God’s coffee

A group of class friends, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon    36     into complaints about stress in  work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the    37   and returned with a large pot of coffee and a couple of   38   ---porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some   39    looking, some expensive, some delicate --- telling them to   40    themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in    41  , the professor said :“ If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,    42    behind the plain and cheap ones. Whiles it is normal for you to    43    only the best for yourselves, that is the    44    of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself    45   no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.   46   all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you    47   went for the best cups… And then you began __48___ each other’s cups. Now consider this: Life is the ___49____; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not   50  , nor change the quality of life we   51  . Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we   52  to enjoy the coffee God has   53    us. God brews the coffee, not the cups… Enjoy the coffee!”

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just   54   the  best of everything.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the   55  to God.

A. stopped       B. looked          C. grew        D. turned

A. living-room    B. waiting-room    C. bedroom     D. kitchen

A. cups          B. pans           C. bowls       D. bottles

A. plain         B. clean           C. ugly        D. fine

A. devote        B. help           C. dedicate      D. enjoy

A. stomach       B. hand          C. mind         D. mouth

A. falling        B. leaving        C. hiding         D. keeping

A. hope         B. wish          C. need           D. want

A. source        B. resource       C. energy         D. reason

A. adapts        B. puts           C. adds           D. applies

A. As           B. What          C. That           D. Which

A. consciously    B. cheerfully      C. deliberately     D. bravely

A. looking       B. glaring         C. eyeing         D. glancing

A. tea           B. water          C. wine          D. coffee

A. sign          B. mean          C. define         D. signal

A. spend         B. live           C. hate           D. love

A. fail           B. succeed        C. tend           D. manage

A. shown        B. taken          C. sent            D. provided

A. keep          B. take           C. make           D. hold

A. complex       B. remains        C. rest            D. complaints

Coffee has a history dating back to at least the 9th century and has been a catalyst for social interaction across cultures and eras. Originally discovered in Ethiopia, coffee beans were brought into the Middle East by Arab traders, spreading to Egypt, Yemen, Persia, Turkey, and North Africa by the 15th century. Muslim merchants eventually brought the beans to the thriving port city of Venice, where they sold them to wealthy Italian buyers. Soon, the Dutch began importing and growing coffee in places like Java and Ceylon (largely through slave labor), and the British East India Trading Company was popularizing the beverage in England. Coffee spread across Europe and even reached America.

Where there has been coffee, there has been the coffeehouse. From the 15th century Middle Eastern establishments where men gathered to listen to music, play chess, and hear recitations from works of literature, to Paris' Cafe le Procope where luminaries of the French Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot came to enjoy a hot cup of joe, coffeehouses have traditionally served as centers of social interaction, places where people can come to relax, chat, and exchange ideas.

The modern coffee shop is modeled on the espresso and pastry-centered Italian coffeehouses that arose with the establishment of Italian-American immigrant communities in major US cities such as New York City's Little Italy and Greenwich Village, Boston's North End, and San Francisco's North Beach. New York coffee shops were often frequented by the Beats in the 1950's. It wasn't long before Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest were developing coffee shops as part of a thriving counterculture scene. The Seattle-based Starbucks took this model and brought it into mainstream culture.

Although coffeehouses today continue to serve their traditional purpose as lively social hubs in many communities, they have noticeably adapted to the times. Rediscovering their purpose as centers of information exchange and communication, many coffee shops now provide their customers with internet access and newspapers. It has become extremely common to see someone sitting at a Starbucks listening to music or surfing the web on his or her laptop. Coffee stores today also maintain a fairly identifiable, yet unique aesthetic: wooden furniture and plush couches, paintings and murals drawn on walls, and soft-lighting combine to give coffee shops the cozy feeling of a home away from home.

Today, big business retail coffee shops are expanding quickly all over the world. Starbucks alone has stores in over 40 countries and plans to add more. Despite its popularity, Starbucks has been criticized and labeled by many as a blood-sucking corporate machine, driving smaller coffee shops out of business through unfair practices. This has even spawned an anti-corporate coffee counterculture, with those subscribing to this culture boycotting big business coffee chains. Increasingly popular coffee stores such as The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are also giving Starbucks some stiff competition. In any case, it seems pretty clear that coffee has weaved itself into the fabric of our consumer-oriented culture.

Which of the following is the correct order of coffee spreading in history?

   ①Egypt           ②America    ③the Middle East    ④Netherlands    ⑤Venice

   A. ①③④②⑤      B. ③①⑤④②            C. ①⑤④③②           D. ③②⑤④①

We can infer from the passage ________.

A. Starbucks has beaten all the competitors       

B. there are no changes in the development of coffee culture

C. the taste of coffee has changed a lot

D. Starbucks has some effect on the development of coffee culture

The famous coffeehouse “Starbucks” originally come from _______.

   A. Seattle                B. Ethiopia                   C. Java                         D. France

Nowadays, if you come to a coffeehouse, you can _______.

   A. play chess with other customers               

B. enjoy delicious dishes from South America

   C. surf the internet                                     

D. watch a TV play

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〇 Fugoo—talking gadgets
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C.take you to workD.make coffee
【小题4】Where does this advertisement probably come from?
A.A magazine.B.A website.C.A newspaper.D.A textbook.

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    A daughter        to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know whether she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was        fighting and struggling. It seemed that if one problem was solved a new one       .

    Her father, a cook, took her to the       . He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a        In one he placed       , in the second eggs, and in the last ground(磨成粉的)coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

    The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited,        what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he        the burners. He        the carrots and eggs out and placed them in a bowl! Then he        the coffee into a cup. Turning to her, he asked, "Darling, what do you see?"

    "Carrots, eggs and coffee," she replied.

    He brought her closer and asked her to        the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it After pulling off the       , she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip(啜饮)the coffee. She smiled as she        its rich aroma(芳香).

    "What does it mean, Father?" she asked.

    He        that each of them had        the same adversity(厄运), boiling water, but each reacted       . The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but after being subjected to the boiling water, it        and became weak. The egg had been       , with its thin outer shell protecting its liquid inside, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they had        the water.

    "Which are you?" he asked his daughter.

    When adversity knocks on your door, how do you       ? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

1.A. complained                  B. told                C. reported                 D. discussed

2.A. boring with          B. fed up             C. tired of                      D.uncertain about

3.A. rose               B. arose               C. raised            D. was happened

4.A. kitchen            B. restaurant          C. dinning room            D. market

5.A. conclusion                   B. stop                C. life               D. boil

6.A. eggs                        B. carrots             C. beans                    D. coffee

7.A. knowing                 B. understanding         C. puzzling           D. wondering

8.A. turned on                   B. turned off          C. turned in                  D. turned up

9.A. came              B. gave                 C. fished                   D. figured

10.A. poured                    B. painted            C. packed                  D. picked

11.A. watch                     B. smell                 C. feel                      D. search

12.A. space                     B. shell                C. surface                   D. skin

13.A. digested                  B. suffered            C. measured                D. tasted

14.A. explained                 B. demanded         C. declared                 D. claimed

15.A. sat                         B. boiled              C. faced                    D. fallen

16.A. immediately                B. constantly          C. differently               D. similarly

17.A. hardened                 B. softened           C. lightened                D. tightened

18.A. fragile                     B. round              C. thin                     D. small

19.A. adjusted                   B. adapted             C. accustomed               D. changed

20.A. change                     B. face                C. represent              D. respond

 

“So, Mr. Banks, you’re going on holiday with your family to Bournemouth,” said the police officer. “You left Brandford early this morning and came down the motorway. Then you left the motorway near Tewkesbury and stopped to buy a paper at a little place called Stanway. It was 11 o’clock. Then you stopped about fifteen minutes later here, in Stow, and went into the back of your Somna—Mobile (家庭旅游车), but your wife wasn’t there.”

“That’s right, officer.”

“Perhaps she got off at Stanway,” the policeman said.

“We didn’t hear mum,” Vicki said, “I think …”

“I want my mum,” Eddie said. He began to cry.

“We’ll find her, sonny(宝贝)” the policeman said kindly.

※                ※                  ※             ※

“So, Mrs. Banks,” the man said, “Your husband stopped here, in Stanway, about fifteen minutes ago and you went into the supermarket to get some coffee. Your husband didn’t know you weren’t in the back of the Somna and …”

“Perhaps he knew she wasn’t there,” the woman said.

“Quiet, Matilde. He didn’t know and must have driven away. Then we stopped and our Somna is exactly the same as yours. So you got in and made coffee.”

“I’ve lost my husband and my children,” Fay said.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Banks,” the man said kindly. “We’ll find them. I suppose they are traveling south”.

67. How many people took park in the conversations?

A. Eight  B. Seven C. Six     D. Five

68. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Matilde lost her husband and children.

B. Mr. Banks dropped his wife halfway to Brandford.

C. Mr. Banks lost his wife halfway to Bournemouth and he went to the police for help.

D. The police officer knew where Mrs. Banks was.

69. Fay was now        .

A. in Matilde and her husband’s Somna          B. at the supermarket

C. in the police station   D. in a bar

70. What mistake did Fay make to cause the trouble?

A. She went to the supermarket during the trip.

B. She got in another Somna without telling her husband.

C. She got in a wrong Somna.

D. She shouldn’t have bought the coffee.

 

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