Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. But you should not be upset (难受的) if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., and end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks(小吃). Do you want to be more polite? Say how much you like the room, or the picture on the wall. But remember—it is not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short thank you letter. British and American people like to say “ Thank you, thank you, thank you.” all the time!If you are going to attend a dinner party,____ .
| A．you’d better bring a certain present with you |
| B．you must leave home for it at 7 p.m. |
| C．you should ask your host when you should leave |
| D．you must arrive at it before 8 p.m. |
In which order will you eat or drink the following things at the meal?
| A．Snacks, vegetables, meat and coffee. |
| B．Coffee, drinks, soup, fish, vegetables and dessert. |
| C．Soup, meat with vegetables, dessert and coffee. |
| D．Drinks, soup, something small, fish and vegetables. |
Which is the correct way in which you express your enjoyment of the evening?
| A．Before leaving for home, you should say, “Thank you for inviting me.” |
| B．When you shake hands with your host, you should say, “I did enjoy the evening.” |
| C．You can write a thank you letter to your host after that. |
| D．You should finish everything on your plate and take more if you want it. |
English songs have been very popular for people around the world for many decades.Singers, from Elvis Presley to Ricky Martin, from the Beatles to Eminen and from Natalie Cole to Britney Spears, have all been sitting in everyone’s heart, even for people who don’t speak English. But will you have better English skills if you listen to English songs for a long time?
From my experiences, some people listen to English songs for 20－30 years but still haven’t accomplished any good English skills. Some people choose English songs to be the “main learning approach”， but most of them have failed.
Listening to English songs does not help you to speak English fluently. It does help you gain some vocabularies. Most of them are unusual ones that you don’t use in your everyday life. You won’t learn the sentence “It is a complicate project. We really need to meet the deadline.” in any English songs.
People like using English songs to practice English skills because it’s easy and enjoyable.They think that sitting in the car listening to English songs day by day can improve their English skills. It is not that actually.
You will not improve your listening skills because normal people don’t speak with melody (乐调). People don’t talk like Eminen’s songs (well, actually, some teenagers do). You can’t get yourself familiar with English pronunciation or accent just from listening to English songs. The words that they pronounce in the songs are not the words that you will hear in your everyday life.It often even confuses you more how English is pronounced.
I would fully encourage you to watch English movies, listen to radio news or other normal talks, but not music. Of course, you can consume it for fun but not the aim to improve your English skills.
【改编】What’s the main idea of the passage?_____
| A．How English songs aid people with practicing English skills. |
| B．Where people can find good English songs to practise their English skills |
| C．Why people are not willing to develop their English by listening to English songs. |
| D．Who has made English songs popular throughout the world. |
【改编】English songs are beneficial to English learners if they hope to ________.
| A．adapt to express themselves in daily life |
| B．enlarge their vocabularies |
| C．improve their listening skills |
| D．speak English fluently |
【改编】what can we conclude from the text ? ________.
| A．English songs get people familiar with English pronunciation or accent |
| B．watching English movies or listening to radio news can be great helpful to English learners |
| C．worldfamous singers have done a lot to help people learn English |
| D．most people who listen to English songs in their car speak English very well |
【改编】A few years ago, I was on a plane with my friend, waiting for it to take off. The pilot’s voice was heard throughout the plane: “Sorry for the delay, ladies and gentlemen. Our engines don’t work. We are going to jump-start them. Once we get them going, we’ll get up in the air and see what happens.”
That was all he said. “See what happens?” Shouldn’t we have had a better plan than that? At that point. I could only laugh nervously. One woman started crying, “Oh no! We are going to crash!’’ There were sighs of hopelessness and anxiety, and we hadn’t even taken off yet.
The pilot even seemed unhappy. He told us our one engine was working double time, and his plan was to get up in the air and see what happens! Then we did. We got up in the air, and what happened? Nothing. We arrived in Norfolk, and no sooner had the wheels touched down than applause burst out as everyone on the airplane breathed a sigh of relief.
While I do prefer planning better than “see what happens” when it comes to flying, it really isn’t such a bad idea for life.All too often, people stop trying to achieve their goals just because they don’t have a guaranteed result. But success will never be guaranteed. The best thing that you can do is just get up in the air, and see what happens. If your effort is to build a business then get up in the air and see what happens! Don’t give yourself all the reasons why you can’t. Do not wait until you have everything you need. You never will!
If your goal is to start a friendship, say “Hello”, get up in the air and see what happens! The results could be very rewarding.
If your goal is to learn a new skill, get up in the air and see what happens! It might not be as difficult as your think. It could be fun!
When traveling, i hope that my pilot has a more detailed plan than “we will see what happens” . But in life, it is not a bad strategy at all.What was the pilot’s attitude toward the situation?
| A．Disappointed and panicked |
| B．Surprised and honest |
| C．Comforting and encouraging |
| D．Hesitant and weak. |
What was the passengers’ reaction when they arrived in Norfolk ?
| A．They were thankful and relieved. |
| B．They cheered for the pilot’s correct operation. |
| C．They complained that the plane was not safe enough |
| D．They just walked off the plane as if nothing had happened. |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．The plane was delayed because of its wheels. |
| B．The plane arrived at the airport safely. |
| C．It was a terrible journey for the author. |
| D．Most of the passengers remained calm on hearing the bad news |
What is the main idea of this article ?
| A．“we will see what happens” is not a good plan for pilots |
| B．Try to have everything prepared before you do something |
| C．When you want to do something, you have to actually do it . |
| D．Never stop chasing your goals even if they are certain to fail |
There are three separate sources of danger in supplying energy by nuclear power.
First, the radioactive (有放射性的) material must travel from its place of production to the power station. Although the power stations themselves are strongly built, the containers used for the transport of the materials are not. Normally, only two methods of transport are in use, namely road or rail. Unfortunately, both of these may have an effect on the general public, since they are sure to pass near, or even through, heavily populated areas.
Second, there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes that in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to make these wastes non-radioactive, and so they must be stored in one of the inconvenient ways that scientists have invented. For example, they may be buried under the ground, or dropped into deserted mines, or sunk in the sea. However, these methods do not solve the problem, since an earthquake could easily break the containers.
Third, there may occur (发生) the danger of a leak (泄漏) or an explosion at the power station. As with the other two dangers, this is not very likely, so it does not provide a serious objection (不赞成，反对) to the nuclear program. However, it can happen.
Separately, these three types of dangers are not a great cause for worry. Taken together, though, the probability of disaster is extremely high.
【改编】Which of the following is not true?
| A．It is likely that a leak or an explosion occurs at a power station. |
| B．It is not usual for radioactive materials to be conveyed across land. |
| C．The containers are likely to be broken by an earthquake. |
| D．Nuclear wastes remain risky in most cases for many years. |
The author thinks that the ways to store nuclear wastes are __________.
| A．easy | B．impossible |
| C．reasonable | D．ineffective |
【改编】What do we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The power station is a place that frees from danger. |
| B．The dangers of nuclear energy could be prevented. |
| C．The general public are opposed to the nuclear program. |
| D．By itself, none of the three dangers is very likely to lead to much worry. |
What is this passage about?
| A．Uses of nuclear power. |
| B．Dangers from nuclear power. |
| C．Public anger at nuclear power. |
| D．Accidents caused by nuclear power. |
【原创】NOWADAYS, most animated (动画) films rely heavily on computer technology. But his magical world – where witches (魔法师) cast spells and castles float in the sky – is brought to life by hand. Nevertheless, Hayao Miyazaki is referred to as Japan’s Walt Disney and considered by many to be the world’s greatest living animator.
This month, the 72-year-old Miyazaki announced his retirement. The Japanese animator has directed 11 animated full-length films over the past four decades, including the Oscar-winning Spirited Away (《千与千寻》) and his latest release, The Wind Rises (《起风了》), which tells the life story of a man who designed Japanese World War II fighter planes.
Just as The Wind Rises shows, Miyazaki is well-known for his obsession with flight, especially human flight. Other striking aspects of Miyazaki’s films include his themes of environmental protection and the horrors of war.
Miyazaki’s work is also famous for its lack of clearly defined good and evil characters. He sees the 21st century as a complex time when old norms need to be re-examined.
As a storyteller, he is an inventor of fairy tales full of mystery. In the Miyazakian universe, wizards (巫师) turn into birds of prey; young girls are transformed overnight into 90-year-old women; greedy parents are changed into pigs; and shooting stars become fire demons (恶魔).
As a visual (视觉的) artist, most of Miyazaki’s grace comes from his vivid (鲜明的) colors and lovingly drawn landscapes – a rolling meadow (草地) covered with flowers and shadowed by clouds, or a range of rocky hills rising toward snow-capped mountain peaks
People attribute Miyazaki’s success to his long pursuit of his hand-drawn technique, although in an interview with CNN he called himself an “extinct species” in the age of digital animation.
A recent television documentary on the making of The Wind Rises showed a disappointed Miyazaki throwing a pile (堆) of drawings into the trash. He is said to have redrawn thousands of frames of the much-praised Princess Mononoke (《幽灵公主》) when they did not meet his standards.
But his huge attention to detail has earned him the respect of the entire animated film world. Even John Lasseter – head of Pixar, the famous US computer animation studio – once called Miyazaki “one of the greatest filmmakers of our time”.What can we know about Miyazaki’s film The Wind Rises?
| A．It was put on a long time ago. |
| B．Its hero is a soldier. |
| C．It describes horrors of war. |
| D．It is an Oscar-winning film. |
What does the underlined word “obsession” mean in paragraph 3? ?
| A．Enthusiasm. | B．Hate. | C．Envy | D．Sympathy. |
According to the article,Miyazake’s films _____.
| A．are full of mystery and imaginative characters and landscapes |
| B．are likely to use hand-drawn technique and redrawn abstract frames |
| C．are full of new norms and clearly defined good and evil characters |
| D．are likely to demonstrate environmental protection and anti-war themes |
What is the main idea of this article ?
| A．Miyazake’s impact on Japanese culture |
| B．the characteristics of Miyazake’s films |
| C．what inspired Miyazake to create his films |
| D．what made Miyazake succeed |
Before he sailed round the world alone, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to fly round the world but failed. That was in 1931.
The years passed. He gave up flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo transatlantic sailing race. His old dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail.His friends and doctors did not think he could do it, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester was determined to carry out his plan. In August 1966, at the age of nearly 65, an age when many men retire, he began the greatest voyage of his life.
Chichester covered 14100 miles before stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed alone. He arrived in Australia on 12 December, just 107 days out from England. He received a warm welcome from the Australians and from his family who had flown there to meet him. On shore, Chichester could not walk without help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done enough; he must not go any further. But he did not listen.
After resting in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of his friends' attempts to dissuade him. The second half of his voyage was by far the more dangerous part, during which he sailed round the treacherous Cape Horn.After succeeding in sailing round Cape Horn, Chichester sent the following radio message to London: "I feel as if I had wakened from a nightmare. Wild horses could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that sinister Southern Ocean again."
Just before 9 o'clock on Sunday evening 28 May 1967, he arrived back in England, where a quarter of a million people were waiting to welcome him.Queen Elizabeth II knighted(授以爵位) him with the very sword that Queen Elizabeth I had used almost 400 years earlier to knight Sir Francis Drake after he had sailed round the world for the first time.The whole voyage from England and back had covered 28,500 miles. It had taken him nine months, of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.
What can we learn about Chichester?
| A．He failed the solo transatlantic sailing race in 1959. |
| B．He was a brave and determined man. |
| C．The second half of his voyage was not as dangerous as the first half. |
| D．The radio message expressed his concern about the sailing. |
【改编】What happened to Queen Elizabeth II after Chichester arrived back in England?
| A．She called on the English to learn form him. |
| B．She was waiting to congratulate on his success in sailing. |
| C．She thought little of his achievements. |
| D．She knighted him for praising him. |
【改编】What can we infer from the text ? ____
| A．Anyone who had sailed alone traveled less than 7050miles before 1966 |
| B．Chichester sailed round the Atlantic in 1931 |
| C．Most of the English leave their jobs at the age of 65 |
| D．Chichester died of lung cancer in 1967 after he went back to England |
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