“People are ruder today because they are rushed and more ‘time poor’ than ever before,” says Patsy Rowe, “ Manners have fallen off the radar(雷达).” Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder that more people don’t wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with complaining about the noise. Here are some examples of rudeness.
Some people prefer to do almost everything over the Internet. To them, dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward. It feels very slow because humans don’t work at 4G speeds. When you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life-changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. What is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous（匿名的）rude messages by email.
However, rudeness is never acceptable. Don’t assume it is OK to be rude if the person you’re in touch with won’t recognize you. If you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.
We shouldn’t blame technology for our shortcomings. Technology is here to help us, but we should not allow it to take over our lives. An important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we’d publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?
| A．People can tell good from bad behavior. |
| B．Radar is able to observe human behavior. |
| C．People care little about their behavior. |
| D．Radar can be used to predict human behavior. |
Some people are less willing to deal with humans because__________.
| A．they are becoming less patient |
| B．they are growing too independent |
| C．they have to handle many important messages |
| D．they have to follow an evolutionary step backward. |
The author thinks sending unsigned awful messages is ___________.
| A．Ridiculous | B．disgusting |
| C．acceptable | D．reasonable |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．We should applaud good behavior. |
| B．Technology can never be blamed |
| C．We should keep pointing out mistakes. |
| D．Technology will take over lives one day. |
Inside the pleasingly fragrant café, So All May Eat(SAME) in downtown Denver, the spirit of generosity is instantly noticeable: A donation box stands in place of a cash register. Customers here pay only what they can afford, no questions asked.
A risky business plan, perhaps, but SAME Café has done one unchangeable thing in the Mile High City for six years: Open only at midday, the restaurant provides poor local people with healthy, delicious lunches six days a week. Those unable to pay for their meals can instead volunteer as waiters and waitresses, and dishwashers, or look after the buildings and equipment for the cafe.
"It's based on trust, and it's working all right" , says co-owner Brad Birky , who started the café in 2006. With his wife Libby. Previously volunteering at soup kitchens, the Birkys were dissatisfied with the often unhealthy meals they served there.
"We wanted to offer quality food in a restaurant where everyone felt comfortable ,regardless of their circumstances," Birky says. SAME's special lunch menu changes daily and most food materials are natural and grown by local farmers.
The café now averages 65 to 70 customers (and eight volunteers) a day. And the spirit of generosity behind the project appears to be spreading. In early 2007,one volunteer who had cleared snow for his meals during the long winter said goodbye to the Birkys," He said he was going to New Orleans to help with the hurricane cleanup," says Birky.
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What can we learn about the soup kitchens the Birkys prcviously worked for?
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| 2． |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
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| 3． |
The author's attitude towards running such a café is
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Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.
A wise teacher once told me that every teenager needs to experience a not-so-fun first job from working at a grocery store to the fast food industry.
Now I still remember my first day at a fast food restaurant three years ago. I wanted to save up money and buy my own car, so I applied everywhere I could that summer. The restaurant called me right away and I thought to myself, this is going to be easy. Within four hours of my first shift (.轮班)， I had angry customers who complained how slow I was. I watched in fear as a kid spilled his milk everywhere, and I heard the words that no 16-year-old boy or anyone for that matter wants to hear: "Mike, there's a problem in the men's bathroom and you might want gloves for this one." I realized right away that working at the restaurant was not going to be a picnic. The manager expected a clean environment and, particularly, fast service with a friendly smile.
Over three years later I still work at that restaurant whenever I go home during vacations. I love my co-workers there and all the customers know who I am. Every morning the same senior citizens come in and get their morning coffees. They chat with us workers and joke around. Our smiles have just as much to do with them making us a part of their everyday lives as the coffee does.
From my first job at the restaurant, I learned teamwork and devotion. I also learned staying positive no matter how rough things seem to get. I will forever carry the experience that I gained at the restaurant with me as I go forward in my life.Why did the author apply everywhere that summer?
(No more than 12 words) (2 marks)What did the manager particularly expect the workers to do?
(No more than 14 words) (3 marks)Why does the author still work at the restaurant during vacations?
(No more than 13 words) (2 marks)What did the author learn from his first job?
(No mom dm II words) (3 marks)
Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable (可生物降解的) material inspired by insects' hard outer shells. The material's inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from shrimp ('虾) shells and proteins produced from silk, is called "shrilk." It is thin, clear, flexible and strong.
A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic's toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and '60s. Decades later, however, plastic's very durability (耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?
Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer(肥料), and so will enrich the soil.
Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.
Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they're exploring ways to use it in wet environments. They're also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They're even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.Paragraph I of the passage is mainly about shritk's_____.
| A．remarkable design | B．interesting name |
| C．major features | D．basic elements |
What has become a concern about plastic?
| A．Using it properly. |
| B．Producing it cheaply. |
| C．Developing its properties quickly. |
| D．Evaluating its contributions fairly. |
According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because_____.
| A．it can help plastic degrade |
| B．it can be found in living things |
| C．its mass production has been realized |
| D．its raw materials are abundant in mature |
What are the inventors doing in the lab?
| A．Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk. |
| B．Testing ahrilk's use in wet conditions. |
| C．Making shrilk out of used household goods. |
| D．Improving shrilk's flexibility for medical purposes. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Recent Progress in Environmental Protection |
| B．Benefits of Insects in Scientific Research |
| C．The Harm of One-time Products |
| D．A Possible Alternative to Plastic |
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.
King's Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend tees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to 'learn from the masters' or get more creative with paint ---- free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called 'Hissing Sid' is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron's Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University, Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of "mess and drunkenness". However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his roans. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron's Pool. A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don't trust me, then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf- ----over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.
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As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for.
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"Torch Aloe" and "Venus Flytrap" are.
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We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed.
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In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake.
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What is the passage mainly about?
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What makes a gift special? Is it the price you see on the gift receipt? Or is it the look on the recipient's face when they receive it that determines the true value? What gift is worth the most?
This Christmas I was debating what to give my father. My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything. I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father. My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming. and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower, a lone dandelion standing against the bright blue sky, inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father.
I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream-colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind. The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe; my dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was focused around dreaming, and after searching I found the perfect picture. The image was painted with blues and greens and purples, twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer, the white paper coloring with words that shaped my childhood. I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate.
Christmas soon arrived. The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he unwrapped those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame, I knew I had given the perfect gift.The idea for a special gift began to form when the author was______.
| A．doing shopping | B．having a debate |
| C．reading a message | D．leaving for Wyoming |
The author's inspiration for the gift came from_____.
| A．a photo of a flower | B．a story about a kid |
| C．a call from the mother | D．a text about Christmas |
The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refers to a poem by_____.
| A．the father | B．the author |
| C．William Blake | D．Edgar Allan Poe |
The author made the gift by_____.
| A．searching for the poems online |
| B．drawing the background by hand |
| C．painting the letters in three colors |
| D．matching the words with pictures |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To show how to design images for gifts. |
| B．To suggest making gifts from one's heart. |
| C．To explain how computers help create gifts. |
| D．To describe the gifts the author has received |