Don’t be surprised when strangers talk to you in Canada! You will find that many Canadians will smile at you as they pass in the street, or say something to you like “Hi!” or “How’s it going?” Just reply with something similar. In the UK the reply would be “I’m fine”, but in Canada they say “I’m good”.

In company, when someone is offering you a second helping of food or more wine, if you don’t want any more, use the same expression— “I’m good”. In this case, it means “No, thank you. I’ve had enough”. Most Canadians don't press you to eat more than you want.

In restaurant, your plate will be cleared away almost immediately you have finished eating. When you go into a shop or store, the shop assistant asks you how you are or if they can help you, it is their way of being friendly and making conversation with the customers.

Canadians eat early and go home early. When you are invited to a Canadian’s home, you may be asked to arrive at 5:30 pm or 6 pm. But guests in Europe don’t expect to arrive until 7:30 pm or 8 pm. Remember to take off your shoes and leave them inside the door without being asked. It’s not a religious custom, but it’s practical. In winter, there can be a lot of snow and dirt on your shoes, once you are in the warm house it melts and falls off, making a mess. Canadians tend to have light colored carpets or hardwood floors.

If you’re invited for dinner, it will be a full sit- down meal. Meat is usually barbecued in the freezing cold of winter. Do take something with you, like a bottle of wine. Arrive on time and don’t stay over 10 pm.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A.    “I’m good” can mean you do not need more food in Canada.

B.    In Canada, you will meet strangers in the street saying “Hi” to you.

C.    In a Canadian restaurant, the plates will stay at the table until you leave.

D.    Canadians usually say “I’m good” to answer the greeting of “How’s it going?”

If you are invited for dinner in your Canadian friend’s home, ________.

A.    you will have a full sit-down meal

B.    you don’t have to bring any gift for the host

C.    you are expected to arrive at 7:30 or 8 pm

D.    you don’t have to take off your shoes when you enter the room

When a Canadian shop assistant says “How are you?” to you, it suggests that _______.

A.    they hope to make friends with you

B.    they want to ask you for help

C.    they are very friendly to customers

D.    they are your good friends

What can we learn from the passage?

A.    Canadians like dark colored carpets.

B.    In Canada, meat will not be barbecued even in the cold winter.

C.    You will always be asked to eat more food than you want in Canada.

D.    It is usually rude to stay over 10 pm in your Canadian friend’s home.

What would be the best title for this passage?

A.    Some customs in Canada

B.    Dinner party rules in Canada

C.    Studying in Canada

D.    Doing business in Canada

Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports

When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me. My coach(教练) said that I had lots of potential(潜力), and I became captain of my ___36___. That was before all the fun was taken out of ___37___.

At first, everyone on the team got ___38___ playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the ___39___ started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have ___40___one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our ___41___. The coach was replaced.

The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game. All we did during practice was ___42___. I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the ___43___. Of course, all teams run drills; they are ___44___. But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble ___45___. Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises ___46___ for 18-year-olds.

I was very thin ___47___ I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too ___48___ to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual ___49___.

Is all this pressure necessary? I ___50___ up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s ___51___, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they ___52___ from the coach or their parents.

I continued playing football at school and ___53___ my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing ___54___ him, he told me I needed to relax because I looked nervous. After I ___55___ down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.

36. A. class     B. club    C. team   D. board

37. A. playing B. living  C. learning     D. working

38. A. great    B. equal  C. right   D. extra

39. A. business       B. struggle      C. attempt      D. pressure

40. A. free      B. private       C. good   D. basic

41. A. matches       B. courses       C. lessons       D. programs

42. A. jump    B. play    C. run     D. shoot

43. A. duty     B. meeting      C. operation    D. training

44. A. necessary     B. boring C. scientific    D. practical

45. A. speaking      B. moving      C. sleeping     D. breathing

46. A. used     B. intended     C. made  D. described

47. A. till       B. since   C. before D. because

48. A. full      B. tired   C. lazy    D. big

49. A. size      B. share   C. space  D. state

50. A. gave     B. kept    C. ended  D. picked

51. A. sad       B. shameful    C. silly    D. serious

52. A. received       B. suffered     C. brought      D. felt

53. A. reconsidered B. rediscovered      C. reformed    D. replaced

54. A. at  B. by      C. for      D. around

55. A. fell       B. stepped      C. slowed       D. calmed

Don’t shoot butterflies with guns.
Can you    36    someone running after a butterfly with a gun in his hands? Won’t such stupidity make you burst out laughing? But wait. Stop and consider how often you might have done something    37   .
A hen, Henny-Penny, lived in a forest with many other animals and birds. One fine, sunny morning, she was busy looking for    38    in the ground. Suddenly she let out a frightened cackle (咯咯叫) with wings flapping    39   . A dry leaf had fallen down on her, and she went  40   at whoever she met, “Run, run for your lives; the sky is falling.” The other creatures stopped whatever they were doing. Some ran behind Henny-Penny, screaming warnings with her, while others    41    the unfounded story that the sky was falling.
We all have    42    people like this hen. The rest of us are like the other foolish creatures who didn’t stop to verify (证实) the    43    for themselves. They shoot butterflies with guns. They just will not think for themselves. Why don’t people think for themselves? Often because of laziness, or because they don’t want to be    44    for their way of thinking.
Walking through life    45    is more dangerous than crossing a busy road with eyes closed. Our thoughts should lead us towards the light of wisdom and sense. Our thinking should be high,  46    us to the ranks of the sensible. We have been blessed with reasoning, sensitive minds. Let us make use of them and be    47    of our own minds. Don’t let your mind be enslaved by someone else. Stop, think and then go ahead.
【小题1】.

Don’t be surprised when strangers talk to you in Canada! You will find that many Canadians will smile at you as they pass in the street, or say something to you like “Hi!” or “How’s it going?” Just reply with something similar. In the UK the reply would be “I’m fine”, but in Canada they say “I’m good”.
In company, when someone is offering you a second helping of food or more wine, if you don’t want any more, use the same expression— “I’m good”. In this case, it means “No, thank you. I’ve had enough”. Most Canadians don't press you to eat more than you want.
In restaurant, your plate will be cleared away almost immediately you have finished eating. When you go into a shop or store, the shop assistant asks you how you are or if they can help you, it is their way of being friendly and making conversation with the customers.
Canadians eat early and go home early. When you are invited to a Canadian’s home, you may be asked to arrive at 5:30 pm or 6 pm. But guests in Europe don’t expect to arrive until 7:30 pm or 8 pm. Remember to take off your shoes and leave them inside the door without being asked. It’s not a religious custom, but it’s practical. In winter, there can be a lot of snow and dirt on your shoes, once you are in the warm house it melts and falls off, making a mess. Canadians tend to have light colored carpets or hardwood floors.
If you’re invited for dinner, it will be a full sit- down meal. Meat is usually barbecued in the freezing cold of winter. Do take something with you, like a bottle of wine. Arrive on time and don’t stay over 10 pm.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

Don’t you just love ice skating every winter？I am sure，that since winter is approaching，your skates are set to come out，just waiting to be used.Impress your friends with your new trick on how to ice?skate backwards with the help of these tips.Skating backwards on ice is a bit difficult but once you master the basic，there’s nothing like it.Follow the steps given below and you will be able to skate backwards in no time.

Stand Straight

The first thing that you need to do is，stand straight.If you feel that you are falling backwards，then just put your chin(下巴) up and slightly bend your knees.Don’t worry；this happens to all.

Confidence Is What You Need

The most important step while learning how to skate backwards，is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing.How can you achieve this？By practice.Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slop every single day or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort.But before you do that，make sure that the place where you are practicing is free from any kind of debris(碎片) because otherwise，you could land up in the hospital due to some accident.While going backwards，just get used to the feeling of moving backwards.One of the important ice skating tips and techniques is that if you feel that you are losing your balance，then scissor(做剪式运动) your skates.Keep practicing this till you are confident about it.

Maintain Speed

Confident now？Great！Now the next step is to maintain your speed.While rolling in a straight line with one skate，with the other try sculling(划桨)，that is，keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke(滑动)．Now bring the skate which you were using to scull，and then again，repeat the same process.Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling.Now，try the same thing using the other foot.Again keep doing this till you are confident enough.

Increase Your Speed Now

Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot，the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed.Try some of your own tricks now.Scull with either foot or with both at the same time.

Scull and Be Aware

While you keep one foot straight，keep sculling with the other.You can do that simultaneously with both feet.Concentrate on what you are doing but don’t get so involved，that you don’t see where you are going.If you are not watching your back，you might just bang against something or someone.

1.According to the text confidence comes from ______.

A．high speed? B．strict coaches

C．constant exercise? D．good techniques

2.Which is the right order of ice?skating backwards?

a．Increasing your speed.

b．Being able to scull with one foot.

c．Being about to stand straight.

d．Trying some different tricks.

A．c→a→d→b? B．c→b→d→a

C．a→c→b→d? D．c→b→a→d

3.In order to keep balance when skating backwards you should ________.

A．skate in a scissor gesture

B．use both your feet to scull

C．skate forward first and then backward

D．put most of your weight on the skate with which you are sculling

4.The purpose of the text is ________.

A．to compare different ways of ice?skating backwards

B．to introduce the culture of ice?skating backwards

C．to explain advantages of ice?skating backwards

D．to offer some advice on ice?skating backwards