“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly way that people in the U.S.A greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual question. It’s a question that often doesn’t need an answer. The person who asks“ How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine”, even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn’t really a question and “Fine” isn’t really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello” or “Hi”.
Sometimes, people also don’t say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone Asks “Do you agree?”, the other person might think, “No, I disagree. I think you’re Wrong...”But it isn’t very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say “I’m not sure.” It’s a nicer way to say that you don’t agree with someone.
People also don’t say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person say “I’ve to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives and excuse: “Someone’s at the door.”“Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn’t want to talk any more, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt the other person.
Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, of finishing a talk, people don’t say exactly that they are thinking. It’s an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it’s part of the game of language.
【小题1】“How are you?”is another way of saying"Hello."or"Hi."
【小题2】 It is polite lo say"No.I disagree I think you are wrong, "if you don’t agree with others.
【小题3】When someone says"I have to go now "On the phone.it means he wants to go on talking.
【小题4】"Someone is at the door."may be an excuse for finishing a plume can.
【小题5】Sometimes people don't say exactly what they are thinking about just became they try to be nice to each other.

All the wisdom of the times, all the stories that have delighted mankind for centuries, are easily and cheaply available to all of us in books, but we must know how to make use of this treasure. The unluckiest people in the world are those who have never discovered how satisfying it is to read good books.
I’m very interested in people and finding out about them. Some of the most amazing people I’ve met could only  be found in a writer’s imagination, then in his book, and then, again, in my imagination. I’ve found in books new friends and new worlds.
Reading is fun, not because the writer is telling you something, but because it makes your mind work. Your own imagination works along with the writer’s or even goes beyond his. Your experience, compared with his, brings you to the same or different conclusions, and your ideas develop as you understand his.
Every book stands by itself, like a one-family house, but books in a library are like houses in a city. Although they are separate(分开的), in some way they are connected with each other. The same ideas, or related(相关的) ones, appear in different places; the human problems that repeat themselves in life repeat themselves in books, but with different solutions(解决方法) according to different writings at different times. Books influence each other. They connect the past, the present and the future and have their own generations (age groups), like families. Wherever you start reading, you connect yourself with one of the families of ideas, and in the end, you not only find out about the world and the people in it, you find out about yourself, too.
Reading can only be fun if you expect it to be. If you concentrate on(专注于) books somebody tells you “ought” to read, you probably won’ t have fun. But if you put down a book you don’t like and try another till you find one that means something to you, and then relax with it, you will almost certainly have a good time — and if you become, as a result of reading, better, wiser, kinder, or more gentle, you won’t suffer during the process.
【小题1】Which of the following ideas may the writer of this article agree with?

A.You will never meet amazing people in your life unless you read.
B.You think actively instead of getting facts passively(被动地)when reading.
C.You will get much delight from any book that you are told to read.
D.You can relax yourself by reading because it involves little thinking.
【小题2】What can we learn from Paragraph 4?
A.We can often find something connected with ourselves in books.
B.Different writings at different times share the same characteristics.
C.The same problems will appear in different books with similar solutions.
D.Reading books which are written for your generation is more helpful to you.
【小题3】What’s the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
A.To advise us to enjoy ourselves by reading.
B.To encourage us to make full use of libraries.
C.To encourage us to find out solutions in books.
D.To advise us to discuss books with other people.

Making sense of how the US shows humor

Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak

One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.

   The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.[

   He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.

   Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.

As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.

   It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs. 

1.The man in the square was _______________.

A. teaching people how to give a speech       

B. calling on people to protect the environment

C. giving a singing show in public            

D. criticizing the US government           

2.What does the underlined word “hypocrite” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. 会唱歌的人      B. 真诚的人       C. 虚伪的人    D. 爱护环境的人

3.From Paragraph 6, we learn that_________________.

A. many US people like to laugh at others  

B. many US people are friendly and humorous

C. the US people get angry at others easily 

D. the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak          

4.Which is Not suitable for the passage?

A. The writer went to America and protect the environment.

B. Americans show humour in a different way from China.

C. It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place.

D. Tailor Swift is an American famous singer.               

5.What does the article mainly talk about?

A. Differences between the Chinese and the US people.      

B. In what way the US people speak in public.

C. How to get used to life in the US.  

D. A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US.

 

Aunt Polly had told Tom to paint the whole fence (栅栏)in front of the house. He thought of the other boys out for the day enjoying themselves and he felt very unhappy. Then he had an idea! He picked up the brush and started painting slowly and carefully. Soon, his friend Ben Rogers appeared, eating an apple. Tom pretended (假装) not to see him.

“Tom!” Ben said. “Why are you working?”

“Oh, it’s you, Ben,”Tom said, “I didn’t notice you.”

“I’m gong for a swim,” Ben said, “but you don’t’ want to come. You want to work, don’t you? It’s much nicer!” Ben laughed loudly. Tom looked seriously at Ben and said. “What is work? What do you call work?”

“Isn’t that work?” Ben asked.

“Well, no. Does a boy get the opportunity to paint a fence every day? You’ve never painted a fence, have you? Auntie says I have to do it with great care!’

“Pleas, Tom. Let me do a little,” said Ben.

“No, Ben. If you do, you’ll do it wrong. You can’t paint very well. If it was the back fence wouldn’t mind, but it isn’t.”

“I won’t do it wrong. I’ll be really careful. I’ll give you my apple.” Tom gave him the brush and paint with a sad face, but in his heart he was glad, His trick had worked.

After Ben got tired and left, other boys came along and Tom said the same things to them. Soon, the whole fence was painted white, but not by Tom. He felt very clever because he had discovered something important about the way people are. People only want what they can’t have or want to do what they shouldn’t do.

1.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “opportunity” on this passage?

A.Reward           B.Interest.           C.Abilityy.           D.Chance.

2.Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben?

A.Because he wanted Ben to believe that the was enjoying the work.

B.Because he would like to try his best to attract Ben’s attention.

C.Because he did not want Ben to see the fact that he had to work.

D.Because he was afraid that Ben might laugh at him if the saw him.

3.What can we infer (推断) from the story?

A.Aunt Polly gave Tom a lot of pocket money for what he had done.

B.Ben and the other boys might feel unhappy when they found out the troth.

C.Tom believed that he had discovered how to deal with different people.

D.Everyone thought Tom clever when they realized what had happened.

 

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