In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.. Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbors |
| B．want to be happy |
| C．don’t want others to know they are rich |
| D．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to _________.
| A．live in New York City | B．live outside New York City |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbors |
Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is _____.
| A．an important name |
| B．a popular name in the United States |
| C．his neighbor’s name |
| D．not a good name |
According to the writer, it is ________ to keep up with the Joneses.
| A．impossible | B．interesting |
| C．correct | D．good |
( C )
In Denmark, parents are allowed to set up a new school if they are dissatisfied with the school in the area where they are living. Although these schools have to follow the national courses, they are allowed a lot of choice in deciding what to teach. Some of these new schools are called “small schools” because usually the number of pupils in them is only sixty, but a school has to have at least twenty-seven pupils.
Cooleenbridge School in Ireland, is a small school similar to the ones in Denmark, it was set up by parents who came from Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England and other parts of Ireland. They came because they wanted to live in the countryside and to grow their own food. In June 1986, they decided to start a school. They managed to get an old, disused primary-school (小学) building and started with twenty-four children aged from four to twelve.
The teachers say, “The important thing in school is doing, not sitting.” And so the courses includes yoga(瑜伽), cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama (戏剧) and environmental(环境的) river studies, as well as reading, writing, maths and science.What are the rules for setting up a new school in Denmark?
| A．Parents are allowed to set up their own school. |
| B．The school has to follow the national courses. |
| C．The school has to have at least 27 pupils. |
| D．All of the above. |
The writer tells about the Cooleenbridge School in Ireland because ____ .
| A．it was set up by parents who are not people of Denmark |
| B．it was taken as an example of this kind of “small school” |
| C．there were only twenty-four children |
| D．the pupils there were aged from 4 to 12 |
What makes this kind of school special?
| A．It is set up by parents not by government. |
| B．It is free to decide what to teach. |
| C．The number of pupils in it is only sixty. |
| D．It has to have at least 27 pupils. |
“The important thing in school is doing not sitting.” What the teachers say actually means ____ .
| A．What we should do is teaching in the classroom, not sitting in the office. |
| B．Children should do more homework at home, not just sit in class to listen to the teachers. |
| C．Children should learn by themselves not rely on teachers. |
| D．Children should learn through practice not just from books. |
The courses includes ____ .
| A．yoga, cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, except reading, writing, maths and science |
| B．either yoga, cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, or reading, writing, maths and science |
| C．not only reading, writing, maths and science, but also yoga, cooking knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies |
| D．mainly yoga, cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, and supplemental (补充的) reading writing, maths and science |
(B)
Sixty-year-old grandmother, Fiona McFee, is going to stop working next year and she decided to realize a childhood dream and sail around the coast of Scotland in a small boat. Although the inside of the boat is very cosy it has no running water or electricity. Fiona says she can live without these things but she plans to take her small CD player, her hot water bottle and a bag of books to make sure life isn’t too uncomfortable.
We asked her if she was afraid of being at sea for so long. She said, “Well, I’m going to take a good compass (指南针). Anyway I’m not afraid of death because I love the sea---I just hope it loves me.” Fiona certainly has plenty of energy; in her spare time, she enjoys playing the piano, rock-climbing, canoeing and dancing. Although she is sixty, she doesn’t want to have a quiet and peaceful life. “I’m looking forward to having fun in the rest of my life and that’s exactly why I’d like to be a sailor for a while.”The underlined word cosy in the first paragraph means ____ .
| A．bright | B．dirty | C．comfortable | D．dark |
When Fiona McFee said “---I just hope it loves me.” What she meant was ____
| A．Of course , it loves me , since I love it . |
| B．If I love it , it should love me. |
| C．I hope it will bring me a safe sailing as a return for my love of it . |
| D．I hope it will save my life when I am in time of danger . |
The reason why she would like to have the sail is that ____.
| A．she thinks it will be very exciting |
| B．she likes sports and enjoys canoeing |
| C．she has decided to realize a childhood dream |
| D．she wants to be still active when she gets old |
What kind of person would you say the old woman is ?
| A．Someone who does not show what she is feeling . |
| B．Someone who is very proud and sure of her success . |
| C．Someone who doesn’t use her head much . |
| D．Someone who is open , honest and brave . |
The best title for this passage is ____ .
| A．Life Begins at Sixty | B．A Round Coast Sail |
| C．An Old Woman Sailor | D．An Unusual Hobby(爱好) |
A
This is a talk by a London taxi(出租车)driver.
"I've been a taxi driver for nearly ten years. Most London taxi drivers have their own taxis."
"It's a nice job most of time. You meet a lot of people. I always work at night, because there is too much traffic during the day. I live twenty miles outside London and I go to work at 5:30 in the afternoon."
"I usually go home between 2 and 3 in the morning."
"Some very strange things happened late at night .The other day I was taking a woman home from a party .She had her little dog with her. When we got to her house, she found that she had lost her key. So I waited in the car with the dog while she climbed in through the windows."
"I waited and waited. After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on .I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb in through the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came. They thought I was a thief.
Luckily the woman came downstairs.She must have gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog!" The driver always worked at night because it was easier to _____.
| A．make money | B．drive |
| C．climb in through the window | D．meet a lot of people |
The woman climbed in through the window because _____.
| A．she wanted to have a sleep |
| B．her husband didn't open the door for her |
| C．she didn't want to pay the driver |
| D．she couldn't find her key |
The story happened _____.
| A．early in the morning | B．late at night |
| C．20 miles outside London | D．near the police station |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．The driver worked until between 2 and 3 in the morning. |
| B．The police made a mistake. |
| C．The woman had no money to pay the driver. |
| D．The woman had forgotten about the driver and the dog. |
The driver climbed in through the window to
| A．get money from the woman | B．return the dog to the woman |
| C．phone the police | D．see what was happening in the house |
( D )
Your body works 24 hours a day. It’s always building and repairing, feeding and cleansing itself. Its goal is to be ready for your every movement, breath, and thought. The quality of your life depends on how well your body works. And how well your body works depends on how much energy it gets. Energy comes from the food you eat. Food contains nutrients that your body needs for growth and energy.
By eating a balanced diet, your body gets the six important nutrients it needs. Minerals（矿物质） are nutrients that build bones and teeth. Minerals also form red blood cells and other substances. Water aids digestion and waste removal. Carbohydrates（碳水化合物） give your body its main source of energy. Two carbohydrates are sugars from foods such as fruits and vegetables and starches found in rice, potatoes, and bread. Fats help build cell membranes（膜）. Proteins repair and grow body tissues（组织）. Finally, vitamins help your body use carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
The United States Department of Agriculture（USDA） has created a nutritional food pyramid（金字塔）. It shows the daily number of servings you should eat from five food groups. The food pyramid has four levels. The base of the pyramid is the largest level. It contains the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group from which you need six to eleven servings. The next level has two food groups: vegetables and fruits. The USDA recommends three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit. The third level also has two groups: the milk, yogurt, and cheese group and the meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group. You need two to three servings from each of these groups. The top of the pyramid is the smallest level. It contains fats, oils, and sweets. These foods have few nutrients, so eat them sparingly（有节制地）.What is the main idea for this passage_________?
| A．Eating a balanced diet gives your body the energy it needs. |
| B．The top of the pyramid is the smallest level. |
| C．Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts are on the third level. |
| D．We should have a nutrition food pyramid. |
The first paragraph suggests that __________?
| A． food is something that cleanses your body. |
| B．food can improve the quality of your life. |
| C．food should be eaten at night as well as during the day. |
| D．food will make it easier for you to exercise. |
By eating a balanced diet, your body gets the important nutrients it needs.
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
A balanced diet________.
| A．is made up of foods from five food groups. |
| B．includes many foods containing fat. |
| C．includes six to eleven servings of fruit. |
| D．can be got by taking vitamins. |
To help the reader understand the six nutrients needed by the body, the author________.
| A．describes the five basic food groups. |
| B．explains what a balanced diet is. |
| C．writes the details of each nutrient. |
| D．tells the number of daily servings needed from each food group. |
（C）
A Different Roast Every Day
Alan worked in an office in the city. He worked very hard and really wanted to take a holiday.
He usually went to the seaside, but one day he saw an ad（广告） in a newspaper. " Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at Willow Farm. Good food, fresh air, horse riding, walking, fishing. Good prices (价格)."
"This sounds like a good idea," he thought. "I'll spend a month at Willow Farm. I'll enjoy horse riding, walking and fishing. They'll make a change from sitting by the seaside."
Four days later he returned home.
"What's wrong with Willow Farm?" his friend Jack asked him. " Didn't you enjoy country life?"
"Country life was fine," Alan said, "but there was another problem."
"Oh, what?"
"Well, the first day I was there a sheep died, and we had roast mutton (烤羊肉) for dinner."
"Fresh meat is the best."
"I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner."
"Lucky you!"
"You don't understand," Alan said. "On the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner."
"A different roast every day," Jack said.
" Let me finish," Alan said, " on the fourth day the farmer died and I didn't dare to stay for dinner!" Where did Alan work? He worked ___.
| A．on a farm | B．at a school |
| C．in a restaurant | D．in an office in a city |
Where did Alan usually go to spend his holiday?
| A．by the seaside | B．in the country |
| C．in the mountains | D．on an island |
Why did Alan decide to spend his holiday at Willow Farm? Because ___.
| A．he lived near there |
| B．he had a good friend there |
| C．he thought it would make a change from sitting by the seaside |
| D．he wanted to enjoy the fresh air in the country |
How many days did he stay on the farm?
| A．A few days. | B．A week. | C．Three days. | D．Four days. |
What made Alan return so soon?
| A．He fell ill. |
| B．The air there was not fresh. |
| C．The prices were too high. |
| D．He was afraid that they would have the dead man for dinner. |