One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift . Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).
On September 11th ，1958，Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift , and here it is.” What an honor！I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories .I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing bad been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days I Heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. “If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before .
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home !”
“Thank God !” I heard Mum cry .
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love! what happened to the author on September 11th , 1958?
| A．He got a baby brother. |
| B．He got a Christmas gift |
| C．He became four years old. |
| D．He received a doll. |
What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean？
| A．Impossible. |
| B．Boring |
| C．Difficult |
| D．Fearful |
What is the passage mainly about ?
| A．A sad Christmas day |
| B．Life with a lovely baby |
| C．A special Christmas gift. |
| D．Memories of a happy family |
I hate nosy (爱管闲事的) neighbors and it’s very unlucky that I had one for myself. They moved in a couple of months back and although I never felt that they were a strange family, I’ve always hated the way they get “too close” to me, my house, my garden, and even my garbage cans(垃圾桶).
One day, my neighbors were mowing their lawn (草坪). My garbage cans are near their lawn. For some strange reason, I found the wife looking through my garbage cans. I felt angry but since they were from a different culture, I thought that maybe it was “normal” from their ideas.
That afternoon, the couple knocked on my front door. When I opened, they gave me a plastic bag. Inside were my old daily bills, credit cards and bank statements, and an old birthday card that my old uncle sent. They said that they were returning them to me because these documents contained very private information that may be used by others.
I’ve heard it before. I asked them how those documents can be used by others and they started telling me their very own experience, which forced them to leave their home and move next door to us. The wife told me that she never destroyed the bills. They also had a “nosy neighbor” who looked through their garbage cans which they actually thought was pretty strange. Little did they know that this “nosy neighbor” was collecting their personal information from their rubbish. Then all their money was taken out from the bank by their neighbor.
It was a very painful experience for all of them and they wanted to leave them all behind so they left. I was very thankful. They were not nosy neighbors. They simply didn’t want us to experience the same thing that they did.
What made the author angry?
| A．His neighbor’s wife was looking through his rubbish. |
| B．His neighbors were mowing their lawn one morning. |
| C．His neighbors got too close to his own home. |
| D．His neighbors came to knock at his door at night. |
Why did the couple come to the author’s home?
| A．To introduce themselves to the author. |
| B．To get to know each other better. |
| C．To return the documents to the author. |
| D．To borrow some money from the author. |
The neighbors came to live next door to the author because .
| A．they no longer had money to live in their former home |
| B．they didn’t want to live in such a noisy home as before |
| C．their personal documents were used by their former neighbor |
| D．they thought the author was much better than their former neighbor |
Which of the following can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The author was kind and helpful to the neighbors. |
| B．The neighbors had to move from place to place. |
| C．The neighbors didn’t have enough money. |
| D．The author changed his idea about his neighbors. |
How to describe the rising philosophy of the day ? I’d say it is data-ism . We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data . This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions—that everything that can be measured should be measured ; that data is a transparent and reliable lens that allows us to filter out emotionalism and ideology ; that data will help us do remarkable things—like foretell the future . At the outset let me celebrate two things data does really well .
First , it’s really good at exposing when our intuitive（直觉的）view of reality is wrong . For example , nearly every person who runs for political office has an intuitive sense that they can powerfully influence their odds of winning the election if they can just raise and spend more money . But this is largely wrong .
After the 2006 election , Sean Trende constructed a graph comparing the incumbent（在任的）campaign spending advantages with their eventual victory . There was barely any relationship between more spending and a bigger victory .
Likewise , many teachers have an intuitive sense that different students have different learning styles : some are verbal and some are visual , some focus on details and some on whole . Teachers imagine they will improve outcomes if they tailor their presentations to each student . But there’s no evidence to support this either .
Second , data can clarify patterns of behavior we haven’t yet noticed . For example , I’ve always assumed people who frequently use words like “ I , ” “ me , ” and “ mine ” are probably more self-centered than people who don’t . But as James Pennebaker of the University of Texas notes in his book , The Secret Life of Pronouns , when people are feeling confident , they are focused on the task at hand , not on themselves . High-status , confident people use fewer “ I ” words , not more .
In sum , the data revolution is giving us wonderful ways to understand the present and the past . Will it transform our ability to predict and make decisions about the future ? We’ll see .What do people running for political office think they can do ?
| A．Use data analysis to predict the election result . |
| B．Win the election if they can raise enough funds . |
| C．Manipulate public opinion with favorable data . |
| D．Increase the chances of winning by foul means . |
Why do many teachers favor the idea of tailoring their presentations to different students ?
| A．They think students prefer flexible teaching methods . |
| B．They will be able to try different approaches . |
| C．They believe students learning styles vary . |
| D．They can accommodate students with special needs . |
What does James Pennebaker reveal in The Secret Life of Pronouns ?
| A．The importance of using pronouns properly . |
| B．Repeated use of first-person pronouns by self-centered people . |
| C．Frequent use of pronouns and future tense by young people . |
| D．A pattern in confident people’s use of pronouns . |
Why is the author skeptical of the data revolution ?
| A．Data may not be easily accessible . |
| B．Errors may occur with large data samples . |
| C．Data cannot always do what we imagine it can . |
| D．Some data may turn out to be outdated . |
It’s the worst event in human being’s nautical（航海的）history , six times more deadly than the Titanic . When the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes（鱼雷）fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War II , more than 10,000 people – mostly women , children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germany – were packed aboard .
An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted and began to go down . Others desperately tried to put lifeboats down . Some who succeeded fought off those in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard . Most people froze immediately . “ I’ll never forget the screams , ” says Christa Ntitzmann , 87 , one of the 1,200 survivors . She recalls watching the ship , brightly lit , slipping into its dark grave-and into seeming nothingness , rarely mentioned for more than half a century .
Now Germany’s Nobel Prize-winning author Gtinter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead , including more than 4,000 children-with his latest novel Crab Walk , published last month . The book ,which will be out in English next year , doesn’t dwell on the sinking : its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later : “ Nobody wanted to hear about it , not here in the West ( of Germany ) and not at all in the East . ”
The reason was obvious . As Grass put in a recent interview with the weekly Die Woche : “ Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant , we didn’t have the energy left to tell of our own sufferings . ” The long silence about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was probably unavoidable – and necessary .
By unreservedly owning up to their country’s monstrous crimes in the Second World War , Germans have managed to win acceptance abroad , marginalize the neo-Nazis at home and make peace with their neighbors .
Today’s unified Germany is more prosperous and stable than at any time in its long , troubled history . For that , a half century of willful forgetting about painful memories like the German Titanic was perhaps a reasonable price to pay . But even the most politically correct Germans believe that they’ve now earned the right to discuss the full historical record . Not to equate German suffering with that of its victims , but simply to acknowledge a terrible tragedy .Why does the author say the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was the worst event in nautical history ?
| A．It was attacked by Russian torpedoes . |
| B．Most of its passengers were frozen to death . |
| C．Its victims were mostly women and children . |
| D．It caused the largest number of casualties . |
How does Gunter Grass revive the memory of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy ?
| A．By presenting the horrible scene of the torpedo attack . |
| B．By describing the ship’s sinking in great detail . |
| C．By giving an interview to the weekly Die Woche . |
| D．By illustrating the survival of a young pregnant woman . |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “ marginalize ”
| A．highlight | B．weaken |
| C．strengthen | D．fasten |
It can be learned from the passage that Germans no longer think that
| A．they will be misunderstood if they talk about the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy |
| B．the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy is a reasonable price to pay for the nation’s past misdeeds |
| C．Germany is responsible for the horrible crimes it committed in World War II |
| D．it is wrong to equate their sufferings with those of other countries |
Here are some traditional German beer games .
Beer Boot Pass
A very , very popular game played in Germany is the beer boot pass ( Bier Boot ) , which has gained popularity all over the world . The game is usually played to pin the next round of beer on a person . In this , a full glass of beer is passed around in the group—there are some rules for this—it has to be tipped every time before it is passed and not a drop of beer must be spilled . The second-to-last person who finishes the beer must pay for the next round . The game then becomes all about judgment because either you drink the entire beer or have a sip and pass it on . You never know who the second to last person will be , so the uncertainty and excitement makes the game a favorite .Beer Crate-Running
This is a traditional game that is extremely popular in Germany , Switzerland , and Austria , more popularly referred to as Kastenlauf . The game is similar to running a race , where a route is marked , ranging from anywhere between 5-12 km . Each participant brings a crate of beer ( the size and quantity will be specified ) . The first person who success fully finishes the entire crate of beer before getting to the finish line wins .Flunkyball
This outdoor game is played with one team being matched against another , with equal numbers in both . The teams stand on opposite sides of the ground in a line , with their beers lined before them . An empty bottle or a tin can is placed in the center and another object ( used as an aim ) is brought in , something like a tennis ball . The first team ( A ) hits the ball onto the target to tumble（打翻）it . Once the bottle has tumbled , team A will start drinking their beers . Meanwhile , team B must run to the center , place the bottle upright , find the ball , and cross back into the line before yelling ‘ Stop ’ . Team A then stops drinking and team B starts to throw the ball at the bottle and carrying forward the game . The game continues till one team has finished all their beer and they are declared winners .Drinking Relay
Divide the group of people into two teams and get them to stand in a line with beer placed in front of each member . At the blow of the whistle , the first person lifts the glass and starts drinking the beer . After he is done , he has to turn the glass over to show that there is no more beer in the glass . Then , the next person starts drinking and so on . The next in line can only drink when the first person has emptied his glass . The team whose last member empties the glass ahead of others wins .Herman the German
Even though this game seems simple , it is a lot of fun . It runs on the lines of ‘ Who stole the cookie ’ . A person is chosen as ‘ Herman the German ’ ( HTG ) and he has to get the game running . The other members sit in a random manner and are given names , better if they are confusing names like China Port No. 1 , Rum Master Blaster etc . The game starts with HTG saying – “ HTG dropped a missile on China Port No. 1 , sir ” and China Port No. 1 has to reply with – “ It wasn’t me , sir . ” Then HTG replies – “ Who then , sir ” and it goes on . The sentence has to end with ‘ sir ’ and if it doesn’t , then the player has to down a beer . Similarly , if at any point the players fumble , they have to do the same . The tension makes the players forget things and there’s a whole lot of beer flowing as a result .Which two games have something to do with running ?
| A．Beer Boot Pass and Beer Crate-Running |
| B．Flunkyball and Drinking Relay |
| C．Beer Crate-Running and Flunkyball |
| D．Drinking Relay and Herman the German |
The loser will have to buy beers for others in the game __________ .
| A．Beer Boot Pass | B．Beer Crate-Running |
| C．Flunkyball | D．Drinking Relay |
A person with a good memory may have a advantage in playing __________ .
| A．Beer Boot Pass | B．Flunkyball |
| C．Drinking Relay | D．Herman the German |
Which of the following statements is listed as a rule of the games ?
| A．Every person has to sip the beer when playing Beer Boot Pass . |
| B．The person who replies to HTG with “ sir ” at the end will be punished . |
| C．The team can start drinking their beers as soon as they throw the ball in Flunkyball |
| D．The team members have to drink their beers in turn when playing Drinking Relay . |
When people find out that the product they bought is unsatisfying or in some other way does not live up to the manufacturer’s claims , the first step is to present the warranty , or any other records which might help , at the store of purchase . In most cases , this action will produce results . However , if it does not , there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction . A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain directly to the store manager . In general , the “ higher up ” his or her complaint , the faster he or she can expect it to be settled . In such a case , it is usually settled in the consumer’s favor , assuming he or she has a just claim . Consumers should complain in person whenever possible , but if they cannot get to the place of purchase , it is acceptable to phone or write the complaint in a letter .
Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely but firmly , and especially when the consumer can demonstrate what is wrong with the item in question . If this cannot be done , the consumer will succeed best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong , rather than by making general statements . For example , “ The left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear ” is better than “ This stereo does not work . ” The store manager may advise the consumer to write to be manufacturer . If so , the consumer should do this , stating the complaint as politely and firmly as possible . If a polite complaint does not achieve the desired result , the consumer can go to a step further . She or he can threaten to take the seller to court or report the seller to a private or public organization responsible for protecting consumer’s rights .When people find that their purchase is unsatisfying , the first thing they should do is to __________ .
| A．complain personally to the manager |
| B．threaten to take the seller to court |
| C．write a firm letter of complaint to the store of purchase |
| D．show some written proof of the purchase to the store |
How can a consumer make his or her complaint more effective , according to the passage ?
| A．Make polite and general statements about the problem . |
| B．Threaten to take the seller to court . |
| C．Explain exactly what is wrong with the item . |
| D．Avoid having direct contact with the store manager . |
What’s the best title of this passage ?
| A．How to settle a consumer’s complaint |
| B．How to make an effective complaint |
| C．How to avoid buying a faulty item |
| D．How to deal with complaints |
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