What is time? Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money? Or is it something we have no control over, like the weather? Is it the same all over the world? That’s an easy question, you say. Wherever you go, a minute is 60 seconds, an hour is 60 minutes, a day is 24 hours, and so forth. Well, maybe. But in America, time is more than that. Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that’s why they are fond of the expression, “Time is money.”

Because Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to keep and manage it. People in the US often attend conferences or read books on time management. It seems they all want to organize their time better. Professionals carry around pocket planners(计划书) — some in electronic form — to keep track of appointments and deadlines. People do all they can to press more life out of their time.

To Americans, punctuality is a way of showing respect for other people’s time. Being more than 10 minutes late to an appointment usually calls for an apology, and maybe an explanation. People who are running late often call ahead to let others know of the delay. Of course, the less formal the situation, the less important it is to be exactly on time. At informal get-togethers, for example, people often arrive as much as 30 minutes past the appointed time. But they usually don’t try that at work.

American lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient. Only very close friends will just “drop by” unannounced. Also, people hesitate to call others late at night for fear they might be in bed. The time may vary, but most folks think twice about calling after 10:00 pm.

Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time, like money, slips all too easily through our finger. And time, like the weather, is very hard to predict. However, time is one of life’s most precious gifts.

The main idea of the passage is _______.

A. time is money                                       B. different attitude toward time in the world

C. how to save time                                   D. how Americans treat time

In the fourth paragraph, the writer mainly tells us that _________.

A. Americans respect others’ time in daily life

  B. Americans seldom call after 10:00

C. Americans inform before paying a visit to their friends               

D. when planning an event, Americans usually fix time ahead of time

The underlined phrase “think twice” (in Paragraph 4) probably means “_______ “.

A. think for a second time                   B. be careful

C. be afraid                         D. pay attention

It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. Americans like time better than anything else     

B. generally speaking, Americans respect their time 

C. on the whole, Americans treasure their time        

D. Americans consider their time is difficult to master and predict

I was asked in an email about learning idioms in a foreign language.Maybe I am different from most people，but I do not bother with them.To me they are kind of dessert of language learning.They come at the end of a meal.Once you have filled up with the solid fare—the key words and phrases that are used in a variety of situations，then you can add a few idioms to spice up things.And by that time you will be able to pick them up naturally anyway.

I find that many learners have an obsession(困扰) with slang and idioms，as if repeating some very colloquial expressions is going to upgrade how they sound in a language.In fact it is the opposite.Idioms are difficult to use correctly.They can easily sound very strange coming from someone who obviously does not have a good sense of the language.

Yes，occasionally you hear idioms or slang and do not understand.But，in my experience，there are always situations where you do not understand.It is best to focus on the most important words，what they mean and how they are used.Certainly，it is best for a non?native speaker to stick to standard speech.

Some teachers even try to teach the “real language”．Then you hear non?native speakers saying things like “I gonna” ，“You wanna” etc.I just cringe(厌烦)．

You will learn all the idioms you need just by exposing yourself to the language.In general，you can save any phrase that you find interesting，and if that includes idioms，go to it.But I would not make any special effort to go after idioms.I，in fact，avoid them.If I come across something in Russian that strikes me as a particularly slangy or idiomatic use of words，I just leave it aside; do not even bother trying to learn it.If it keeps on appearing，then I will learn it.But I would certainly be reluctant(勉强的) to try to use it.

1．In the writer's opinion，when one learns a new language，one should learn its idioms ________.

A．at the beginning　　 B．on one's own

C．in the end　　　 　　 D．without help

2．The underlined word “colloquial” in Para.2 means “________”．

A．oral 　　　　　 B．informal

C．formal　 　　　　 D．written

3．It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．idioms are the most important part in a language

B．the writer is not very willing to use idioms

C．non?native speakers should learn more idioms

D．there are no ways to master idioms

4．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．It's better to avoid idioms in a language

B．Idioms are very charming in a language

C．How to learn idioms in a language

D．Why it's difficult to use idioms in a language

5．How did the writer develop the passage?

A．By inferring.

B．By comparing.

C．By listing examples.

D．By giving explanations.

Sure，you’ve watched extreme pet sports on Animal Planet. But did you know that there’s a whole world of athletic activities for dogs right in our area?

There are some reasons for considering taking part in such activities. Such sports strengthen the close feelings between dog and owner，and also benefit your pup’s body and mind.“ Dogs that are tied with chains often have behavioral problems，” says Lee Morgan. “They love to go out and play as much as we do.”

Of course，many of these sports require some amount of practice，and some breeds are simply better at certain activities than others .But all dogs can participate in the following games.

Frisbee Dogs（投掷游戏用的）飞盘

This sport requires you to throw as many Frisbees as your dog can catch in a 60­second time period. The further out your dog catches the Frisbee，the more points you rack up. Extra points are awarded if your pet catches the Frisbee while it’s still in the air. Mid Atlantic Disc Dogs (MAD­Dogs) hosts local competitions and offers informal instruction in local parks or even in people’s backyards.

Flyball Dogs

The sport has been around since 1970s.Flyball is a relay race with four dogs in a team. Each must jump four hurdles (跨栏) spaced with 10 feet apart and then land on a spring­loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball. The dog must then catch the ball and run back over the four hurdles. Once that’s done，the next dog can go. The first team that successfully completes the course wins the competition. There are a number of local teams，including 4 Dog Night，which holds classes for beginners and intermediate players and is always looking for new team members. The Beltway Bandits is another team，based in Leesburg，that hosts private classes and competitions.

1.Dogs that are always tied with chains often have behavioral problems because ________.

2.We can infer that this passage is ________.

3.The second paragraph mainly talks about ________.

4.From Flyball Dogs，we know that ________.

As a nation we are becoming more aware of the food we and our children are eating.The recent campaign to improve school dinners by celebrity(名人) chef Jamie Oliver has helped raise awareness of our fast food lifestyles.While we may be trying to eat more healthily，it seems we still have some bad habits.

?Healthy eaters or just trendy?

Are there certain things that you do and don’t eat and why？With so many food programmes and books telling you what you should and shouldn’t eat to be healthy，it’s hard to make choices.

Some people are vegetarians for moral reasons，some don’t like the taste of meat and there are one or two people who do it because it’s trendy.Likewise，it can be trendy to follow the latest celebrity’s diet because it’s what the famous are doing.

?Eating out

People are eating out more often now，not just on special occasions as in the past.The choice of restaurants has also diversified.Italian，Chinese and Indian restaurants have been around for years but have now been joined by Mongolian，Japanese，Mexican and so on.Bars and pubs are still popular for food and often promote English cuisine made with local produce.

“We enjoy eating out a couple of times every month whether with friends or just as a couple.We like trying new things so we go to different restaurants.” said Craig,25，County Durham.

?Eating on the go

From chocolate bars to sandwiches more people are eating on the go—on the street，in cars or on buses and trains.While our parents and grandparents may frown at this behaviour，considering it to be bad manners，people eat on the go because they are rushing from one place to another.And in the home the number of people sitting down at a dining table for their evening meal is on the decrease as meal times become more informal.

“If I’m running late for work I don’t think twice about eating toast in the car or on the bus but I know my mum wouldn’t approve，” said Stacey,24.

1.What can we infer from the text?

A．Our parents think highly of the eating habits mentioned in the text.

B．We should get rid of the bad habits and try to be healthier.

C．Japanese restaurants have been around for years.

D．It’s good for people to eat out more frequently.

2.People find it difficult to decide what to eat to keep healthy because ________.

A．different programmes and books have different ideas about healthy eating

B．there are many celebrities having different diet styles

C．what the famous are doing is different from ours

D．they have some bad eating habits

3.The underlined word “diversified” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”．

A．made a great change

B．made a big difference

C．had a rapid increase

D．had a wide variety

4.Craig often goes to different restaurants because ________.

A．he likes trying new things

B．he follows the latest celebrity diet

C．he enjoys the meal with his friends

D．he has more special occasions to celebrate