It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing (挤过去) past someone in a narrow passage, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting (交往) with people in UK.

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize (批评) others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.

1.What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men ______.

4.The author develops the text through the method of ______.

It is true that good writers rewrite and rewrite and then rewrite some more. But in order to work up the desire to rewrite, it is important to learn to like what you write at the early stage.

I am surprised at the number of famous writers I know who say that they so dislike reading their own writing later that they even hate to look over the publishers’ opinions. One reason we may dislike reading our own work is that we’re often disappointed that the rich ideas in our minds seem very thin and plain when first written down. Jerry Fodor and Steven Pinker suggest that this fact may be a result of how our minds work.

Different from popular belief, we do not usually think in the works and sentences of ordinary language but in symbols for ideas (known as ‘mentalese’ ), and writing our ideas down is an act of translation from that symbolic language. But while mentalese contains our thoughts in the form of a complex tapestry (织锦)，writing can only be composed one thread at a time. Therefore it should not be surprising that our first attempt at expressing ideas should look so simple. It is only by repeatedly rewriting that we produce new threads and connect them to get closer to the ideas formed in our minds.

When people write as if some strict critics (批评家) are looking over their shoulder, they are so worried about what this critic might say that they get stuck before they even start. Peter Elbow makes an excellent suggestion to deal with this problem. When writing we should have two different minds. At the first stage, we should see every idea, as well as the words we use to express it, as wonderful and worth putting down. It is only during rewrites that we should examine what we excitedly wrote in the first stage and check for weaknesses.

1.What do we learn from the text about those famous writers?

2.What do people generally believe about the way human minds work?

3.What can we conclude from the text?

People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June.

Mother’s Day was proclaimed a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Ann Jarvis from Grafton, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honor mothers. She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation.

In 1909, Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers. She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart. After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. In 1910, the first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane. Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to establish Father’s Day as a national commemorative day, in 1972.

These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care.

These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead．Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.

1.According to the passage, which of the following about the second Sunday in May is not true ?

A．It is a day to show love to mothers

B．It is a day to wear carnations

C．It is a day for people to visit the cemetery

D．It is a day for many people to attend religious services

2.Choose the right time order of the following events.

a. The first Father’s Day was observed

b. Mother’s Day was proclaimed a day for national observance

c. Father’s Day became a day for national observance.

d. The idea of honoring fathers was bought up

A．a b c d            B．d a b c            C．b a c d            D．d a c b

3.Who plays the most important role in Father’s Day becoming a national commemorative day?

A．Mrs. Do           B．Margaret Chase Smith                    C．Ann Jarvis  D．Woodrow Wilson

4.From the passage, we know in the U.S ________________.

A．one should wear a red carnation if one’s mother pass away

B．on Mother’s Day, families often go out to have barbecues

C．on Father’s Day, people often stay at home to celebrate the special day.

D．The purpose to have these two special days is to show love to parents

5.The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to __________

A．call on people to love and respect their parents.

B．introduce Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

C．tell the difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

D．show how important fathers and mothers are

Many times when people hear the words social networking, their brains automatically go to sites such as Twitter or Facebook．However, there are sites for those into social networking and into reading． Sound crazy? It's really not．

If you' ve ever wanted a site where you can receive book recommendations, follow your favorite authors, and keep up with what your friends are reading．then look no further than Goodreads, com．

Goodreads provides useful services for those in the reading world, It is a site where you can win books by going to giveaways and simply entering your information．Some giveaways are even signed by the author．And the books aren't boring, old or torn copies - many of them are ARC’s （Advanced Readers Copies）, for which you can write a short review on the site．Anyone can post reviews of their favorite books or series so that others may feel inclined to read them as well．

Another function of the site is offering book clubs and interest groups．You can have interactive discussions with groups of people reading the same things, sort of like a blog．You can also make friends with people and post statuses similar to Facebook．Your friends can send you hook recommendations and you can add them to your shelf if you choose．

Shelves are by far one of the best features on the site．You can categorize your entire library and put hooks you want to read on your "to - read" shelf．These virtual （虚拟的）shelves allow you to see what you' ve read and also let you keep track of the number of books you' ve read in a year．

You can even read original writing for free because many people post their own writing on the site to gain feedback and advice on how to improve．Anyone can join this site for free and fall in love with not just a hook, but a book site as well．

1.People who go to the site Twitter mostly want to              ．

2.According to the author, if you want to interact with others about reading,            ．

3.The underlined part "feel inclined" in．Paragraph 3 is the closest in meaning to “____” ．

A． have a tendency                                                 C． have no difficulty

C． have a possibility                                                D． have no doubt

4.You can do all of the following things on Goodreads．com EXCEPT         ．

5.What do we know about the shelves on Coodreads．com?

When people want to know about the weather, they usually go to there radios, TVs, newspapers, or to the Internet. However, you can also find many weather signs among wildlife, because of their highly developed senses. Drops in air pressure（压力） produce an effect on small animals in many ways. Mice and deer are good weather indicators. People who spend a lot of time outdoors have observed that, before a storm, field mice come out of their holes and run around, Deer leave high ground and come down from the mountains.

Birds are especially good weather indicators because they also show the effect of a pressure drop in many ways. For example, some birds become irritable（急躁的）and quarrelsome and will fight over a piece of bread. Other birds chirp（叽叽喳喳）and sing just before a storm. It seems they know they won’t get another chance for an hour or two. Birds also seek safe places before a storm, You will sometimes see birds settling in trees or gathering together on a wire close to a building. Pre-storm low pressure makes the are so thin that birds have difficulty flying.

It is unusual to see many birds flying overhead in the summertime, rather than during the periods in the spring or autumn. Watch for other weather signs if you see this. If they fly in the wrong direction, they may be flying ahead of a storm.

By paying closer attention to some important signs in nature, we can become better prepared for any kind of weather.

1.The word“indicators”in paragraph I probably means ________.

A．maps         B．services         C．signs            D．stations

2.There will be a storm if birds __________ .

A．make more noise than usual       B．fly in different directions

C．come down from tall trees            D．share a piece of bread

3.How can birds sense the coming of a storm?________

A．By feeling a drop in air temperature.

B．By noticing the change of wind directions.

C．By feeling a drop in air pressure.

D．By noticing the movements of other animals.

4.The best title for the text would be ________         .

A．Signs of a Storm B．Drops in Air Pressure

C．Animals’Sharp Senses        D．Nature’s Weather Signs