Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents' home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站)about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend's. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I'd left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池)was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership - a shop selling cars - was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
"Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?" I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
"Thank you" - two powerful words. They're easy to say and mean so much.
The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City_________.
| A．to visit a friend |
| B．to see his parents |
| C．to pay at the cash register |
| D．to have more gas for his car |
The words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 mean “______”.
| A．turned off | B．moved off | C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because_______.
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．the meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show______.
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, while he was so normal. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, “Please let me go home… ”
Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee. ” Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?” He replied, “When I was a little boy, I was living near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee. I always think of my childhood and hometown.” While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. A man who can tell out his homesickness, must be a man who has responsibility of home. Then she started to speak about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.
That was a really nice beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her damands. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thank to his salty coffee! They got married. Every time she made coffee, she put some salt in the coffee, as she know that’s the way he liked it.
After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you—the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I went ahead. I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything. I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth; I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste. But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. If I call live for a second time. I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”
Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, “What's the taste of salty coffee?” she replied. “sweet,”The reason why the woman wanted to leave is that _______．
| A．the man was normal while the woman was outstanding |
| B．the woman was too nervous to stay |
| C．the woman felt uncomfortable to be with the man |
| D．the man asked for salty coffee |
Why did she think the salty coffee tasted sweet?
| A．Because the salty coffee represented her husband's endless love for her． |
| B．Because she mistook the sugar for salt． |
| C．Because her husband switched salt with sugar in her coffee． |
| D．Because the salty coffee was a white lie with a good intention． |
What can we learn from the man's letter?
| A．The man wasn't brave enough to tell the truth because he was scared of the woman, |
| B．The man had never thought of telling the truth before he was dying． |
| C．The man fell in love with the salty coffee gradually after many years of taking it out of his love for his wife． |
| D．The man would still, choose to drink salty coffee if he had to know and have her through it． |
In what way does the writer develop this story?
| A．Cause and effect． | B．Problem reasoning． |
| C．The time order． | D．Statistics analyzing, |
If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different.
If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.
Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses' convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. “Who is that?” the new arrival asked St. Peter. “Oh, that's God.” came the reply, “but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor.”
If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it'll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman's notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn't attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.
If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff(即兴的)remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often it's the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark.
Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote “If at first you don't succeed, give up” or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pick out a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor. To make your humor work, you should ________.
| A．take advantage of different kinds of audience |
| B．make fun of the disorganized people. |
| C．address different problems to different people. |
| D．show sympathy for your listeners. |
The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are ________.
| A．impolite to new arrivals. |
| B．very conscious of their godlike role. |
| C．entitled to some privileges. |
| D．very busy even during lunch hours. |
It can be inferred from the text that public services ________.
| A．have benefited many people. |
| B．are the focus of public attention. |
| C．are an inappropriate subject for humor. |
| D．have often been the laughing stock. |
To achieve the desired result, humorous stories should be delivered ________.
| A．in well-worded language. | B．as awkwardly as possible. |
| C．in exaggerated statement. | D．as casually as possible. |
The best title for the text may be ________.
| A．Use Humor Effectively. | B．Various Kinds of Humor. |
| C．Add Humor to Speech. | D．Different Humor Strategies. |
When Charles Strattion was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P.T.Barnum, and thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.
Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.“the talk of the town” means _________ .
| A．they were in the newspaper |
| B．people spread mean rumors about them |
| C．they were the most popular things happening |
| D．they were discussed in a city meeting |
What does the author think about Tom Thumb’s wedding?
| A．People gave it too much of their attention. |
| B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time. |
| C．It was funny and ridiculous. |
| D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid. |
Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?
| A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five. |
| B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age. |
| C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon. |
| D．He married a school teacher. |
It was very funny when Tom danced on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because ________ .
| A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom were tap dancing |
| B．it made Tom feel taller |
| C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted |
| D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller |
What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
| A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine. |
| B．People are always disappointed during wartime. |
| C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose. |
| D．People should be married even if they are small. |
Four hundred years ago, an Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei became the first person to see the craters（环形山） on the moon. Galileo was one of the first people to use a telescope to study the sky. Since then, telescopes have become the most important tool used by astronomers. Scientists never stop finding new ways to make these instruments more powerful. In the next several years, two new telescopes with different purposes are to be used.
One of the telescopes, called Pan-STARRS, could save humans from dying out. Nick Kaiser, a scientist who works on the project, says the Pan-STARRS telescope has been designed to find “90 percent of all killer asteroids(小行星) near Earth”.
Pan-STARRS, like most telescopes, uses mirrors and lenses(透镜) to provide pictures of outer space. Giant mirrors are used to “gather” light. They reflect the light onto the lens of a camera, which can then record the image.
When completed, Pan-STARRS will include four telescopes which will be put on top of a mountain on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Only one telescope is in place and working now. Each telescope will take pictures of one patch of sky for about 30 seconds, and then move on to another patch. Every night, each telescope will take pictures of about 1,000 patches. Every week, each telescope will have photographed the whole sky.
Each of the four telescopes will take pictures of the same patches of sky. One telescope, working alone, may sometimes incorrectly show an asteroid. If there are three other telescopes working, astronomers can use them to see if there really is an asteroid coming our way. By using four telescopes instead of one, scientists hope to get a better picture of space. If a giant asteroid was identified, astronomers would try to break it up long before it reached Earth. Galileo Galilei is mentioned to ____________.
| A．tell us the history of telescopes |
| B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．show people his contributions |
| D．tell us about the craters on the moon |
For what purpose is Pan-STARRS designed?
| A．To find more asteroids around Earth. |
| B．To help scientists know Earth better. |
| C．To find killer asteroids coming towards Earth. |
| D．To learn about asteroids in outer space. |
What is paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．The use of mirrors in a telescope. |
| B．Why Pan-STARRS is different. |
| C．How telescope “gather” light |
| D．How a telescope works. |
How many patches is the whole sky divided into when Pan-STARRS is working?
| A．1,000 | B．7,000 | C．21,000 | D．28,000 |
The four telescopes will take pictures of the same patches of sky because _____.
| A．one telescope often takes unclear pictures |
| B．one telescope may provide incorrect information |
| C．information from just one telescope is usually incorrect |
| D．no information is allowed to be identified based on single information |
The Global Heritage Fund organization recently released a list of cultural treasures in the developing world that are in danger of disappearing. These“On the Verge” places face many threats. They included war, development pressures, stealing and misuse by visitors. The Global Heritage Fund says these places are important because they are records of our human civilization. And the group says countries can learn to use these treasures to help support responsible development in the future.
One such place is the town of Lamu. Lamu was once a very important trading center in East Africa. This ancient city became part of the United Nations Heritage list in 2001. But it still faces threats. For example, a modern port might be built nearby.
Other endangered places include Ani, a city in Turkey, the town of Maluti in India, the ancient city of Ninevah in northern Iraq, the Sans-Souci palace in Haiti, and the former capital of Ayutthaya in Thailand.
The Global Heritage Fund is nonprofit organization based in California. The group says it only focuses on developing countries which often have few resources to protect places of cultural importance. And, other major cultural organizations often pay more attention to protecting places in the developed world. For example, the fund points out the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has forty-five World Heritage places in Italy. UNESCO has forty-two in Spain. But Peru, famous for its ancient Incan buildings, has only nine World Heritage places. Guatemala has only three.
The Global Heritage Fund says its new report tries to place a value on cultural places so that they can also be considered as economic resources. It estimates that by 2025 these places of cultural importance could produce one hundred billion dollars a year in income for developing countries. The underlined part “On the Verge” in Paragraph 1 is used to show the places are _____.
| A．popular | B．famous |
| C．endangered | D．dangerous |
The town of Lamu faces danger from ________.
| A．development pressures | B．stealing |
| C．misuse by visitors | D．a war |
We can know that The Global Heritage Fund organization mainly _____.
| A．protects places of cultural importance in developing countries |
| B．protects places of cultural importance in developed countries |
| C．provide resources to protect cultural places in every country |
| D．helps people know the importance of protecting cultural treasures |
Which of the following countries has the fewest World Heritage places?
| A．Italy | B．Guatemala |
| C．Peru | D．Spain |
According to The Global Heritage Fund organization, saving the places of cultural
importance_______.
| A．has attracted a lot of attention worldwide |
| B．will start to benefit developing countries in 2015 |
| C．is mainly to increase income of developing countries |
| D．can help developing countries make money out of them |
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