In the United States, friendships can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if circumstances change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may change Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it left off and are delighted.
In the States, you can feel free to visit people’s homes, share their holidays, enjoy their children and their lives without fear that you are taking on a lasting obligation. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality because you cannot give it in return, No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.
Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full and warm and real. Most visitors find themselves readily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain at home, offering what is felt as “merely” home cooked food, not ”doing something” for your guest. It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for various other reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family customs, outsiders are not invited into homes.
In the United States, both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one’s home than to a public place, expect in purely business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior treatment.
Don’t feel neglected if you do not find flowers awing you in your hotel room either. Flowers are very expensive there, and hotel delivery is uncertain that the arrival times are delayed, changed, or canceled — so flowers are not customarily sent as a welcoming touch. Please do not feel unwanted! Outward signs vary in different lands; the inward welcome is what matters, and this will be real.
1. In the United States, you will find friendships _____ if circumstances change.
A. die suddenly B. pass away
C. disappear gradually D. last forever
2. Americans ______ their foreign friends to make a return for their hospitality.
A. ask B. wish C. never allow D. don’t expect
3. In some other countries, giving a dinner party at home is considered ____ than in a restaurant.
A. less friendly B. less hospitable
C. more natural D. more popular
4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Flowers are available at all time
B. Flowers are expensive.
C. Flowers are signs of outward welcome.
D. Flowers are not necessarily sent to guests.
5. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A. American Hospitality B. American Friendship
C. American Invitation D. American Welcome
When you're surfing the Internet on your laptop from your dorm or home, do you know your personal details are being gathered secretly? And would you be surprised to know the information may be sold cheaply to advertisers and marketers?
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, all it takes is a tiny file in a computer-a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters-to record the computer user's age, gender, location, favorite movies and hobbies.
The newspaper reports that Lotame Solutions Inc.，a New York company, uses sophisticated （高科技）software called a "beacon" to capture what people are typing on a website.
Lotame packages that data into profiles （个人资料）about individuals, only without their names, and sells the profiles to companies seeking customers. Batches of such data may be sold for a few dollars.
Hie Wall Street Journal survey discovered that spying on Internet users is one of the fastest-growing businesses on the World Wide Web.
The "cookie"-a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your preferences for one site, or to track you across many sites is already old news. There are new and more complex tools such as " beacons " which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage. These bea-cons instantly assess the Internet user's location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.
Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented （空前的）threats. Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.
Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous and the data is used harmlessly. But the technology has grown so powerful that even some of the biggest websites in the US don't know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers. These include MSN. com and Yahoo, com.
Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you've been planning to buy, don't be amazed that your computer can read your mind.The purpose of the passage is to __________.
| A．introduce a tiny file in a computer-a single code |
| B．show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet |
| C．show how to protect your privacy |
| D．introduce a sophisticated software called a "beacon" |
It can be inferred that __________.
| A．because the data is used harmlessly the Internet users around the world will not face threats |
| B．when a person surf the Internet, his personal details may be let out without his knowledge |
| C．your computer can really read your mind |
| D．MSN. com and Yahoo, com use software to capture what people are typing on a website |
According to the passage，"beacon"__________.
| A．is a tiny text file put on your PC by websites |
| B．is a soft ware that can package that data into profiles about individuals |
| C．can assess the Internet user's location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions |
| D．is not more complex than the "cookie" |
What's the writer's attitude to this problem?
| A．Neutral. | B．Worried. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Indifferent. |
Traveling in Viet Nam was like visiting a mysterious neighbor. You have lived next door to each other for years but knew very little about what happened on the other side of the fence.
I traveled there last August. A simple 180-kilometre trip from a Chinese border town to Hanoi, capital of Viet Nam, took an adventurous eight hours. That's because the country still doesn't have a modern expressway system. The major passage going through the peninsula（半岛）is only a two-way road. Also, many areas are mountainous.
Vietnamese drivers are impatient and fearless. They compete with each other at full speed no matter how scared the passengers feel. When the bus shook us violently many times, the driver made a joke to make us feel better. “See, this is just a gift Vietnamese people give you, a free passage service.”
It was midnight when I reached the hotel. Turning on the television, I was surprised by something ： All the characters in the TV dramas spoke in the same voice. At present, modern Korean dramas and historical Chinese dramas are popular with the Vietnamese. But it seemed they didn't have enough money to dub （配音）all these programmes. So, the same boring woman would appear behind every drama to speak for the roles.
The next morning when I opened the window, I found myself in a huge "garden". The buildings in the streets were dressed in all kinds of colors you can imagine. Vietnamese residents are allowed to paint their houses as they like. Each one is different and the colors bring the city alive.Before the author traveled in Viet Nam, he __________.
| A．had known a lot about the neighboring country |
| B．knew little about the neighboring country |
| C．had thought he would have a chance to visit the country |
| D．thought the country was very rich |
On the way to Hanoi, the author __________.
| A．was struck by the beautiful scenery in Viet Nam |
| B．was regretful for this travel |
| C．was in high spirits |
| D．was not pleased with Vietnamese drivers |
All the characters in the TV dramas spoke in the same voice be-cause __________.
| A．they all had the same accent |
| B．few people show interest in dubbing |
| C．the persons who dub may be looked down upon |
| D．they had no ability to afford so much money |
Which of the following can be used to describe the buildings in Hanoi?
| A．Very common. | B．retraditional. |
| C．Very colorful. | D．Rather dull. |
I travel a lot, and I find out different "styles"（风格）of directions every time I ask "How can I get to the post office?"
Foreign tourists are often confused （困惑）in Japan because most streets there don't have names; in Japan, people use landmarks（地标）in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers，"Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop. "
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say，" Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile. "
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?" you ask. "Oh，" they answer，"it's about five minutes from here. " You say，" Yes, but how many miles away is it?"They don't know.
It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say，" Sorry, I have no idea. “But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don't know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know. “is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan ！When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually __________.
| A．describe the place carefully |
| B．show him a map of the place |
| C．tell him the names of the streets |
| D．refer to recognizable buildings and places |
What is the place where people measure distance in time?
| A．New York. | B．Los Angeles |
| C．Kansas. | D．Iowa |
People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer __________.
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test. |
| C．so as to be polite | D．for fun |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．It's important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| B．It's useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| C．People have similar understandings of politeness. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
The orange towers of the Golden Gate Bridge-probably the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed bridge in the world-are visible from almost every point of elevation in San Francisco.
The only cleft （穿过）in Northern California's 600-mile continental wall, for years this mile-wide strait was considered unbridgeable. As much an architectural as an engineering feat, the Golden Gate took only 52 months to design and build. Designed by Joseph Strauss, it was the first really massive （庞大的）suspension bridge, with a span of 4200ft, and until 1959 ranked as the world's longest. It connects the city at its northwesterly point on the peninsula to Marin County and Northern California, and was designed to with-stand （经受住）winds of up to a hundred miles an hour and to swing as much as 27ft. Handsome on a clear day, the bridge takes on an eerie （阴森森的）quality when the thick white fogs pour in and hide it almost completely.
You can either drive or walk across. The drive is the more thrilling of the two options as you race under the bridge's towers, but the half-hour walk across it really gives you time to take in its enormous size and absorb the views of the city behind you and the head-lands of Northern California straight ahead. Pause at the midway point and consider the seven or so suicides （自杀）a month who choose this spot，260ft up, as their jumping-off spot. Monitors of such events speculate that victims always face the city before they leap. In 1995，when the suicide toll from the bridge had reached almost 1000，police kept the figures quiet to avoid a rush of would-be suicides going for the dubious （令人怀疑的）distinction of being the thousandth person to leap.
Perhaps the best loved symbol of San Francisco, in 1987 the Golden Gate proved an auspicious （幸运的）place for a sunrise party when crowds gathered to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Some quarter of a million people turned up （a third of the city's entire population）；the winds were strong and the huge numbers caused the bridge to buckle, but fortunately not to break.The underlined word "buckle" here means __________.
| A．collapse | B．crash |
| C．bend | D．shake |
The Golden Gate Bridge was completed in __________.
| A．1922 | B．1995 |
| C．1937 | D．1959 |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Golden Gate is the longest bridge in the world. |
| B．So far about 1000 people killed themselves from the Golden Gate. |
| C．It took the workers 52 months to build the Golden Gate. |
| D．San Francisco had a population of about 750，000 in 1987. |
If you want to enjoy the views of San Francisco from the bridge, you'd better cross the bridge __________.
| A．by train | B．on foot |
| C．by car | D．by ship |
How often do you use your car? Can you use your car less often? Do you know the following facts in the UK?
•About 50% of all car journeys are just for fun.
•Over 80% people go to work by car.
•25% car journeys are under two miles.
•70% car journeys are under five miles.
WALKING & CYCLING
Instead of using the car for short journeys, why not walk or ride a bicycle? Walking is a most popular form of exercise-it's healthy and it can save you money. If you work nearby, try walking or cycling instead of driving. Walking your children to school gives them valuable road experience.
BUSES
Bus companies are using new buses ： some run on new fuels which produce less pollution; some have easier access for disabled and old people. There are special traffic lanes （行车道）to make bus journeys easier and more reliable. So do something to help solve the pollution problem-let the bus take you to work and your children to school.
TRAINS
All car journeys, long or short, can be hard work. For some trips it is wiser to take the train. Leave your car at home and walk, cycle or take a bus to and from the station. Train travel is fast, safe and comfortable. Train tickets are not always expensive; some are quite cheap at discount.How many of car journeys are just for fun in the UK?
| A．25%. | B．About 50%. |
| C．70%. | D．Over 80%. |
The writer believes that __________ can give children valuable road experience.
| A．walking to school | B．travelling by train |
| C．taking new fuel buses | D．having car journeys for fun |
What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To teach people how to use the buses. |
| B．To encourage people to travel by train. |
| C．To advise people to use cars less often. |
| D．To tell people to obey traffic rules. |
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