As you grow older, you’ll be faced with some challenging decisions—like whether to cut class or try cigarettes. Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people get involved and try to pressure you one way or another it can be even harder. People who are your age, like your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence how you act, to get you to do something, it’s called peer pressure.
Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone’s reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other.
Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them; your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass him the ball.
It is tough to be the only one who says “no” to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do.
You’ve probably had a parent or teacher advising you to “choose your friends wisely.” Peer pressure is a big reason why they say this. If you choose friends who don’t cut class, smoke cigarettes, or lie to their parents, then you probably won’t do these things either, even if other kids do.
If you continue to face peer pressure and you’re finding it difficult to handle, talk to someone you trust. Don’t feel guilty if you’ve made a mistake or two.For whom is the passage most probably written?
| A．Parents. | B．Teachers. |
| C．Students. | D．Doctors. |
In the last three paragraphs, the author mainly_____.
| A．explains why friendship is so important |
| B．shows how to make more good friends |
| C．discusses how peers influence us |
| D．gives advice on how to deal with peer pressure |
Which of following may help handle peer pressure?
| A．Spending more time with classmates. |
| B．Taking up more relaxing hobbies. |
| C．Choosing friends with no bad habits. |
| D．Helping others who are in trouble. |
What is the topic of the passage?
| A．Friendship. | B．Making decisions |
| C．Self-confidence | D．Peer pressure |
I’ve spent over a year in India, and in those 365 plus days, I’ve learned a lot about getting around Indian cities. My biggest lessons have been learned through being cheated, particularly by taxi and rickshaw (人力车) drivers, but that doesn’t mean those are bad ways to travel, as long as you know what you’re doing. Below are the best ways to get around the city of Delhi, India, and tips for how to keep from being the victim of scams (欺骗).
Taking taxis is a great way to get around the city of Delhi and chances are, if you arrive in Delhi by plane, as soon as you make it through customs, you’ll be swarmed by Indian taxi drivers. At the Delhi airport, be sure to arrange for a taxi to your hotel at one of the two Delhi Traffic Police Taxi Booths. One is inside the airport, and one is outside. The key is to make sure to go to a booth run by the police, rather than by independent taxi drivers.
Rickshaws are one of my favorite ways to get around Indian cities, partly because it’s how the locals often travel. Auto-rickshaws are more common, but bicycle rickshaws are still used in Old Delhi. If you do have a chance to take a bicycle rickshaw, you should do it at least once for a unique experience that should only set you back about 15 rupees. Auto-rickshaw rates around Delhi range between 30 and 80 rupees, depending on distance.
If you really want to travel around Delhi like the locals, take a public bus. Indian buses become very crowded and most do not have air conditioning. They are, however, very cheap. A bus trip won’t set you back any more than 15 rupees, as long as you stay within the city limits. Since Indian buses get so crowded, try to board the bus at the start of the route so you can get a seat.
The train is a great way to get around within the city of Delhi. Fares are reasonable, between six and 22 rupees. All departure announcements are in both Hindi and English, and tokens can be purchased for between six and 22 rupees. What is the author trying to do through this text?
| A．Expect us to travel around Delhi. |
| B．Show his/her experiences in Delhi. |
| C．Give some advice of traveling in Delhi. |
| D．Explain the difficulties of traveling in Delhi. |
What should you do to avoid being cheated when taking a taxi at the Delhi airport?
| A．Go to a police-run booth. |
| B．Go out of the airport. |
| C．Show your ticket to the driver. |
| D．Pay more to the drivers to keep safe. |
The author suggests taking a rickshaw in order to ______.
| A．save some money |
| B．gain some unique experience |
| C．enjoy the comfortable trip |
| D．help the local rickshaw drivers |
Which may be the topic that follows?
| A．Car rentals in Delhi |
| B．Food and drink in Delhi |
| C．Weather conditions in Delhi |
| D．Hotel recommendations in Delhi |
Galaxy saw a man and a woman who communicated with the sign language at the train station when she was on the way home one evening. She noticed that the woman asked the man for the direction. He told her that he did not know. Galaxy decided to help them. She had learned the sign language when she served as a volunteer in the deaf and mute (聋哑) school. Then she showed the woman the direction and left her email address to them in case they needed her help later.
She received an email from that man the next day. Kazrim was his name. Galaxy replied his mail sincerely. They both started chatting online soon after and began seeing each other. Although they only communicated with the sign language, it never bothered her.
Galaxy was fond of him gradually. Obviously, Kazrim was the same too. He presented Galaxy with a bunch of sunflowers and asked her sincerely. “Are you willing to be my girlfriend?”
Galaxy was pleasantly surprised. She requested him to give her some time to persuade her parents.
As she had expected, her parents were very angry after they had learned of their love story.
Galaxy explained, “Kazrim is an excellent and a very optimistic person. He has a very positive attitude towards life and work. He cares for others always. He is 100% better than the normal. Moreover, the mute is still a human. He should possess a perfect and wonderful love.”
Her parents asked to see him, then. The very worried Galaxy took Kazrim home a few days later. When they were on the train, Kazrim told her, “I’m going to tell your parents that I’ll be looking after you well with all my life!” Galaxy was deeply moved.
As soon as they had entered the house, Galaxy introduced him to her parents. She said, “This is Kazrim.” Just right after her speech, an unbelievable thing happened. Kazrim threw the gift away and held her in his arms tightly.
He said, “YOU CAN TALK?” It was the same question that Galaxy wanted to ask, too.
The four people were shocked all of a sudden. As a matter of fact, Kazrim always believed that Galaxy was a mute and he still fell in love with her deeply.How did Galaxy and Kazrim get to know each other?
| A．They met each other by chance. |
| B．They were introduced to each other. |
| C．They once studied at the same university. |
| D．They both served in a deaf and mute school. |
How did Galaxy probably communicate with Kazrim before she took him home?
| A．Writing words on paper. |
| B．Using the sign language. |
| C．Judging from his expression. |
| D．Speaking her native language. |
What did Galaxy expect her parents to do?
| A．To have a talk with Kazrim. |
| B．To prepare for her marriage. |
| C．To treat Kazrim as a normal man. |
| D．To accept Kazrim as her boyfriend. |
What can we learn about the two young people from the passage?
| A．They fell in love at the first sight. |
| B．They cheated each other to win love. |
| C．They mistook each other for being mutes. |
| D．They ignored the anger of Galaxy’s parents. |
Nearly a thousand people laugh heartily together for half an hour every morning in a park in Shenzhen. Guangzhou Daily took a closer look at those happy people.
They are members of a group named Laughing Club, and when they get together, all they do is laugh.
Zhang Lixin, the founder of the club and regarded as the ‘laugh leader’, told the paper that laughing does him a lot of good. He started after he read some advice in a book and tried giggling after quarrelling with his wife to relax.
After laughing for a few days, Zhang found himself more outgoing and relaxed. Soon his wife joined him, bringing the family more laughter and less bickering.
When he got to know a kind of “laughing yoga” is good for the health, Zhang went to Bombay to learn from the locals and developed what he learned into more than 30 ways of laughing.
The “lion bellow (吼)”is to shout with the fingers outstretched near the ears. There is the “open mouth laugh”, the “bow-pulling laugh”, the “welcoming laugh” and even the “quarrelling laugh”, with different arm movements of laugh style.
The “laugh movement” swept over Shenzhen in a few of months, attracting tens of thousands of people to join, and has been followed in nearby cities such as Guangzhou.
Every morning at the lake front and at 8 pm on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at the mountain peak square in Lianhua Mountain Park, club members gather to laugh and shout loudly.From the first paragraph we know that _________________________.
| A．Guangzhou Daily is the source of the information |
| B．those happy people come from Guangzhou Daily |
| C．there is a Guangzhou Daily office near Laughing Club |
| D．Guangzhou Daily supported the laugh movement |
The people in Laughing Club laugh because they _____________________.
| A．live a happy life | B．always feel happy |
| C．just can’t help it | D．want to relax themselves |
Which of the underlined words has a meaning similar to “laughing”?
| A．Giggling. | B．Quarrelling. | C．Outgoing. | D．Bickering. |
According to the passage, when cannot you see club members practicing laughing in Lianhua Mountain Park?
| A．At 8 pm on Sunday. | B．At 8 pm on Monday. |
| C．At 8 pm on Friday. | D．At 8 pm on Wednesday. |
What’s the idea expressed by the last two paragraphs?
| A．The members of Laughing Club are increasing. |
| B．The laugh movement is becoming popular. |
| C．The laughing is done only in parks. |
| D．Laughing Club is practicing laughing hard. |
The British usually expect one or two snowfalls each year but the amount of snow rarely affects everyday life. However, this week Britain has had the worst snow it has seen in around 18 years. Some places had more than 30cm in a day.
The bad weather caused a lot of trouble. More than 3000 schools had to close as teachers and pupils were unable to get to school. School children weren’t too unhappy about it, though, as they headed out to play in the snow: building snowmen; having snowball fights; and some even snowboarding and skiing.
In London, bus services were withdrawn for a day and tubes and trains were cancelled. Major motorways in the country had to close. Many people were unable to get to work and it is thought the cost of this lost labor is around￡1 billion to businesses and the economy.
Anyone wanting to leave the country had problems too. Runways were closed at all the UK’s major airports because of the snow. Hundreds of flights were cancelled leaving many passengers stranded at airports.
So why is the UK so ill-prepared for snow? The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, explained that there aren’t enough snow-ploughs and other equipment and it doesn’t make sense to buy such equipment when it snows so infrequently.
The south-east of England was the hardest hit at the beginning of the week but the snow is now moving northwards where the chaos continues. More ice and snow is forecast throughout the week and the advice from travel and weather organizations is to stay indoors unless you really need to venture out!The bad weather caused the following troubles except
| A．school children headed out, playing in the snow |
| B．more than 3000 schools had been closed |
| C．bus services were withdrawn in London |
| D．hundreds of flights were cancelled |
The underlined word “stranded” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _____________.
| A．hungry | B．sleepy | C．trapped | D．excited |
We can infer from the passage that ____________________.
| A．few people will travel around in the future days |
| B．heavy snow will hit Britain more frequently in the future |
| C．only school children benefit from the heavy snow |
| D．employees are glad to be free because of the snow |
From what Boris Johnson said we can learn that _________________________.
| A．the UK will always be ill-prepared for heavy snow |
| B．the snow now moving northwards will cause no trouble |
| C．London can’t afford to buy snow-ploughs and other equipments |
| D．London doesn’t have enough snow-ploughs and other equipments |
Which of the following statements can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Hardest snow hit south-east of England. |
| B．Heavy snow caused chaos in Britain. |
| C．Unexpected snowfall, pleasant time for children. |
| D．Great loss to businesses and the economy in Britain. |
In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animal. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy.
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, bur sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others often. We try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At the moment I decided to do something I had never done in twenty four years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns!
When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But those are few and far between. More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we are brave when we are scared.The author has discovered that people will feel happy when ______.
| A．they offer their help |
| B．they receive others’ help |
| C．they feel others’ kindness |
| D．they show their weakness |
The author feels sad sometimes because ______.
| A．he has a soft heart |
| B．he relies much on others |
| C．some people pretend to be kind |
| D．some people fail to see the kindness in others |
What did the other drivers do when they saw the flashlights?
| A．They speed up to pass. |
| B．They waited with patience. |
| C．They tried their best to help. |
| D．They put on their flashlights too. |
In this passage, the author advises us to ______.
| A．handle problems by ourselves |
| B．accept help from others |
| C．admit our weakness |
| D．show our bravery |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Wheelchair Experience. |
| B．Weakness and Kindness. |
| C．Weakness and Strength |
| D．A Driving Experience |