Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity—or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we’re getting wiser and not just older. Most of us enjoy seeing the miracle of growth in others, as well. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process. But growing old? That’s a different story.
Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American culture. Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You’re as young as you feel.” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old. People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”.
Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden. Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by. Retirement at age 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care and housing. Some even experience age discrimination (歧视). In 1987, American sociologist Pat Moore dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets. She was often treated rudely—even cheated and robbed. However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect.
Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast. Why? People are living together. Fewer [来源:Z-x-x-k.Com]babies are being born. And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the groups of the elderly. America may soon be a place where wrinkles (皱纹) are “in”. Marketing experts are already noticing this group of consumers (消费者).The main idea of the third paragraph is________.
| A．the golden years can make the old earn lots of money |
| B．many old people in America are leading a hard life |
| C．the old in America have to retire at the age of 65 |
| D．American social security benefits are not good |
From the last paragraph we know that the underlined word “in” can be replaced by________.
| A．serious | B．bad |
| C．disappearing slowly | D．growing fast |
From this passage we can know________.
| A．in America, growing up is not a wonderful process |
| B．in America, growing up is as wonderful a process as growing old |
| C．in America, growing up is a wonderful process, while growing old is not |
| D．in America, growing old is a wonderful process, while growing up is not |
What should be mentioned in the following paragraph?
| A．The public will change their attitude towards old people. |
| B．People will provide more services to the old in their communities. |
| C．Companies will soon produce more goods for old Americans. |
| D．The government will pass laws to ensure the benefits of the people. |
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 neighbours.
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 neighbourhood 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 neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this 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(公寓房间) in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series (系列) 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 ‘Jonses’ 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 neighbours |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don’t want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to be happy |
It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
| A．live outside New York City |
B．live in New York City |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbours |
The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.
| A．a person who lives near another | B．people living in an area |
| C．an area near the place referred to | D．an area in another town or city |
According to the writer, it is ________to keep up with the Joneses.
| A．correct | B．interesting | C．impossible | D．good |
The actress bought a house in the centre of the city because _______.
| A．she liked to live in the busiest place |
| B．she didn’t like to live in the country |
| C．her home was far away from where she worked |
| D．she didn’t want to go back to her hometown any longer |
In order to make the painter work better for her, the actress ________.
| A．gave him two tickets for her show |
| B．sang and danced for him for hours |
| C．paid him 3 pounds |
| D．decided to pay him 15 shillings an hour |
The actress got the painter’s bill ______.
| A．to ask for the money of his painting work |
| B．to ask to pay for his watching her show |
| C．in which he showed his thanks for the tickets |
| D．in which he expressed his dissatisfaction |
It can be learned from the text that one pound is __________ shillings.
| A．10 | B．12 | C．20 | D．15 |
What kind of man was the painter?
| A．He was a careful man. |
| B．He was a poor man. |
| C．He was not friendly to others. |
| D．He knew little about music and dances. |
One silly question I simply can’t stand is “How do you feel?” Usually the question is asked of a man in action—a man on the go, walking along the streets, or busily working at his desk. So what do you expect him to say? He’ll probably say, “Fine, I’m all right,” but you have put a bug in his ear —maybe now he’s not sure. If you are a good friend, you may have seen something in his face, or his walk that he overlooked that morning. It starts worrying him a little. First thing you know, he looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily on your way asking someone else, “How do you feel?”
Every question has its time and p
lace. It’s perfectly acceptable, for instance, to ask “How do you feel?” if you’re visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to make a train, or sitting at his desk working, it’s no time to ask him that silly question.
When George Bernard Shaw, the famous writer of plays was in his eighties, someone asked him “How do you feel?” Shaw put him in his place. “When you reach my age,” he said, “either you feel all right or you’re dead.”The question “How do you feel?” seems to be correct and suitable when asked of_________.
| A．a friend who is ill | B．a ma n working at his desk |
| C．a person having lost a close friend | D．a stranger who looks somewhat worried |
G
eorge Bernard Shaw’s reply in the passage shows his________.
| A．cheerfulness | B．cleverness | C．ability | D．politeness |
The underlined ‘You’ve put a bug in his ear’ in the 1st paragraph means that you’ve _____.
| A．made him laugh | B．shown concern for him |
| C．made fun of him | D．given him some kind of warning |
Experts say that it is not easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” is the term specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. “There are three stages of culture shock,” say the specialists. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers begin to adjust to their surroundings and, as a result, enjoy their life more.
There are some obvious factors in culture shock. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems---the telephone, post office, or transportation---may be difficult to work out. The simplest things seem to be b
ig problems. The language may be difficult.
Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their home countries and were successful in their community. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same established positions. They find themselves without a role, almost without an identity.
They have to build a new self-image.
Culture shock gives rises to a feeling of disorientation (迷惘). This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create and escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience are the long-term solutions to the problem of culture shock. When people move to a new country, they _________.
| A．will get used to their new surroundings with difficulty |
| B．have well prepared for the new surroundings |
| C．will get used to the culture of the country quickly |
| D．will never be familiar with culture of the country |
According to the passage, factors that give rise to culture shock include all of the following except __________.
| A．language communication | B．weather conditions and customs |
| C．public service systems | D．homesickness |
When people are homesick, they tend to ________.
| A．find some people to talk to | B．go outside to have a walk |
| C．visit their friends far away | D．stay indoors all the time |
The writer tells us that the best way to overcome culture sho
ck is to _______.
| A．protect ourselves from unfamiliar environment | B．develop a strange sense of self-protection |
| C．get familiar with new culture | D．return to our own country |
Win a week in England!
You still don’t know what to do this summer? Well, here’s your chance to win a one-week language course in Kent, Engl
and! Free4Fun and ETC (English Travel Connections) are giving away two trips to Rochester. This historic city is less than an hour’s drive from London and close to the sea resort of Herne Bay. It is also the home of one of England’s most famous writers, Charles Dickens. The town of Rochester is in Southeast England. Charles Dickens often wrote about it in his books. His home, Gad’s Hill, is there, too. A popular attraction is Rochester Castle, a large Norman fortress（堡垒）. It was built in the 11th century and rebuilt during the 14th century. Other attractions are Rochester Cathedral, which was built during the 13th century, and Dickens Centre. It has got its name in honour of Dickens himself.
The trip to England includes:
* travel by train (via the Eurotunnel) to and from any railway station in Germany
* room and full board with a guest family for one week
* language course in small groups
* two trips to London
* large choice of sports and entertainment
* German-speaking advisors available 24 hours a day
Interested? All you have to do is to answer the following question: When was Charles Dickens born?
So, take the chance and send your answer by 1 May to:
Free4Fun "Rochester"
Free4Fun, 24 Elphinstone Road, Hastings, 2FQ6VJ
fax: 089 / 85 763-103 e-mail: free4fun@netlight.com
The two winners will be contacted directly before 5 May. They will also be announced in the June issue of Free4Fun. Good luck!
For further information, contact:
phone: (03212) 144 43 fax: (03212) 144 42e-mail: info@etc. comWhat activities can you participate in during the trip?
| A．Working as a language advisor. | B．Learning the German language. |
| C．Traveling by train with a guest family. | D．Enjoying sports and entertainment. |
If you want to win a prize you have to send your answer to.
| A．the June issue of Free4fun | B．free4fun@netlight. com |
| C．info@etc. com | D．ETC |
The personsare likely to win the free trip.
| A．who know the birth date of Charles Dickens |
| B．who are attracted by Rochester Castle |
| C．who are contacted and announced by Free4Fun and ETC |
| D．who know more about Charles Dickens’ works |
This ad was probably designed to target.
| A．Italians | B．Europeans | C．Germans | D．Americans |