Some people don’t like the number 13. They don’t think 13 is a lucky or good number. For example（比如）, they don’t like to live（居住） on the 13th floor（楼）.
My friend Mary is one of them. She asks some friends to her home. All of her friends get to her home. They sit at the table. Then Mary counts, “One, two, three ...oh, my God! There are thirteen people here!” Everybody’s face(脸) turns white, but Mr. Brown doesn’t. He says, “Don’t worry（别担心）, dear friends! We have fourteen people here. My wife will have a baby next week. She is in the family way now. ”
All of them become happy again. “Congratulations（恭喜）!” they say to Mr. and Mrs. Brown. They enjoy the nice food（享用美食） and have a good time this evening.
【小题1】The underlined word “lucky” means “________” in Chinese.

Some people don’t like the number 13. They don’t think 13 is a lucky or good number. For example（比如）, they don’t like to live（居住） on the 13th floor（楼）.

My friend Mary is one of them. She asks some friends to her home. All of her friends get to her home. They sit at the table. Then Mary counts, “One, two, three . . . oh, my God! There are thirteen people here!” Everybody’s face(脸) turns white, but Mr. Brown doesn’t. He says, “Don’t worry（别担心）, dear friends! We have fourteen people here. My wife will have a baby next week. She is in the family way now. ”

All of them become happy again. “Congratulations（恭喜）!” they say to Mr. and Mrs. Brown. They enjoy the nice food（享用美食） and have a good time this evening.

1.The underlined word “lucky” means “________” in Chinese.

A. 幸运的 B. 倒霉的 C. 难得的 D. 常见的

2.Everybody’s face turns white, because ________.

A. there are thirteen people

B. there are fourteen people

C. they don’t like Mr. Brown

D. they don’t like the baby

3.Who will have a baby next week?

A. Mary B. Mr. Brown C. GodD. Mrs. Brown

4.When does the story happen(发生)?

A. In the morning. B. In the afternoon. C. In the evening. D. At night.

5.What is NOT true(正确的)?

A. some people don’t like to live on the 13th floor.

B. Mary and her friends don’t like the number 13.

C. Mr. Brown’s face turns white, too.

D. Mary and her friends became happy at last.

Some people don’t like the number 13. They don’t think 13 is a lucky or good number. For example（比如）, they don’t like to live（居住） on the 13th floor（楼）.

My friend Mary is one of them. She asks some friends to her home. All of her friends get to her home. They sit at the table. Then Mary counts, “One, two, three ...oh, my God! There are thirteen people here!” Everybody’s face(脸) turns white, but Mr. Brown doesn’t. He says, “Don’t worry（别担心）, dear friends! We have fourteen people here. My wife will have a baby next week. She is in the family way now. ”

All of them become happy again. “Congratulations（恭喜）!” they say to Mr. and Mrs. Brown. They enjoy the nice food（享用美食） and have a good time this evening.

1.The underlined word “lucky” means “________” in Chinese.

A. 幸运的 B. 倒霉的 C. 难得的 D. 常见的

2.Everybody’s face turns white, because ________.

A. there are thirteen people B. there are fourteen people

C. they don’t like Mr. Brown D. they don’t like the baby

3.Who will have a baby next week?

A. Mary B. Mr. Brown C. God D. Mrs. Brown

4.When does the story happen(发生)?

A. In the morning. B. In the afternoon. C. In the evening.D. At night.

5.What is NOT true(正确的)?

A. some people don’t like to live on the 13th floor.

B. Mary and her friends don’t like the number 13.

C. Mr. Brown’s face turns white, too.

D. Mary and her friends became happy at last.

“Mind your own business．” we’re told．“Don’t talk about others behind their backs．”The problem with this advice is that，not only is it unrealistic，it’s also counterproductive(起反作用的)．

??? Common sense holds that gossip(流言蜚语)hurts people’s feelings and damages relationships．But recent research shows the opposite—that strong communities and relationships between people would be impossible without gossip．

??? Gossip is a way for people to let you know the limits of social behavior．“If you move into a community and your neighbor tells you how the former homeowner never dealt with his rubbish properly，his gossip is letting you in on something，”says Dr．Ralph Rosnow of Temple University．“Gossip says：these are the boundaries and you are crossing them．You’re not abiding by the rules and you’d better get back in line．” Seen this way，gossip is a way to communicate criticism(批评)without conflict(冲突)，giving you a chance to change your behavior without losing face．

??? On the other hand，what about ill-willed gossip，the kind that puts other people down? Gossip is hearing something we like about someone we don’t and，in nearly every country in the world，gossip magazines have huge numbers of readers．According to researchers，however，this kind of gossip also has a good side because it helps us put our own problems in perspective(正确地)．“If we read bad news about well-known people，or get the frightful details of our neighbors’ bad situation over a cup of coffee，our own problems begin to pale in comparison(对比)，”says Dr．Jack Levin of Northeastern University．

??? However，that doesn’t mean that gossip is necessarily a good thing，either．Researchers found that people who gossip a lot tend to feel like they’re under a lot of stress．This might be because while they’re busy talking about other people，they’re also busy thinking what other people are saying about them．
1.What is the purpose of the text?

A．To encourage us to spread gossip about others．

B．To prevent us from spreading gossip about others。

C．To make a comparison between good gossip and bad gossip．

D．To recognize certain positive functions of gossip．

2.According to the passage，people in general think that__________．

A．it’s a bad habit to gossip

B．nobody pays attention to gossip

C．not all the gossip you hear is worth believing

D．it’s necessary to have a nice gossip with a friend or neighbor

3.The underlined phrase “abiding by” in Paragraph 3 most probably means“________”．

A．making??? ????????????? ????????????? B．breaking??? ????????????? ????????????? C．obeying??? ????????????? D．changing

4.It could be learned from the passage that__________.

A. people under much stress enjoy gossiping about others.

B. in a way gossip helps us deal with our own problems.

C. in fact most people tend to believe gossip.

D. the more there is gossip, the stronger relationships become between people.

“Mind your own business．” we’re told．“Don’t talk about others behind their backs．”The problem with this advice is that，not only is it unrealistic，it’s also counterproductive(起反作用的)．
Common sense holds that gossip(流言蜚语)hurts people’s feelings and damages relationships．But recent research shows the opposite—that strong communities and relationships between people would be impossible without gossip．
Gossip is a way for people to let you know the limits of social behavior．“If you move into a community and your neighbor tells you how the former homeowner never dealt with his rubbish properly，his gossip is letting you in on something，”says Dr．Ralph Rosnow of Temple University．“Gossip says：these are the boundaries and you are crossing them．You’re not abiding by the rules and you’d better get back in line．” Seen this way，gossip is a way to communicate criticism(批评)without conflict(冲突)，giving you a chance to change your behavior without losing face．
On the other hand，what about ill-willed gossip，the kind that puts other people down? Gossip is hearing something we like about someone we don’t and，in nearly every country in the world，gossip magazines have huge numbers of readers．According to researchers，however，this kind of gossip also has a good side because it helps us put our own problems in perspective(正确地)．“If we read bad news about well-known people，or get the frightful details of our neighbors’ bad situation over a cup of coffee，our own problems begin to pale in comparison(对比)，”says Dr．Jack Levin of Northeastern University．
However，that doesn’t mean that gossip is necessarily a good thing，either．Researchers found that people who gossip a lot tend to feel like they’re under a lot of stress．This might be because while they’re busy talking about other people，they’re also busy thinking what other people are saying about them．
【小题1】What is the purpose of the text?