There are probably no people on Earth who like to gossip as much as the British. If prying into(打探) other’s lives were an Olympic sport, then Team GB would surely take the gold medal.

And when the British can’t watch the lives of real people, they have another source of entertainment to fall back on—the soap opera. British soap operas are very different to US TV dramas. For one, they are normally longer running. The two most popular, Coronation Street and East-enders, have been running for 48 and 24 years respectively. Both are broadcast several times a week, so remarkably there have been more than 7,000 episodes of Coronation Street.

The most obvious difference is that, unlike US dramas, the British soap operas focus on the real world. There is little glamour (魅力), the stars are rarely rich, and they normally have boring jobs. Perhaps the appeal is that the lives of the characters often mirror the lives of the audience—but with some drama added. This means the viewer can relate to the characters and feel the pain and happiness they go through on the show.

Because these soap operas last for decades, the cast is ever changing. The shows rarely focus on one or two main characters. Like the real world, people come and go all the time. However, there are exceptions. Coronation Street’s William Roach, 76, has played the role of Ken Barlow since the very first episode of the show in 1960, and he is still a regular.

The choice of which soap opera you follow is often cultural: People from the north of British tend to watch Coronation Street as it is set in Manchester. People from the south generally prefer East-enders, which is set in the east of London. The show is generally considered grittier and is aimed at a younger audience.

1.What is the main difference between American dramas and British soap operas?

A. American dramas are longer.

B. British soap operas are longer.

C. American dramas deal with dangerous things.

D. British soap operas deal with real people.

2.Why do British people like to watch such operas?

A. They can find their own life from the operas.

B. They can enjoy the operas in their free time.

C. They can watch the operas for many years.

D. They care about the fate of the characters in the operas.

3.The underlined world “episodes” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ______.

A. plays

B. pages

C. issues

D. parts

4.One characteristic of British operas is that ______.

A. the characters play the same role for a long time.

B. the characters in the play often change

C. people don’t know what will happen next

D. there is only one or two characters in them

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
How to stay in shape during the winter
Staying in shape during the long, cold winter is more difficult than at any other time of year.Now, here are a few ways that will help a lot.
Exercise while watching TV
When your favorite television shows are on, get up off the sofa and do some exercise.1. And running in place during commercials(电视广告), leg lifts, or sit-ups can easily be done while you are watching TV.
Go for a walk
2. You just need ten minutes before breakfast or after dinner.This can quickly help keep you in shape, knock off the pounds and help keep you healthy during the winter.
Stay away from fast-food restaurants
The fat and calories associated with fast food can do a lot of damage to your body. 3.A big pot of vegetable soup, beans or delicious winter greens can be prepared on the weekend and divided to be eaten during the week.
Take the dog for a walk
When it is time to walk the dog, do it yourself.4.You can add a little jogging to the routine to burn even more calories.
5.
A day of sweeping and making beds can easily burn hundreds of calories.These are activities that can make your home shine and they can help keep you in better shape.
A. Do the cleaning.
B. Start an exercise class.
C. Take a walk around your neighborhood.
D. This is an easy way to add activity to your day.
E. However, it is important to remain as active as possible.
F. It is best to eat healthy food that you prepare yourself.
G. Just make sure you keep moving instead of sitting there.

When I heard the piano, I walked to Mrs. Windsor’s house and waited outside as I always did. That meant she was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I’d rather be doing. “Almost anything”, I sighed dejectedly. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn’t have a gift for it. It didn’t come to me naturally. I thought back to happier times when I was writing stories and acting them out with my friends, cutting up old clothes to make dresses that performers wear in plays, and building scenery out of old things we found. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music.

“Hello,” I heard a voice behind me say softly. I turned around to see a little girl standing behind me, eating an apple. But before I could make any response, Mrs. Windsor walked into the room in her usual urgent manner and announced,“Jennifer, this is my niece, Pasha. Pasha, this is Jennifer. Pasha will be giving you your lesson today. I’m up to my ears in something else!” she then exited to the kitchen.

Pasha set her apple down on the side table and slid beside me on the piano bench.

“What piece do you like best?”she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “They’re all the same to me. I don’t know.

“You mean you don’t have a favorite?”

“No, not really.”

Pasha looked at me, rather puzzled, then opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys and studied the notes on the page for a moment. Then I frowned and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I have to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist.

After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. “What are you hearing in the music?” I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn’t know what she meant.

“Like a story. What story is being playing out within the music?”

“I guess I’ve never thought about it before. I don’t know.”

“Here, let me try and you listen,” Pasha advised.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. “See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?”

Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys.“Now the princess appears and she’s picking flowers from the water’s edge.”A carefree, happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha’s dancing fingers. “Oh, but she slips!”The music changed. “And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess’s horse sees her plight (困境),” Pasha continued, and races to the river’s edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. They make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse and swears she will never again wear princess skirts that weigh her down. She will only wear jeans and T-shirt from now on.” Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.

“Aren’t you the girl who tells the stories?” she asked.

“I guess. I do tell a lot of stories.”

“Oh, yes! All the kids talk about them. I’ve heard about you. Well, all you have to do is learn to hear the stories in the music. That’s all there is to it.”

“I’ve never thought it that way.”

“Let’s try another one, shall we?”Pasha smiled and together we played that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.

1.The underlined word “dejectedly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______

A. nervously B. desperately

C. impatiently D. unhappily

2.Jennifer got lost in thought when she ________

A. played the piano with Pasha for the first time

B. listened to Pasha tell her story about the princess

C. remembered happier times of writing stories and acting them out

D. discovered that Mrs. Windsor’s niece would be giving the piano lesson

3.By describing herself as a mechanical pianist, the author showed ______

A. she could remember the notes in a short time

B. she was playing the piano without thinking

C. Pasha was showing off her skills

D. it had been a long time since she played last time

4. Which of the following can best describe Pasha?

A. Creative B. Naughty

C. Humorous D. Brave

5.Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A. Never Give up B. A Piano Lesson

C. Why I Hated Playing the Piano D. A Friend for Ever

6.This text would be probably found in ______

A. a collection of stories about friendship and learning

B. a book of daily records about famous young musicians

C. a magazine series about the challenges of overcoming fears

D. a series of newspaper articles about musical instruments

It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, “Look at his bag, dear. I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep.”

“No, no,” said the woman. “He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he’ll take you before the judge.” They thought and at last the woman had an idea. “We have forgetful grass,” said the woman, “Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away.” “How clever you are!” said the owner, “Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”

The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, “What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.”

“No, no,” said the woman. “I don’t think so. He must forget something.”

“Oh, I’ve remembered!” The owner cried out suddenly, “He forgot…”

1.The old man came to the inn _______.

A.in the morning B.in the afternoon

C.in the evening D.at night

2.The owner and his wife wanted to _______.

A.get the man’s bag

B.steal the man’s money

C.make the man pay them more

D.hide the man’s bag

3.The owner and his wife put the forgetful grass into the food because _______.

A.the old man always forgot something

B.they wanted to make the food better

C.they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn

D.they wanted to know if the grass was useful

4.According to the passage the old man forgot _______.

A.to take his bag away

B.to tell the owner when he left

C.to close the door when he went to sleep

D.to pay them the inn money

Nowadays,people everywhere seem to find less and less time available to them, and more and more things to achieve. It’s quite common to find people running around like headless chickens meeting deadlines that they create. One doesn’t have to live this way, in stress and struggle. 1.

Breathing – I can’t stress enough the importance of learning how to breathe properly, and not only when you’re stressed, but at all times that you can. Learning how to breathe properly at all times is essential. You should try to deepen and lengthen your breath to lower the stress level and promote relaxation.2.

Relaxing – We often think that just going to the gym and working out is the right way to go to relax ourselves.3. A good hard workout is good from time to time, but you are still running at full steam ahead and not giving yourself time to relax. So lighting some fragrant candles, taking a slow hot bath or a shower, or meditating for even 10 minutes will do wonders to help you relax your mind and get out of the stress zone.

Let it all out –4.So calling or meeting up with a person who can listen and empathize with us, is often a great way to relax. It’s important that we don’t go into victim mode and get too negative. When we let out our frustrations, it should be done in a positive manner, and with lightheartedness, even joking about the stress we’re under.

5.– Probably one of the most difficult skills at first to master, but in the end one of the most rewarding to learn in our fast-paced society is the attitude of gratitude. We can do some gratitude list making right on the spot to get out of our heads and away from all that we wished we had but don’t, and to be thankful for all that we do have. I swear learning how to do this will relax you in a way that will change your life for the better.

Hopefully this article helped you to find an answer to your question about how to relax your mind from stress. Try these techniques and let us know, what works best for you.

A. Be thankful to your friends.

B. Be grateful for what you have.

C. But this pace doesn’t do much for our mind or stress levels.

D. You can either lie down on the floor or sit comfortably to relax yourself.

E. In this article we will present a few tips on how to relax your mind from stress.

F. In addition, deeper breathes help to get rid of harmful substances in your lungs.

G. Sometimes we need to just let out our frustrations and worries to a close friend.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网