An "apple polisher" is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment.It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂), but is close to it.

All sorts of people are apple polishers,including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell,the great English leader,offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party,but failed.

There are other phrases meaning the same thing as "apple-polishing"—"soft-soaping" or "butter-up".A gift is just one way to "soft-soap" somebody,or to "butter him up".Another that is just as effective is flattery,giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks,or how well he speaks,or how talented and wise he is.

Endless are the ways of flattery.Who does not love or hear it?Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is.In truth,flattery is good medicine for most of us,who gets so little of it.

We need it to be more sure of ourselves.It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it.But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment,as a cat laps up milk,then we can still remain true to ourselves.

Sometimes,however,flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it.A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England.The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣).They over-praised him to the skies,as a man of limitless power.

He decided to teach them a lesson.He took them to the seashore and sat down.Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in.The tide was too busy to listen to him.The king was satisfied.This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.

1.Which of the following activities has nothing to do with "apple-polishing"?

A. A boy tells his girlfriend how pretty she looks

B. An employee tells his boss how good he is at management

C. A knight is said to be of limitless power by his followers

D. A teacher praised his students for their hard work

2.King Canute of Denmark and England took his followers to the seashore because_______.

A. he was sick of his normal

B. he wanted them to realize how wise he was

C. he did not like being over-praised any more

D. he wanted them to see how weak he was as a king

3.The author thinks that flattery can do good to those who_______.

A. lack confidence B. are really excellent

C. are politicians or in high offices D. think highly of themselves

La Tomatina, Spain

Tomato juice flows through the streets of Bunol on the last Wednesday of August as the world’s largest tomato fight happens. Festivities begin in the town square where there is a huge pole covered in soap and with a leg of ham at the top. Participants try to climb up the pole to get the ham as watchers throw buckets of water to them. After a gun is fired to signal the beginning of the fight, people catch the tomatoes and throw each other in the streets until the pistol sounds again, marking the end of the event.

Burning Man, Nevada

This infamous festival began in 1986 with the burning of a large figure to mark the summer solstice(夏至). It’s since grown into a week-long annual event that draws more than 48,000 people to the Black Rock Desert. It is held during the week before Labour Day. Participants set up camp in the desert to celebrate art.

Holi, India

This spring festival is celebrated throughout the country in late February or early March. The two-day event celebrates the legend of Prahlad, who escaped unharmed from the fire of the evil Holika Dahan. People mark the event by lighting fires and throwing coloured powder on one another. Children load coloured water into toy pistols called pichkari and take aim at passersby. Holi is known as a happy celebration of the triumph of good over evil.

Songkran, Thailand

This festival marks the Thai New Year, which is celebrated in the second week of April. This is the hottest time of the year in Thailand, so it makes sense that the biggest Songkran tradition is to throw water on people. Thais of all ages join in water fights, using buckets and water guns to celebrate the event.

1.The following celebrations are related to water EXCEPT ______

A. La Tomatina B. Holi

C. Burning Man D. Songkran

2.The underlined word “pichkari” is probably ______.

A. a kind of gun B. a bad man

C. fire D. powder

3.If you want to experience the hottest season in a country, you can choose to visit ______ .

A. Spain B. Thailand

C. India D. Nevada

4.The text is written mainly to ______.

A. encourage people to travel

B. introduce some interesting festivals

C. introduce the world’s biggest parties

D. show the most famous performances

Why do some people live to be older than others?You know the standard explanations: keeping a moderate diet, engaging in regular exercise,etc.But what effect does your personality have on your longevity?Do some kinds of personalities lead to longer lives?A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at this question by examining the personality characteristics of 246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100.

The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing,more active and less neurotic (神经质的) than other people.Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span.These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory: those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times.

Interestingly,however,other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer.Those who were more self-disciplined,for instance,were no more likely to live to be very old.Also,being open to new ideas had no relationship to long life,which might explain all those bad-tempered old people who are fixed in their ways.

Whether you can successfully change your personality as an adult is the subject of a longstanding psychological debate.But the new paper suggests that if you want long life,you should strive to be as outgoing as possible.

Unfortunately,another recent study shows that your mother’s personality may also help determine your longevity.That study looked at nearly 28,000 Norwegian mothers and found that those moms who were more anxious,depressed and angry were more likely to feed their kids unhealthy diets.Patterns of childhood eating can be hard to break when we’re adults,which may mean that kids of depressed moms end up dying younger.

Personality isn’t destiny(命运),and everyone knows that individuals can learn to change.But both studies show that long life isn’t just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health.

1.What finding of the study might prove somewhat out of our expectation?

A. Helpful people can live a relatively long life.

B. Readiness to accept new ideas offer more possibility to enjoy longevity.

C. Being self-discipline makes no difference to longevity.

D. Personality characteristics that prove advantageous actually vary with times.

2.According to the author,outgoing and sympathctic people _______.

A. have a good understanding of evolution. B. are more likely to recover from hardship.

C. are probably more active and neurotic. D. generally appear more resourceful.

3.What does the recent study of Norwegian mothers show?

A. Children’s personality characteristics are always shared by their mothers.

B. People with unhealthy eating habits are likely to die at a young age.

C. Mothers’ may have a longer influence on children than fathers’.

D. Mothers’ ancient may affect their children’s life spans.

4.What can we learn from the findings of the two new studies?

A. A mixture of mental and physical health produces longevity.

B. A person’s lifestyle is largely related to his or her health.

C. Personality plays a decisive and significant role in how healthy one is.

D. Anxiety and depression more often than not cut short one’s life span.

假如你是李华,你的美国朋友Sophie非常喜欢中国文化。今年是鸡年。她想知道中国人怎么庆祝新年到来,也很好奇鸡在中国的文化象征意义。请根据以下提示,给Sophie回信,解答她的困惑。1. 介绍迎接新年到来的活动。2. 说明鸡的文化象征意义(如准时、善斗等)。3. 如有疑问,表示愿意提供更多帮助。注意:1. 词数100左右(首句已给出,不计入总词数)。2. 适当增加细节,使行文连贯充实。参考词汇:鸡年 the year of rooster

Dear Sophie,l am glad to know that you are keen on Chinese culture.

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