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Culture and Cuisine
The United States is known for jazz and blue jeans.But travel to Paris and ask your average French citizen about American cuisine (烹饪) and he’s likely to answer,“ McDonalds.” Ask the same thing of any American citizen on any American street and I’m afraid you’d get the same answer,or something close to it.
Hamburgers and hotdogs and fries are all fine,but with American malls and other outlets standardizing everything from clothing to food,the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live.True,many Americans are eating more varied foods these days,but these are largely the cuisines of immigrant groups,and they are quite likely to be affected by homogenization of American cuisine.
So what exactly is American cuisine? Well,to some extent it is a reflection of our melting pot culture,meaning that Europeans made huge contributions in the form of wheat,dairy products,pork,beef and poultry.But American cuisine also includes products that once were known only to the New World,including potatoes,corn,pumpkin,sweet potatoes,and peanuts.
The one region of the country where you still find all these things in daily use is the Deep South.The South lost the Civil War,but children of the southerners are winning the battle to preserve and advance their cooking traditions—and in this case one of the few cuisines can truly be called American,which is why we’re pleased to have Low Country cuisine in this issue of food creation.That’s right,grits and gravy are back in a big way in cities like Charleston and Savannah.Truth is,they never really left,but up until a decade ago Low Country cuisine was more common at home than in restaurants.
In fact,a large number of tourists now go to the lower Atlantic region in order to experience this extraordinary cuisine for themselves.Time will tell whether Low Country cuisine becomes popular in other regions of the country in the way that,say,Italian cuisine has,but it’s amazing and heartening to see one of our true cultural treasures enjoying renewed popularity in these increasingly homogeneous times.
According to the passage,American cuisine impresses people as being _______.

A.dull and changeless
B.rich and various
C.popular and delicious
D.disagreeable and unpleasant

It can be seen that the writer feels regretful that _______.

A.cuisines of other countries play a more important role in America
B.American cuisine has become increasingly lacking in variety
C.American cuisine tends to vary because of immigration
D.American cuisine is being changed by foreign cuisines

From the passage,we know that grits and gravy _______.

A.were cooked with new materials after the Civil War
B.are gaining popularity in the south of America
C.were more popular over ten years ago
D.are seldom served in restaurants

What’s the writer’s attitude towards the renewal of Low Country cuisine in America?

A.Concerned and cautious.
B.Hopeless and doubtful.
C.Positive and supportive.
D.Critical and disapproving.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
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I decided to have dinner in the hotel, for I arrived late one night on a business trip. As I was finishing my meal, an elderly couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had lovely smiles on their faces. They satthree tables from me. I was amazed at the love they showed for each other. It seemed to strike home all the more, because it was shortly afterending a 20-year marriage and I still had pain in my heart.
My waiter was also their waiter. As I paid my bill, I inquired as to what their bill was. He informed me, and I gave him $40 to pay their bill.He asked if I knew them and I told him "No, I just wanted to repay them for the love that they were showing to each other," and then I departed.
The next day I entered the restaurant to dine before my departure. After Ihad been seated, the waiter who served me the night before told me that the strangest thing happened after I left the restaurant.
When the elderly couple went to pay for their meal, they were informed that it had been paid. When they inquired who had done this, thehostess told them they had no idea who I was, just retelling what I said.
The couple were amazed. They looked around, asked for the bill of two young couples who were seated together, paid their bill and departed, saying "Love begets(产生) Love" to the amazement of the hostess and waiter.
I smiled and said "That's nice," and proceeded to order my meal.
About 45 minutes later, I finished my meal and was about to head out, but my waiter was nowhere to be found. I waited andwaited and finally walked over to the hostess stand and explained that Ineeded to pay for my meal and hurry to the airport. She smiled and explained that I would not have to pay for my meal, because both the waiter and she felt compelled to pay my bill due to the joy that was brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement ofthe young couples.
When I told her that they didn't have to do that, she said with a smile "Love begets Love."
The writer’s purpose of writing the passage is to .

A.suggest love never dies
B.share an interesting experience
C.encourage us to help people in need
D.prove a show of love really makes a difference

Why did the elderly couple pay the bill of the two young couples?

A.Because they were always ready to help poor people.
B.Because they were happy to pass the love they gained.
C.Because they invited the young people to the meal.
D.Because they didn’t want to take the advantage of the writer’s generosity.

What can be inferred from the story?

A.The love between the elderly couple deeply touched the writer who was single.
B.The young couples paid the bill of other customers in the restaurant.
C.The waiter left on purpose and made the writer stay alone to test him.
D.The writer did all this to prove his belief in love.

Which of the following proverbs can best explain the theme of the story?

A.A good beginning makes a good ending.
B.Where there is love, there is life.
C.Love me, love my dog.
D.As a man sows, so shall he reap (收获).

Don't you just love ice skating every winter? I am sure, that since winter is approaching, your skates are set to come out, just waiting to be used. Impress your friends with your new trick on how to ice -skate backwards with the help of these tips. Skating backwards on ice is a bit difficult but once you master the basic, there' s nothing like it. Follow the steps given below and you will be able to skate backwards in no time.
Stand Straight
The first thing that you need to do is, stand straight. If you feel that you are falling backwards, then just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees. Don't worry; this happens to all.
Confidence is What You Need
The most important step while learning how to skate backwards, is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing. How can you achieve this? By practice. Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slop every single day or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort. But before you do that, make sure that the place where you are practicing is free from any kind of debris (碎片) because otherwise, you could end up in the hospital due to some accident. While going backwards, just get used to the feeling of moving backwards. One of the important ice skating tips and techniques is that if you feel that you are losing your balance, then scissor (做剪式运动) your skates. Keep practicing this till you are confident about it.
Maintain Speed
Confident now? Great! Now the next step is to maintain your speed. While rolling in a straight line with one skate, with the other try sculling (滑浆), that is, keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke (滑动). Now bring the skate which you were using to scull, and then again, repeat the same process. Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling. Now, try the same thing using the other foot. Again keep doing this till you are confident enough.
Increase Your Speed Now
Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot, the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed. Try some of your own tricks now. Scull with either foot or with both at the same time.
Scull and Be Aware
While you keep one foot straight, keep sculling with the other. You can do that simultaneously (同时,一起) with both feet. Concentrate on what you are doing but don't get so involved that you don't see where you are going. If you are not watching your back, you might just bang against something or someone.
According to the text confidence comes from ______ .

A.constant exercise B.strict coaches
C.high speed D.good techniques

Which is the right order of ice - skating backwards?
a. Increasing your speed. b .Being able to scull with one foot.
c. Being about to stand straight.d. Trying some different tricks.

A.c→a→d→b B.c→b→d→a C.c→b→a→d D.a→c→b→d

In the last paragraph the author mainly wants to express ______ .

A.one must be brave to learn to ice - skate backwards
B.skating and keeping cautious are both important
C.it’s difficult to concentrate when ice - skating backwards
D.it' s a common thing to hit someone when ice - skating backwards

The purpose of the text is _____ .

A.to offer some advice on ice - skating backwards
B.to introduce the culture of ice-skating backwards
C.to explain advantages of ice - skating backwards
D.to compare different ways of ice - skating backwards

This is a time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.
Littleton Children’s Home
We DON’T want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes IN GOOD CONDITION would be very welcome.
Also, we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much─will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts or money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need storybooks and toys suitable for quiet games.
Please contact the Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you offer a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we need some new saucepans(平底锅). Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way. Littleton Phone 27713
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair?─a record-player?─a pot of paint ? Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.
What kind of people are these organizations designed for?

A.Homeless and sick children
B.Less fortunate members of our society
C.Hungry people who have no beds to sleep in
D.Friendly members of our society to help others

If you like children and you could offer a happy family to a homeless child, you may contact _____.

A.Street Food B.The Night Shelter
C.Littleton Children’s Home D.Children’s Hospice

What can be concluded from the passage?

A.There are too many social problems in this society.
B.People are very poor during the time of giving.
C.To offer help is just an excuse for these organizations to collect money.
D.There are many organizations trying to solve social problems.

What kind of things would Littleton Youth Club like to collect?

A.Old furniture and second-hand electrical equipment.
B.An apartment and some saucepans.
C.Hot food and storybooks.
D.A sum of money and children’s toys.

One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).
On September 11th. 1958. Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying. "I promised you a gift, and here it is. " What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. 1 told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. "Don’t expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say. "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. " The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"
"Thank God.'" I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I downstairs. My sacks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!
What happened to the author on September 11 1958 ?

A.He received a doll B.He got a Christmas gift.
C.He became four years old. D.He got a baby brother.

What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A.Fearful. B.Boring. C.Difficult. D.Impossible.

Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?

A.Excitement. B.Happiness. C.Disappointment. D.Sadness.

What is the passage mainly about ?

A.A sad Christmas day. B.A special Christmas gift.
C.Life with a lovely baby. D.Memories of a happy family.

Most people know precious gemstones (宝石) by their appearances. An emerald flashes deep green, a ruby seems to hold a red fire inside, and a diamond shines like a star. It’s more difficult to tell where the gem was mined, since a diamond from Australia or Arkansas may appear the same to one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, recently, a team of scientists has found a way to identify a gemstone’s origin.
Beneath the surface of a gemstone, on the tiny level of atoms and molecules, lie clues to its origin. At this year’s meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Catherine McManus reported on a technique that uses lasers to clarify these clues and identify a stone’s homeland. McManus directs scientific research at Materialytics, in Killeen, Texas. The company is developing the technique. “With enough data, we could identify which country, which mining place, even the individual mine a gemstone comes from,” McManus told Science News.
Some gemstones, including many diamonds, come from war-torn countries. Sales of those “blood minerals” may encourage violent civil wars where innocent people are injured or killed. In an effort to reduce the trade in blood minerals, the U.S. government passed law in July 2010 that requires companies that sell gemstones to determine the origins of their stones.
To figure out where gemstones come from, McManus and her team focus a powerful laser on a small sample of the gemstone. The technique is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Just as heat can turn ice into water or water into steam, energy from the laser changes the state of matter of the stone. The laser changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma, a gas state of matter in which tiny particles called electrons separate from atoms.
The plasma, which is superhot, produces a light pattern. (The science of analyzing this kind of light pattern is called spectroscopy.) Different elements produce different patterns, but McManus and her team say that gemstones from the same area produce similar patterns. Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones, including more than 200 from diamonds. They can compare the light pattern from an unknown gemstone to patterns they do know and look for a match. The light pattern acts like a signature, telling the researchers the origin of the gemstone.
In a small test, the laser technique correctly identified the origins of 95 out of every 100 diamonds. For gemstones like emeralds and rubies, the technique proved successful for 98 out of every 100 stones. The scientists need to collect and analyze more samples, including those from war-torn countries, before the tool is ready for commercial use.
Scientists like Barbara Dutrow, a mineralogist from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, find the technique exciting. “This is a basic new tool that could provide a better fingerprint of a material from a particular locality,” she told Science News.
We learn from Paragraph 1 that __________________.

A.an emerald and a ruby are names of diamonds.
B.it’s not difficult to tell where the gem was mined.
C.appearances help to identify the origin of gemstones.
D.diamonds from different places may appear the same.

Why did the U.S. government pass law that requires companies selling gemstones to determine the origins of their stones?

A.To look for more gemstones.
B.To encourage violent civil wars.
C.To reduce the trade in blood minerals.
D.To develop the economy.

Which of the following facts most probably helps McManus and her team in identifying the origin of stones?

A.Heat can turn ice into water or water into steam.
B.Gemstones from the same area produce similar light patterns.
C.Laser can changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma.
D.Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones.

From the last two paragraphs, what can be inferred about the laser technique?

A.It is ready for commercial use.
B.People can use the new tool to find more gemstones.
C.It can significantly reduce the gemstones trade in blood minerals.
D.It will bring about a revolutionary change in identifying the origin of minerals.

The author wrote this passage mainly to ________.

A.tell us how to identify the origin of diamonds.
B.introduce a laser technique in identifying a stone’s origin
C.prove identifying the origin of gemstones are difficult
D.attract our attention to reducing trade in blood minerals

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