A report brought back by most visitors to the US is how friendly, polite, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet American’s friendliness and helpfulness is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.
For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of distraction, and brought news of the outside world．
The tough realities of the border also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest settler agent. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or only a charitable impulse (冲动） on the part of the settlers. It reflected the hardship of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation．
Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the exhausted traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist routes. "I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner, amazing." Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be understood neither as superficial（表面的）nor as artificial（虚伪的）, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.
As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals and customs is the basis of all social inter-relationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to "translate" cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example when an American uses the word "friend", the cultural meanings of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor's language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to tell polite customs from individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue （美德） that many Americans value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.In the eyes of visitors from the outside world, ________．
| A．rude taxi drivers are hardly seen in the US |
| B．small-minded officials deserve a serious comment |
| C．Canadians are not so friendly as their neighbors |
| D．most Americans are ready to offer help |
We can know from the last paragraph that _______．
| A．culture has an influence over social inter-relationship |
| B．polite customs and individual interest are inter-related |
| C．various virtues shows themselves only among friends |
| D．social inter-relationships equal the complex set of cultural customs |
Families who lived far from one another used to entertain strangers _______．
| A．to improve their hard life | B．in view of their long-distance travel |
| C．to add some taste to their own daily life | D．out of a charitable impulse |
The tradition of hospitality to strangers _______．
| A．tends to be superficial and artificial |
| B．is generally well kept up in the United States |
| C．is always understood properly |
| D．has something to do with the busy tourist route |
It was a cloudy day on November 11, 2015. We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched, mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop (拖把). She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.”
“Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book.
After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum nodded politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Mum told me, “Dagma is fine. No fever. ”
“You see her, Mum?”
“Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It’s a fine hospital. But the floors! A mop is no good. You need a brush. ”When the nurse talked to Mum, she thought Mum was a ________.
| A．nurse | B．cleaner | C．patient | D．visitor |
What can we infer about the hospital?
| A．It was a children’s hospital. |
| B．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard. |
| C．It has strict rules about visiting hours. |
| D．A lot of patients come to this hospital every day. |
Mum went to see Dagma in the hospital to _____.
| A．give her some messages about Dad |
| B．make sure her room was clean |
| C．check that she was still there |
| D．find out how she was |
Which of the following words can best describe Mum?
| A．Hard –working | B．Clever |
| C．Warmly –hearted | D．Strange |
Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers conclude that the French tend (易于) to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed (挤出) between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity - or extreme overweight - among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject (拒绝) older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% - and is growing.In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
| A．They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
| B．They regard eating as a key part of their life style. |
| C．They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
| D．They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly about the relationship between ______.
| A．children and adults | B．Americans and the French |
| C．life style and obesity | D．fast food and overweight |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A health report | B．A book review |
| C．A TV interview | D．A food advertisement |
What benefits can you have from a film? A well-made film offers a whole world of things to watch. First there are the story aspects — the plot,characters, dialogue and themes. Then there are the technical aspects — the camera work, cuttings and special effects. And there are many other things, like the credits, musical score and the acting. Awell-made film offers much more than you see in one viewing (观看).
Films are a means of communication. They can tell you things, just as newspapers do, or television,or any other means of communication. Sometimes they communicate important things to you, like ideasor lifestyles or ways of looking at the world. Sometimes people are aware of this, and sometimes not.The more you are aware of this, the better you are.
Notice, for example, the way films sometimes affect fashion. A star dresses or wears her hair in a certain way, and suddenly everyone is imitating (模仿) her. Boys in the 1950s could sometimes be seen wearingblack leather jackets, idling (闲逛) on street corners and smoking cigarettes. They were imitating Marion Brando. His films taught them a certain way to behave.
Films can also teach politics. In Star Wars, the heroes were a bunch of lovable incompetents (无能者) fighting with guts (胆量) and not much else. They were, in fact, rather like the British in the early days of WW II. Their enemies, like the Nazis, had a big advantage in equipment and numbers of troops, and they were like the Nazis in discipline and heartlessness too. The whole film, in fact, was a re-run (重演) of WW II, and taught values like faith and love of liberty. This is all to the good, but the point is, did you notice it?
All of the following are mentioned as noticeable aspects of a film EXCEPT________.
| A．the list of names of actors and directors，etc. |
| B．the cost of a film |
| C．the music for a film |
| D．the language used in a film |
The last sentence in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
| A．a high quality film can be appreciated repeatedly from different angles |
| B．a good film always attracts a lot of viewers |
| C．a well made film usually has more than one theme |
| D．one can never find out how many characters there are in a good film |
It can be inferred from the passage that in his film，Marion Brando was ________.
| A．a motorist who always wore a black leather jacket |
| B．a homeless man who died of excessive smoking |
| C．a rebellious man during WWⅡ |
| D．an idler who didn't have any serious things to do |
Star Wars is a film________.
| A．about WWⅡ | B．for politics |
| C．reflecting WWⅡ | D．for peace lovers |
Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country.
The Centre Block is the main building on Parliament Hill (国会山). It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honor and the Memorial Chamber. The present Centre Block is the second iteration of the building, after the first was destroyed by fire in 1916, and it is one of the most recognizable buildings in Canada.
Downtown Ottawa is the commercial and economic centre of the city. Most of the buildings are office towers. While most of Ottawa’s high tech industry is based elsewhere, it has a significant presence in the downtown core (中心部分). The downtown also contains a number of apartments, hotels, and the older single family homes and townhouses along its edges.
The National Gallery of Canada is one of Canada’s premier (首位的) art galleries. The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. Although its focus is on Canadian art, it also holds works by some noted American and European artists.
The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America. At the very beginning, the purpose of the Rideau Canal was military, as it was intended to provide a secure supply and communication route between Montreal and the British naval (海军的) base in Kingston. It remains in use today primarily for pleasure boating, with most of its original structures still exsiting. The locks on the system open for navigation (通航) in mid-May and close in mid-October.What does underlined word “iteration” probably mean in the 2nd paragraph?
| A．copy | B．repair | C．design | D．picture |
If you pay a visit to the core of Downtown Ottawa, you can see ______.
| A．a large number of tall towers |
| B．a lot of apartments and hotels |
| C．the older single family homes and townhouses |
| D．head offices of Ottawa’s high tech industry |
The main collections in the National Gallery of Canada are ______.
| A．paintings and drawings |
| B．works of art by Canadian artists |
| C．sculpture and photographs |
| D．works by American and European artists |
What can we know about the Rideau Canal from the passage?
| A．The original structures remain unchanged. |
| B．People can only go boating from May to October. |
| C．It was originally for the military purpose. |
| D．It is the oldest canal system in North America. |
A man came home from work late, tired, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, how much money do you make each hour?”
“If you must know, I make ＄20 each hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy answered, with his head down. He thought for a moment, looked up and said, “Daddy, could you lend me ＄10?”
The father wasfurious, “If you asked f or the money to buy a toy or some other rubbish, the go straight to your room and think about why are you so selfish (自私)！”
The little boy went to his room no words and shut the door. After a short while, the father calmed (平静) down, and started to think, “Maybe he really needs to buy something and he didn’t really ask for money very often.” So he went to the little boy’s room.
“Sorry！Maybe I was too hard on your just now.” said the man, “Here’s ＄10.”
“Oh, thank you Daddy！” he said happily. Then the boy took out some coins. When the father found that the boy already had money, he got angry again.
“Why do you want more money since you already have some?” the father shouted angrily.
“Because I didn't have enough, but now I do.” The little boy replied, “Daddy, I have ＄20 now. Can I buy one hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you. ”In this passage, the underlined word “furious” means ______.
| A．veryangry |
| B．quite happy |
| C．too excited |
| D．a little nervous |
At first, the father refused to lend the money because ______.
| A．he thought the boy wanted to keep the money for himself. |
| B．he did not have enough money at thatmoment |
| C．the thought the boy would buy something of no use |
| D．the boy always borrowed the moneyfromhim |
The boy wanted tobuy ______ with twenty dollars.
| A．a new novel forhimself |
| B．a nice present for his father |
| C．a toy for his own birthday |
| D．one hour of his father’s time |
From the passage, we can infer that the boy’s father______ .
| A．often played with his son |
| B．spent little time with his son |
| C．didn’t lovehisson at all |
| D．often camehomeearly |
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