It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.

Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.” The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs, which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.

1.The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A. most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson

B. Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C. the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D. English conversations usually start with the weather

2.What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?

A. An emotional state

B. An unknown phenomenon.

C. A historical concept.

D. A social trend.

3.According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A. Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B. English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty

C. the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D. there is nothing special about the English weather

4.What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A. To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

B. To analyze misconceptions about the English weather.

C. To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D. To explain what English weather-speak is about.

完形填空,阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A, B, C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

People say one man's trash (垃圾) is another man's treasure. That ________comes to my mind as I looked through the house purchased in 1962 by my parents. My mother________ in 1996. My father left the house ________ my sister and me when he died a few months ago.

After Dad was ________ , we looked around the house________we grew up and that Dad loved so much. At first we felt so ________ all the stuff left. Like so many of their generation, my parents ________ everything. And like many in my generation, we faced anxious _______ about what to abandon and what to keep.

As we started throwing out old phone books and every medical bill from every ________ my parents ever saw, I also________ many hidden treasures. Mom's pocketbook was in their bedroom closet, which had everything in it, ________ her hairbrush with hair, as if she were still here. And Dad, who was a World War II veteran (退伍兵) and a world traveler, ________ everything --- from little spoons from all over the world to every letter he wrote to his parents while in the ________ . The letters he wrote during the war ________ his thoughts as a young man. Later, in the basement, I ________ our old kitchen table, which brought back________ of my parents and sister and me having breakfast together.

I'm realizing all these things________ my parents' life journey. Each time I go to the ________ , I find something that reminded me of my childhood or teaches me something about my parents I ________ knew. ________ , from the shabby furniture to all the hidden treasures, means more to me than all the money in the world.

1.A. coincidence B. thought C. principle D. goal

2.A. passed by B. passed down C. passed on D. passed away

3.A. for B. with C. to D. by

4.A. gone B. retired C. ill D. injured

5.A. which B. that C. when D. where

6.A. pleased with B. familiar with C. astonished at D. disappointed at

7.A. saved B. enjoyed C. purchased D. designed

8.A. bargains B. decisions C. challenges D. responsibilities

9.A. doctor B. person C. neighbor D. child

10.A. bought B. discovered C. buried D. lost

11.A. just B. even C. only D. yet

12.A. liked B. bought C. lost D. kept

13.A. countryside B. school C. army D. college

14.A. receive B. direct C. sense D. describe

15.A. repaired B. cleaned C. spotted D. set

16.A.memories B. introductions C. descriptions D. communications

17.A. recognized B. represented C. instructed D. confirmed

18.A. supermarket B. church C. office D. house

19.A. never B. always C. really D. merely

20.A. Something B. Nothing C. Anything D. Everything

Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”

For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to hit Mumbet’s sister with a spade(铁锹). Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Angry, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet turned to a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.

While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts laws. If the laws said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom—the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new law.

Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She refused and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her spirit lived on in her many generations. One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.

Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own area she had no superior or equal.”

1.What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?

A. She was born into a rich family.

B. She was a slaveholder.

C. She was born a slave.

D. She had a famous sister.

2.What did Mumbet do after the trial?

A. She founded the NAACP.

B. She went to live with her grandchildren.

C. She continued to serve the Ashleys.

D. She chose to work for a lawyer.

3.What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new constitution?

A. How to be a good servant.

B. How to apply for a job.

C. She should always obey her owners’ orders.

D. She should be as free and equal as whites.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. A trial that shocked the whole world.

B. The life of a brave African American woman.

C. A story of a famous writer and spokesperson.

D. The friendship between a lawyer and a slave.

完型填空

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Carl Kenton is a wealthy businessman. Five years ago, after returning from abroad to his motherland, he his small company. Speaking of success, Glen often tells us a story about his ________ expensive “school” fee. He always owes his success to it.

At that time, Glen, who already got a Ph.D. degree, decided to return to the homeland, starting a company. Before , he bought a Rolex watch with the made through years of work after school and the scholarships. At the airport he had to accept the routine customs check. The watch on his wrist was also demanded to be ________ down for inspection. Glen knew that carrying the ________ goods out had to pay the tax, and he worried about paying ________ for his watch. So when he was checked, he told a lie that his watch was a________ fake(假货). When he was ________ of his “smarts”, immediately, ________ the presence of Glen, the officers hit the watch, which ________ nearly 100,000, into pieces at hearing Glen’s words. Glen was ________ . Before he understood why, he was taken to the office to be examined ________ . For many times of entry-exit ________ he knew that only those people in the “blacklist” would “enjoy” this special treatment. The officers looked over everything carefully in the box, and ________him no matter what time of entry and exit he must accept the check and if ________ reusing and carrying fake and shoddy goods, he would be charged according to law! Suddenly, his face turned red, and he had nothing in mind after ________ the plane for long.

After returning to the homeland, he often told the story to his family, and his employees, too. He said that this made a deep ________ on him, because the additional high “school” fee that he had ever paid made him realize the value of ________ , which he would ________ as the secret of his success forever.

1.A. set up B. took up C. went up D. picked up

2.A. good B. bad C. extra D. few

3.A. staying B. leaving C. living D. coming

4.A. books B. things C. savings D. pounds

5.A. put B. looked C. taken D. lied

6.A. ordinary B. common C. specific D. many

7.A. one B. it C. them D. these

8.A. priceless B. useful C. worthless D. valuable

9.A. afraid B. proud C. ashamed D. hard

10.A. in B. on C. before D. after

11.A. paid B. spent C. took D. cost

12.A. disappointed B. delighted C. shocked D. satisfied

13.A. strictly B. quietly C. quickly D. curiously

14.A. conditions B. experiences C. experiments D. chances

15.A. stopped B. hoped C. warned D. urged

16.A. came out B. found out C. sent out D. set out

17.A. landing B. flying C. catching D. boarding

18.A. expression B. idea C. thought D. impression

19.A. honesty B. lies C. goods D. bravery

20.A. remember B. study C. read D. Research

Disney’s Family Magic Tour

Magic Kingdom park

Walt Disney World Resort

Valid Park Admission Required

Price

Adult USD $ 39.00

Hours

Tuesday October 6,2015 10:00 AM

Put on Your Detective Hat!

Solve confusing mysteries on this high-energy interactive(相互作用的)search----you never know whom you might meet along the way!

Follow your Guide as you make way through Magic Kingdom park, picking up clue after clue while unlocking a splendid and memorable search you won’t soon forget.

Be sure to bring your camera to catch all the memorable surprises as you and your group wind your way through many of the magical lands throughout the park.

Know Before You Go

View important information including experience details, Guest restrictions and cancellation policies.

◆Children and the young at heart will enjoy this imaginative adventure, though it is best suited for Guests 4 to 10 years of age. Guests 16 years of age and under must be accompanied by a paying adult(18 years of age or older).

◆Pleases note that the tour involves a lot of outdoor walking for about 2 hours, so be sure to check the weather forecast and dress properly, including wearing comfortable shoes. Accordingly, the tour may be too difficult for some of our younger Guests.

◆Please check in at the Chamber of Commerce building close to City Hall 15 minutes before your experience. You will lose the entire price of your tour if you no-show or cancel within 2 days of your reservation.

◆Same-day bookings are available on a walk-up basis only.

1.What is encouraged to carry when travelling?

A. A camera. B. A hat.

C. A mirror. D. A ticket.

2.How much should be paid if a ten-year-old boy and his parents experience the park?

A. Nothing. B. 39 dollars.

C. 78 dollars. D. 117 dollars.

3. Why should the guests check the weather forecast and dress properly before the tour?

A. The tour includes about 2-hour outdoor walking.

B. The guests are so young that they can’t walk.3

C. The bad weather can stop the normal tour.

D. The guests dress properly to make the tour happy.

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