According to Jessica Hagy,author of How to Be Interesting,it's not difficult to make yourself interesting at a dinner party.
16 ,if you're out of your comfort zone or if you're wandering into somebody's house for the first time. So the main thing is just to show up and be adventurous, trying different foods and talking to strangers.
People love to talk about themselves. If you can start the conversation with aquestion other than "What do you do for a living?", you'll be able to get a lot more interesting conversation out of whomever it is you're talking to. 17 . it can bring in "I have this old, broken-down vehicle" or "I rode the bus with these crazy people who were laughing at silly jokes in the back." It just opens up conversation.
1 8 ? If you can't take their wine away , you should certainly try to take away their soapbox (讲台). If you're the host, you can ask them to help you in the kitchen with something and just remove them from the situation. 19 .
And what about that other dinner-party killer :awkward silence? If you're faced with an awkward silence at a dinner party, the only thing that always gets everyone talking again is to give the host a compliment (赞扬). 20 .Just quickly turn around and say,"This cake is extremely delicious and you have to tell me all about it."
So being interesting at a dinner party isn't that hard.
A.How do you know the host
B.The first step is to go exploring
C.If you ask the question" How did you get here?"
D.Be prepared to have awkward conversations with strangers
E.Or turn the conversation into a topic where they have little to say
F.What about that person who has had too much to drink or won't stop talking
G.He or she is the person who is feeling the weight of that awkwardness the most
Every time I passed boys who were playing basketball, I stopped to silently watch them. I really envied them. But as a girl, I once thought that I could play basketball.
I like playing basketball though I'm not good at it. I've had a basketball I was a child. At first, I could play freely because no one when I was just a kid. But as I grew up it seemed harder and harder for me to enjoy basketball.
At school, it was always the boys who played basketball during PE classes. The girls were allowed to play volleyball or badminton.
My parents did not me play basketball at home. "Basketball is not fit for girls," they said. I went to play basketball with my friends, boys at me on the court as if I were an alien.
I was feeling and had lost hope of playing basketball. , something changed the first day of high school. I made some friends who also enjoyed playing basketball. They me to get back on the court.
One of them told me with a smile, "Go your own , let others talk." This girl would always play basketball with me. Even the boy who sat next to me in class talked about with me almost every day.
I was inspired by them. Confidence and passion to my heart. I am ready to stand up and play. I will play as well as I can, for me, even the sky is boundless(无垠的).
Basketball has become an important part of my . I am interested in it. I watch matches and enjoy playing almost every day. Through basketball, not only do I feel happy and confident, but also a lot.
I've heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, "Nothing is impossible." It is from an advertisement on TV. I have to realize that life is just like playing basketball. You should have an . After that, just be confident and going. Never give up and you'll make it sooner or later.
I love the motto of the NBA. It can my strong feelings for basketball, "I love this game!"
A.ever B.often C.never D.always
A.when B.before C.after D.since
A.struggled B.cared C.enjoyed D.joined
A.only B.almost C.hardly D.not
A.encourage B.agree C.let D.permit
A.Still B.Yet C.Just D.Even
A.looked B.glared C.glanced D.stared
A.up B.down C.excited D.satisfied
A.Unluckily B.Naturally C.Unexpectedly D.Clearly
A.encouraged B.forbade C.ensured D.explored
A.effort B.way C.business D.direction
A.basketball B.sports C.interests D.dreams
A.stuck B.referred C.turned D.returned
A.but B.though C.and D.however
A.wish B.life C.work D.study
A.experience B.grow C.learn D.play
A.come B.turned C.refused D.happened
A.idea B.aim C.opinion D.effort
A.insist B.remain C.keep D.last
A.inform B.express C.ignore D.connect
Once upon a time, there was a bird in a cage who sang for her merchant(商人) owner. He was very happy with her . Before he left for a business trip one day, he asked if she had a wish: “I will go through the forest where you were born. What should I take for the birds there?” The bird said, “Tell them I am full of sorrow in a cage singing my captive (被监禁的)song and I’m cut off from all of life’s sweet things. I hope it won’t be long before I can fly _ through the trees with them again.”
When the merchant reached the forest, he stopped and said, “Dear birds! to you all from my pretty bird locked in her cage. She asks for a from you. She wants to join you, but I would her beautiful song and cannot let her go.” Suddenly one bird screamed and to the ground.
Nothing else could be more shocking. The merchant thought it was dead. He continued on to the city and his goods. On returning home, the merchant said, “I do not know what happened. I told them your message. Then, one of them fell down dead.”
Suddenly the bird a terrible scream and fell on her head to the bottom of the cage. The merchant was terrified and wept in . He opened the cage door and took her into his hands carefully. The bird suddenly flew up, then out of the window and on the nearest tree. She turned to him and said gratefully,” I really appreciate your delivering my message. That bird instructed me how to my freedom. All I had to do was to pretend to be dead.”
A.cry B.poem C.speech D.song
A.report B.conversation C.message D.invitation
A.carefully B.proudly C.luckily D.freely
A.Thanks B.rewards C.Greetings D.Congratulations
A.reply B.story C.joke D.letter
A.avoid B.miss C.ignore D.quit
A.flew B.ran C.fell D.jumped
A.afforded B.served C.offered D.traded
A.let out B.worked out C.thought out D.found out
A.surprise B.interest C.hopelessness D.curiosity
A.hid B.started C.hit D.landed
A.fight B.treat C.win D.strike
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
I live in a big city with a lot of homeless people. Luckily there’re small ways of helping them and you needn’t have a lot of . One way to help is to buy their monthly magazine. doing this one day, I got to a young homeless man. He was often the magazine at the train station.
He was a poor farmer from another country. After a while, I discovered that his was close to mine. It that we were born in the same month.
I met him last year after his birthday. and after congratulating(祝贺)him, without ,I asked if he had had a good day. He and said that he hadn’t really celebrated. I felt so .
I just couldn’t bear the thought of (不敢想)this nice, young man being on his 25th birthday with no presents, no cake, nothing ! So I went home and looked in my yarn(纱线)basket. for me, I had enough yarn .I set to work and knitted(编织)a for the young man. The yarn had become a little dirty I didn’t knit very often. Then I washed the yarn so the scarf would be when he got it.
I met him on my own birthday as I was going shopping. I had to meet him so I had the scarf and a piece of my own birthday around with me. He was very happy with these gifts and so was I .The in his eyes was the best present he could have given me!
A.work B.energy C.money D. experience
A.In B.On C.Besides D.By
A.realize B.ignore C.know D.recognize
A.selling B.reading C.covering D.buying
A.birthday B.house C.height D.hobby
A.said B.found C.guessed D.meant
A.long B.shortly C.ever D.even
A.stopping B.helping C.praising D.thinking
A.looked up B.turned up C.looked down D.got down
A.foolish B.excited C.clever D.worried
A.calm B.happy C.alone D.hungry
A.Suddenly B.Luckily C.Badly D.However
A.used B.done C.left D.produced
A.scarf B.cap C.sock D.glove
A.when B.because C.so D.and
A.different B.dry C.wet D.clean
A.liked B.hoped C.promised D.agreed
A.made B.thrown C.received D.carried
A.cake B.present C.song D.party
A.light B.pain C.sight D.tear
It was my birthday last Thursday. I decided to it by inviting a few friends out to supper. I chose a restaurant in a part of town. It is one of my favorite restaurants because the food is good and the waiters are friendly. It is ever crowded, because not many people know about it, so it is not usually to book a table. In any case, Thursday is not a busy evening .
When we entered the restaurant, we were surprised to find it completely . I looked around but not a single table was . One of the waiters recognized me. He came over and the situation. "A party of tourists came in about half an hour ago.” he said. " Suddenly the place was full! We can hardly manage. "
The waiter then pointed to a table in the corner. "The people there are about to "he said, "Just and you'll find a place there." He was right. Fifteen minutes later,he people at the corner table paid their , got up and left. I led my friends and we all sat down.
Unluckily our table was almost out of . We tried to call the attention of the waiter sent us there, but he, like all the other waiters, was with the party of tourism. They ordered lots of food. At last, an hour later, the tourists were leaving and looking very with life. The waiter now very tired, appeared at our table. I my friends about the best dishes and finally the waiter went off with our order.
A few moments later he returned to our table. We could tell from his face that he had for us. Looking a little , he told us that there was no meat fish left. "All we can offer you" he said, "is an omelet(煎蛋卷) !"
A.remember B.celebrate C.memorize D.congratulate
A.quiet B.calm C.busy D.silent
A.hard B.often C.hardly D.always
A.necessary B.possible C.important D.certain
A.as before B.as a matter of fact C.as usual D.as is known to all
A.empty B.full C.noisy D.quiet
A.busy B.crowded C.free D.double
A.changed B.improved C.faced D.explained
A.start B.finish C.end D.pay
A.never mind B.come on C.hold on D.no problem
A.menu B.bill C.order D.note
A.over B.across C.beyond D.between
A.sight B.place C.reach D.control
A.whom B.which C.he D.who
A.satisfied B.busy C.happy D.strict
A.exciting B.tired C.pleased D.disappointing
A.calmed B.advised C.ignored D.warned
A.bad news B.good dishes C.useful tips D.nice presents
A.friendly B.surprised C.sorry D.tiring
A.and B.but C.so D.or
完型填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
Water costs money.In some places water is hard .What when a town
has these problems?A small town in California found a happy .
Very rain ever fell there.The town had no water .The water it used was from a river 300 miles away.As more people live in the town water was needed.Now water to be brought in from 600 miles away.All these cost money.
The town a plan.It found to clean its “dirty” water.Once the cleaned water was reused many ways.Five lakes were built.Here people could swim and fish and go .They have picnics in their new parks.Farmers had more water their crops.New factories can be built,now that they have the promise of .
In most places,water is used and thrown .The town that saved water
has saved the town!
A.supplying B.getting C.to get D.to supply
A.happens B.happening C.is happened D.happened
A.key B.answer C.answering D.way
A.little B.a little C.few D.a few
A.of itself B.of its own C.for its own D.for itself
A.fetch B.take C.brought in D.guided
A.come to B.came to C.coming to D.came for
A.many B.plenty of C.more D.many more
A.has B.had C.must D.needed
A.many B.a few C.a great many D.a lot of
A.put B.made C.supply D.noticed
A.a way B.ways C.an answer D.a key
A.for B.by C.at D.in
A.man-making B.man-make C.man-made D.man made
A.boating B.to boat C.to boating D.on boating
A.must B.could C.needed D.had to
A.as B.with C.for D.to
A.water enough B.enough water C.crops enough D.enough crops
A.off B.of C.away D.out of
A.it’s B.its C.one’s D.his