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On behalf of the Obama family，I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving．
Like many of you． we'll spend the day with family and friends，catching up，eating some good food and watching a little football．Before we lift a fork，we lend a hand by going out in the community to serve some of our neighbors in need．And we give thanks for each other， and for all of God's blessings．We all share this day，united by the gratitude for the bounty（慷慨） of this nation．
And we welcome the contributions of all people-no matter their origin or color or beliefs-who call America home， and who enrich the life of our nation． It is a belief as old as our founding：“Epluribus unum” -- that out of many，we are one． We are reminded that this creed， and America itself was never an inevitability， but the result of ordinary people in every generation doing their part to uphold our founding ideals-by taking the blessings of freedom， and multiplying them for those who would follow．
As President Kennedy once wrote， even as we give thanks for all that we've inherited from those who came before us-“the decency（庄重，正派） of purpose， steadfastness（坚定）of resolve and strength of will， for the courage and the humility， which they possessed．” we must also remember that “the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them．”
Today，we are grateful to all Americans who do their part to live by those ideals， including our brave men and women in uniform overseas and their families， who sacrifice so much to keep America safe．We are grateful to the countless Americans who serve their communities in soup kitchens and shelters，looking out for those who are less fortunate，and lifting up those who have fallen on hard times．
This generosity， this compassion， this belief that we are each other's keepers， is essential to who we are， not just on this day，but every day．It's easy to focus on what separates us．But as we gather with loved ones on this Thanksgiving， let's remember and be grateful for what ties us together．
Our love of country．Our commitment to justice and equality．Our belief that America's best days are ahead，and that her destiny is ours to shape-and that our inherited ideals must be the birthright of all of our children．
That's what today is all about：that out of many，we are one．Thank you， God bless you．
What makes America as it is today？
| A．The blessings of God． |
| B．The persistent efforts of all Americans． |
| C．The contributions of people from different origin． |
| D．The bonus of World War II． |
As is mentioned several times in the passage， the sentence “out of many， we are one” implies
| A．although we come from different places， now we share the same culture． |
| B．onjy if we unite as one can we make a better world． |
| C．we are unique ones picked out by God． |
| D．among the many countries in the world， America is the best one to live in． |
What's the purpose by referring to President Kennedy's saying？
| A．To testify what we have today is inherited from our ancestors． |
| B．To emphasis the importance of giving thanks to our forefathers and fellows． |
| C．To remind people to share happiness with others． |
| D．To encourage every American to do their own part in building the country． |
President Obama's speech is made to ．
①call on Americans to unite together and help each other
② raise money to help the people in need
③clarify how the Thanksgiving comes into being
④express thanks to those who serve people at home or abroad
| A．①② | B．③④ | C．②③ | D．①④ |
William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright (剧作家). Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are Ｒｏｍｅｏ ａｎｄ Ｊｕｌｉｅｔ, Ａ Ｍｉｄｓｕｍｍｅｒ Ｎｉｇｈｔ’ｓ Ｄｒｅａｍ and Ｈａｍｌｅｔ — the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people’s conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy Ｒｏｍｅｏ ａｎｄ Ｊｕｌｉｅｔ was reborn as the musical Ｗｅｓｔ Ｓｉｄｅ Ｓｔｏｒｙ and more recently as the movie Ｒｏｍｅｏ ａｎｄ Ｊｕｌｉｅｔ with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you’ve ever said, “Oh, for goodness sake!” you can thank Shakespeare for that. “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” Hamlet says. “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow,” says Juliet to her Romeo.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare’s characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.
It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It’s worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage.” And in his plays you’ll find that an entire world is waiting for you.Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT ________.
| A．Juliet | B．Hamlet | C．Claire Danes | D．Romeo |
From Paragraph 3 we can learn that ________.
| A．most of the characters created by Shakespeare were negative ones |
| B．most of the phrases used today were invented by Shakespeare |
| C．“Oh, for goodness sake!” is what Juliet says to Romeo |
| D．Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of English |
Which of the following is a reason why it’s difficult to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays?
| A．There are many new words in his plays. |
| B．He wrote his plays using uncommon words. |
| C．The characters in his plays speak in poetry. |
| D．Most of the words in his plays are outdated. |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．most of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into films |
| B．language changes with the development of society |
| C．Shakespeare made lots of money from his works |
| D．it is more useful to read Shakespeare’s works than to watch them |
Say sorry to your wife---it may help her live longer, according to scientists.
“Sorry” may be the hardest word, but scientists say it could be one of the healthiest. Researchers have discovered that women who receive an apology for hurtful behavior suffer less stress and possible damage to their heart than those who don’t.
It is said that the heartbeat of a wronged woman returns to normal 20 percent quicker after a well-timed “sorry” than without it. But for men, their heartbeat takes longer to recover, according to the research.
The research was undertaken by American scientists using 29 men and 59 women whose diastolic blood pressure was measured throughout an experiment. Diastolic blood pressure
is a measure of pressure in the blood vessels( 血管 ) between heartbeats---if it is continuously high it can increase the chances of heart attacks.
The men and women were asked to undertake a difficult mathematical task. They were told they had five minutes to complete it but were disturbed after a minute and told rudely to carry out the task more quickly. They were disturbed twice more before five minutes had passed and told to speed up. Finally they were told, “ You’re obviously not good enough.” Two minutes later researchers said sorry to half of the men and women.
The researchers found that, on average, the women’s diastolic blood pressure dropped back to normal 20 percent---quicker if they received an apology from the researchers, while the men’s took 20 percent longer to return to normal. One of the researchers said, “Results indicates that the effects of apology and forgiveness on women are greater.” The term “sorry” is considered as one of the healthiest words because it _________.
| A．is the most powerful |
| B．can cure heart disease |
| C．helps people forget hurtful behavior |
| D．can reduce pressure and damage to the heart |
We can know from Paragraph 3 _________.
| A．women’s hearts beat faster than men’s |
| B．women are quicker at making apologies |
| C．men can forgive others’mistakes more easily than women |
| D．men stay angry for a longer time than women after receiving an apology |
Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for events in the study?
a. Half of them received apologies.
b. They were disturbed a minute later.
c. They were told that they weren’t good enough.
d. They were asked to finish a math task in five minutes.
e. They were disturbed two more times during the study.
| A．d-b-c-e-a | B．d-c-b-a-e | C．d-b-e-c-a | D．d-c-b-e-a |
The research confirmed (证实) that _________.
| A．men are unwilling to apologize to others for their mistakes |
| B．men’s chances of getting heart attacks are higher than women’s |
| C．women can benefit more from receiving apologies than men |
| D．people can also get healthy benefits from giving apologies |
A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).
The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.
The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?
| A．Because the tower blocked the way of their tourists. |
| B．Because the tower had the same building style as theirs. |
| C．Because they hoped that the tower could lean slightly. |
| D．Because they hoped that visitors just liked their own tower. |
The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．
| A．test | B．raise | C．damage | D．strengthen |
When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.
| A．very anxious |
| B．very happy |
| C．very ashamed of themselves |
| D．angry at the people in the neighboring city |
What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?
| A．All that ends well is well. |
| B．Every dog has his day. |
| C．A bad beginning makes a bad ending. |
| D．A friend is never known till a man has need. |
The Jungle Book
Lost in the jungles of India as a child and adopted into a family of wolves, Mowgli is brought up on a diet of Jungle Law, loyalty, and fresh meat from the kill. Regular adventures with his friends and enemies in the jungles improve this child’s strength and cleverness and stir every reader’s imagination.
Price: $ 7.79
ISBN-13: 978-1613820742
Average Customer Review: ★★★★☆
A Stolen Life
The first work of its kind—Jaycee Dugard’s personal life story, her own story of being kidnapped (绑架) in 1991. When Jaycee was eleven years old, she was kidnapped from a school bus stop. She was missing for more than eighteen years, and gave birth to two daughters during her imprisonment (监禁).
Price: $ 19.79
ISBN-13: 978-1442344983
Average Customer Review:★★★★★
While We’re Far Apart
Five-time Christy Award winner Lynn Austin is called as “one of the style’s best historical fiction novelists”. Set in Brooklyn, New York, during World War Ⅰ，while a motherless girl longs for her daddy and a young lady hopes for a second chance at love, this tale explores the uncertainty that stays in people.
Price:$ 6.00
ISBN-10: 0764204971
Average Customer Review:★★★★☆
The Fashion Police
The Fashion Police was in the second place in the Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition 2010 and nominated (提名) Best Novel with Romantic Elements 2010 by The Romance Reviews. It is a strange comedy-mystery, combining murder and with romance.
Price: $ 12.73
ISBN-13: 978-1451555653
Average Customer Review: ★★★☆☆If you are interested in personal life stories, then you can choose the book _________.
| A．A Stolen Life | B．The Jungle Book |
| C．The Fashion Police | D．While We’re Far Apart |
The ISBN of the book that is most popular among the readers is _______.
| A．ISBN-13: 978-1613820742 | B．ISBN-13: 978-1442344983 |
| C．ISBN-10: 0764204971 | D．ISBN-13: 978-1451555653 |
What makes the book The Fashion Police distinguish itself from others?
| A．It wins the award Christy Award five times. |
| B．It is a great book on violence and family education. |
| C．It is nominated Best Novel with Romantic Elements 2010. |
| D．It has many elements borrowed from stories of true policemen. |
Deciding which English-speaking country to study in wasn’t difficult for Ann; She had always wanted to visit America. “I wanted to study in an English-language country and I always wanted to visit America because it always seemed to me a very beautiful and friendly country.” Ann is more than happy with the quality of the education she is receiving in America, particularly with the subjects and strong academic support.“ I am very happy with the quality of education I am receiving. All my subjects are useful and connected. I am happy with help I receive from the lecturers and tutors.”
Also of particular satisfaction for Ann is the practical element of her American course. “I find it very important and useful. The theory is a good thing to know but nothing gives you more skills and knowledge than practical work.”
Where her future employment is concerned, Ann is very confident her American qualification will be of great help. “I know that getting a degree here is a good thing for my future; it can open many doors in Poland or anywhere else in the world.”
Ann is also really enjoying life in America; She is making friends and taking time out to enjoy herself. “People are very friendly and helpful. University is a good place to find new friends from America and from overseas. It is a friendly environment with lots of things to do, not only studying. And of course there are the beaches, not to mention the beautiful weather.”The purpose of writing this passage is to _________.
| A．tell us Ann’s decision to settle in America |
| B．tell us Ann is accustomed to life in America |
| C．introduce Ann’s happy study and life in America |
| D．introduce more about Ann to help her make friends |
Why did Ann decide to study in America?
| A．Her parents persuaded her to do so. |
| B．She has relatives and best friends here. |
| C．Her boyfriend was studying here too then. |
| D．She has dreamed of studying here for long. |
What makes Ann particularly satisfied in America?
| A．The comfortable climate and easy lifestyle. |
| B．The help from her host families and teachers. |
| C．The American courses have more practical elements. |
| D．The friends here are mostly from English-speaking countries. |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．Ann will try all her best to ensure to get a degree. |
| B．Ann’s degree will help her find a job easily at home and abroad. |
| C．Ann will certainly go back to Poland to work after graduation. |
| D．With the degree received in America, Ann will never be out of work. |