My hands are more beautiful.” The third one said, “Mine are the most beautiful ones.” An old beggar（乞丐） woman came up to them. “Beautiful ladies,” she said, “I’m hungry. Please give me something to eat.”
But the three ladies gave her nothing. They only asked, “Tell me, old woman, which one of us has the most beautiful hands?”
A peasant（农民）woman was also sitting by the river. She was poor and her hands were rough（粗糙的）because of hard work. The old woman came up to her and said, “I’m hungry. Please give me something to eat.” The peasant woman took out her only cake she had and gave her a half.
The old woman ate it and drank some water. Then she took the peasant woman by the hand, brought her before the rich ladies and said, “Now, I shall tell you whose hands are the most beautiful. The hands of the poor peasant woman are rough because of work, but they give us food; they are far more beautiful than your hands which have done nothing.”The three ladies ___________.
| A．had a quarrel every day |
| B．were rich but unkind |
| C．had a talk about their hands every day |
| D．lived by the side of the river |
The old woman asked for something to eat, ___________.
| A．but none of the three rich ladies gave anything to her |
| B．but only one of the three ladies gave her half a cake |
| C．because she wanted to know whose hands were beautiful |
| D．because she wanted to know which lady was the richest |
The peasant woman’s hands were not so white as the three ladies’ ___________.
| A．because of the hard work she had done |
| B．but she was stronger than any of them |
| C．so she didn’t quarrel with the three ladies |
| D．but she was more beautiful than any of them |
We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don’t do a very good job. This article gives some suggestions on how to give a successful speech.
So, you have to give a speech and you’re frightened. You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble(结巴)over words, you talk too long and your listeners feel tired of your speech. Later you think, “Thank goodness, it’s over. I’m just no good at public speaking. I hope I never have to do that again.”
Cheer up! It doesn’t have to be that bad. You can do the following things to take the pain out of speech making. Ask yourself the purpose of your speech. What is the occasion(场合)? Why are you speaking? Then, collect as many facts as you can on your subject. Spend plenty of time doing your research. Then spend plenty of time putting your material in good order so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many examples as possible and use pictures, charts and graphs if they help you make your points clearer. Never forget your listeners. Don’t talk over their heads and don’t talk down to them. Respect your listeners. They will enjoy your thoughtfulness.
Just remember： Be prepared. Know your subject, your listeners and the occasion. Be brief. Say what you have to say and then stop. And be yourself. Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your listeners.
If you follow the simple things, you’ll see that you don’t have to be afraid of public speaking. In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You’re not confident yet. Give it a try and see what happens.
| Suggestions on making a speech |
|
| Problems |
You feel nervous and don’t remember the content you will say. You talk too much, making the listeners |
| Knowing why you have to give the speech. Spending much time researching and having your material Neither using too difficult words nor looking down upon your listeners but remembering to |
|
| Conclusion |
Be well prepared. Don’t mention something It is your personality that will help you communicate with your listeners well. |
The other day I came across a few local musicians and happened to hear them talking：
"I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can't even understand a bit of music."
"I'm never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us."
But one younger musician said, "There are a few clubs that book my band (乐队) a few nights a month, and I'm trying to find other places to play. I'm also looking forward to booking a few summer festivals this year."
It's said that you are the average (平均) of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes（态度） are important. Whether they're positive(积极的)or negative (消极的), they're rubbing off on you. If you're always around people who complain about short of work and about other musicians or say bad words about others, and you play the role of a victim, it's possible that you will start to as well. So it's time to take a look at the people you call "friends", as what kind of friends you have decides what kind of life you are going to live.
This is an easy exercise： Make a list of the people who you often go out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it and learn from them. Ask if they will help you get the work you're looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path. The musicians' words at the beginning are written mainly to show_______.
| A．the musicians live a poor life |
| B．people have poor taste in music |
| C．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
| D．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
The underlined sentence "they'll rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 6. means_______.
| A．they'll push you ahead |
| B．they'll have an influence on you |
| C．they'll cover your feelings |
| D．they'll help you succeed |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can_______.
| A．improve a lot in making more friends |
| B．plan the time with your friends properly |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．come to the right way of making friends |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．You are who your friends are. |
| B．How to make friendship long. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Friends are the most important in one's success. |
It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better paying jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don't. It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn't accepted by all people.
Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life to get education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living, people don't need to spend so much time in school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and maths need not be taught in detail, either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.
Education is well-rounded (全面的) and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak, read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities. After that, it is to make him a wise man and thankfully enjoy the achievements of human. Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to listen to good music, read good books, watch plays and take an interest in the world.
I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.The earliest education was probably to_______.
| A．make a man lead a better life |
| B．teach a man to write and read |
| C．make people get a way of living |
| D．teach people to read good books |
It is expected that educated people will be able to_______.
| A．accept education as a way of living |
| B．take an interest in the whole world |
| C．develop their abilities to make plays |
| D．learn subjects like language and math |
The passage mainly tells us that_______.
| A．education should make a man improve |
| B．people can get education in a short time |
| C．people should be able to get good paying jobs |
| D．all subjects are so important for a way of living |
In classes, your teachers will talk about topics that you are studying. The information they provide will be important for you to know when you take tests. You must be able to take good written notes from what your teachers say.
Taking good notes has three stages. There are certain things you should do before class, during class, and after class. Here are the three stages of note-taking and what you should do during each class.
1. Get Ready to Take Notes
Review your notes from the previous(以前的) class before you come to class. This will help you remember what was covered and get you ready to understand the new information your teacher will provide.
Complete all assigned(布置的) readings before you come to class. Your teacher will expect that you have done this and will use and build upon this information.
Bring all note-taking materials with you to class - several pens and pencils as well as your notebook.
2. Take Notes
Keep your attention on what your teacher is saying. Paying attention to "signal statements". Examples of signal statements are "The most important point ..." and "Remember that ..," Be sure to include in your notes information that your teacher repeats or written on the blackboard.
Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your notes. Do this by writing abbreviated (简化的) words such as med for medicine, using symbols such as % for percent, and writing short sentences. Place a "?" next to information about whose meaning you are not sure.What's the writer's purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To encourage us to listen carefully in class. |
| B．To tell us the importance of taking notes. |
| C．To tell us how to quickly improve our study. |
| D．To give us some tips on how to take notes. |
We can learn that in the writer's opinion, _______.
| A．taking notes is an easy thing |
| B．taking notes is important for tests |
| C．teachers shouldn't provide information before tests |
| D．taking notes is more important than listening to the teachers |
What will most probably be talked about next?
| A．How to prepare for exams. |
| B．An easy way to take notes. |
| C．Note-taking after class. |
| D．The importance of taking notes. |