Grammarphobia is the fear of grammar. This fear attacks almost everybody at one time or another, and it's most likely to strike during English or language arts classes. Even people who love reading and writing have been known to get feverish and insecure when they are aware of the possibility of turning in homework with grammar or spelling mistakes. Though writing may be enjoyable, being corrected is definitely not!
Grammarphobes, it's time to put your fears behind you. Grammar isn't that dreadful (可怕的). Here's why.
Let's assume you like hearing and telling stories and that you enjoy joking with friends. You probably also like emailing and instantmessaging. Well, what do you think makes all these possible? Grammar!
Grammar is simply the art of putting words together to make sentences. Whenever you use words to express yourself, you're using grammar. You do this all the time without even thinking.
So why think about it? Because good grammar helps you convey the ideas you intend. If your words aren't right, or if they are not in the right order, the person you are talking to might get the wrong idea. This can have embarrassing results.
Grammar helps us understand each other. It's like a manual (手册) for assembling the words in your head. You have to put your words together the right way if you want them to make sense. They can't do what you want if they aren't put together correctly.
What if everybody you know had a different manual? How would you agree on what others' words mean? People with different grammar manuals might be speaking different languages.
Communicating is similar to playing cards. To make sense, we have to play the same game, by the same rules. What are the rules for playing the game of English? You already know most of them without having to open a book.Grammarphobes refer to people who ________.
| A．consider grammar to be boring |
| B．are afraid of making grammar mistakes |
| C．mind grammar too much in writing |
| D．are worried about grammar homework |
The underlined word “assembling” in Paragraph 6 may mean ________.
| A．directing | B．remembering |
| C．looking for | D．bringing together |
What does playing cards have in common with communicating?
| A．Both can be learned easily. |
| B．Both can be interesting games. |
| C．Both need standards. |
| D．Both can make sense for our life. |
What might be the main idea of the passage?
| A．Grammar is not horrible. |
| B．Forgetting grammar when writing. |
| C．Improving grammar through writing. |
| D．What is grammarphobia? |
Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony（和谐） in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behavior. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘Dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than was previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The significance of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets --- to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．early | B．sweetly | C．quickly | D．smoothly |
Some cats and dogs may fight when ______.
| A．they are cold to each other |
| B．they look away from each other |
| C．they misunderstand each other’s signals |
| D．they are introduced at an early age |
It is suggested in Paragraph 4 that cats and dogs ______.
| A．have common interests |
| B．are less different than was thought |
| C．have a common body language |
| D．are less intelligent than was expected |
What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs?
| A．We should learn to live in harmony. |
| B．We should know more about animals. |
| C．We should live in peace with animals. |
| D．We should learn more body languages. |
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LYG2560@sohu. comMargaret is now looking for _________.
| A．her lost cat | B．an apartment |
| C．a job | D．a roommate |
Which of the following is NOT the requirement of EL house?
| A．Experienced in exam preparations. |
| B．Experienced in teaching Chinese. |
| C．Excellent command of English. |
| D．Degree holder. |
To look for a person to work in your restaurant，you can contact ________.
| A．LYG2560@sohu. com | B．MLCT@sina. com |
| C．Backer1896@126. com | D．JGHTR@gmail. Com |
A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle (some water or liquid) between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet. He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn’t possibly imagine how this had happened. It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out he would never hear the end of it. When the girls found out, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived.
He prayed this prayer, “Dear God, I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat! ” He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered. As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water. Susie tripped （绊倒） in front of the teacher and dumped （倒）the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while he was saying to himself, “Thank you. God! ”
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule(嘲笑), the boy was the object of sympathy（同情）. The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out. All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy was wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred （转移） to someone else—Susie. She tried to help, but they told her to get out.
When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Susie whispered back, “I wet my trousers once, too!”The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means ________.
| A．the boys would never play with him |
| B．the boys would treat him as usual |
| C．he would hardly hear any praise from the boys |
| D．he would be laughed at by the boys endlessly |
After Susie dumped water in his lap, the boy was in a state of _________.
| A．excitement | B．relief | C．anxiety | D．anger |
What did the other kids do after the incident?
| A．They offered him dry clothes. |
| B．They laughed at the boy rudely. |
| C．They helped the boy do the cleaning. |
| D．They urged the boy to get out angrily. |
Why did Susie dump water in the boy’s lap?
| A．The boy asked her to do so. |
| B．She just did it by accident. |
| C．The teacher tripped her on purpose. |
| D．She knew the boy’s embarrassment.（尴尬） |
On Tuesday, the White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) set new limits (设置新限定)on advertising food and drinks in schools.
The rules ban (禁止)advertisements for unhealthy foods in schools. The ad ban includes sugary drinks that account for more than 90% of unhealthy ads. An ad for Coca-Cola, for example, will be removed from a scoreboard (记分牌) at a high school football game. However, ads for Diet Coke and Dasani water, owned by the same company, are allowed to display(展示).
The new rules are part of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign to fight childhood obesity (肥胖). Her goal is to get kids to eat healthier food. The marketing limits came after new USDA regulations that put a limit on the calorie, fat and sugar in most school food items. “The idea is simple — our classrooms should be healthy places,” the First Lady Michelle Obama said. “Because when parents are working hard to teach their kids healthy habits at home, their work shouldn’t be destroyed by unhealthy messages in schools.” However, the healthier food rules are criticized by people who think the government should not control what kids eat and by some students who don’t like the healthier foods.
It is reported that food companies spend $149 million a year on marketing foods to kids, and many big companies are supporting the new rules. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have started to advertise healthier products. For schools, junk food ads like the Coca-Cola scoreboard will be taken down.
“The new limits ensure(保证) that schools remain safe places where kids can learn and eat healthy food,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak said. The rules will help guide schools on ways to create standards (标准) for foods and physical activities. They will require parents and the community to be involved in the campaign.What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Having a balanced diet in schools is important. |
| B．New limits on advertising foods in schools have been set. |
| C．It’s Michelle’s duty to make sure schools are safe places. |
| D．Banning advertisements for Coca-Cola in schools is necessary. |
The “Let’s Move” campaign aims to_____.
| A．instruct parents to cook healthy food at home |
| B．let children keep away from sugar |
| C．warn children of the danger of obesity |
| D． keep American children healthy |
What’s Coca-Cola’s attitude towards the new limits?
| A．Supportive. | B．unsatisfied. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Disappointed. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．All advertisements for Coca-Cola in schools will be removed. |
| B．All people approve of banning advertisements for unhealthy food. |
| C．Schools play an important role in forming children’s healthy habits. |
| D．The new limits will have a negative effect on all food companies. |
Last month, Justin Valdez, a college student, was shot in a subway station in San Francisco. The surveillance video(监控录像) showed that before Justin was killed, the killer pulled out his gun several times, and even wiped his nose with it. However, nobody noticed the killer. The surrounding passengers all focused on their cell phones.
We may see the same scene everywhere in our life: in subway stations, restaurants, elevators and so on, people are watching their cell phones. From a family reunion to a date with a friend, people couldn’t stop checking their twitter and facebook on the cell phones and ignoring the persons in front completely, Phubbing(低头症) not only involves young people, but also the elderly and kids.
“Phubbing” is a new term which comes from the words “phone’’ and “snub(冷落)”. It describes the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a cell phone. The word “phubbing” was included in the Australian National Dictionary in 2012. Obviously, the indifference冷漠) and rudeness of the information age are spreading globally. A Stop Phubbing campaign website has been set up. You can find the slogan of the website as follows: “stop twittering, stop posting photos…enjoy your food, enjoy the music and respect others.”
Phubbing appears harmless. However, it does influence our life. Jimmy, an epicure(美食家), wrote in his blog: “I can no longer focus on what I am eating since I started twittering. My skill of food photography has improved very fast, while my interest in food drops as a result.”
Let us put down our cell phones and re-enjoy the real taste of our food and the warmth of interpersonal communication.The case of Justin Valdez is given in the first paragraph to show .
| A．gun violence happens easily in the US |
| B．phubbing may lead to terrible disasters |
| C．the killer didn’t mean to kill him |
| D．the killer had made a careful plan |
What will probably happen when you ask a phubbing person for help?
| A．He will give you an immediate reply. |
| B．He will stop looking at his cell phone. |
| C．He will pay no attention to you. |
| D．He will be very angry with you. |
Jimmy’s words suggest that .
| A．phubbing is actually harmless |
| B．phubbing stops people enjoying their life |
| C．phubbing affects people’s eating habits the most |
| D．phubbing helps people improve their photographic skills |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The great harm of phubbing. |
| B．The popular campaign of stop phubbing. |
| C．The meaning of the word “phubbing”. |
| D．How the word “phubbing” came into being. |
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