A recent Living Social survey showed that Americans may live up to their poor reputation while travelling abroad. But what’s more surprising is that many of those surveyed self-identified themselves as ‘ugly’ Americans and the world’s worst travelers.
Those in the U.S. ranked themselves as the worst travellers by a shocking 20 per cent, followed by 15 per cent saying the Chinese were the most substandard tourists.
Americans topped the list as being the worst-behaved travelers in a survey of 5,600 respondents, 4,000 of whom were Americans. Other respondents were in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. But even American respondents considered their compatriots(同胞) as the worst travelers from a list of 16 nationalities.
Canadians and Australians also put Americans in the No. 1 spot. Irish respondents pointed to U.K. residents and U.K. respondents gave Germans the nod. On the other hand, 37% of Americans opted for "none of the above" in answer to the worst-tourists question, displaying more tolerance and open-mindedness than the other nationalities.
Other survey questions had respondents admitting pilfering from hotels. Four in ten U.S. survey-takers said they’d stolen something – mostly towels (28%) and bathrobes (8%). Other popular pinched items included pillows, remote controls, Bibles and sheets.
Not surprising is that Americans have less time off from work than other nationalities. Americans reported getting 16 days off, compared with 28 days for the Irish, 27 days for Australians, 23 days for U.K. workers; and 21 days for Canadians.
In the travel mishaps department, the most common travel disaster reported by Americans was lost luggage on an airline (21%)； bad weather (21%)； and getting very lost (16%).
As for places Americans most want to see, Disney World and Las Vegas made the top 10, but they weren't at the top of the heap. And New York didn't make the cut.What percentage of American respondents is in the survey?
| A．20 % | B．15% | C．71% | D．37% |
The underlined word “pilfering” in Para. 5 most probably means ________.
| A．taking | B．bringing | C．stealing | D．borrowing. |
According to the survey, what kind of things are most taken away by Americans?
| A．towels and pillows |
| B．bathrobes and remote controls. |
| C．towels and Bibles |
| D．bathrobes and towels. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Chinese were announced as the world’s worst travellers. |
| B．The global worst travellers were announced. |
| C．Disney World is the best destination to Americans. |
| D．European travellers were the best in the world |
Revenge is one of those things that everyone enjoys. People don’t like to talk about it, though. Just the same, there is nothing more satisfying or more rewarding than revenge. The purpose is not to harm your victims but to let them know that you are upset about something that they are doing to you. Careful planning can provide you with relief from annoying coworkers, gossiping friends or talkative family members.
Coworkers who make comments about the fact that you are always fifteen minutes late for work can be taken care of very simply. All you have to do is get up extra one day. Before the sun comes up, drive to each coworker’s house. Reach under the cover of your coworker’s car and disconnect the center wire that leads to the distributor（配电盘）cap, the car will be unharmed, but it will not start, and your friends at work will all be late for work on the same day. If you’re lucky, your boss might notice that you are the only one there and will give you a raise.
Gossiping friends at school are also perfect targets for a simple act of revenge. A way to trap either male or female friends is to leave false messages on their lockers(柜子). If the friend that you want to get is male, leave a message that a certain girl would like him to stop by her house later that day. With any luck，her boyfriend will be there. The girl won’t know what’s going on, and the victim will be so embarrassed that he probably won’t leave his home for a month.
When Mom and Dad and your sisters and brothers really begin to annoy you, harmless revenge may be just the way it makes them quiet down for a while. The dinner table is a likely place. Just before the meal begins, throw a handful of raisins (葡萄干) into the food. Wait about five minutes and, after everyone has begun to eat, cover your mouth with your hand and begin to make strange noises. When they ask you what the matter is, point to a raisin and yell. “Bugs!” They’ll throw their food in the dustbin, jump into the car, and head for McDonald’s. That night you’ll have your first quiet, peaceful meal in a long time.
A well-planned revenge does not have it hurt anyone. The object is simply to let other people know that they are beginning to bother you. According to the passage, a harmless revenge is ________.
| A．to amuse the victim |
| B．to hurt nobody emotionally |
| C．to react to those who bother you |
| D．to prevent one from disturbing others |
As a harmless revenge, you might come first and get a raise by ________.
| A．pleasing your boss |
| B．destroying your colleagues’ cars |
| C．making your colleagues come late |
| D．getting up earlier than your colleagues |
The family members threw their food in the dustbin because ________.
| A．they wanted to eat out |
| B．they didn’t like the food with raisins |
| C．they wanted to have a peaceful meal |
| D．they thought their food had been ruined |
The topic of the passage is how to ________.
| A．make a harmless revenge |
| B．silence gossiping friends |
| C．avoid talkative family members |
| D．deal with annoying coworkers |
The 87th Academy Award nominations(提名) were announced on Jan 15, and The Grand Budapest Hotel stood out as a favorite with nine nominations, including Best Picture. Check out some other Best Picture nominees to see if you missed any of last year’s top Hollywood films.
The Imitation Game
This historical thriller is about British computer scientist, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the father of artificial intelligence. At the start of World War II, Turing was asked to join a select team of mathematical geniuses to decode（解码） the system the Nazis used to send military messages. Besides the actual breaking of the code, Cumberbatch’s portrayal（扮演）of Turing’s personality, a mixture of decency（正派）and shyness, is also a highlight of the movie.
Birdman
This dark comedy film is about how Riggan Thomson, a faded star once famous for his superhero roles, struggles to regain fame. American actor Michael Keaton, 63, who has a similar experience to Thomson’s, plays the leading role.
Selma
A stellar cast(主要演员) including talk show queen Oprah Winfrey may be one reason to see Selma. But that the film focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.’s struggle for civil rights also makes it worth viewing. Based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, the film is a chronicle(编年史) of King’s (David Oyelowo) campaign for political rights for African-American people.
The Theory of Everything
We know English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking for his significant scientific discoveries, especially his black hole theories. This biographical film reveals the scientist’s (played by Eddie Redmayne) secret romantic relationship with Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones), whom he meets and falls in love with at Cambridge and who later becomes his first wife.
Boyhood
American Director Richard Linklater did an experiment in this film, using the same cast for 12 years to record a boy’s growth. In two and a half hours, we see Mason, a Texas boy from a divorced family, grow from 6-year-old boy to a freshman in college. How many Best Picture nominees are mentioned in the text?
| A．Five | B．Six | C．Eight | D．Nine |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Michael Keaton became famous overnight after starring in the movie Birdman. |
| B．Alan Turing is a talented and outgoing man in The Imitation Game. |
| C．Selma is the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for voting rights for African-Americans. |
| D．The Theory of Everything is about how Stephen Hawking discovered his black hole theories. |
What is Boyhood mainly about?
| A．How Richard Linklater did his decade-long experiment. |
| B．The wonderful life of Mason. |
| C．The growth of a young boy. |
| D．How Mason spent his college years. |
What is the main purpose of the text?
| A．To analyze why these films were nominated for the 87th Academy Awards. |
| B．To give a brief introduction to the 87th Academy Award nominees. |
| C．To list some of the best nominees in the Academy Awards’ history. |
| D．To prove that the Academy Award nominees cover a broad range of topics. |
Because I will be away for a few days after Spring Break, I am writing this during the actual holiday, when I can use time to catch up on a number of purely administrative (管理的) items.
First of all, you should have received the letter I sent out on April 2 advising of the transition (过渡) arrangements to new leadership at ISM (International School of Moscow). In that letter I pointed out that Dr. Paul Malone will be arriving in Moscow on Monday, May 4th, and that I will work with him during that week to ensure smooth transition. My last day at ISM will be Friday, May 8th.
Several people have asked me why I required Dr. Malone to come early. There are many problems facing ISM at the moment which have major implications (影响) for the future, and it makes sense for the new director to come aboard before the end of the school year. This will give him the chance to play a major role in the planning process for 2014—2015 and beyond. The fact that Paul Malone is able to arrive in early May is good for the school. I have been working closely with him, and will do everything possible to see that he can move in easily when I leave. From here I will go to Hong Kong for a couple of weeks to spend time in my new situation, and then I will return to the United States for a few weeks’ vacation.
In the most recent edition of the Compass(a kind of paper of ISM), I wrote briefly what I consider to be the major challenge for ISM in the future. I am sure that the new leadership of the school will be able to face those challenges in an active manner, which will ensure a strong future for the school. I shall certainly watch the progress of the school with interest. The results of the school for the past few years have been quite outstanding, and I fully expect that level of performance to continue. We can infer from the text that the writer was the ________ of ISM.
| A．director | B．employee |
| C．teacher | D．student |
Why should Dr. Malone come to ISM early?
| A．To work closely with the author. |
| B．To do everything possible for the school. |
| C．To move in easily when the author returns. |
| D．To work with the author for a few days and make a future plan. |
From the text, we learn that ________.
| A．Paul Malone is a capable man |
| B．the writer is a best friend of Paul Malone’s |
| C．Paul Malone will work with the writer for several years |
| D．the writer will do his best to help Paul Malone to work well at ISM |
There are two kinds of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.
People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, hurt many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people hurt many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.People who are unhappy _______.
| A．always consider things differently from others |
| B．usually are affected by the results of certain things |
| C．usually misunderstand what others think or say |
| D．always discover the unpleasant side of certain things |
The phrase “sour the pleasure of society” most nearly means “_______”.
| A．has a good taste with social life |
| B．makes others unhappy |
| C．tend to scold others openly |
| D．enjoy the pleasure of life |
We can conclude from the passage that _______.
| A．people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness |
| B．such unhappy people are dangerous to social life |
| C．we should pity all such unhappy people |
| D．unhappy people can not understand happy persons |
If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should _______.
| A．show no respect and politeness to them |
| B．persuade them to recognize the bad effects |
| C．prevent any communication with them |
| D．quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes |
The sight of a mosquito can mean trouble to people in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria (疟疾). It is estimated that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malariarelated causes in 2012, and most of these cases were in African countries.
In the United States, a group of California scientists are working to develop a more effective and less costly substance (物质) to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. Anandasankar Ray, who is leading the investigation, says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds (化合物) until they found a substance called Ethyl Pyruvate. He says Ethyl Pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive. “When we apply Ethyl Pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out,” said Ray.
Genevieve Tauxe, a member of the research team, says it was not easy to find the neurons (神经元) of noble cells that recognize both the smell of human breath and skin. “With the device used to examine the mosquito, we are able to insert a very small electrode (电极) into the part of the mosquito's nose, where its smelling neurons are and where the smell is happening,” said Tauxe.
Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl Pyruvate may cost less to produce than DEFT, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEFT is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.
“Perhaps by finding smells that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEFT and finally have the next generation of insect behaviour control products,” said Ray.ytytzygx.
The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means ________.
| A．a substance that protects people from mosquitoes |
| B．a sense organ that reacts to changes |
| C．a device that reacts to light |
| D．a piece of equipment that sends signals |
According to the passage, Ethyl Pyruvate can ________.
| A．kill the mosquitoes' smelling neurons |
| B．cause the mosquitoes to lose their senses of smell |
| C．result in the inactiveness of the mosquitoes' receptors |
| D．make the mosquitoes uninterested in human breath and skin smell |
This passage most probably appears in ________.
| A．a textbook of medical schools |
| B．a collection of doctors' essays |
| C．the column of newspaper ads |
| D．the health column of a magazine |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Ethyl Pyruvate—an Insect Behaviour Control Product |
| B．Malaria—a Serious Disease Causing 630,000 Deaths |
| C．Scientists Find a New Substance to Fight Mosquitoes |
| D．A New Generation of DEET Has Been Developed to Kill Mosquitoes |
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