A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States．The woman had visited major businesses and investment companies in New York City and Chicago．
“I studied English before I left home,” she said．“But I still was not sure that people were speaking English．”
Her problem is easy to understand．Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere．They have a language of their own．Some of the words and expressions deal with the special areas of their work．Other expressions are borrowed from different kinds of work such as the theater and movie industry．
One such saying is “get your act together”．When things go wrong in a business, an employer may get angry．He may shout, “Stop making mistakes．Get your act together．” Or, if the employer is calmer, he may say, “Let us get our act together．”
Either way, the meaning is the same．Getting your act together is getting organized．In business, it usually means to develop a calm and orderly plan of action．
It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began．But, it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry．Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes．The director may have said, “Calm down, now．Get your act together．” Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late 1970s．Mister Rogers says the Manchester Guardian newspaper used it in 1978．The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together．Now, this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet．One company even called its yearly report, “Getting Our Act Together．”
The Japanese visitor was confused by another expression used by American business people．It is “cut to the chase”．She heard that expression when she attended an important meeting of one company．One official was giving a very long report．It was not very interesting．In fact, some people at the meeting were falling asleep．Finally, the president of the company said, “Cut to the chase．”
Cut to the chase means to stop spending so much time on details or unimportant material．Hurry and get to the good part．Naturally, this saying was started by people who make movies．Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies．Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars, or in airplanes or on foot．Cut is the director’s word for stop．The director means to stop filming, leave out some material, and get to the chase scene now．
So, if your employer tells you to cut to the chase, be sure to get to the main point of your story quickly．
(1)
After the woman visited the Untied States she might feel that _________．
[ ]
A．
her English was poor
B．
It’s easy to master English
C．
it’s difficult to make money
D．
people there weren’t very friendly
(2)
In which situation could the words “get your act together” be used?
[ ]
A．
A task is completed successfully
B．
Players perform badly in a match．
C．
Audience is satisfied with the actor’s performance in a movie．
D．
Visitors make a tiresome and unpleasant trip to someplace．
(3)
What do the sayings “get your act together” and “cut to the chase” have in common?
[ ]
A．
Their uses
B．
Their meanings
C．
their origins
D．
their popularities
(4)
The text is most likely to be found in a book about _________．
If you can’t catch the bad guy, t’s game over－this is the rule of life for computer game players in cyber-world(网络世界)．
But similar thoughts might be worrying US President George W．ush as he prepares for election year with the world’s most wanted man still out of his reach．
The hunt for Osama Bin Laden, eader of the AL-Qaida group, as been going on since the attack on New York’s World Trade Center on September 11,2001．Progress has been slow and, ith Democrat Senator John Kerry winning the race last Tuesday to challenge Bush in November’s presidential elections, he president needs results．f Osama Bin Laden can be caught before the presidential election, ush will gain an obvious advantage．
The American public’s support for the war in Iraq has been falling, specially as the Bush government cannot find the banned weapons(武器)that it said were in the country．ut the way the president’s popularity rose following the capture(捕获)of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in December shows how useful it would be if Bin Laden could be caught．
The latest polls suggest the election will be close, ith 48 per cent of Americans saying they will vote for Bush and 46 per cent backing Kerry．
In order to capture the Saudi Arabia-born AL Qaida leader, housands of US soldiers were moved from Iraq to Afghanistan earlier this week．urther efforts have been made to strengthen Afghanistan’s border(边境)area with Pakistan, ith soldiers inspecting nearby villages more frequently than before．
However, akistan has denied(否认)reports that US soldiers will be allowed to search for Bin Laden on its land．ush’s battles, oth at home and abroad, ill not be won easily．
(1)
Why does the writer mention the rule of life for computer game players in cyber-world?
[ ]
A．
Because catching Osama Bin Laden is another game．
B．
Because real life can be similar to life in cyber-world．
C．
Because this is also one of the rules in the American presidential election．
D．
Because a game like this has become a real life situation for Bush．
(2)
We can learn from the passage that Osama Bin Laden ________
[ ]
A．
was born in Afghanistan and lives in Saudi Arabia
B．
is sure to be captured since Saddam Hussein has been caught
C．
must be found so that 48％ of the Americans will back Bush
D．
is probably hidden in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan
(3)
The underlined word “inspecting”(Paragraph 6)can be replaced by ________
[ ]
A．
seeking
B．
searching
C．
bombing
D．
visiting
(4)
It can be inferred from the passage that ________
[ ]
A．
the Bush government has great difficulty in seizing Bin Laden
B．
Kerry is more likely than Bush to win the coming presidential election
C．
more and more people are supporting the war in Iraq
D．
Pakistan will allow US soldiers to search for Bin Laden on its land
阅读理解
Three in ten Americans commit" financial infidelity(出轨)W by lying to their partners about money, sometimes suffering consequences such as separation or divorce(离婚), according to a new survey．
The Harris Interactive online poll of 2019 adults released on Thursday showed 31 percent of American couples who have combined finances were not truthful about issues such as hiding cash or a bank account or about debt or earnings．
"Financial infidelity may be the new normal," said Forbes．com, which performed the survey with the National Endowment(基金会)for Financial Education．
One-third of respondents(响应者)also say they have been cheated, and both sexes lie to their partners about money in equal numbers．"These unwise behaviors cause great damage, to the relationship, which is really not worthwhile．We must consider how important a family is to all of us．We must be honest to our partners in everything including money," said Ted Beck, chief executive of the National Endowment for Financial Education．
Sixteen percent of couples affected by financial infidelity said the cheat led to a divorce and 11 percent said it caused a separation．Sixty-seven percent said it led to an argument and for 42 percent it lessened(减少的)trust in the relationship．What a great damage it is to the family members!
The most common lie, at 58 percent, was hiding cash．Fifty-four percent of respondents admitted hiding a minor purchase, 30 percent hid a bill, 16 percent did not disclose a major purchase and 15 percent hid a bank account．
Eleven percent lied about debt and an equal number were untruthful about earnings, the survey showed．It is suggested that all the couples should learn a lesson from this matter．
(1)
What does Ted Beck think of Americans' committing financial infidelity?
[ ]
A．
Rewarding．
B．
Unlawful．
C．
Unwise．
D．
Unfair．
(2)
What does the fifth paragraph mainly tell us?
[ ]
A．
The harm of financial infidelity．
B．
The meaning of financial infidelity．
C．
The explanation for financial infidelity．
D．
The percentage of Americans' committing financial infidelity．
(3)
What does the underlined word"lessened" mean in the fifth paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Raised．
B．
Dropped．
C．
Harmed．
D．
Reduced．
(4)
Most Americans lie to their partners about _________．
[ ]
A．
hiding cash
B．
bank account
C．
debt
D．
earnings
(5)
What is the best title of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Americans like to lie most
B．
Three in ten Americans commit financial infidelity
C．
Americans have the largest percentage of divorce
D．
Americans like to hide their partners' cash
阅读理解
Recently, another study has been carried out about who is the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten qualities of leadership, which include public persuasion, crisis(危机)leadership, the management of economy, moral leadership and international relations．The historians also looked at administrative(行政的)ability, relations with Congress, goal setting and pursuit(追求)of equal justice for all．Finally, the experts considered performance based on the historical period in which the president lived．
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as America’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Lincoln was the only president in American history to lead the nation during the Civil War in the 1860s．He united the nation at last．And he took the first steps that detroyed the institution of slavery in America．
Edna Medford is a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D．C．She was an adviser on this study and the ealier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values that the nation most honors like truthfulness, moderation(温和)and respect for human rights．
The historians named America’s first president, George Washington, as second on the list of greatest presidents．Franklind．Roosevelt, theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman are next in that order．John F．Kennedy, the coutry’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Abraham Lincoln, John F．Kennedy was murdered while in office．
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best president．Bill Clinton was rated fifteenth．And the historians rated former president George W．Bush as number thirty-six．His fathter, George H．W．Bush, did much better．He was rated as number eighteen．
(1)
Abrahm Lincoln was chosen as America’s greatest president mainly because _________．
[ ]
A．
he led the people to end slavery and united the nation
B．
he caused the Civil War and fought against slavery
C．
he was the only president to join in a civil war
D．
he owned the ten qualities of leadership
(2)
According to the recent study, a good president wouldn’t _________．
[ ]
A．
persuade the public to follow some rules
B．
take measures to deal with an economic crisis
C．
start a war between countries
D．
run after equal justice for the people
(3)
Which of the following presidents did worst when he was in power according to the recent study?
[ ]
A．
John F．Kennedy．
B．
George Washington
C．
Bill Clinton
D．
George W．Bush
(4)
According to the passage, the greatest American president from Mo．1 to No．6 should be _________．
[ ]
A．
Abraham Lincoln→George Washington→Franklind．Roosevelt→Theodore Roosevelt→Harry Truman→John F．Kennedy
B．
Abraham Lincoln→George Washington→Theodore Roosevelt→Franklind．Roosevelt→John F．Kennedy→Harry Truman
C．
George Washington→Abraham Lincoln→John F．Kennedy→Theodore Roosevelt→Harry Truman→Franklins．Roosevelt
D．
Abraham Lincoln→John F．Kennedy→GeorgeWashington→TheodoreRoosevelt→Harry Truman→Franklind．Roosevelt
阅读理解
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Timing is Everything
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Offer Limited to 40 per household 2012 American Silver Eagle Coin
Your cost 1-4 Coins ＄38.95 each＋s/h
5-9 Coins ＄38.45 each＋s/h
10-19 Coins ＄37.95 each＋s/h
20-40 Coins ＄37.45 each＋s/h
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For fastest service, call toll-free 24 hours a day
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Offer Code(代码)ASE177-04
Please mention this code when you call．
New York Mint 14101
Southcross Drive W．, Dept．ASE177-04
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
www．NewYorkMint．com
(1)
What is stressed in the ad?
[ ]
A．
The coin is of high quality and worth collecting．
B．
The coin can be circulated as a currency．
C．
Limited supplies guarantee a stable price of the coin．
D．
Demand for the coin is bound to break records．
(2)
If you buy six 2012 U．S．Mint Silver Eagles by post, you should pay at least ________．
[ ]
A．
＄230.7
B．
＄233.7
C．
＄240.7
D．
＄243.7
(3)
The ad strongly encourages people to purchase the silver coins by ________．
