A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as farmer or laborer of some sort.

       This attitude toward manual(体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward; furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily got from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

What can we infer from Paragraph 1?

In America, people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man.

In America, people can always rise to the top through their own efforts.

In America, college professors win great respect from common workers.

In America, people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.

Why does the hostess mentioned in the passage cook dinner herself?

Because servants in America are hard to get.

Because she takes pride in what she can do herself.

Because she can hardly afford servants.

Because it is easy to prepare a meal with canned food.

What does the underlined phrase “wait on table” in the second paragraph mean?

A. Work in a furniture shop.         B. Keep accounts for a bar.

C. Wait to lay the table.             D. Serve customers in a restaurant.

What is the passage mainly about?

A respectable self-made family.

American attitude toward manual labor.

Characteristics of American culture

The development of manual labor.

A student walks into his first class and realizes he forgot all about the midterm exam. He knows he needs to bring his grades up, and getting a zero will make it nearly impossible. He quickly jots down some notes and shoves them under his lap hoping it will help him pass. Cheating is a major concern in all academic environments. Students are creating new and more outrageous(令人吃惊的) ways of cheating every day; some claim that certain accounts of cheating can be justified, but overall it can always be prevented.
Cheating has been around forever, and millions of ways to cheat have been fashioned. Copying homework and cheat sheets are some of the most basic ways students in all education levels have cheated. Some students think nothing about writing a few answers on their hand, in a gum wrapper, or boldly using a study guide to cheat. Desperate students have even gone as far as to steal the test or scan in bottle wrappers and put answers into the nutrition label. The internet has now become available in almost every location. Computers can be accessed at school, at home, and now even on cell phones. This opens a doorway for even more methods of cheating to be born.
There are countless opinions on whether or not cheating can be justified. The truth is this behavior will always be a matter of opinion with each scenario of cheating. Students often rationalize their cheating by claiming they forgot to look over the material or did not understand what the teacher or professor was saying. Some may counter these arguments by saying that the student could have set reminders or asked the teacher to explain the material before the day of the test. Some other reasons students believe cheating is justified are their heavy workloads and trying to find time for school, sports, friends, and family. This may be true in certain instances, however, all students have these problems, and it is unfair to the students refrain(制止) from cheating when the student who is dishonest receives a better grade. The majority of students who think cheating is acceptable may believe the reason for this is that sometimes students are unaware they are cheating, there is not enough time given for assignments, or that the information is too much for the course.
It may be difficult to accomplish, but cheating can be prevented. Teachers and professors have tried many options to stop cheating. These options can range anywhere from simply spreading test-takers out in a room, to expelling(驱逐) a student, which will most likely hindertheir plans of getting into another college. One simple way to fix the problem is to scold the student when caught. They may be so scared or embarrassed that they never do it again. This is a risky way to prevent cheating in some cases, however, because it can possibly damage self-esteem. Another simple way to avoid cheating is to create many different kinds of the same test. This prohibits students from getting the answers off of a neighbor's test, but students still have the option of using other cheating tactics.
There may be a million ways to cheat and get away with it, but there are few times, if any, that it is justified. Cheating never has to be a necessity and is never worth compromising morals and losing years worth of working towards a degree. This problem is spreading throughout America; with everyone's help, it can be stopped.
【小题1】Which is the best title of this passage?

 A well-known English magazine invited five people to answer a series of

questions. One of the questions is: Do you enjoy foreign food? Match the name of each person to one of the statements given below.

56. John Harvey:

  In fact if you go out to a restaurant, it’s very difficult to find the “British” cooking, but you can find almost anything else: French, Italian, Chinese, Indian and so on. London is full of foreign restaurants. I love trying “new dishes.” I think you can understand a lot about another culture from its food.

57. Jo Baker:

  I like foreign food, but not all. I particularly do not like Indian food, although I quite enjoy a mild curry I make myself. I like most European dishes, but Spanish food is quite low down on my list. However, I think you have to travel a long way to beat good old English cooking. What can be nicer than the aroma of a piece of beef roasted in the oven, surrounded by crisp roast potatoes and served with piping hot Yorkshire puddings, vegetables and gravy? From my point of view, I think foreign food is all right when you are abroad. You see, that’s just part of the enjoyment of travelling to another country. Foreign food is also fine for an odd night out to restaurant, but for every day please give me good old English food.

58. Gabby Macadam:

  On the whole I enjoy foreign food, but having said that I can think of dozens of foreign dishes which I simply can’t stand. You see, they have fish in some way or other and I never eat fish in any form. I have found that many foreign dishes are served with a kind of sauce. I think it is the accompanying sauce that hides all sorts of problems. I am not so sure that I would be as fond of them as I am if they were served without the sauce.

59. Len Dangerfield:

  When we English people travel abroad, we always make a great fuss about studying the menu but always end up with steak. You see, when I’m abroad I always miss our home cooking. I mean, I’m used to English food. Sometimes I do go to restaurant to taste some exotic dishes, but most of the time I still prefer to have English food. You know, it’s always difficult to get used to food in other countries.

60. Peter Hawke:

  I like foreign food. I particularly like Indian food. Well, I’m married to an Indian girl. She is a good cook. I’m so lucky to have her cook for me every day. I think Indian food as well as other foreign foods is generally tastier and spicier than English food. Traditional English dishes, like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and fish and chips, are quite well-known abroad. But I must say as a nation we are not particularly good at catering. As far as I’m concerned, I think we should learn to cook more interesting dishes and make our food tastier and more varied.

A. Cooking varies from country to country even though the basic gradients may be very much the same.

B. I can’t stand those foreign dishes which contain fish in some way or other, and I’m not so sure that I’m fond of many foreign dishes which are served with a kind sauce.

C. I think foreign food is all right when you are abroad, but for every day, traditional English food is always my first choice.

D. Foreign dishes can be tasted occasionally, but I find it difficult to adjust to the tastes. So I still prefer English food.

E. I love foreign food, and I think people can understand a lot about another culture from what they eat.

F. English people should learn to cook more attractive dishes and make their food more delicious and varied.

I still remember the day when my mom said, “Let’s get you some new clothes.” You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite.

I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite—the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out (跳出) of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her.

I’ll always remember Seema’s smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We’re still best friends today.

Why did the new clothes mean the universe to the author?

A. She loved dressing up more than anything else.

B. She thought they would make her more beautiful.

C. Her family was poor, and new clothes were very rare.

D. Her mother only bought her new clothes for her birthday.

The author let Seema pick out one of her dresses because she wanted to _______.

A. show her pity for Seema’s family          B. show off her family’s wealth

C. make Seema become her best friend        D. exchange it with Seema’s dress

When Seema chose the yellow dress, the author was disappointed because ________.

A. she was not generous           B. she didn’t expert to lose her favorite dress

C. Seema chose her favorite dress on purpose   D. Seema was careless about her feelings

What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Getting a best friend means losing other things. B. Being generous is not easy.

C. Children like sharing their favorite things.     D. Friendship is precious (珍贵的).

I still remember the day when my mom said, “Let’s get you some new clothes.” You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite.
I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite—the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out (跳出) of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her.
I’ll always remember Seema’s smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We’re still best friends today.
【小题1】Why did the new clothes mean the universe to the author?