In most languages, a greeting is usually followed by “small talk”. Small talk means the little things we talk about at the start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the weather. “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Terrible weather, isn’t it?” But there is something special about small talk. It must be about something that both people have the same opinion about. The purpose of small talk is to let both people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. In the UK people usually agree about the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion or politics so these are not suitable topics for small talk. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching. “Great game, isn’t it?” At bus-stops, people may comment on the transport system. “The bus service is terrible, isn’t it?”Small talk is ________.
| A．a kind of conversation with short words |
| B．a greeting used when people meet each other |
| C．to let people disagree about something |
| D．something we talk about to start a conversation |
The favorite topic of small talk for English people is _________.
| A．the weather | B．politics |
| C．games | D．languages |
The passage suggests that when we learn a language _________.
| A．we should learn about the transport system of the country |
| B．we should only master the grammar and the vocabulary |
| C．we should learn the culture of the country |
| D．we should understand the importance of the language |
When we say “Great game, isn’t it?”, we are in fact __________.
| A．asking a question | B．having a conversation |
| C．make a comment | D．making small talk |
One Monday morning, Paul and his classmates were in science laboratory for their practical chemistry lesson. The students were going to work in pairs to do an experiment. Before they began, the teacher gave them this description of the different stages of the experiment.
Stage 1: Prepare the equipment: a test tube, a crucible, a Bunsen burner and tongs.
Stage 2: Weigh 5 grams of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and put it in a crucible.
Stage 3: Heat 10 ml of hydrochloric acid (盐酸) in a test tube.
Stage 4: Pour the warm acid onto the baking soda and continue to heat the mixture.
Result: The acid reacts with the bicarbonate（碳酸氢盐）to form water, carbon dioxide gas and salt. The hotter the mixture, the quicker the reaction. Continue to heat the mixture until the water evaporates, leaving the salt in the crucible.
Paul and his partner followed the instructions and set up their equipment. Paul went to the cupboard to get a bottle of hydrochloric acid. He found that there was only one bottle in the cupboard so he took that. There was no label on the bottle and Paul didn’t check with the teacher if it was the right solution.
He measured the liquid and poured it into a test tube. Using tongs to hold the test tube, he heated it over the Bunsen burner. That’s when things started to go wrong. The liquid in the test tube was not hydrochloric acid. When it was heated, it formed a thick cloud of white gas. Soon the room was full of this strong smelling white gas.
All the students started coughing and their eyes hurt. The teacher immediately opened the windows and ordered the students to leave the laboratory at once. She realized that the liquid was a crylamide (丙烯酰胺) and that it is poisonous.
Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident. However, it taught the students and the teacher a good lesson.What lesson did the incident teach the students and the teacher?
| A．Never have a bottle without a label in the chemistry lab! |
| B．Obey your teacher’s instructions in the Chemistry lab. |
| C．A crylamide can’t take the place of hydrochloric acid. |
| D．Finding something unusual happened, you have to leave the laboratory at once. |
What substance were the students making in the experiment?
| A．Water | B．Carbon dioxide gas | C．Salt | D．Poisonous gas |
Why did Paul make the mistake?
| A．He went to the cupboard to get the bottle by himself. |
| B．He found that there was only one bottle in the cupboard so he took that. |
| C．There was no label on the bottle. |
| D．Paul didn’t check with the teacher that it was the right solution. |
Why did the teacher send the students out of the classroom?
| A．Becausethe room was full of this strong smelling white gas. |
| B．Because all the students started coughing and their eyes hurt. |
| C．Becausethe liquid was a crylamide and that it is poisonous. |
| D．Because someone was injured in the incident. |
People who show confidence really seem to have it made. They seize more rewarding careers, keep good relationships, and just seem to do everything with more styles than the rest of us.
So what is the secret? There isn’t one. Self-confidence is a skill and habit that anyone can learn to develop. And although people who are raised in an encouraging environment with confident role models have a hard start in self-confidence development, we all can learn to become more confident at any age.
Try these simple tips for practising and increasing your self-confidence levels:
Dare to fail. Anybody who’s out there bravely performing is going to fail repeatedly. If you are not failing, you are not trying. So don’t take failure too hard or too personally. Just learn to deal with it and use its lessons to keep improving.
When in doubt, pretend you know what you are doing. Because, if you are confident of your abilities, by the time you have done it, you will be experienced.
Dress for success. You don’t have to be beautiful to be confident. Make the most of your own unique physical characters and weaken your disadvantages.
Listen to yourself. You are the only person who knows what’s right for you. Don’t put others’ opinions above your own inner voice.
Build a confident vocabulary. Stop putting yourself down and give up continually blaming your tiny weaknesses. Learn to show up your strong points and the world will learn to see and celebrate them with you.
Pass on the praise. Praise others for their virtues and strengths. This practice will not decrease your confidence, but help increase it.The passage is written mainly __________.
| A．to explain the definition of self-confidence |
| B．to explain the secret of self-confidence |
| C．to tell people how important self-confidence is |
| D．to tell people how to build self-confidence |
The main idea of the sixth paragraph is __________.
| A．to be confident means to have no disadvantages |
| B．taking full advantage of your physical characters will help you be confident |
| C．your unique characters will help you be confident and be successful |
| D．to be confident means to be beautiful |
All the following are tips to increase your self-confidence level EXCEPT______.
| A．not to be afraid of failure | B．dress yourself properly |
| C．pretend to know everything | D．make your advantages more obvious |
_______ will weaken your self-confidence.
| A．Praising others for their strong points |
| B．Always following others’ advice to do things |
| C．Giving up blaming your weaknesses |
| D．Believing in yourself |
She once said: "When people ask me if writing has been a hard or easy road I always answer with the famous saying, "the end is nothing; the road is all.'” That is what I mean when I say writing has been a pleasure. I have never faced the type-writer (打字机) with the thought that one more task had to be done."
Like most writers, Willa Cather did not write books for the money that they brought her, but rather for the pleasure that came in their writing. Her works were, like her, simple and full of the vigor (活力) of her days in Nebraska, where she grew from childhood to young womanhood and where she developed a deep love for the treeless land of the Great Plains with its wild flowers, wheat fields and rivers.
"It's a rather strange thing about the flat country," she wrote later. "It takes hold of you, or it leaves you perfectly cold. A great many people find it very dull; they like a church tower, an old factory, a waterfall country all made to look like a German, Christmas card... But when I come to the open plains, something happens. I'm home. I breathe differently."What did Cather mean by "the end is nothing; the road is all"?
| A．Writing is the only path to success. |
| B．I feel happy when I finish writing a book. |
| C．I enjoy writing whether it is hard or easy. |
| D．Writing itself, not its result, is important. |
What was the place like where Cather grew up?
| A．It was cold, plain and without a church. |
| B．It was a colorful world of wild flowers. |
| C．It was like a German Christmas card |
| D．It was vast, open, flat and wild. |
When she said "It takes hold of you, or it leaves you perfectly cold", Willa Gather meant ______.
| A．you either love the place or hate it |
| B．you decide either to stay or to leave |
| C．some find the place warm; others find it cold |
| D．some find the place peaceful; others find it wild |
What happens when Cather comes to the open plains?
| A．She breathes differently from others: |
| B．She wants to make the place her home. |
| C．She finds the place similar to her home. |
| D．She feels completely comfortable |
Last year, over 206,000 students from the United States studied abroad. Does that number surprise you? These students already know the benefits of studying abroad. You may be wondering why you should study abroad. Here are some answers for you.
◆ Timing
The absolutely best time in your life to study abroad is when you are in college. If you miss this opportunity, it’s almost impossible for you to do it later in life.
◆ To gain cross-cultural experience
Life overseas makes you see your everyday world in a whole new light. You don’t even realize it, but our culture shapes the way we view the world and affects us every minute of the day. Differences in culture are more than just differences in language, food, clothing and art.
◆ To improve your communication skills and your self-confidence
People who study abroad tend to be willing to take risks, willing to put themselves in unusual situations, and able to solve problems.
◆ To become more fluent in a language or to learn a new language
The world market is becoming smaller, and many companies require a second language. Foreign languages are not only valuable in the job market but also valuable in the real world.
◆ For the adventure
Travel to other cities within your host country and around neighboring countries. As you get to know your new classmates, roommates, and host family, you will gain a unique view on the host culture. Discover the differences and, more importantly, the many similarities between your worlds. The friendships you make will last long after the program.
◆ To learn more about yourself
Find out who you really are. What are your limits? How do you overcome the difficulties you’ve never encountered before? How independent are you? These questions are hard to answer until you are removed from your usual surroundings. After solving difficult problems on your own overseas, you’ll find that almost nothing will confuse you at home. Students who study abroad commonly report that their study abroad experience actually changed their lives.The passage mainly talks about _______.
| A．the benefits of studying abroad |
| B．the time for studying abroad |
| C．the difficulty you come across when you're abroad |
| D．some tips on how to get used to a new environment |
What is the best time in your life to study abroad according to the passage?
| A．When you're at work. | B．When you are free. |
| C．At any time you like. | D．When you are in college. |
What does the underlined word“encountered” here mean?
| A．Opposed. | B．Experienced. | C．Solved. | D．Explained. |
All of the following are mentioned in the passage as reasons for studying abroad EXCEPT _______.
| A．getting cross-cultural experience |
| B．improving communication skills and self-confidence |
| C．improving your foreign language |
| D．learning how to get along with people |
Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside. They often talked of opening their own store one day.
When Mary was hospitalized with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious. Richard, who worked for a business company, was eager to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her demanding job.
They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry. “We knew it had to be a specialty store because we couldn’t match the big chains dollar for dollar,” says Mary. One figure caught her attention: She’d read somewhere that roughly 20 percent of books sold were mysteries (推理小说), and many buyers spent more $300 a year on books. She and Richard were themselves mystery readers.
On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home. With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family’s money to start a shop. To cover the $100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from relatives and from an bank.
The store merely broke even in its first year, with only $120,000 in sales. But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract customers. The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and served dinners for book clubs that met in the store. She also invited dozens of writers to discuss their stories.
Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about $420,000 a year. After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales clerks, Richard and Mary together earn about $34,000.
“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income,” says Richard. “This has always been about an enjoyable life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money.”When Mary was in hospital, the couple realized that ____.
| A．they had to put their plan into practice |
| B．health was more important than wealth |
| C．heart trouble was a serious illness |
| D．they both needed to stop working |
After Mary got well from her illness they began _____.
| A．to study industrial management |
| B．to buy and read more mystery books |
| C．to do market research on book business |
| D．to work harder to save money for the bookstore |
How did their bookstore do in the first year?
| A．They had to borrow money to keep it going. |
| B．They made just enough to cover all the costs. |
| C．They succeeded in earning a lot of money. |
| D．They failed though they worked hard. |
According to Richard, the main purpose of running the bookstore is _____.
| A．to pay for their children’s education |
| B．to get to know more writers |
| C．to set up more bookstores |
| D．to do what they like to do |
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