If you're like a lot of married guys, you don't need to be reminded about men being from Mars or women from Venus. Chances are that you're all too familiar with the feeling that you and your wife are from different worlds. When married people start noticing their fundamental differences, it can lead to a breakdown in communication. The way to have a successful marriage is through communication, common ground and understanding. Here are some pointers to guide you in the right direction.
Rather than ending up in an endless back and forth, forget about the issue for a minute. Instead, think about how you feel she's acting toward you and ask her if that's how she feels about you. If you think she's being unfair, ask her if she thinks you're being unfair. Switching the focus to that shared feeling can help your wife see things from your point of view.
It's important to accept the fact that there's a two-way street between you and your wife. If you think she doesn't make enough of an effort to see things from your point of view, you have to ask yourself if you're making an effort to see it her way.
Realize nobody can wave a magic wand to make you and your wife completely understand each other all the time. Many couples have an extremely close friendship and do almost everything together before they're married. Once you've tied the knot, you may begin to notice that you're not as alike as you once thought.
It seems obvious, but some guys get fooled into thinking their wife will be as excited about all of their interests and hobbies as they are. Don't be surprised when you find out that she's not just like "one of the guys." Sooner or later you'll realize that she might be going along with some of your interests just to make you happy.
Rather than feel offended if you find out she's not as into your favorite hobby as you thought, appreciate the effort she put into making you happy. Swallow your pride and try to take part in some of her hobbies, too, even if you might be a little put off at first. While you're not going to be trying on makeup with her, you could try baking a recipe together.
If either of you is always giving everything and getting nothing in return, there's going to be bitterness. The best marriages are built on compromise. You knew you were going to have to give and take for your marriage to work; now it's time to make it happen

1. 1.

   What is the best title of the text?

   1. A.
      How to manage your marriage
   2. B.
      How to make a good husband
   3. C.
      How to make a good wife
   4. D.
      How to get her to speak your language
2. 2.

   The best subtitle of the 6^th paragraph is ________

   1. A.
      Swallow your pride (at least sometimes)
   2. B.
      Find out her hobbies
   3. C.
      Don’t get offended
   4. D.
      Try to make up
3. 3.

   Which of the following is not good for keeping a successful marriage?

   1. A.
      Focus on the feeling to get past the disagreement
   2. B.
      Don't play the blame game
   3. C.
      She won't always understand you (but that's OK)
   4. D.
      Try to understand each other all the way
4. 4.

   According to the last paragraph, it’s important for the husband and wife to__________

   1. A.
      forgive and forget
   2. B.
      give and take
   3. C.
      live and let live
   4. D.
      get everything and return nothing
5. 5.

   The underlined phrase in the 6^th paragraph probably mean________

   1. A.
      delay sth
   2. B.
      arrange sth
   3. C.
      dislike sth
   4. D.
      worsen sth

Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 53-56.
Important words to learn: E Essential I Improver A Advanced
shoot [?u:t]
▲verb (shot, shot) WEAPON→1 E to fire a bullet or an arrow, or to hit, injure or kill a person or animal by firing a bullet or arrow at them: If he’s not armed, don’t shoot. ⊙The kids were shooting arrows at a target.⊙She was shot three times in the head.⊙He has a license to shoot pheasants on the farmer’s land. ⊙A policeman was shot dead in the city centre last night. ⊙ The troops were told to shoot to kill. SPORT→2 A to try to score points for yourself or your team, in sports involving a ball, by kicking, hitting or throwing the ball towards the goal: He shot from the middle of the field and still managed to score. MOVE QUICKLY→3 A to move in a particular direction very quickly and directly: She shot past me several meters before the finishing line. ⊙ He shot out of the office a minute ago ─ I think he was late for a meeting.⊙They were just shooting off to town so we didn’t stop to speak.
shooter ['?u:t?] noun[C]He’s thought to be the best shooter in the league.
▲idioms have shot your bolt UK INFORMAL to have already achieved all that you have the power, ability or strength to do and to be unable to do more: He started off the game well but seemed to have shot his bolt by half-time.
? shoot yourself in the foot to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself
? shoot your mouth off INFORMAL to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way: It’s just like Richard to go shooting his mouth off about other people’s affairs.
? shoot for the moon US to ask for the best or the most you could hope for: You might as well shoot for the moon and ask for a promotion as well as a raise.
? shoot questions at sb to ask someone a lot of questions very quickly, one after the other: He shot questions at me so quickly that I didn’t even have time to answer.
? shoot the breeze US INFORMAL to talk with someone or a group of people about things which are not important: We sat out on the porch, just shooting the breeze.
▲ phrasal verbs shoot sth down to destroy an aircraft or make an aircraft, bird, etc. fall to the ground by shooting at it: He was killed during the war when his plane was shot down.
shoot sb down to shoot and usually kill someone, showing no sympathy: I saw Tom shoot him down like a dog in the street.
shoot for/at sth US to try to do something: It’s worth taking chances when you’re shooting at a chance of fame and wealth.
shoot out If opposing groups or people armed with guns shoot it out, they shoot at each other until one of the groups or people is dead or defeated.
shoot through AUSTRALIAN INFORMAL to leave a place very quickly, especially in order to avoid having to do something
shoot up INCREASE→INFORMAL to grow in size, or increase in number or level, very quickly: David has really shot up since I saw him last. ⊙Prices shot up by 25%.
▲ noun PLANT→1[C]the first part of a plant to appear above the ground as it develops from a seed, or any new growth on an already existing plant: Two weeks after we’d planted the seeds, little green shoots started to appear. ⊙FIGURATIVE The first green shoots (="hopeful" signs) of economic recovery have started to appear.
FILM→2[C USUALLY SINGULAR] when photographer take a series of photographs, usually of the same person or people in the same place: We did a fashion shoot on the beach, with the girls modeling swimwear. WEAPON→3[C]an occasion on which a group of people go to an area of the countryside to shoot animals
shooting ['?u:ti?] noun 1 A [U]when bullets are shot from guns or other weapons: We heard some shooting in the night. 2 A [C]when someone is injured or killed by a bullet shot from a gun: There have been a number of shootings in the capital this week. 3[U]the sport of shooting animals or birds: pleasant/grouse shooting ⊙ He goes shooting most weekends.
【小题1】What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “You will be bound to see that the green shoots of your English level start to grow.”?

Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 53-56.

Important words to learn: E Essential I Improver A Advanced

shoot [ʃu:t]

▲verb (shot, shot) WEAPON→1 E to fire a bullet or an arrow, or to hit, injure or kill a person or animal by firing a bullet or arrow at them: If he’s not armed, don’t shoot. ⊙ The kids were shooting arrows at a target. ⊙She was shot three times in the head.⊙ He has a license to shoot pheasants on the farmer’s land. ⊙ A policeman was shot dead in the city centre last night. ⊙ The troops were told to shoot to kill. SPORT→2 A to try to score points for yourself or your team, in sports involving a ball, by kicking, hitting or throwing the ball towards the goal: He shot from the middle of the field and still managed to score. MOVE QUICKLY→3 A to move in a particular direction very quickly and directly: She shot past me several meters before the finishing line. ⊙ He shot out of the office a minute ago ─ I think he was late for a meeting. ⊙ They were just shooting off to town so we didn’t stop to speak.

shooter ['ʃu:tə] noun[C]He’s thought to be the best shooter in the league.

▲idioms have shot your bolt UK INFORMAL to have already achieved all that you have the power, ability or strength to do and to be unable to do more: He started off the game well but seemed to have shot his bolt by half-time.

• shoot yourself in the foot to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself

• shoot your mouth off INFORMAL to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way: It’s just like Richard to go shooting his mouth off about other people’s affairs.

• shoot for the moon US to ask for the best or the most you could hope for: You might as well shoot for the moon and ask for a promotion as well as a raise.

• shoot questions at sb to ask someone a lot of questions very quickly, one after the other: He shot questions at me so quickly that I didn’t even have time to answer.

• shoot the breeze US INFORMAL to talk with someone or a group of people about things which are not important: We sat out on the porch, just shooting the breeze.

▲ phrasal verbs shoot sth down to destroy an aircraft or make an aircraft, bird, etc. fall to the ground by shooting at it: He was killed during the war when his plane was shot down.

shoot sb down to shoot and usually kill someone, showing no sympathy: I saw Tom shoot him down like a dog in the street.

shoot for/at sth US to try to do something: It’s worth taking chances when you’re shooting at a chance of fame and wealth.

shoot out If opposing groups or people armed with guns shoot it out, they shoot at each other until one of the groups or people is dead or defeated.

shoot through AUSTRALIAN INFORMAL to leave a place very quickly, especially in order to avoid having to do something

shoot up INCREASE→INFORMAL to grow in size, or increase in number or level, very quickly: David has really shot up since I saw him last. ⊙ Prices shot up by 25%.

▲ noun PLANT→1[C]the first part of a plant to appear above the ground as it develops from a seed, or any new growth on an already existing plant: Two weeks after we’d planted the seeds, little green shoots started to appear. ⊙ FIGURATIVE The first green shoots (=hopeful signs) of economic recovery have started to appear.

FILM→2[C USUALLY SINGULAR] when photographer take a series of photographs, usually of the same person or people in the same place: We did a fashion shoot on the beach, with the girls modeling swimwear. WEAPON→3[C]an occasion on which a group of people go to an area of the countryside to shoot animals

shooting ['ʃu:tiŋ] noun 1 A [U]when bullets are shot from guns or other weapons: We heard some shooting in the night. 2 A [C]when someone is injured or killed by a bullet shot from a gun: There have been a number of shootings in the capital this week. 3[U]the sport of shooting animals or birds: pleasant/grouse shooting ⊙ He goes shooting most weekends.

53. What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “You will be bound to see that the green shoots of your English level start to grow.”?

         A. Great efforts.                                                     B. Signs of improving.

         C. Learning ability.                                                 D. Change in method.

54. Fill in the blank in the sentence “When it is achieved, there will be other plans to _________.”

         A. shoot at                          B. shoot up                C. shoot down          D. shoot through

55. If you are suffering from the consequence of the plan without full consideration, we say you are __________.

         A. shooting the breeze                                         B. shooting your mouth off

         C. shooting yourself in the foot                          D. shooting questions at somebody

56. Choose a word to complete the sentence “__________ is one of the oldest sport events, which is popular with people both at home and abroad.”

A. Shooter                           B. Shoot                      C. Shot                        D. Shooting

Some diaries from Jackie Chan’s blog

January 4, 2009

  Lately I’ve been busy in Beijing having meetings to discuss my new movie. I also attended John Wu’s ceremony（典礼）of his new movie, Red Cliff, which took two years to complete. I’m good friends with the director John Wu and the main actor Tony Leung.

January 5, 2009

Today I went to record a television program for Beijing TV called Volunteers Across China. This TV program is a large-scale reality show that is based on the idea that “good people reap good rewards” and it hopes to encourage people to be more aware and help the “good people” who are in difficult situations.

January 6, 2009

     I’m very pleased to announce that my Jackie Chan automobile website is set up and officially operating! I hope that through this automotive website, I can get in touch with more people who want to buy cars.

January 7, 2009

Today, I went to record a song called Zhongguo Nian. This song was written by Chang Shilei. I sing this song together with Tan Jing. Chang Shilei is a naturally talented musician. He also has an interesting habit. His piano is placed next to his bed. When he wakes up, he plays the piano until he’s tired, and then he lies down on his bed to sleep.

January 9, 2009

Today I met with the producer and director of Longwei Xiaozi ,and I also brought along my friend’s daughter for a screen test. Although my friend’s daughter grew up in China, her English is very good and it just happened by chance that this movie needs a young actress for a part, so I took her along to audition（试演）.

1.What might be the best title for this passage?

A. My new movie.           B. My busy life.

C. My good friend.           D. My favorite song.

2. The TV program Volunteers Across China tries to

A. find some rich people who are able to help the poor.

B. encourage people to look after the young.

C. ask people to help “good people” who are in trouble.

D. make China more and more famous all over the word.

3.The underlined word “announce” in the third paragraph means

   A. tell sb sth officially

  B. tell sb what you think

C. tell sb to do sth

D. say that sth must happen

4.With whom does the author sing the song Zhongguo Nian ?

   A. John Wu.      B. Tony Leung.       C. Chang Shilei.       D. Tan Jing.

5.What can we infer from the text?

   A. It took the author two years to finish the movie Red Cliff.

B. People who are in trouble can ask Beijing TV for help.

C. Chang Shilei is a famous actor who is good at playing the piano.

D. Longwei Xiaozi needs a young actress for a part who can speak English well.