We humans are superstitious, believing that Friday the 13th is bad luck and finding a penny is good luck. Here, then, are three of the most common superstitions.

Careful with that mirror

According to folktales, breaking a mirror is sure to bring yourself seven years of bad luck. The superstition seems to arise from the belief that mirrors don’t just reflect your image; they hold bits of your soul. That belief led old American Southerners to cover mirrors in a house when someone died, for fear that their soul might be trapped inside.

Like the number three, the number seven is often associated with luck. Seven years is a long time to be unlucky, so people have come up with solutions after breaking a mirror. These include touching a piece of the broken mirror to a tombstone or powdering the broken mirror.

Knock on wood

This phrase is designed to break away from bad luck: “Breaking that mirror didn’t bring me any trouble. Knock on wood.” The phrase may come from old tales about good spirits in trees or from an association with the Christian cross.

No umbrellas inside

…And not just because you’ll hurt someone’s eyes. Opening an umbrella indoors is supposed to bring bad luck. The origins of this belief vary from a story of an ancient woman who happened to have opened her umbrella moments before her house fell to the tale of a British prince who accepted two umbrellas from a visiting king and died within months.

1.What may bring good luck?

A. Dating on Friday the 13th. B. Knocking on wood.

C. Opening an umbrella inside. D. Breaking a mirror.

2.What should you do to drive bad luck away after breaking a mirror?

A. Hide the pieces for seven years. B. Put the pieces in a tombstone.

C. Cover the other mirrors in a house. D. Make the pieces into powder.

3.Which phrase may originate(起源) from religion?

A. Careful with that mirror. B. Knock on wood.

C. No umbrellas inside. D. Lucky number seven.

When Paula Grzelak-Schultz spotted a piece of paper tucked under her windshield(挡风玻璃) wipers, she thought she was getting fined for leaving her car in a bar parking lot overnight. With a heavy sigh, Grzelak-Schultz removed the paper and unlocked her car.

Hardly had she unfolded the paper when she got shocked. It was a letter from the manager of Original Joe’s Restaurant & Bar in Sherwood Park, Canada.

“Just wanted to thank you for leaving your car parked overnight,” Jay McLean, managing partner at Original Joe’s, wrote. “I’m not sure if you had consumed alcohol at our restaurant or not, but we wanted to thank you for not drinking and driving.”

Inside it,, Grzelak-Schultz also found a voucher(代金券) for 1 pound of chicken wings.

“Please accept this as a thank you for being responsible,” McLean wrote. “Life is valuable, have a great weekend.”

Grzelak-Schultz was touched.

“I was sure it was going to be a ticket or a scolding from someone for leaving my vehicle there for so long,” Grzelak-Schultz told CBS News. “I was truly surprised and so pleased that the manager took the time to acknowledge my good judgment.”

She decided to share the man’s good deed on Facebook.

“Wow! I’m so impressed. Definitely going back,” Grzelak-Schultz wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday that has since gone widespread with nearly 8,500 shares. “Not just because of the voucher, but also because of how well this guy treats his regular customers.”

Exactly a week later, Grzelak-Schultz returned to the restaurant to thank McLean for his kindness, and discovered that she’s not the only customer to receive this leter.

“He’s been doing it for over a year, with no expectations.” She explained. “Just being a good guy.”

1.At first sight of the paper, Paul thought it was .

A. a ticket B. a voucher C. a letter D. a thank-you card

2.What truly surprised Grzelak-Schultz?

A. She was not fined by the police.

B. She was not scolded for parking.

C. She was considered as responsible.

D. She got a voucher for chicken wings.

3.What can we learn about Jay Mclean?

A. He simply meant to be good.

B. He hoped to attract more customers.

C. He wanted to be popular on the Internet.

D. He intended to please regular customers.

4.Which can best describe the change of the author’s feelings?

A. sad—excited—surprised—relieved

B. sad—surprised—pleased—impressed

C. surprised—sad—disappointed—pleased

D. disappointed—surprised—excited—delighted

Whenever we see a button, we want to press it because we know that something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example, on a doorbell. But some buttons are actually fake(假的), like the “close” button on a lift.

Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts’ “close” buttons are a complete trick, at least in the US - the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

“A sense of control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being,” said Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor at Harvard University. Experts also added that a lot of buttons that don’t do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose.

For example, pedestrian crosswalk buttons don’t live up to their names either. Pressing them used to help make the traffic signals change faster, but that was before computer controlled traffic signals were introduced.

But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

1.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To explore the functions of fake buttons.

B. To describe different fake buttons.

C. To analyze various habits of pushing buttons.

D. To explain the disadvantages of fake buttons.

2.What can we learn about the “close” buttons on a lift in America?

A. They work when people press them hard.

B. They were designed for a sense of control.

C. They never speed up the door-closing process.

D. They take the safety of the disabled into account.

3.What can we infer about pedestrian crosswalk buttons?

A. They can make people feel better.

B. They help computers work faster.

C. They can control the traffic signals.

D. They help pedestrians cross safely.

4.Which may be the best title for the passage?

A. Buttons in the USA. B. Buttons Always Lie

C. Buttons May not Work D. “Close” Buttons on Lifts

For many people, being on the job might just sound like a picnic compared to a day at home filled with housework, meals and childcare. Even for those with a happy family life, home can sometimes feel more taxing than work.

In a new study, researchers at Penn State University found significantly and consistently lower levels of cortisol(皮质醇) released in response to stress, in a majority of subjects when they were at work compared to when they were at home. This was true for both men and women, and parents and people without children.

Both men and women showed less stress at work. But women were more likely to report feeling happier there. Men were more likely to feel happier at home. Experts say there are other reasons why work is less stressful than home for many. “Paid work is more valued in society,” says Sarah Damaske, the lead researcher on the study. “Household work is boring and not particularly rewarding.”

We get better at our job with time and the increased competence means less stress and more rewards. Yet none of us, no matter how long we’ve been doing it, ever truly feels like an expert at parenting or even at marriage.

The support and friendship of co-workers also offer stress relief. At home, meanwhile, stress spreads and accumulates quickly. “That’s the reason why most housewives wish they were the bread earners,” Dr. Damaske says.

Much of the advice to families and couples include the warning to “leave work stress at the office” and even to change our mind-set from work to home, for example, a walk around the block. The recent findings, though, suggest our home life, not our attitude, might be due for some change.

1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “taxing”?

A. stressful. B. cheerful. C. worthwhile. D. rewarding.

2.What did the research in the second paragraph prove?

A. Men felt better at home.

B. Women felt they had less time.

C. Women were easier to feel happier.

D. Most people felt more stress at home.

3.What do most people think of work at office?

A. It is competitive. B. It improves ability.

C. It can’t relieve stress. D. It doesn’t always pay off.

4.According to the recent findings, what should we change to solve the problem mentioned?

A. Our attitude. B. Our mind-set.

C. Our home life. D. Our working style.

I always had a dream. In it, I was a little girl again, rushing about, trying to get _______for school. Deep inside I knew _______it came from. It was some unfinished_______in my life.

As a kid I loved school. Most of all I_______to receive my diploma. That seemed more_______even than getting married. But at 15, I had to _______because my parents couldn’t afford my _______. Pretty soon, I married and had three children. I thought, “There goes my diploma.” _______, I wanted my children to be educated. But Linda, the youngest, had a serious heart disease, which made it impossible for her to_________in a normal classroom.

One day, I saw an ad for evening courses. “That’s the __________. Linda always feels better in the evening, so I’ll just __________ her up for night school.”

Linda was busy filling forms when the school__________ said: “Mrs. Schantz, why don’t you come back to school?”

I laughed: “There’s no __________! I’m 55!”

But he __________me and I attended class with Linda. Surprisingly, both Linda and I felt great there and my__________ steadily improved.

It was exciting, going to school again, but it was no __________. Sitting in a class full of kids was__________, even if most of them were respectful. Whenever I was down, Linda encouraged me. “Mom, you can’t __________now!” Together we made it__________.

Finally, I got my diploma with Linda and realized my __________of years.

1.A. started B. concerned C. finished D. prepared

2.A. when B. where C. how D. why

3.A. homework B. diploma C. accident D. business

4.A. required B. managed C. longed D. struggled

5.A. annoying B. incredible C. appealing D. ridiculous

6.A. drop out B. give in C. break up D. turn away

7.A. living B. teaching C. working D. schooling

8.A. As usual B. Until then C. Even so D. In fact

9.A. recover B. function C. benefit D. arrive

10.A. problem B. answer C. deal D. result

11.A. sign B. put C. call D. pick

12.A. secretary B. colleague C. employer D. referee

13.A. rush B. time C. way D. class

14.A. urged B. demanded C. persuaded D. informed

15.A. grades B. attitude C. health D. moods

16.A. fun B. game C. good D. wonder

17.A. available B. awkward C. awesome D. awful

18.A. miss B. reject C. resign D. quit

19.A. up B. out C. off D. through

20.A. dream B. ambition C. plan D. thought

 0  135131  135139  135145  135149  135155  135157  135161  135167  135169  135175  135181  135185  135187  135191  135197  135199  135205  135209  135211  135215  135217  135221  135223  135225  135226  135227  135229  135230  135231  135233  135235  135239  135241  135245  135247  135251  135257  135259  135265  135269  135271  135275  135281  135287  135289  135295  135299  135301  135307  135311  135317  135325  151629 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网