We often ask for information or help, especially(尤其) when we visit a foreign country. So knowing how to ask for information politely is important. In English, “Where are the restrooms?” and “Could you please tell me where the restrooms are?” are correct English, but the first could sound rude（粗鲁）. It’s important to use correct language, but sometimes we need to learn how to be polite（礼貌）.
In English, just like in Chinese, we change the way we speak when talking with different people. If you say to your teacher, “Where is my book?” This will sound rude. But if you say, “Excuse me, Mr West. Do you know where my book is?” Your question will sound much more polite. Of course it might be all right to say “Where is my book?” in some situations, perhaps with people you know well.
“Peter, lend me your pen.” can sound rude in English. Usually in English, polite questions are longer such as “Could you please…?” or “Can I ask…?” It sounds more polite to say, “Peter, could you please lend me your pen?” Sometimes we might even need to spend some time when you stop a stranger in the street. We might first say, “Excuse me. I wonder if you can help me” or “I’m sorry to trouble you but,” before asking them for help.
It might seem that speaking politely is more difficult than being direct(直接). However, in order not to offend(冒犯) people, learning about language etiquette(规矩) is just as important as learning grammar or vocabulary. And doing this will also help you become better at English, or any other language you wish to speak.What is the polite way when you ask for help?
| A．Pass me the watch, Li Tao. |
| B．Where is the supermarket? |
| C．Tell me where I can find a bank. |
| D．Excuse me, how could I get to the book shop? |
Why do we need to learn polite language? Because _____.
| A．they can improve our grammar and vocabulary |
| B．they can help us become better at English |
| C．everyone wants to be polite |
| D．the teachers tell us to do so |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．When and how to use correct language is important. |
| B．How to start a polite talking with strange people. |
| C．Correct language is as important as polite one. |
| D．People should learn to speak politely. |
Every James Bond movie starts with a different theme song. It’s usually performed by one of the top artists of the day. Here are three Bond theme songs from the films Diamonds are Forever(1971), A View to a Kill(1985), and Skyfall(2012).
Diamonds are Forever
Diamonds are Forever(from the movie of the same name) is one of the most famous James Bond theme songs. The song is sung by Shirley Bassey. She’s one of the most famous British singers of the 20th century. She’s probably best-known for singing the theme songs to three Bond films: Goldfinger(1964), Diamonds are Forever(1971) and Moonraker(1979). J
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the theme song from 1985 Bond film of the same name. This song is sung by Duran Duran, one of the biggest pop groups of the 1980s. They were one of the first groups to appear regularly on MTV. The band is still together and its members are Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Richard Taylor.
Skyfall
Skyfall is the theme song from the latest Bond film of the same name. This song is sung by Adele, a 24-year-old English singer-song writer. She’s been respected(尊重)very much by other musicians. Beyonce has said she wants to work with her and Madonna recently said, “Adele is wonderful. I love her!” She even impressed Bond himself. Daniel Craig, the actor who plays 007, said he cried when he first heard the song. He said it “perfectly matches” the film.
A. film B. actor C. singer
A. pop group B. rock singer C. songwriter
A. sung three Bond theme songs
B. joined the biggest pop group
C. been greatly respected and loved
A. Diamonds are Forever
B. A View to a Kill
C. Skyfall
A. James Bond movies
B. Bond theme songs
C.007 movie actors
When Webster was young，he was a teacher. But he quickly became tired of the books he used in class. They were all about the English people and places. Since he wanted books that would be interesting to the American children，he wrote three books with many American examples.
Webster worked hard to change the spelling of American English. He wanted words to be spelled in the same way they were pronounced，for example，he thought the word “laugh” should be spelled “laf”. And he tried many ways to ask people to help him do this.
One day he walked into a print shop and gave the boy there a piece of paper. “Young man，”he said，“when you print any book in the future，please don't spell the words like the English people do. For example，when you see these words：theatre，centre, colour，and labour，please always print them as theater，center，color and labor.” The boy studied it and answered，“I agree with you，but I must ask my boss first.”
With the money he made from his books，Webster could start his great work，which took him more than twenty years to finish the first American English dictionary. And today，Webster's dictionary is thought to be the most important American English dictionary in the whole world.
A．he was born in America
B．there were many mistakes in them
C．American children were not interested in them
A．meaning B．pronunciation C．use
A．Only one B．Two C．At least four
A．He was for it.
B．He was against it.
C．He had no idea about it.
There are many ways of putting out a fire. You may have seen people put out burning cigarettes by stepping on them. Stepping on cigarettes shuts off the air and puts out the fire.
Many fires are put out with water. Water cools the materials that are burning. It helps make the fire die out. Some of the water is changed into steam when it strikes the hot fire. The steam keeps air from the fire and helps put it out.
Some fires can not be put out with water. Suppose a tank full of gasoline(汽油)is on fire. Gasoline is lighter than water. If you poured water into the tank of gasoline, the water would sink to the bottom of the tank. The gasoline would float on top of the water on the fire and flow over the edge of the tank. Then the fire would spread. Gasoline fires should be put out with sand or with chemicals of some kind, such as that used in some fire extinguishers(灭火器).
A. the burning cigarettes are too hot to touch
B. it helps to stop smoking
C. it shuts off the air and makes the fire go out
A. Some of the water will turn into steam and keep air from the fire.
B. Most of the water will flow away.
C. The water will be absorbed by the fire.
A. with hot wate
B. with nothing but sand
C. with sand or chemicals
What is the hottest English word of 2014? It’s “selfie”, according to Oxford dictionaries. Selfie is a photo that one takes of oneself, according to the Oxford online dictionary. People usually take selfies with a smartphone(智能手机) and send them to a social media website.
The word was first used in 2004. In the past 12 months, its frequency (出现频率) in the English language has increased by 17,000 percent, said Oxford dictionaries. Now, almost everybody knows it.
“Almost every day, I take a photo of myself at school, and save it in my Qzone (QQ空间),” said Huang Xu, 13, from Hunan. These photos record her happy and sad moments.
Pop stars also take a lot of selfies. Li Chunping, 14, from Harbin, is a big fan of Yang Mi. “She has used many selfies to tell us what’s going on in her personal life,” said Li.
What makes people love selfies? Some people say it’s narcissism (自恋). “The rise of the selfie is a perfect symbol for our narcissistic culture. We’re crying out: Look at me!” said US psychiatrist(精神科医生) Carole Lieberman.
Young people are using selfies to make friends online, Jonathan Freedland wrote in The Guardian. “The usual purpose of taking a selfie is to share online. They express a human need to connect with others,” wrote Freedland.
Huang Xu agrees with that. “During summer vacation, my classmates and I shared many selfies online. Hair or clothes were not our interests. Through these photos, we got to know each other’s holidays and feelings,” said Huang Xu.According to the story, a “selfie” is __________.
| A．a person with a smartphone |
| B．a smartphone which can take photos |
| C．a photo taken by oneself |
| D．an English dictionary |
When was the word “selfie” first used?
| A．More than ten years ago | B．In 2014 |
| C．When smartphones appeared | D．Nobody knows |
We can tell from the story that __________.
| A．only famous people enjoy taking selfies |
| B．all people love selfies because of narcissism |
| C．people love to share selfies online |
| D．US psychiatrist Carole Lieberman hates selfies |
We put the sentence “But some people don’t see it that way” at the beginning of ___________.
| A．Paragraph 4 | B．Paragraph 5 |
| C．Paragraph 6 | D．Paragraph 7 |
What is the best title of this passage ?
| A．Selfies and narcissism |
| B．Selfies and sharing |
| C．Selfies and smartphones |
| D．Selfies, the hottest word in 2014 |
I used to hate my mother because she worked a lot and didn’t spend much time with me. Then one Friday morning I took part in a three-day self-help program for teenagers. Whether you believe it or not, that weekend changed my life.
About 100 other teenagers were there. During the first two days I met a lot of great people. I was glad because I made so many friends there.
On Sunday, the leader did an interesting exercise called “Chocolate or Toys”. He asked a girl which she liked better, chocolate or toys. She chose chocolate. Then he asked her to choose again between chocolate and chocolate. Of course, she didn’t have a choice.
This exercise told us that sometimes we don’t have a choice in life, and that sometimes we have to accept something, rather than complaining(抱怨).
A girl stood up and started talking about her mom who was a drug addict (吸毒者)and how much she hated her mother.
“I want a new mom,” she cried.
“Unluckily, you can’t have one,” the leader replied.
“You have to accept the mother that you have.”
This hit me hard. I realized that, for better or worse, my mom was my mom. I couldn’t choose another mom, but I could try to make the best of the situation.The writer used to hate his mother because ________.
| A．she didn’t care for him. |
| B．she had no time to be with him |
| C．she was a drug addict. |
| D．she was too strict with him. |
The self-help program for teenagers lasted ___________.
| A．a week | B．two days |
| C．three days | D．only one day |
The writer started to change his thinking ___________.
| A．during the first two days of the program |
| B．after the exercise named “Chocolate or Toys” |
| C．as soon as he came to the program |
| D．after he left the program some time |
From the end of the passage, we can know that ____________.
| A．the writer used to love his mom for years |
| B．the writer’s mom is a very bad person |
| C．the writer’s mom loves her son very much |
| D．the writer will try to get along with his mother |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Choices can be made as we like |
| B．Everyone should take part in a self-help program |
| C．Chocolate can influence one’s attitude toward things. |
| D．We should try to accept things instead of complaining about them. |
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