Americans often plan social gatherings（社交聚会）on short notice, so don’t be surprised if you get invited to someone’s home or to see a movie or baseball game without much warning. If the time is convenient (方便) for you, surely accept their invitation. But if you’re busy, don’t be afraid to decline the invitation, perhaps suggesting a time that would be better. Your host won’t be shamed.

Invitations are usually sent in person or over the telephone. The main exception(例外) is for some formal occasions, in which case a written invitation will be mailed. You would normally receive a written invitation to a wedding(婚礼).

For a casual(不正式的)dinner invitation, don’t arrive more than 5 minutes early, because your host may still be preparing for your visit. Arriving more than 10 minutes late is considered rude if very few people were invited. If many people were invited, it’s OK to arrive a little late, even as much as half an hour late. For example, it’s OK to arrive late for a party, for a potluck (家常便饭) dinner or for a social gathering inviting a large group of people.

If you’re invited for dinner, it’s proper to bring the host a bottle of wine, a gift basket of fruit, a box of candy (糖果), or a bouquet(束)of flowers. Don’t bring roses, as men often give roses to women on a date (约会).

If you wish to thank the host for his or her hospitality (好客), it’s right to call or send a brief (简单的) written thank-you note the next day.

1.The passage is to tell us ________.

A．how to accept Americans’ invitations.

B．something about American social visits.

C．something about American business visits.

D．how to make a living in America.

2.The underlined word “decline” in the first paragraph most probably means _____.

A．accept            B．receive           C．refuse            D．follow

3.If an American only invites you to his home for an informal supper at 7:30p.m., you’d better get to his house at ________.

A．7:15p.m.          B．7:35p.m.          C．7:45p.m.          D．7:55p.m.

4.In America, invitations to a wedding are often sent ________.

A．by mail           B．by fax            C．by e-mail          D．over the telephone

5.According to the passage, in American ________.

A．if you’re invited to a family as a guest, you can stay as long as you please.

B．if you’re invited for a party, you must always be on time.

C．if you’re invited for dinner, you’d better bring some presents.

D．you must make a call to show your thanks after you get home from the dinner.

About 1,000 students were having a final exam in a huge lecture hall. Obviously the teacher wasn’t very well liked, who kept shouting out how much time was left. During the exam he was so  36   going around the room making sure that nobody   37  . He asked the students to pile the   38   tests on the huge desk. This made for quite a mess(混乱).

    Anyway, everyone needed a fairly good   39  . Many students did poorly when rushed.  40of the students thought that he must get a good grade, so he went on when the professor said “  41   down and check up your exam sheets”.

Five   42   turned into ten, ten into twenty, twenty into forty … almost an hour   43   the test was over, our friend finally put down his pencil,   44   up his work, and headed to the front to present his final. The whole time, the professor sat there,   45   waiting for the student to complete.

“What do you think you are doing?” It was clear that the professor had   46   only to give the student a   47   time.

“Turning in my exam,” replied the student confidently.

“I’m afraid I have some bad   48   for you,” the professor gloated(幸灾乐祸), “Your  49 is an hour late. You’re FAILED it. And I’ll see you next term when you   50   my course.”

The student smiled slyly(狡诈地)   51   asked the professor, “Do you know who I am?” “No,” cried out the professor   52  .

The student   53   the professor right in the eyes and said slowly, “I didn’t think so,” so he lifted up one of the   54   half way, put his test neatly into the center of the pile, let the pile fall  55   his test in the middle, turned around, and walked out of the huge lecture hall.

36．A．kind                       B．busy                       C．strict                      D．serious

37．A．cheated                   B．failed                            C．slept                       D．passed

38．A．written                   B．succeeded               C．unfinished               D．completed

39．A．teacher                   B．friend                     C．grade                      D．paper

40．A．All                         B．One                        C．None                      D．Each

41．A．pencils                   B．papers                    C．hands                     D．books

42．A．students                  B．minutes                  C．sheets                     D．piles

43．A．if                           B．though                    C．before                    D．after

44．A．gathered                 B．brought                  C．sent                        D．made

45．A．strangely                B．excitedly                 C．anxiously                D．curiously

46．A．promised                B．managed                 C．waited                    D．worked

47．A．easy                       B．hard                       C．long                       D．good

48．A．information            B．result                      C．advice                    D．news

49．A．exam                      B．time                       C．arrival                    D．turn

50．A．accept                    B．repeat                     C．learn                      D．begin

51．A．and                        B．but                         C．so                          D．however

52．A．cruelly                   B．calmly                    C．angrily                   D．firmly

53．A．searched                 B．hit                          C．blamed                   D．looked

54．A．hands                     B．eyes                       C．desks                      D．piles

55．A．changing                B．burying                  C．improving               D．sticking

My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn't know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking. Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn't have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.

We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she’d delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.?

    For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.?

    We greeted her with friendly familiarity we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.?

    Over dinner, we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him desperately, she explained. “I love him… and he loves me, even though he doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.” The candles flared on our tables. Our fish had never tasted better. But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we shared names.

1.All the following statements can describe the woman except ______.

A. poor              B. warm -hearted               C. silent                      D. cold

2.The underlined word “establish” in the 3th paragraph has the same meaning as_________.

A. keep             B. discover                          C. set up            D. accept 

3.The woman had the same problem with her son in the way that ______.

A. they both disabled people

B. they both had some difficulty in expressing

C. they both liked bus travel

D. they both brought interest to the passengers

4.Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?

A. Friends of the Road                      B. The Silent Woman on the Bus

C. Going to Work by Bus                     D. Different Kinds of Friendship

首先，请阅读下面有关购车的五条建议：

5 steps to getting the best price in buying a new car.

Ideally, a dealership should help you find the right vehicle at a fair price. But some dealers place more emphasis on their profit margins than on satisfying their customers.

Read the following situations and match the advice with them.

56. Many dealerships prey on the unprepared. Going into a showroom “cold”--without having gathered key facts and preliminary(初步的) pricing figures--gives the salesperson too much control over the buying process.

57. The dealer invoice price is commonly available on Web sites and in pricing guides. But the invoice price isn't necessarily what the dealer paid. There are often behind-the-scenes bonuses（幕后红利）, such as dealer incentives and holdbacks, that give the dealer more profit margin.

58. Salespeople like to mix financing, leasing, and trade-in negotiations together, often asking you to negotiate around a monthly payment figure. This tactic（策略） gives the dealer more latitude to offer you a favorable figure in one area while inflating figures in another.

59. The salesperson may try to sign you up for a higher rate than you could get elsewhere.

60. Dealers often try to sell you extras such as rust proofing, fabric protection, and paint protectant, or push etching your Vehicle Identification Number on windows to deter thieves.

请结合以上情形，与下面的建议进行匹配。

When buying a car, keep your interests front and center--and avoid common pitfalls（缺陷） that can cost you extra money--by following these tips:

A. Don't assume that the sticker price（标价） is the purchase price（买价）.

To get the lowest price, go in with a starting price that's based not on the sticker price but on how much the dealer paid for the vehicle.

A reasonable price to start negotiations is either 4 to 8 percent over what the dealer paid or the CR Wholesale Price, depending on the demand for the model.

B. Do your homework.

Thoroughly research your choices. Read a variety of reviews. Check the reliability, safety, fuel economy, and pricing of any models you're considering. And don't wait until the day you plan to buy to test drive the vehicles. If you have a trade-in, know its approximate worth. That will depend on the vehicle's age, condition, mileage, and equipment, as well as where you trade it in.

C. Negotiate one thing at one time.

Make clear that you want the lowest possible mark-up over your starting price. Add that you intend to visit other dealerships selling the same vehicle and will buy from the dealer with the best price.

Only after you've settled on the price should you discuss financing, leasing, or a trade-in, as necessary. Negotiate each item individually. Remember, you're in charge and can leave at any time. Heading for the door can sometimes jump-start a slow-moving negotiation or bring a lower offer.

D. Don't pay for extras you don't need.

Don't accept those unnecessary services and fees. If the items are on the bill of sale, put a line through them. Vehicle bodies are already coated to protect against rust. And CR reliability surveys show that rust is not a major problem with modern cars. You can treat upholstery and apply paint protectant yourself with good off-the-shelf products. You can also do your own VIN etching with a kit that costs about $25.

E. Other costs.

In addition to the vehicle price, you need to consider other costs, including:  Sales tax ; Registration fees ; Insurance premiums

Taxes and registration fees can increase your out-of-pocket cost by as much as 10 percent or more, and driving a car that’s worth more than your current one will cost more to insure. Be sure to check with your insurance agent or get insurance quotes online so you understand what you’re getting into.

F. Arrange financing in advance.

Compare interest rates at several banks, credit unions, and loan organizations before checking the dealer's rates. If pre-approved for a loan, you can keep financial arrangements out of the negotiations. Automakers may offer attractive financing terms, but make sure you qualify for them.

You are near the front line of a battle. Around you shells （炮弹）are exploding; people are shooting from a house behind you. What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier. You aren’t  36  carrying a gun. You’re standing in front of a  37  and you’re telling the TV  38  what is happening.

It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter, and it can be very  39  . In the first two years of the  40  in former Yugoslavia（前南斯拉夫), 28 reporters and photographers were killed. Hundreds more were  41  .

What kind of people put themselves in danger to  42  pictures to our TV screens and  43  to our newspapers? Why do they do it ?

“I think it’s every young journalist’s  44  to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s  45  you find the excitement. So when the first opportunity comes, you take it  46  it is a war.”

But there are moments of  47  . Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes, when you’re lying on the ground and bullets（子弹）are flying  48  your ears, you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling  49  after a while and when the next war starts, you’ll be  50  .”

“None of us believes that we’re going to  51  ” adds Michael. But he always  52  a lucky charm（护身符）with him. It was given to him by his wife for his first war. It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.” Does he ever think about dying? “Oh, 53  , and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this, I  54  I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God  55  , because you know he doesn’t believe you .”

1.                A．really          B．simply          C．merely   D．even

2.                A．battlefield       B．crowd          C．camera   D．house

3.                A．directors       B．producers       C．actors    D．viewers

4.                A．depressing      B．disappointing    C．dangerous D．endangered

5.                A．life            B．stay            C．war  D．fight

6.                A．buried         B．defeated        C．wounded D．beaten

7.                A．take           B．bring           C．make D．show

8.                A．Stories         B．scenes         C．passages  D．contents

9.                A．faith           B．nightmare       C．dream    D．duty

10.               A．how           B．why           C．where D．because

11.               A．even if         B．as if           C．even so   D．ever since

12.               A．fear           B．surprise        C．sadness   D．shame

13.               A．past           B．into           C．through   D．around

14.               A．occurs         B．returns         C．goes  D．continues

15.               A．away          B．out            C．home     D．there

16.               A．die            B．leave          C．remain    D．escape

17.               A．wears          B．carries         C．hangs D．holds

18.               A．seldom         B．never          C．many times D．some time

19.               A．consider        B．promise        C．guess D．accept

20.               A．screaming      B．laughing        C．crying D．whispering