Dear Betty,

My roommate’s family wants me to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with them in their home. I accepted the invitation, and I’m excited about going, but I’m a little nervous about it, too. The social customs in my country are different from those here, so I’m a little worried about making mistakes.

    Should I bring a gift, such as candy or flowers? Should I arrive on time or a little late? At the dinner table, how can I know which fork or knife to use? How can I let the family know that I’m thankful for their kindness?

Yours,

Knowing Nothing

Dear Knowing Nothing,

It’s a good idea to bring a gift when you go to a dinner party. Flowers are always welcome, or you can bring a bottle of wine if you know the family drink it.

    You should arrive on time or five to ten minutes late. Don’t get there early. If you are going to be more than fifteen minutes late, you should call and tell them.

    Try to relax at the dinner table. If you don’t know how to use the right fork, knife or spoon, just watch the other guests, and follow them. If you still have no idea of what to do, don’t be shy about asking the person next to you; it’s better to ask them than to be silently uncomfortable and nervous.

     If you like the food, say so. Of course, you’ll thank the host and hostess for the meal and for their kindness. It’s also a good idea to send a card to thank them the day after.

Yours,

Betty

1.Knowing Nothing wrote a letter to Betty to _____.

A. tell Betty some good news          B. ask for some advice

C. answer some questions                      D. invite her to dinner

2.According to Betty, Knowing Nothing ______ when going to a dinner party.

A. can only bring some flowers

B. can’t bring wine

C. should arrive on time or five to ten minutes late

D. should arrive twenty minutes late

3.Betty does NOT advise Knowing Nothing to _____.

A. relax at the dinner table                B. watch the other guests

C. ask the person beside him              D. keep silent at table

On May 23,1989, Stefania Follini came out from a cave at Carlsbad, New Mexico. She hadn’t seen the sun for eighteen and a half weeks. Stefania was in a research program, and the scientists in the program were studying body rhythms(节奏). In this experiment Stefania had spent 130 days in a cave, 30 feet in depth.

During her time in the cave, Stefania had been completely alone except for two white mice. Her living place had been very comfortable, but there had been nothing to tell her the time. She’d had no clocks or watches, no television or radio. There had been no natural light and the temperature had always been kept at 21℃.

The results were very interesting. Stefania had been in the cave for over four months, but she thought she had been there for only two. Her body clock had changed. She hadn’t kept to a 24-hour day, she had stayed awake for 20-25 hours and then had slept for 10 hours. She had eaten fewer meals and had lost 171bs in weight as a results! She had also become rather depressed（抑郁）.

How had she spent her time in the cave? As part of the experiment she’d done some physical and mental tests. She’d recorded her daily activities and the results of the tests on a computer. This computer had been specially programmed for the project. Whenever she was free, she’d played cards, read books and listened to music. She’d also learned French from tapes.

The experiment showed that our body clocks are affected by light and temperature. For example, the pattern of day and night makes us wake up and go to sleep. However, people are affected in different ways. Some people wake up naturally at 5:00 am, but others don’t start to wake up till 9:00 or 10:00 am. This affects the whole daily rhythm. As a result, the early risers, on the other hand, are tired during the day and only come to life in the afternoon or evening!

1. Stefania stayed in the cave for a long time because ______.

   A. she was asked to do research on mice

   B. she wanted to experience loneliness

   C. she was the subject of a study

   D. she needed to record her life

2. What is a cause for the change of Stefania’s body clock?

   A. Eating fewer meals.

   B. Having more hours of sleep.

   C. Lacking physical exercise.

   D. Getting no natural light.

3. Where does the text probably come from?

   A. A novel.   B. A news story.  C. A pet magazine.   D. A travel guide.

One day, Mary asked her mother, “Mum, what do people mean by saying they have a skeleton(骨架）in the closet(衣橱)?” Her mother paused thoughtfully and said, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be a skeleton in his family’s closet. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”

“Why pick my family?” Mary’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?”  “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now.” Mary cut in before things grew worse.

After dinner, the house was quiet. Mary’s parents were quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Mary’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Mary’s mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Mary put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.

“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Mary. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Mary looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re crazy,” she thought. 

1.According to Mary’s mother, “a skeleton in a closet” means _______.

A. a family honor                    B. a family wealth

C. a family story                     D. a family secret

2.What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors from Paragraph 2?

A.They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B. They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C. They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D. They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

3.Mary’s mother fell down into a faint because she was_________.

A. knocked           B. terrified     C. injured      D. surprised

4.Why did Mary bring a skeleton home?

A. She was curious about it.           B. She planned to keep it for fun.

C. She needed it for her school task.     D. She intended to scare her parents.

5.Mary’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because________.

A. They were mentally ill.

B. They were over happy.

C. They understood what had really happened.

D. They both thought they had won the quarrel.

My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates. We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other's handwriting at a glance. Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts．From second grade on, a small group started harassing （骚扰） two or three of the others．I was one of those two or three, though I didn't know why．In most cases when children get picked on, they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race．But in my class, we all read too much and didn't know how to play sports．We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other's race．This is what was so strange about my situation．Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group．But in my class, large differences did not exist．It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them．

The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around．If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent．Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense．

There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I．She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes．One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn't want to miss．We walked to a comer of the playground．Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl's diary．

I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others．Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last．Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt．If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can't honestly be sure．

1.The author was made an outcast because ____．

A．she couldn't play sports as well as others

B．her classmates needed to find an outcast her

C．her classmates found her clothes funny

D．family belonged to a minority group

2.How was the author treated as an outcast?

A．She was refused to approach others．

B．No one responded to her talking．

C．She was often the target of teasing．

D．Her diary was often made public．

3.What did the author do to the girl mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．She showed great sympathy with the girl．

B．She found more materials about the girl for jokes．

C．She stopped the others from hurting the girl．

D．She joined others in making fun of the girl．

4.What does the passage intend to tell us?

A．Everyone is likely to become an outcast．

B．We shouldn't hit a person when he is down．

C．Everyone has a desire to be accepted by others．

D．One should pay somebody back in his own way．

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.

In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely―a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “creative voice.”

“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”

Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?

A. She had seven brothers.                 B. She felt herself a nobody.

C. She was too shy to go to school.           D. She did not have any good teachers.

2.The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.

A. develop her writing style         B. run away from her family

C. make a lot of friends             D. search for a husband

3.According to Cisneros, what was the key factor in her success?

A. Her early years in college.                B. Her training in the Workshop.

C. Her childhood experience               D. Her feeling of being different.

4.What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?

A. It is quite popular among students.

B. It is a book of poetry written by Cisneros.

C. It wasn’t a success as it was written in Spanish.

D. It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine.