Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy life.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. But mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.
Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs. A person who lives an unhappy life can be described as “_______”.
| A．becoming sick as a dog | B．leading a dog’s life |
| C．living in a dog-eat-dog world | D．Working like a dog |
The underlined word “mean” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “_______”.
| A．violent | B．selfish | C．wild | D．Poor |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Everyone can be successful if he learns from the old. |
| B．It might be difficult for the young to learn new skills. |
| C．Junkyard dogs are careful in money arrangement. |
| D．Fierce persons aren’t so awful as their appearance sometimes. |
To support his idea, the author develops the text mainly by _______.
| A．listing reasons | B．using idioms |
| C．giving examples | D．Making comparisons |
You’re rushing to work and a man ahead of you collapses on the sidewalk. Do you stop to help? In a study of by-standers, it was found that some people avert their gaze and keep on walking rather than stop and get involved.
“There is a tendency to decide that no action is needed.” says a psychologist. “The first thoughts that pop into your mind often keep you from offering help. In order to take action, you have to work against them.” Here are some common thoughts that might prevent you from helping.
● Why should I be the one? I’m probably not the most competent（有能力的） person in this crowd. You might think someone older or with more medical knowledge should offer assistance.
● What if he doesn’t really need my help? The fear of embarrassment is powerful; no one wants to risk looking foolish in front of others.
● No one else looks concerned- this must not be a problem. We can follow the people around us, but most people tend to hold back their emotions in public.
“If you spot trouble and find yourself explaining inaction, force yourself to stop and evaluate the situation instead of walking on,” says the psychologist. “Then retry to involve other people; you don’t have to take on the entire responsibility of being helpful. Sometimes it’s just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, ‘It looks like we should do something.’ Or asking someone if an ambulance has been called and, if not, to call for one. Once you take action, most people will follow you.”Which is NOT the common thought that stops you from helping others?
| A．I’m not the very person capable of setting the problem. |
| B．It looks like we should do something. |
| C．It must not be a problem as no one else is concerned. |
| D．He doesn’t really need my help. |
According to a study of by-standers, what will some people do when a man ahead falls down on the sidewalk?
| A．They will call for help and then walk away. |
| B．They will stop and offer help. |
| C．They will turn away their eyes and go on walking. |
| D．They will laugh at him. |
We learn from the last paragraph that if we spot trouble, ．
| A．we should call the ambulance as soon as we can. |
| B．we should take on the whole responsibility and do something alone. |
| C．we should stop and evaluate the situation and try to make other people follow. |
| D．we should turn to other people and ask them to take on the responsibility |
In order to offer others your timely help, you need to ．
| A．ask others for help and call the police |
| B．get along well with the passers-by who spot the trouble |
| C．go directly to the police station |
| D．work against the first thoughts that prevent you offering help |
The main purpose of the text is to tell readers ．
| A．to give others a hand |
| B．to be more competent |
| C．not to risk looking foolish |
| D．to stop and evaluate the situation |
I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before.
I had seen Mikey himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. If I were to deal with them, I’d be busy 24 hours a day.
The forged excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The writers of those notes didn’t realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: “Peter was late because the alarm clock didn’t go off.”
Isn’t it remarkable, I thought, how the students complained and said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject? But when they produced excuse notes, they were brilliant.
So one day I typed out a dozen excuse notes and gave them to my classes. I said, “They’re supposed to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Mikey?” The students looked at me nervously.
“Now, this will be the first class to study the art of the excuse note --- the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You’re so lucky to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a subject worthy of study. ”
Everyone smiled as I went on, “You used your imaginations. So try more now. Today I’d like you to write ‘An Excuse Note from Adam to God’ or ‘An Excuse Note from Eve to God’.” Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. For the first time ever I saw students so careful in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.
The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said, “I’d like you to see me in my office.”
When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, “I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you. ”What did the author do with the students found dishonest?
| A．He reported them to the headmaster. | B．He lectured them hard on honesty. |
| C．He had them take notes before lunch. | D．He helped improve their writing skills. |
The author found that compared with the true excuse notes, the produced ones by the students were usually__________.
| A．less impressive | B．more imaginative | C．worse written | D．less convincing |
The author had the students practice writing excuse notes so that the students could learn_________.
| A．the importance of being honest | B．how to write excuse notes skillfully |
| C．the pleasure of creative writing | D．how to be creative in writing |
The underlined word “forged” in the second paragraph means “______”.
| A．former | B．copied | C．false | D．honest |
What did the headmaster think of the author’s way of teaching?
| A．Effective. | B．Difficult | C．Misleading. | D．Reasonable |
The casual Friday concept (星期五便装日的概念) was one of the first signs that strict dress rules for offices were starting to relax. The principle of casual Fridays seems to have appeared around the 1950s. It was probably in response (回应) to the changing attitudes towards workplaces. Over time, some offices have relaxed their dress rules even more by using a "business casual" dress rule.
On casual Fridays, employees (员工) may wear clothes which are considered to be "business casual", meaning they still obey certain standards (标准). Clothes must be clean and in good condition, with no spots. Men are generally allowed to wear casual trousers and bright-colored clothes, and in some offices they may be allowed to wear button-down shirts or polo shirts, with or without a tie. Women often wear neat skirts or dresses; casual trousers are common and generally allowed to wear, except in very formal workplaces.
As a general rule, extremely casual clothes, like jeans, shorts, T-shirts, tank tops, and so on, are not encouraged on casual Fridays. Employees are still expected to make an effort to look professional, out of respect for their offices and their customers.
Many people feel that casual Fridays are good for employees’mood because they encourage employees to express their individuality (个性) and feel more comfortable in the offices. Others feel that business casual clothing and the concept of casual Fridays don’t show respect for the workplaces. Casual Fridays are dealt with differently, depending on the industry and the nation. The technology industry, for example, is well known for casual clothes in general, while major financial companies still dislike casual clothes.We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．the casual Friday concept has been out of fashion |
| B．people were required to wear formal clothes in offices before casual Fridays concept appeared |
| C．the casual Friday concept had appeared before the 1950s |
| D．employees who wear formal clothes lack individuality |
In general, on casual Fridays, as an employee in a company you can wear ________.
| A．jeans | B．tank tops | C．shorts | D．polo shirts |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The casual Friday concept changes people’s responsibility at work. |
| B．Button-down shirts are allowed to wear in any formal workplace. |
| C．In general, leading financial companies don’t prefer casual clothing. |
| D．The technology industry requires employees to wear formal clothing. |
What does the last paragraph tell us?
| A．Different kinds of casual clothes. |
| B．The development of the casual Friday concept. |
| C．People’s different opinions on casual Fridays. |
| D．The rules that employees must obey in companies. |
You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mother’s Day? Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it —those are what probably come to mind for many people when they think of Mother’s Day. But there’s more about the story.
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations were held during spring in Ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday. On this day even servants (仆人) were given the day off to spend with their families. A mothering cake was even served with the family meal.
In the U.S., Mother’s Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words of the famous song The Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested it as a day devoted to peace. But it didn’t really become popular until 1907 when Anna Jarvis started a campaign (运动) to honor her own mother. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil War. The U.S. isn’t alone in devoting a day to its mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also celebrate their Mother’s Day in May. Other countries honor their mothers at different times of the year.
Learning more about Mother’s Day and celebrating Mother’s Day is important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mother, or grandmother, or aunt has really done for you. And that should certainly be appreciated more than one day in a year.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The reason why people celebrate Mother’s Day. |
| B．How people honor mothers. |
| C．The history of Mother’s Day. |
| D．Mother’s Day in different countries. |
Where was the earliest Mother’s Day celebrated?
| A．In Ancient Greece. | B．In the U.S. |
| C．In England. | D．In Italy. |
According to the third paragraph, we know that _____.
| A．Julia Ward Howe composed a song about Mother’s Day |
| B．American people started to celebrate Mother’s Day in 1907 |
| C．Anna Jarvis attached great importance to mothers |
| D．Mother’s Day celebrations are held in different times in the U.S. every year |
The last paragraph tells us that ______.
| A．all the people should celebrate Mother’s Day |
| B．only mothers are honored on Mother’s Day |
| C．understanding mothers’work is more important than just celebrating Mother’s Day |
| D．people should make every day a Mother’s Day |
When Cathleen Gardiner’s twins were born 17 years ago, doctors told her that they were a pair in a million. One had Down syndrome(低能综合症), while the other did not. Here, Cathleen tells their touching story.
Since Sean was born 17 years ago, I have always thought that he is just as wonderful as his brother and sister. Though he had a disability(残疾), we have never viewed him as a burden. He has always been a blessing. The doctors explained that though they were twins, they came from two different eggs. Lisa could walk at 11 months old, while Sean didn’t take his first steps till he was three. By two, Lisa was talking a lot, but Sean wasn’t able to speak until he was nearly four.
For the first five years of his life, Sean needed a great deal of care. Looking after him was my full-time job, though I also worked as a technical adviser in a computing company. We never treated them differently. We gave them the same toys and spoke to them in the same way. We encouraged Sean to keep up with Lisa, even though he never could, and we would help him develop his abilities. We sent them to the same primary school even after doctors advised us that Sean should go to a school for the disabled.
We had to explain to Lisa that he wouldn’t learn as quickly as she would. She told us that she’d help him with his school work. Having a non-disabled twin has really helped Sean develop. The love they share has given him a great deal of support. Now Sean and Lisa are both about to finish high school. I don’t think he would have done nearly as well today without Lisa’s help.At least how many children does Mrs. Gardiner have?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．One. |
Mrs. Gardiner and her husband regarded Sean as _______.
| A．a boy making others touched | B．a normal child without disabilities |
| C．a special gift | D．a burden of their family |
The third paragraph mainly tells us that _______.
| A．the couple treated the twins equally |
| B．Cathleen did all she could to look after Sean |
| C．the couple didn’t follow the doctor’s advice |
| D．the couple encouraged Sean to grow up |
This passage tells us that _________.
| A．love can do wonders | B．nobody is foolish or clever |
| C．being stupid doesn’t matter | D．all men are born equal |
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