On the eve of our daughters’ weddings, I gave both of them what I considered to be excellent marital advice: never leave your husband unsupervised (无人监督的) with pruning shears (修枝剪).

If only I had taken my own advice. I recently let my guard down. Thirty-some years of marriage can do that to a woman. Give a man pruning shears and electric trimmers (电动修剪器) and he will give new meaning to “armed and dangerous.”

One day earlier this year, my husband said that the crab apple tree was dead.

“Why do you think it is dead?” I asked.

“Look at it. There’s not a leaf on it.”

“There’s not a leaf on anything. It’s March,” I said.

“It looked sick last fall and with this bitter winter we had, I’m convinced it’s dead.”

The truth is he’s never liked the crabapple. Sure, it has beautiful blooms in the spring, but then it gets a disease, the leaves curl, and it drops those little apples that sit on the driveway.

Each passing week he pronounced the tree dead. Eventually I began to believe him. Though he agreed it would be a regrettable loss, there was a twinkle in his eye. He armed himself a couple of weeks ago and began trimming. A branch here, a branch there, a small limb, then a large limb. I watched and then decided to check the wood on some of the branches closer to the trunk. I broke one off and saw green.

The crabapple was not dead. It just hadn’t had time to leaf out. The tree was now falling to one side, but it was not dead. I would have told him so, but he had moved on to a maple. Once the man starts, he can’t stop. One trim leads to another.

“Please, stop!” I called.

He smiled and nodded, but he couldn’t hear because he had started the hedge (树篱) trimmers and was getting ready to fix a line of hedges.

Zip (飕飕声), zip, zip.

“What do you think?” he shouted.

“It’s supposed to be a privacy hedge; now all that will be private are our ankles.”

He started the trimmers again.

“Stop!” I called, “Come back!”

“Why?” he shouted.

“You’re in the neighbor’s yard.”

1.By saying “if only I had taken my own advice.” the author means that ___________.

A. she didn’t follow her own advice about pruning shears

B. she feels regretful about her marriage after many years

C. she should have kept a closer watch on her husband

D. she shouldn’t have given that marital advice to her daughters

2.We can learn from the article that the author’s husband ____________.

A. has a great talent for gardening

B. nearly ruined their neighbor’s garden

C. mistook their crab apple tree for a maple tree

D. had never used pruning shears before

3.What does the article mainly talk about?

A. Why the author’s husband insisted on trimming their crab apple tree.

B. Why husbands shouldn’t be left to trim trees alone.

C. How the author has survived her “thirty-some” years of marriage.

D. How the author’s husband killed their crab apple tree.

4.What is the tone of the article?

A. Anxious. B. Critical.

C. Serious. D. Humorous.

任务型阅读

请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意:请将答案写在答题纸上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。

Family structure is the core of any culture. A major function of the family is to socialize new members ofa culture. As children are raised in a family setting, they learn to become members of the family as well as members of the larger culture. The family provides the model for all other relationships in society. Through the observations and modeling of the behavior of other family members, children learn about the family and society including the values of the culture. Family structure and their inherent relationships and obligations are a major source of cultural difference.

The family is the center of most traditional Asians' lives. Many people worry about their families' welfare, reputation, and honor. Asian families are often extended, including several generations related by blood or marriage living in the same home. An Asian person's misdeeds are not blamed just on the individual but also on the family—including the dead ancestors.

Traditional Chinese, among many other Asians, respect their elders and feel a deep sense of duty toward them. Children repay their parents' sacrifices by being successful and supporting them in old age. This is accepted as a natural part of life in China. In contrast, taking care of aged parents is often viewed as tremendous burden in the United States, where aging and family support are not honored highly.

The Vietnamese family consists of people currently alive as well as the spirits of the dead and of the as-yet unborn. Any decisions or actions are done from family considerations, not individual desires. People's behavior is judged on whether it brings shame or pride to the family. Vietnamese children are trained to rely on their families, to honor elderly people, and to fear foreigners. Many Vietnamese think that their actions in this life will influence their status in the next life.

Fathers in traditional Japanese families are typically strict and distant. Japanese college students in one study said they would tell their fathers just about as much as they would tell a total stranger. The emotional and communication barrier between children and fathers in Japan appears very strong after children have reached a certain age.

Although there has been much talk about "family values" in the United States, the family is not a usual frame of reference for decisions in U.S. mainstream culture. Family connections are not so important to most people. Dropping the names of wealthy or famous people the family knows is done in the United States, but it is not viewed positively. More important is a person's own individual "track record" of personal achievement.

Thus, many cultural differences exist in family structures and values. In some cultures, the family is the center of life and the main frame of reference for decisions. In other cultures, the individuals, not the family, is primary. In some cultures, the family's reputation and honor depend on each person's actions; in other cultures, individuals can act without permanently affecting the family life. Some cultures value old people, while other cultures look down on them.

(Adapted from R. L. Oxford & R. C. Scarcella, "A Few Family Structures and Values Around the Globe")

Outline

Supporting details

1. A to family structure

Family structure is of great 2. A in different cultures.

Children raised in a family will gradually learn how to 3. A in a way which is acceptable in their culture or setting.

'Many cultural differences 4. A from family structures.

Examples of

Asian families

Traditional Asians 5. A their lives around family. Not only the individual but the family is to6. A for any wrongdoings.

O In China, parents' sacrifices will probably7. off when children grow up. Children will also provide for the elders.

O In Vietnam, it's not from the personal desires but from family considerations that decisions or actions are done.

In Japan, children are 8. A to share their emotions with father, thus making communication difficult.

Examples of families in the USA

Americans don't lay much emphasis on family values. 9. A personal achievement is considered more important.

Conclusion

Family structures and values 10. A in different cultures.

完形填空,阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项C A, B, C 和 D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Reg Foggerdy, 62 ,who was on a hunting trip in the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia when he hunted for a camel he’d shot, had to eat ants to survive while lost for six days without water in wildness.

“I followed this camel into the________ . I'd gone at least 30km. I didn't know where I was,” he said, narrating his wrong 19 mile ________and extraordinary tale of survival that followed.

Foggerdy found himself alone with only clothing he was wearing. He had a valuable source of food ________ in front of him---the dead camel he’d________ down but no means with________ to eat it.

“I didn’t have a knife, and I didn't have matches for a________,” he said. “So I couldn't go and ________ a steak off the animal.”

In his ________, he turned to ants for ________, an idea he remembered from watching TV shows of British survival expert Bear Grylls. “They tasted quite good. The first day, I ate probable 12 ants---and the following day, I had 18,” Foggerdy said.

________ , as time passed, his hopes of________ it out of the desert alive began to ________. He saw search helicopters passing overhead, but they didn't notice him because the bush is so _______By the sixth day, his________ had started to shut down. He had said his last goodbyes in his head and ________ death to come soon

“I was ________ with myself,” he said, ________tears as he remembered the thought of his family seeing his body lying on the dirt in the bush.

But as Goggerdy________ for the end , searchers were hot on his trail after a tracker________one of his footprints in the dirt.

The grandfather says he thinks he was not ________ ---just lucky.

1.A. dirt B. bush C. desert D. wildness

2.A. trip B. walk C. journey D. wander

3.A. right B. straight C. slowly D. instantly

4.A. shot B. chased C. killed D. knocked

5.A. what B. that C. which D. whom

6.A. fire B. meal C. cook D. water

7.A. put B. break C. turn D. cut

8.A. memory B. experience C. impression D. dilemma

9.A. help B. power C. strength D. nutrients

10.A. Anyhow B. Finally C. However D. Therefore

11.A. getting B. escaping C. making D. managing

12.A. die B. fade C. decrease D. weaken

13.A. thick B. big C. thin D. tall

14.A. heart B. eyes C. pulse D. organs

15.A. explored B. expected C. declared D. ignored

16.A. peaceful B. hopeful C. concerned D. desperate

17.A. taking back B. bursting into C. wiping away D. hiding away

18.A. reached B. made C. sought D. prepared

19.A, found B. saw C. spotted D. searched

20.A. brave B. patient C. tough D. confident

EVENTS

Long March exhibition

The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the Long March.On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged(被围困的) bases in Jiangxi Province and fought its way to northern Shanxi Province in the mid-1930s.Explanations are all in Chinese.The show will end on November 20.

Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Address: 1286 Hongqiao Road

Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese /15 yuan for foreigners

Thai elephants

Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, balancing on a pole, dancing and blowing a mouthorgan(口琴).People are encouraged to have a tug-of-war(拔河比赛)with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them.The elephants give three shows a day at 9:30 am, 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at l:30 pm at weekends.The show will end on November 15.

Address: 189 Daduhe Road

Admission: 30-40 yuan

Dancing dolphins

Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, swaying their bodies to music, kissing people and doing math by tapping their tails have made the dolphinarium(海豚馆) in Peace Park an attraction for children.Seals and sea lions also perform.

Hours: 10:30 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:30 pm

Admission: 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children. (252 words)

1.If you go to visit the Long March exhibition with an Australian, how much will you pay altogether for the admission?

A.16 yuan. B.30 yuan. C.23 yuan. D.20 yuan.

2.Which of the following is NOT done by the Thai elephants?

A.Riding bicycles.

B.Blowing a mouth-organ.

C.Having a tug-of-war with people.

D.Doing math.

3.The dolphinarium in Peace Park is a hall where you can see ______.

A. only seals and sea lions perform

B. only dolphins perform

C. not only dolphins but also seals and sea lions perform

D. only seals perform

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