A letter to Edward,a columnist

Dear Mr. Expert,

    I grew up in an unhappy and abusive(虐待) home. I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I've achieved.

    Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine—so much so that they make mine theirs.

      It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever.

    I enjoy having my friends here sometimes—it makes the place feel comfortable and warm—but this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy(隐私)?

                                                                                                                    Joan

Edward’s reply to Joan

Dear Joan,

  If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now.

  And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere(气氛), you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict(冲突)you grew up with—or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time.

      Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company(陪伴) but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over. ”

                                                                                                                    Edward

59. We can learn from the first letter that Joan ___________.

  A. takes pride in her friends                       

B. lives away from her parents

  C. knows Mr. Expert quite well              

D. hates her parents very much

60. We can infer from the first letter that __________.

  A. Joan thinks her friends more important than her privacy

   B. Joan doesn’t like the parties at all

   C. Joan’s friends visit her more often than expected

   D. Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

61. In Mr. Expert’s opinion, the reason why Joan can’t tell her friends her feelings is that _________.

  A. she is afraid of hurting her friends 

B. she does not understand true friendship

   C. her family experience stops her from doing so

D. she does not put her needs first

62. The second letter suggests that Mr. Expert __________.

  A. is concerned about Joan’s problem

B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends

   C. encourages Joan to be brave enough

   D. advises Joan on how to refuse people


B
I believe that it is important to be brought up with a firm belief in the good. I was fortunate in this respect. My parents not only gave me a happy home, but they had me study half a dozen foreign languages and made it possible for me to travel in other countries. This made me more tolerant and helped me to bridge many difficulties in later life.
Soon after I got married, my husband and I left our native Czechoslovakia and went to live in Shanghai, China. Here was a really international city. People of all races and beliefs lived and worked together.
In Shanghai, in 1941, when I was only twenty years old, the doctors discovered that I had diabetes. It was a terrible shock, because diabetes is incurable. But it can be controlled by insulin (胰岛素). Although this drug was not manufactured in China, there were enough stocks of imported insulin available. This enabled me to continue a normal, happy life.
Then bombs fell on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese occupied Shanghai. The import of insulin was cut off. Before long, there was not enough for the diabetics. I was on a starvation diet to keep my insulin requirements as low as possible. Many diabetics had already died, and the situation became desperate. In spite of all this, I never stopped believing that with the help of my husband’s love and care, I would survive.
I continued to teach in Chinese schools. My faith and my husband’s never-ending efforts to get the manufacture of insulin started gave me courage. In his small laboratory the production of insulin was attempted. I served as the human guinea pig(实验品)on which it was tested. I’ll never forget the day when my husband gave me the first injection of the new insulin, which had worked on rabbits. It helped! Can you imagine our happiness and relief?
I received the greatest strength from the deep love and complete understanding between my husband and me. And next to that was the kindness and help of many, many friends of many nationalities. To me, the experience of living in Shanghai during the special times was unforgettable.
After the Second World War, my husband and I sailed to the Untied States, which is also known as a melt pot. Wherever we live, I believe, with faith and love, love between families and friends from different nationalities, we can make it our cherished home.
61. What can we know about the author?
A. She visited China before twenty.        B. She was given an unhappy home.
C. She got married in Czechoslovakia.      D. She could hardly tolerate her parents.
62. As a diabetic, the author could still live normally in 1941 because        .
A. she was able to buy enough insulin         B. she received good medical treatment
C. she was looked after by her husband      D. she was helped by people of different races
63. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refers to        .
A. a small rabbit    B. an ever lasting effort  C. the new insulin      D. the human guinea pig
64. How does the author feel about her stay in China?
A. Unbearable.       B. Unbelievable.    C. Unfortunate.   D. Unforgettable.
65. We can infer from the text that the author’s husband was        .
A. a doctor            B. a researcher  C. a teacher             D. a sailor    

Derrius Quarles, 19, had an unhappy childhood. But the Chicago teen didn’t give up. He tried his best and won $1 million in college scholarships (奖学金)! Now Derrius is a successful college student with a bright future.
When Derrius was 4, his father was killed. His mother couldn’t take care of him because of taking drugs. Derrius and his 9-year-old brother sometimes had to steal food to eat. Derrius felt different from other kids. In seventh grade, Derrius went to live in a foster home (寄养家庭). His foster parents weren’t nice to him. They told him that he’d never be anything in life.
Derrius didn’t do his best in school. The summer after ninth grade, that changed. Derrius had signed up for a biology class. He didn’t go to class the first day. On the second day, he showed up late. His teacher took him outside. She told him he was smart, but that he was wasting his potential (潜力). The talk inspired him and he planned to prove that he could be anything if he worked hard enough.
Adults at a summer program helped Derrius find out about scholarships he could earn to pay for college. In his senior year, Derrius filled out lots of applications. He told his friends, “You’re not going to see me for a long time.” Derrius’s hard work paid off. He won more than $1 million in scholarships! He has a lot to be proud of. But he’s most proud of helping others. Derrius gives speeches to teens, telling them how to find scholarships. In high school, Derrius got help buying a computer. He wanted to help others who needed them. Last year, he gave two laptops to high school students. There’s a lot of work in his future. Derrius doesn’t mind — hard work has got him where he is today. He knows it can take him anywhere.
【小题1】From Paragraphs 2 and 3, we can learn that Derrius _____.

A.always studied hard in school
B.lived in the same foster home with his brother
C.hated his parents very much
D.was encouraged a lot by his biology teacher
【小题2】The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _____.
A.great successB.a scholarship
C.hard workD.a computer
【小题3】 What kind of person do you think Derrius is?
A.Lazy but kind-hearted.
B.Selfish and naughty.
C.Confident but troublesome.
D.Determined and generous.
【小题4】What does the author want to tell us?
A.The way to win a scholarship to a college.
B.The importance of family background.
C.Never forget people who have helped you.
D.Hard work pays off sooner or later.

When Ben delivered milk to my home one morning before Christmas,he wasn’t his usual sunny self. He told me a customer had left without paying the bill,$79,nor leaving her new address. So it meant that he had to cover the loss.

 “She was a pretty woman,”he said, “with six children and another on the way. She was always saying. ‘I’m going to pay you soon when my husband gets a second job.’ I believed her,but she left. Isn’t it annoying?”

  “Give her the milk. Make it a Christmas present to the kids who need it.” I said.

  The holidays came and went. On a sunny January morning two weeks later,Ben was rushing to deliver milk when he saw a woman running down the street,waving money. He recognized her immediately--the woman who didn’t pay her bill.

   “I’m so sorry.” she said. “I really have been meaning to pay you.”

   She explained that her husband had come home one night and announced he' d found cheaper apartment. He' d also got a new job. With all that happened, she' d forgotten to leave the new address. “But I've been saving,” she said. “Here's $20 toward the bill.

   “That' s all right,” Ben replied. “It's been paid.”

   “Paid!” she exclaimed (惊叫). “What do you mean? Who paid it?”

    “I did,” Ben said, “It went to the children as a Christmas present!”

1.Ben was upset one morning because _______.

   A. a customer left without paying the bill

   B. he lost $ 79 on the way of the delivery

   C. he had to buy a present for the children

   D. he was going to lose his job

2.The author helped Ben by offering him _______.

A. a Christmas present                B. the debtor' s new address

   C. some money to cover the loss   D. a suggestion to cheer him up

3.We can probably infer from the passage that the woman _______.

  A. cheated to raise her children   B. moved to escape paying back the debts

  C. was a person with honesty     D. wanted to give her children a Christmas gift

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A. An Unhappy Christmas       B. An Unusual Present

C. A Poor Couple's Life          D. A Helpful Customer

 

Romantic comedies have long been regarded as the perfect movie for a first date. But according to a study, romantic comedies such as Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill could be bad for your love life.

Rather than being harmless entertainment, 'rom-coms' give people unrealistic and potentially unhealthy expectations about real-life relationships, scientists say.

Researchers found that those who watched romantic comedies were more likely to believe in predestined love (缘份) than those who preferred other kinds of movie.

They were also more likely to believe that perfect relationships happen instantly, and were less likely to believe that couples need to work at relationships.

Watching just one romantic comedy is enough to sway people's attitudes to romantic love, they found.

Dr Bjarne Holmes, who led the research, said: "We are not killing joys -- we are not saying that people shouldn't watch these movies. But we are saying that it would be helpful if people were more aware and more critical of the messages in these films. The problem is that while most of us know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some of us are still more influenced than we realize."

For the first part of the study, Dr Holmes and colleagues at the Family and Personal Relationships Laboratory at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, studied 40 box office hits from 1995 to 2005.

Most of those comedies described couples falling instantly in love and promoted the idea of fate --the belief that there is just one perfect companion out there, they found.

"There's a belief of destiny and couples in romantic comedies immediately understand each other," said Dr Holmes. "If you think that's how things are, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed."

In a second study, Dr Holmes asked around 100 student volunteers to watch Serendipity -- the 2001 romantic comedy starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, while 100 watched a David Lynch drama.

In a questionnaire after the film ended, students watching the rom-com were far more likely to believe in fate and destiny than those who had watched the 'straight' film.

72. According to the passage if you are fond of watching romantic comedies, you ____.

A. are more likely to believe in future love

B. must be influenced by films

C. may expect a perfect relationship in your love life

D. may fall instantly in love with one of your classmates

73. The underlined word "destiny" most probably means __     .

A. fate             B. love            C. beauty          D. romance

74. The purpose of Dr Bjame Hohnes' research is __     .

A. to promote the idea of fate

B. to ask us to keep away from romantic comedies

C. to show how romantic comedies have influence on our life

D. to remind us of the negative effect of watching romantic comedies

75. It is implied in the passage that        .

A. watching comedies is harmful to a stable marriage

B. it is necessary for couples to work at their relationship

C. couples falling instantly in love end up with an unhappy marriage

D. we should watch more 'straight' films instead of romantic comedies

 

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