America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon. They don’t feel hurt. If the same two people meet again, even years later, they pick up the friendship .This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand .Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸)deeply into both families.
There is another difficult point for us to understand .Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time. But in China, we are usually generous with our time. We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take day off from our work to act as guides to our friends. It is opposite in America, Americans can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels. And they expect the visitors will phone them from there. Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real.
For Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. So accept their hospitality(好客)at home and enjoy your visit in America!The underlined phrase “pick up” in Paragraph 1 may mean “_______”.
| A．keep out | B．give up |
| C．pay no attention to | D．continue |
Which of the following is the typical (典型的)way of American hospitality?
| A．Treating friends at home. |
| B．Taking days off to be with friends. |
| C．Meeting friends at the airport at midnight. |
| D．Sharing everything they have. |
Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
| A．Americans are always generous with their time. |
| B．Americans don’t feel hurt if their friendships disappear soon. |
| C．Chinese friendships develop more slowly but will never disappear. |
| D．Chinese friendships are more sincere than American friendships. |
The way that Americans and Chinese treat friendship are different, how many differences are mentioned in the passage?
A Two B. Three C. Four D. FiveThis passage is most probably written for _______.
| A．American students |
| B．Chinese students |
| C．Chinese visitors to America |
| D．American visitors to China |
We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays．There are different customs (习俗) for each festival．
Tan Xiaodong．15．Hong Kong, China
“It’ll be Chinese New Year soon．Before it we’ll clean the house and decorate(装饰) it for good luck．Every shop is going to close for a few days and we’ll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets．We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center．I love this festival．”
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
“Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here．We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days．My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over．Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there’s lots of music and dancing．What fun!”
Amy, 14, New York, the USA
“The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help．It’s still a very important day for families to be together．This year we’re going to visit my parents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey．Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year．”How many festivals are mentioned (提到) in the passage?
A．Two．
B． Three．
C． Four．During the Chinese New Year, tourists can _________．
A．do a lot of shopping
B． see lion and dragon dances
C． eat turkeyOn Australia Day, families often ___________．
A. have a picnic in the countryside
B． go to a swimming pool
C．have a party at schoolWhat do you think a turkey is in the passage?
A．A country
B． A festival
C． A birdFrom the passage, we can learn that _____________．
A．the first Thanksgiving Day was born a hundred years ago
B．many go out for a picnic with friends before Chinese New Year
C．different festivals have different customs
My grandfather is eighty years old now．He always complains about how fast things have changed, and he often says that life used to be better．
Families aren’t families they used to be．A lot of families have broken up．If husband and wife have problems with their marriage, they no longer stay together．And mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now not any more．Everyone is busy working．Mother used to spend all day cooking in the kitchen．But now the family don’t eat home-cooked food any more．
And the cars! No one walks any more．More and more people drive．Students used to walk 5 miles to school every day, even in winter．But now students don’t．And in school, children don’t have to think any more．In math class, for example, they used to add, subtract, multiply and divide(加减乘除)in their heads．Instead, they use calculators(计算器)．
And people today have TV and computers, and they don’t talk to each other any more．They are too busy to talk, too busy to eat, too busy to think…．
Life used to be simple, but it isn’t any more．What does my grandfather think of the life now?
A． He thinks the life is the same as it used to be．
B． He thinks the life now is worse than it used to be．
C． He thinks the life now is better than it used to be．What does the underlined word “marriage” mean in Chinese?
A． 生活
B． 工作
C． 婚姻What has happened these years according to the passage?
A． Children don’t have to think any more in school．
B． Students use calculators in math class．
C． Both of them．What changes have happened to some families?
A． People have TV．
B． People like to eat home-cooked food．
C． Lots of families have computers．
D． Lots of couples(夫妇)live apart because of unhappy problems．
A． a, b, d
B． b, c, d
C． a, c , d Which is TRUE according to the passage?
A． Life now is much simpler．
B． People are too busy to talk with each other now．
C． Lots of mothers stay at home and look after their children．
I was born in a poor family, so I started working early. At the age of thirteen, I got my first job: working on a farm. I got up at 5:00 am and worked for 8 hours. After finishing a day’s work, I was paid ＄2.4. Even though it was only a little money, this did not make me upset. I believed that I could make more money in the future.
During High School, I was interested in sports. By playing different kinds of sports, I stayed healthy and have a strong body. And that was helpful for me to do more jobs.
When I was 17, I had my first dream－buying myself a car. At that time, I was doing a part –time job at a car store .Sending things to gas station (加油站)every weekend. Later, I did a another part–time job after school on weekdays. And at the same time, I tried to save money.
Finally, I bought my first car. When I was given the car key that day. I felt my dream was achieved and I was so proud. I was the only student in the school that had a car.
Everyone wants to get the nice things in life, but are you willing to work for it? Just remember that in order to achieve your dream, you have to be positive and work hard?The writer got his first job when he was 17.
The writer was not interested in sports.
The writer’s first dream was to buy a car for his parents.
The writer took pride in what he had done.
The writer was hard－working.
Films provide more than just entertainment．Watching foreign language films is a way to develop language skills．While watching a film，you are immersed（沉浸）in the language and can pick up new expressions that you might not find in a textbook．Some difficulties can arise when watching foreign language films-for example，unfamiliar colloquial language or strong regional accents．With this in mind，here are my tips to help you make progress in English learning while enjoying the films．
Choose a film type that you enjoy.
If you like action films，watch an action film-for example Indiana Jones．If you prefer comedies，watch a comedy-anything with Hugh Grant in always provides a laugh！It's simple enough，but if you choose something you enjoy watching in your native language，you're more likely to enjoy it in English．
Choose something that you are familiar with.
It's best to start off with something simple because in this way you have a higher chance of understanding the film．Disney films such as The Lion King，or the more recently released Tangled，are classic examples．Other cartoons such as Rango and The Lego Movie are also worth a watch．
If you need to，use subtitles（字幕）．
Subtitles are very helpful for beginners．using subtitles in your own language is the easiest choice，but for more advanced learners why not consider using English subtitles？This way，you can match the written subtitles to the words spoken on .screen．It helps you to develop your language further.
I hope you find these tips useful-if you want to recommend a film to other users，feel free to use the comments section！Is watching foreign language films a way to develop language skills？
What film type can we choose to learn English？
Why is it best to start off with something simple？
What are helpful for beginners while watching English films？
What is the passage mainly about？
Some people love going to museums，while others absolutely hate it and would rather stay at home，enjoying their favorite TV shows．Increasingly，museums are being seen as outdated and boring by today's youngsters．I have just returned to the UK after travelling around the USA． While there，I visited lots of museums I must say，museums are typically educational, either to develop knowledge gained at school in particular subjects，or to enhance knowledge of other cultures
In Chicago，we visited the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago．It was filled with paintings，drawings and sculptures by a huge variety of artists，such as Picasso，Monet，Matisse and Dali．
There was a mixture of traditional and modern art，including colorful stained glass windows and abstract art．
When we were in Washington D． C． ，we visited a few of the Smithsonian museums．These are all free to visit-which is great if you just want to see a few things，and not spend all day inside．
The Air and Space Museum was particularly good：it had lots of aircrafts and rockets on display，interesting information and also some interactive parts．We also went to the National U．S．Holocaust（纳粹大屠杀）Memorial Museum．Naturally，it was sad to read about the horrors of this tragedy which affected so many people in World War II．However，it was also incredibly interesting to read the stories of those who survived the Holocaust，as well as those who helped others．
Last but not least，I also found the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to be of great interest．This museum is dedicated to those who lost their lives，as well as their families，when the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked by terrorists in 2001It tells you how the terrorists planned the attack，how they hijacked the planes，and ultimately what happened as a result of their actions．Surviving pieces of the towers are shown in the museum，alongside damaged fire engines．It was a truly thought-provoking visit，which made me value my own life that little bit more．
I think museums play an important role in preserving artifacts of historical importance for future generations．Whatever your interests，there is likely to be a museum for you．You can visit waxwork museums to see models of your favorite celebrities（and get photos with the Queen！），science museums for a more hands-on，interactive visit and so much more！Best of all，if you're ever in the UK，many of them are free！The first paragraph tells us that______________．
| A．people of all ages love going to museums |
| B．trips to museums are always very tiring |
| C．most museums in the USA are outdated |
| D．some youngsters find museums boring |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
| A．There are a lot of interactive parts in waxwork museums. |
| B．Art Institute of Chicago has a mixture of traditional and modern art. |
| C．You'd better read the stories before visiting the holocaust Memorial Museum. |
| D．The Air and Space Museum shows the attack 01 the twin towers by terrorists. |
What can we infer from the passage？
| A．Future generations have the duty to protect museums． |
| B．Visiting 9/11 Memorial and Museum is educational． |
| C．Most museums around the world are free for students. |
| D．Taking photos is allowed in the Smithsonian museums. |
What is the writer's attitude towards museums？
| A．She suggests going to museums. |
| B．She warns the problems of museums． |
| C．Museums have advantages and downsides． |
| D．Museums should be open to all kinds of people． |