In our daily life, it is necessary to make small talk in certain situations. It helps to fill time between people when it is completely quiet. You may not feel like talking with someone else or you are very shy at the beginning, but it is sometimes thought to be rude to say nothing.

People use small talk almost every day. It usually takes place when you meet someone you don’t know at all or someone you’re not familiar with. For example, waitresses and hairdressers often make small talk with their customers. If you happen to be outside when the mailman comes to your door, you might make small talk with him, too.

Most often, small talk happens in places where people are waiting for something. For example, you might talk with another person who is waiting for the bus to arrive. People also make small talk in a doctor’s waiting room, or when they are waiting in a line to buy something. At the office, people make small talk in elevators or lunchrooms, especially if there is a line-up. Mingling(交际) is often required among people who don’t know each other very well at a party. In other words, they are expected to walk around and talk with others.

The most common time for small talk to happen is the first time you see or meet someone on a given day. For example, if you see a co-worker in the lounge (休息室) you might say hello and discuss the sports or weather. However, the next time you see each other you might just smile and say nothing. If there is very little noise, it might be the right time to start a pleasant conversation. If someone is reading a book at the bus stop, it is probably not a good idea to start a conversation. Another good time to make small talk is during a break in a meeting when there is nothing important going on. However, it is important to recognize the signal when the other person wants the conversation to stop.

1.Small talk happens most probably except when _____.

A. you’re having your hair cut

B. you’re having a meeting

C. you’re waiting for a bus

D. you’re waiting in a line to buy something

2.It is the right time to make small talk when

A. there is nothing important going on during a break in a meeting

B. the other person doesn’t want to start a conversation

C. On the same day, you see a co-worker in the lounge again

D. someone is reading a book at the bus stop

3.The author develops the last paragraph mainly by _____.

A. giving explanations B. discussing questions

C. telling stories D. providing examples

4.We can learn from the text that small talk _____.

A. won’t happen among strangers

B. can help to break the silence

C. is often thought to be unnecessary

D. always makes people uncomfortable

完形填空

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。

The last thing Jack wanted to do was wake up early and go to work on Monday morning. Getting out of the bus, Jack found there was still 30 minutes before his ________ began, so he________ to take a walk around the block to adjust(调整) himself to another busy working day.

________ walking, he ran into a young couple talking to each other in a foreign language. “Excuse me! Could help us please?” the woman called to him in strange English. “We are tourist, lost. Need ‘Dolphin’ hotel. You know where is?” She was courageous as she spoke a ________ language.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’m in a hurry,” Jack said, and moved off. He was so upset about his problems that he ________ without thinking. Having walked about 100 feet, he felt he was wrong and ________ back. Luckily, the couple were ________ there. He walked up to them. “I remembered where the ‘Dolphin’ hotel is. I’m sorry, I just got ________ : there are hundreds of hotels in New York. It’s not far from here. you may ________ there. Just go straight to that crossroad, then turn to the left, and you will see a white-blue building. That will be the ________ you’re looking for.”

The couple thanked him, and Jack ________ lightly this time. But when he turned his back, he saw that the couple didn’t move, and the look on their faces was the ________ Maybe I was talking too ________ , and they couldn’t understand me well enough, he thought. All of a sudden, he felt that he could do something more important than sit in his office all day long. He knew that he couldn’t ________ these young people behind: they couldn’t possibly get to the hotel by themselves. He walked up to them once again. They looked at him in surprise. “I could ________ you to the hotel, if you still need my help,” Jack said. For the first time since the beginning of this month, he felt relaxed.

1.A. plan B. talk C. trip D. work

2.A. decided B. agreed C. remembered D. offered

3.A. If B. Though C. While D. Once

4.A. similar B. special C. modern D. foreign

5.A. calmed B. lied C. shocked D. begged

6.A. turned B. gave C. sent D. put

7.A. already B. almost C. still D. even

8.A. amazed B. confused C. bored D. tired

9.A. cycle B. walk C. point D. look

10.A. hotel B. couple C. tourist D. bus

11.A. answered B. escaped C. left D. passed

12.A. new B. good C. true D. same

13.A. strangely B. loudly C. quickly D. nervously

14.A. get B. fall C. stay D. leave

15.A. move B. guide C. follow D. introduce

阅读理解

17.Maybe you don’t think animals have certain mental powers which human beings do not have.But the truth is that some of them have instincts,and besides this,I am sure they can feel certain things we humans cannot.A personal experience showed me this.

Some years ago,I had a dog named Howard. From the time when he was a puppy,he was timid,so we named him Howard,sounding like “coward”!He was especially afraid of thunderstorms.At the first flash of lightning or crash of thunder,he would run whining into his house and hide under a table.

I often went for a walk with Howard. Once,as we were walking along a road,it began to rain.I quickly ran to a bus stop for shelter.The bus stop had a roof supported by metal poles.Soon after I had got there,Howard caught my trousers in his teeth and tried to pull me away.At first I was puzzled and a little angry at his behavior.But I decided to humor him and walked away from the shelter into the rain and started to go home.

When I was about two hundred metres from the shelter,there came a flash of lightning and soon after,there was thunder which nearly deafened me.Howard stopped walking and began whining.Thinking he was afraid,I bent to pick him up.As I straightened up,I glanced at the bus shelter we had just left.I was shocked to see that two of the poles were bent and the roof was lying on the ground,broken.The shelter had been struck by the bolt of lightning!

1.The author named his dog Howard mainly because of_______.

A. his timid characteristic

B. one of the author’s friends Howard

C. his loud sound

D. his strange behaviors

2.The reason why the author was puzzled and angry with the dog was that_______.

A. Howard had a strange behavior

B. Howard should be afraid of the metal poles

C. Howard should know the approaching of the terrible lightning

D. Howard bit his trousers in his teeth

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Dogs are cleverer and better than men.

B. Dogs are usually afraid of thunderstorms.

C. Some animals can feel certain things humans cannot.

D. Dogs are naturally born heroes.

4.What can be inferred about the bus shelter from the passage?

A. It was about 200 meters from the author’s home.

B. It was destroyed in a rainy day.

C. Its roof was supported by wood poles.

D. It could produce blinding flash of lightning.

Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s World

Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up .The property (房产) remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806 .The House has welcomed visitors travelling from all over the world for over 250 years.

◆Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World,a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.

◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.

◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from

Shakespeare’s period.

◆Enjoy the traditional English garden,planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet’s works.

The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map;nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ Walk).

The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre,its exhibition,and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users.

The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).

1.How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children?

A.£9.80. B.£12.00. C.£14.20. D.£16.40.

2.Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace?

A.Behind the exhibition hall.

B.Opposite the Visitors’ Centre.

C.At Windsor Street.

D.Near the Coffee House.

3.A wheelchair user may need help to enter

A.the House B.the garden

C.the Visitors’ Centre D.the exhibition hall

On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land, we watch the lines of rain move across the scene, the moon rise over the hills, and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.

Every window in our wooden house has a view, and the forest and lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.

There is space for our three boys to play outside, to shoot arrows, collect tree seeds, build earth houses and climb trees.

Our kids have learned the names of the trees, and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest, maple (枫树) makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.

The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste, and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass a day of juice and the rest is water, they never say anything against that.

The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars’ (杨树) putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local steam as the ice gradually disappears, and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.

1.What can be learned from Paragraph 2?

A. The scenes are colorful and changeable.

B. There are many windows in the wooden house.

C. The views remind us that we are in a wooden house.

D. The lakes outside the windows are quite different in color.

2.By mentioning the names of the trees, the author aims to show that ___________ .

A. the kids like playing in trees

B. the kids are very familiar with trees

C. the kids have learned much knowledge

D. the kids find trees useful learning tools

3.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A. The change of seasons is easily felt.

B. The seasons make the scenes change.

C. The weather often changes in the forest.

D. The door is a good position to enjoy changing seasons.

4. What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?

A. To describe the beauty of the scene around the house.

B. To introduce her children’s happy life in the forest.

C. To show that living in the forest is healthful.

D. To share the joy of living in the nature.

In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh.The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团).It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts.And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself.In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries.More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

1.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?

A.To bring Europe together again.

B.To honor heroes of World WarⅡ.

C.To introduce young theatre groups.

D.To attract great artists from Europe.

2.Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?

A.They owned a public house there.

B.They came to take up a challenge.

C.They thought they were also famous.

D.They wanted to take part in the festival.

3.Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?

A.Popular writers

B.University students.

C.Artists from around the world.

D.Performers of music and dance.

4.We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival______.

A.has become a non-official event

B.has gone beyond an art festival

C.gives shows all year round

D.keeps growing rapidly

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