Slang is a popular, less official and often very current form of language. It is an important part of a living language and is constantly changing as language changes. Slang is often playful, direct and sometimes less respectful than the more official and traditional version of language. So now I'm going to lay it on you! To “lay it on” is American slang for “to tell” or “to explain.”
Slang can take many forms. For example, slang can be local to one city or area. In Washington, D.C. there is a whole set of slang to describe politics and business in the city. For example, the term POTUS stands for President of the United States. POTUS can often be found with his wife, FLOTUS, the first lady of the United States. “Inside the Beltway” is a popular expression that describes the area of Washington, D.C. The beltway is the large highway that circles the city.
The Internet has helped create a whole new kind of computer-related slang. An “angry fruit salad” is an expression that describes a website with too many bright colors. “Netiquette” is slang for correct behavior when using the Internet.
Young people often develop the latest slang. For example, to say Special English “rocks” or is “phat” means Special English is really great. A “kegger” is a party where beer is served. If something is “wack”, it is wild and crazy.
Different professions often have their own slang as well. For example, medical workers might refer to a complaining patient as a “gomer”. A "tough stick" is someone whose veins are difficult to find when he or she needs to have blood taken.
No matter how well you speak English, there are always new and interesting slang words to discover. There are entire dictionaries for describing slang. Many experts do not even agree on what is and what is not slang. Often slang words later become a part of officially accepted language. Official or not, slang is an energetic and exciting part of the American language that continues to change.Which of the following is NOT true for slang compared with the official language?
| A．Playful | B．Direct |
| C．Less respectful | D．More official |
It can be inferred from the passage that______.
| A．if you speak English very well, there is no problem for you to understand English speakers |
| B．slang words are created by people in their daily life |
| C．English speakers are clear whether it is a slang |
| D．slang words will never be accepted as official language |
Which of the following is not mentioned to have helped create slang?
| A．The internet. | B．Young people. |
| C．President of the United States. | D．Professions |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．What is slang? | B．Slang is popular. |
| C．Who creates slang? | D．Slang is a language. |
Growing mushrooms(蘑菇) is probably the easiest thing you can do if you are new to mushroom growing. Mushroom growing is becoming more and more common as restaurants are creating more dishes that include mushrooms.
Mushroom growing is easy. To start with you need to have a growing space where you are going to grow these mushrooms. It does not have to be too big enough for you to grow as many mushrooms as you need. When you have found the space that is perfect for you, you can start to research what kind of mushrooms you want to grow. There are hundreds of kinds to choose from but not all mushrooms are edible, which is an important fact you need to remember before you start. Don’t grow mushrooms you can’t use or sell.
When you figure out what kind of mushrooms you want to grow, you can make some preparations. Sometimes you need to hire some workers to help you if you have a large mushroom farm, or if you are trying to start a professional mushroom growing business. Trying to start a business by yourself can be stressful. If you don’t have time to take care of everything yourself, to hire a worker is the best bet.
After you have started the mushroom growing, you should regularly check and make sure that your mushrooms are growing properly and that they are not being attacked by any pesticides(杀虫剂) or any other animals that are potentially dangerous for them. That is the worst situation of mushroom growing. Protect your mushroom farm well with a fence or a gate so that only you and your workers can get in an out.
Mushroom growing is not difficult and is a really easy way to get started in the field of farming. You will possibly supply some of the great chefs(厨师) of the world with high-quality mushrooms that will be enjoyed by thousands of people around the world. Many people are beginning to plant mushrooms probably because _______.
| A．they are too common |
| B．they look very beautiful |
| C．there are more restaurants |
| D．they are in great need |
The underlined word “edible” (in paragraph 2) probably means “________”.
| A．easy to find | B．expensive to buy |
| C．suitable to eat | D．difficult to grow |
Which of the following is the right order of planting mushrooms?
a. Choose the suitable mushrooms.
b. Protect your mushrooms well.
c. Find some people to help you.
d. Start to grow mushrooms.
e. Find a place to plant mushrooms.
| A．b, d, a, e, c | B．e, a, c, d, b |
| C．e, c, a, b, d | D．d, c, b, a, e |
What is the main topic of the passage?
| A．It is easy to grow mushrooms. |
| B．You should hire other people to help you. |
| C．Growing mushrooms is not easy. |
| D．Tips for mushroom growing |
American parents generally can choose any name they want for their children. They may choose a name because it honors a family member. Or they may choose a name just because they like it.
A website called Baby Center lists some unusual names given to American babies born last year. Some were named for characters in old stories, such as Hero, Thor and Ulysses. Other people named their babies after kinds of food, like actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She named her daughter Apple. Other people named their babies Banana, Pumpkin and Cookie.
Still some babies were named for places. These included Brazil, India and Rome. Some parents used names of famous people from history such as Newton and Hannibal. Other parents named their babies after flowers or the weather. These babies were named Buttercup, Iris, Sunshine and Thunder.
Recording artists and movie actors influence some parents’ choices of names. Babies were named Beyonce, Charlize, Reda, Pierce, Shajira and Whitney. Movie actors themselves often give their babies unusual names. For example, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt named their baby daughter Shiloh. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes named their little girl Suri.
Some American parents do not want unusual names. They want their baby’s name to honor their religious faith. Such names include Abraham for boys or Sarah for girls. And many people give their babies the same name as a family member or good friend.
The United States Social Security Administration once published a list of the most popular names for American girls and boys born. Many of the top ten boys, names are from the Jewish and Christian Bibles.How did American parents usually name their children?
| A．In a way they please. | B．In a scientific way. |
| C．In a careless way. | D．In a common way |
From the second paragraph, we can infer that _______.
| A．Ulysses is a main person in an old story book. |
| B．the meaning of Gwyneth Paltrow is a kind of fruit |
| C．American parents expect their children to be a hero. |
| D．a girl was named Apple because she liked eating apples. |
What can we know from American children’s name?
| A．American children’s names express American history. |
| B．A foreign place may become a name of an American child. |
| C．American parents’ favorite names are those of famous actors. |
| D．American parents expect their children to be different from others. |
If a girl is named Sarah, the name reflects her parents’ _______.
| A．love | B．career | C．expectation | D．religion |
Neumann was the oldest of 3 children of a banker, and his speed of learning new ideas and of solving problems stood out early. At 17, his father tried to persuade him not to become a mathematician because he may lead a poor life being a mathematician, and so Neumann agreed to study chemistry as well. In 1926, at 23, he received a degree in chemical engineering and a Ph. D. in mathematics. From then on, mathematic provided well enough for him, and he never had to turn to chemistry.
In 1930, Neumann visited Princeton University for a year and then became a professor there. His first book was published in 1932. In 1933, the Institute for Advanced Study was formed, and he became one of the 6 full-time people in the School of Mathematics (Einstein was one of the others).
World War II hugely changed Neumann’s areas of interest. Until 1940 he had been a great pure (纯粹的) mathematician. During and after the war, he became one of the best mathematicians who put mathematics theories into practice. During the last part of the war he became interested in computing machines and made several contributions. After the war, Neumann continued his work with computers, and was generally very active in government service. He received many awards, was president of American Mathematical Society and was a member of the Atomic Energy Commission. He died in 1957 of cancer.
Neumann really was a legend(传奇) in his own time, and there are a number of stories about him. His driving ability is a part of this legend. He reported one accident this way: “I was driving down the road. The trees on the right were passing me in an orderly fashion at 60 miles per hour. Suddenly one of them stepped in my path.”According to the text, Neumann’s father believed that __________.
| A．a mathematician needed a good memory |
| B．a mathematician couldn’t earn a lot of money |
| C．Neumann has a gift for solving problems at a high speed |
| D．Neumann had the ability to learn two subjects at the same time |
How did World War II affect Neumann?
| A．He lost interest in chemistry. |
| B．He realized the importance of engineering. |
| C．He began to research how to put mathematics into practice. |
| D．He left college and served at the government department. |
Which of the following is true of Neumann?
| A．He had three children. |
| B．He died from an accident. |
| C．He received many awards in his life. |
| D．He and Einstein were classmates in Princeton University. |
From the last paragraph, we can infer Neumann was ________.
| A．humorous | B．calm | C．intelligent | D．brave |
In a movie, a woman reads a storybook to her friend’s daughter. As they approach the last page, she reads, “… and Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after.” She closes the book and looks at the young girl, adding, “ You know, things don’t always happen like this in real life, I just think you should know that now.”
We were all raised on fairy tales with glass slippers, brave princes and magic! It didn’t take too long to realize that stories like that aren’t necessarily true. In real life, you learn that glass slippers are really uncomfortable, no prince is perfect and magic doesn’t always work.
So what do you do when the way you planned things is not the way they turned out?
Know that parts of your fairy tale have already been written, and sadly, there’s not much you can do about those first few chapters. You didn’t get the best start. Your trust was unexpectedly betrayed (背叛). You didn’t get the job. Whatever falls and failures happened in your past, there’s still more to the story.
Your life has a lot of contributors (投稿者), and you are the editor-in-chief. You take what’s there and create the masterpiece (杰作). All the good pages and the bad can come together to make a beautiful adventure.
When you find yourself wishing your life was more like the fairy tales, remember that in some ways it already is. There will be dragons, bad witches, great romances, winding roads and friends to help you along the way. Live your life carefully and positively as if you are writing a long story. Whether it’s a comedy, tragedy or a little of both, the pen is in your hand. How it ends is all up to you.According to the first paragraph, we know the woman is __________.
| A．wise | B．cruel | C．brave | D．patient |
Why does the author raise the question in Paragraph 3?
| A．To compare different ideas |
| B．To express the doubts of life. |
| C．To introduce points for discussion. |
| D．To describe the conditions in real life |
Which of the following may NOT often appear in fairy tales?
| A．Glass slippers | B．Winding roads |
| C．Sad endings | D．Bad witches. |
What is the message expressed in the passage?
| A．Be positive about life |
| B．Write your own stories. |
| C．Parents should tell fairy tales to their kids |
| D．There are many problems in school education |
Oldest , Youngest , or in the Middle ?
Were you the first or last child in your family? Or were you a middle or the only child? Some people think it matters where you were born in your family. But there are different ideas about what birth order means.
Some people say that oldest children are smart and strong-willed. They are very likely to be successful. The reason for this is simple. Parents have a lot of time for their first child. They give him or her a lot of attention. So this child is very likely to do well. An only child will succeed for the same reasons.
What happens to the other children in a family? Middle children don’t get so much attention. So they don’t feel that important. If a family has many children, the middle ones sometimes get lost in the crowd. The youngest child, though, often gets special treatment. He or she is the “baby”. Often this child grows up to be funny and charming.
Do you believe these ideas about birth order? A recent study saw things quite differently. This study found that the first children believed in family rules. They didn’t take many chances in their lives. They usually followed their own ideas . They took chances. And they often did better in life.
Which theory about birth order do you believe? Look at your own family or you friends’ families. Decide which idea fits what you see.This passage is about __________.
| A．why the oldest children in a family usually succeed |
| B．why some children refuse to follow orders |
| C．ways in which birth order may affect how children grow up |
| D．how people have a lot of trouble agreeing about ideas |
The statement that middle children “ sometimes get lost in the crowd” means that _________.
| A．they have a poor sense of direction |
| B．they don’t get a lot of attention |
| C．they have a strong desire to be leaders |
| D．they can’t get along with others |
The underlined word “ theory “ means ________.
| A．idea | B．comparison | C．evidence | D．surprise |
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