Would you like to be a king or queen? To have people waiting on you hand and foot? Many Americans experience this royal treatment every day. How? By being customers. The American idea of customer service is to make each customer the center of attention. Need proof? Just listen to the commercials. Most of them sound like the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you.” Actually, not all stores in America roll out the red carpet for their customers. But wherever you go, good customer service means making customers feel special.
People going shopping in America can expect to be treated with respect from the very beginning. Most places don’t have a “furniture street” or a “computer road” which allow you to compare prices easily. Instead, people often “let their fingers do the walking” through the store hot lines. From the first “hello”, customers receive a satisfying response to their questions. This initial contact can help them decide where to shop.
When customers get to the store, they are treated as honored guests. Customers don’t usually find store clerks sitting around watching TV or playing cards. Instead, the clerks greet them warmly and offer to help them find what they want. In most stores, the clear signs that label each department make shopping a breeze. Customers usually don’t have to ask how much items cost, since prices are clearly marked. And unless they’re at a flea market or a yard sale, they don’t bother trying to bargain.
When customers are ready to check out, they find the nearest and shortest checkout lane. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, whichever lane they get in, all the other lanes will move faster. Good stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes get too long. Some even offer express lanes for customers with 10 items or less. After they pay for their purchases, customers receive a smile and a warm “thank you” from the clerk. Many stores even allow customers to take their shopping carts out to the parking lot. That way, they don’t have to carry heavy bags out to the car. By quoting (引用) the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you”, the author intends to_______.
A．suggest that customers believe what commercials say deeply |
| B．show readers the American idea on good customer service |
| C．express all the stores pay much attention to the customers |
| D．persuade readers to choose the stores with ads correctly |
In the USA, what may you do at first if you want to do some shopping?
| A．To visit a professional street with lots of similar stores. |
| B．To compare prices in many shops in the same street. |
| C．To make phone calls and get better shopping choices. |
| D．To receive other customers’ answers to the questions. |
The underlined words “a breeze” in Para.3 most probably means _________.
| A．an easy job | B．a trouble | C．a funny thing | D．a boring task |
Which of the followings shows American stores offer convenience to customers in this passage?
| A．The store clerks don’t usually sit around watching TV or playing cards. |
| B．Some stores offer price bargain to the customers like a yard sale. |
| C．The clerks give customers a smile and a warm “thank you” after paying. |
| D．Some stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes are crowded. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．Customer Service in America | B．Excellent Stores in America |
| C．Shopping Rules in America | D．Being King or Queen in America |
Eating too much fatty food, exercising too little and smoking can raise your future risk of heart disease. But there is another factor that can cause your heart problems more immediately: the air you breathe.
Previous studies have linked high exposure (暴露）to environmental pollution to an increased risk of heart problem, but two analyses now show that poor air quality can lead to heart attack or stroke (中风）within as little as a few hours after exposure. In one review of the research, scientists found that people exposed to high levels of pollutants (污染物）were up to 5% more likely to suffer a heart attack within days of exposure than those with lower exposure. A separate study of stroke patients showed that even air that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be of “moderate” (良好）quality and relatively safe for our health can raise the risk of stroke as much as 34% within 12 to 14 hours of exposure.
The authors of both studies stress that these risks are relatively small for healthy people and certainly modest compared with other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure. However, it is important to be aware of these dangers because everyone is exposed to air pollution regardless of lifestyle choices. So stricter regulation by the EPA of pollutants may not only improve environmental air quality but could also become necessary to protect public health.The text mainly discusses the relationship between ______ .
| A．heart problems and air quality |
| B．heart problems and exercising |
| C．heart problems and smoking |
| D．heart problems and fatty food |
The underlined word “modest” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______ .
| A．relatively high | B．extremely low |
| C．relatively low | D．extremely high |
The author’s purpose of writing the text is most likely to _______.
| A．describe | B．persuade | C．inform | D．entertain |
There are many wetlands in China and some of them have become the world’s important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. They are home for many different kinds of birds and animals. The world’s largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve(麋鹿自然保护区) is in them. More than 700 Milu deer live freely there. There are not many red-crowned cranes（丹顶鹤）in the world, but every winter you can see some in the Red-crown Cranes Nature Reserve in the Yellow Sea Wetlands.
The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine, too. They are really good places for wildlife. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for the wildlife.
Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize the importance of wetlands and wildlife. Every year, on February 2nd, many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.The Yellow Sea Wetlands are in the ________ part of China.
| A．Northeast | B．northwest |
| C．southeast | D．southwest |
What is the weather usually like in the wetlands?
| A．Hot | B．Dry | C．Cold | D．Mild |
When is the World Wetlands Day?
| A．On June 25th. | B．On April 22nd. |
| C．On March 23rd | D．On February 2nd. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Wetlands ---- Valuable Land on the Earth |
| B．China’s Wetlands Are in the World’s List |
| C．Wetlands ---- Home for Wildlife and Human Beings |
| D．Special Animals in the Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands |
There are some differences between American English and British English. Some differences are quite interesting.
When my friend Lily from London used the word “larder”, I didn’t know what it meant. Realizing I didn’t follow her, she used another word. I finally knew she wanted to find something to keep some food. The next word came up when we were planning a lunch date. She jotted down the date and time in her diary, while I marked my calendar. If she called me on the phone, she would ring me up. But if the line was busy, she would say the line was engaged.
Most times, I can know what Lily means. Last week, she regretted sending her boys to watch an early morning tennis game without their fleeces. I thought that she meant without their jackets or something like that. Other times, we have to ask each other. She recently told me a funny tale about a pissed woman. I wondered what had made the lady angry. It turns out that pissed means drunk.
Here is one more example. My British friend Jane was filling out a ticket at the grocery store recently. She asked the young man to help her if he had a rubber. When she noticed he didn’t follow her, she quickly asked for an eraser, which, in England, is often called a rubber.
In order to communicate well with British people, we Americans should learn some words that the British use differently. And I think people who learn English as a second language should also realize that there are differences between American English and British English. When Lily used the word “larder”, she was probably looking for a ______.
| A．cup | B．ladder |
| C．cupboard | D．cooker |
According to the passage, in British English ______.
| A．the word “pissed” means angry |
| B．the word “jacket” is often used |
| C．the word “engaged” means tired |
| D．the word “rubber” means eraser |
What does the underlined phrase “jotted down” in Pragraph2 mean?
| A．Wrote down | B．Cared about |
| C．Looked for | D．Settled down |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The British way of using words. |
| B．Some new words the writer’s British friends taught her. |
| C．The reasons why Americans can’t followed the British at times. |
| D．Some words used differently in British English and American English. |
Lisa: My best teacher is my geography teacher in 10th grade. Why? Because we did school projects! Back then I wrote about India and never forgot what I had learned. He brought the culture to life by letting me become part of it. He also listened to us and was always ready with a kind word.
David: My best teacher is my high school social studies and history teacher, Thomas Ladenburg. He respected us, though we were just teenagers. His class was never boring because he often asked us to discuss in class. He used his own materials which made the class very interesting.
Henry: My best ever teacher is my biology teacher in high school. I really liked her class. She explained everything very clearly. She also checked our notebooks to make sure we had written down what she said. Now, many years later, I can still remember a large part of the things she taught!
Susan: The best teacher I have ever had is my 10th grade social studies teacher. She was always in a good mood and kept us laughing. She was really young, so she acted like us teenagers, which made learning fun. If we needed to talk to an adult about a problem, we would always come to her because we knew she could help us.
Tom: My favourite teacher is Mr. Yelle. He taught us math, science and music. He spoke to us “at eye level”, and was very patient and kind. We did great projects for the science fairs. Forty years later, I still remember his lessons very well. By the way, though he was called Mr Yelle, he didn’t yell(喊叫).We learn that when she was in 10th grade, Lisa ________.
| A．was always ready with a kind word |
| B．often forgot what she had learned very easily |
| C．liked doing school projects in the geography class |
| D．was interested in India the most in the geography class |
How did David most probably find Thomas Ladenburg’s class?
| A．Difficult. | B．Lively. | C．Useless. | D．Long. |
We can learn that Susan’s 10th grade social studies teacher _______.
| A．was good at listening to her students’ problems |
| B．liked laughing at her students’ problems |
| C．was not happy when she had a problem |
| D．didn’t like taking her students as friends |
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town, but it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the ground. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking his baskets.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked, “Are these yours? ” “Yes, sir. ” The farmer answered timidly（胆怯地）. “Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” The farmer said in a hurry. “When did you see the dead man?” “About seven last evening. ” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, sir. ” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” “No, sir. ” The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and sent him into prison(监狱)。
That evening the officer went on trying. Pointing to the knife, he asked again, “Have you seen it yet?” “ yes, sir.” The officer was happy and asked, “When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”Why did the farmer decide to sell the vegetables?
| A．To go to the market. |
| B．To go to see the doctor. |
| C．To buy some food for his family. |
| D．To buy some medicine for his wife. |
The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because ________.
| A．they were too bad |
| B．they were very expensive |
| C．it rained hard that morning |
| D．people wouldn’t go out on such a bad day |
Why did the farmer run quickly?
| A．He was afraid to see a dead man. |
| B．His wife was waiting for him at home. |
| C．The policemen were coming towards him. |
| D．It was so late and he had to buy some medicine. |
The officer tried（审讯）the farmer to _______.
| A．ask if he had seen the knife |
| B．know who had killed the man |
| C．ask when he saw the dead man |
| D．know if he had seen the dead man |
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