It took us quite a long time to get here. It was journey. A. a three-hour B. a three hour C. three hour D. three hours 题目和参考答案——青夏教育精英家教网—

My parents made me know the ideas of family, faith and patriotism (爱国主义) when I was young. 26 we lived a hard life, they 27 great importance to making us realize how 28 we were to live in a great country with 29 chances.

I got my first real 30 when I was ten. My dad injured his back working in a factory and had to be 31 so that he could take up a new job as a hairstylist. When he hadn’t got enough money to rent a shop, the owner of the shopping center gave Dad a(n) 32 . But he should clean the parking lot (停车场) three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 a.m. To pick up waste, Dad used a little 33 that looked like a lawn mower (割草机). Mom and I emptied garbage cans and 34 waste by hand. It took two to three hours to clean the lot. I’d 35 in the car on the way home because of tiredness.

I did this for two years, but the 36 I learned have lasted a lifetime. I 37 discipline (纪律) and a strong work ethic (道德准则), and learned at a(n) 38 age the importance of 39 interests in life -– school, homework and a job. This really __40 during my senior year of high school, when I worked 40 hours a week at a fast-food restaurant while taking school 41 and preparing for my college examination.

The hard work was 42 . As a result, I attended the U.S. Military Academy and went on to receive graduate degrees in 43 and business from Harvard. __44 , I joined a big Los Angeles law firm and was elected to the California State Assembly (会议). In these jobs and in everything else I’ve done, I have never forgotten those 45 in the parking lot.

26. A. Now that B. As if C. Even D. Even though

27. A. attached B. announced C. suggested D. admitted

28. A. important B. surprising C. fortunate D. satisfying

29. A. several B. limitless C. few D. energetic

30. A. incident B. dream C. success D. job

31. A. retrained B. regarded C. considered D. respected

32. A. increase B. order C. discount D. explanation

33. A. bag B. machine C. knife D. stick

34. A. brought up B. turned up C. made up D. picked up

35. A. sleep B. talk C. study D. sing

36. A. knowledge B. information C. lessons D. skills

37. A. required B. acquired C. remind D. forgot

38. A. common B. legal C. old D. early

39. A. balancing B. expressing C. supporting D. increasing

40. A. turned B. changed C. helped D. improved

41. A. measures B. courses C. messages D. tours

42. A. encouraging B. disappointing C. discouraging D. rewarding

43. A. law B. medicine C. science D. arts

44. A. However B. Indeed C. Later D. Before

45. A. people B. nights C. cars D. opportunities

Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.

The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.

1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated .

A. in spring B. summer C. in autumn D. in winter

2. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were .

A. some people from England B. the American Indians

C. Sarah Josepha Hale D. Governor Bradford

3. We can infer from the passage that New England must be .

A. in the U. S. A. B. in Great Britain

C. in Canada D. on some island off the Atlantic

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.

B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.

C. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.

D. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

5. The passage mainly tells us .

A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.

B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated

C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday

D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places

We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant（速溶） coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as "regular" coffee, and it took several years to gain general acceptance（introduction stage）.At one point, though, instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity, and many brands were introduced（stage of rapid growth）. After a while, people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off（stage of maturity）. Sales went into a slight decrease when freeze-dried coffees were introduced（stage of decline）.

The importance of the product life cycle to marketers is this: Different stages in the product life cycle call for different strategies. The goal is to extend product life so that sales and profits do not drop. One strategy is called market modification. It means that marketing managers look for new users and market sections. Did you know, for example, that the backpacks that so many students carry today were originally designed for the soldiers？

Market modification also means searching for increased usage among present customers or going for a different market, such as senior citizens. A marketer may re-position the product to appeal to new market sections.

Another product extension strategy is called product modification. It involves changing product quality, features, or style to attract new users or more usage from present users. American auto manufacturers are using quality improvement as one way to regain world markets. Note, also, how auto manufacturers once changed styles eagerly from year to year to keep demand from falling.

The first paragraph tells us that a new product is ________.

A．not easily accepted by the public

B．often of poorer quality compared with old ones

C．often more expensive than old ones

D．usually introduced to satisfy different tastes

Marketers need to know which of the four stages a product is in so as to________.

A．promote its production

B．work out marketing plans

C．speed up its life cycle

D．increase its popularity

The author mentions the example of "backpacks" （Para.2） to show the importance of________.

A．pleasing the young as well as the old

B．increasing usage among students

C．exploring new market sections

D．finding creative product designers

In order to attract more consumers, U.S. auto makers are ________.

A．modernizing product style

B．increasing product features

C．developing products of better quality

D．re-positioning their product in the market

People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(选择权). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.
【小题1】We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.

A．the spelling mistakes in the messages make her very annoyed

B．only writing letters will bring friends and neighbors much closer

C．she talks to plants more because no one shares her joys and sorrows

D．gestures and the pen can express a lot more than the cold keyboard

【小题2】According to the writer, which of the following can support her opinion?

A．She has been separated from all his classmates many years.

B．No doctors write prescriptions by hand because of computers.

C．In communication, we should write more letters than send messages.

D．Less shy than school girls, boys rarely write letters to their friends.

【小题3】According to the passage, we can conclude that ________.

A．the writer is a person full of emotions and treasures friendship and affections

B．the writer becomes excited when she gets priceless gifts from other people

C．her classmates would write to each other because they couldn’t send messages

D．people put a smiley face at the end of a message just to show they are happy

【小题4】What message is conveyed in the passage?

A．The writer wastes much time in reading many rubbish text messages every day.

B．Few people can write letters well in modern society owing to texting messages.

C．Now people are too busy to communicate with each other face to face often.

D．The writer prefers personal communication rather than electronic equipment.

【小题5】Why does the writer mention the telegram?

A．Because she thinks the annoyance of reading text messages is originated from it.

B．Because we have more options to keep in touch with each other than ever before.

C．Because advanced technology partly takes the blame for lacking the human touch.

D．Because she thinks humans today become colder with the development of society.

【小题6】Which of the following best describe the tone of this passage?

We can see how the product life cycle works by looking at the introduction of instant（速溶） coffee. When it was introduced, most people did not like it as well as "regular" coffee, and it took several years to gain general acceptance（introduction stage）.At one point, though, instant coffee grew rapidly in popularity, and many brands were introduced（stage of rapid growth）. After a while, people became attached to one brand and sales leveled off（stage of maturity）. Sales went into a slight decrease when freeze-dried coffees were introduced（stage of decline）.