In England three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop. They studied the information on the post sign and decided which bus to take. About five minutes later the bus they wanted came along. They prepared to get on. Suddenly people rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted insulting remarks about the foreigners. The bus conductor   came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed. No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus so that the first person who arrived at a bus-stop is the first person to get on the bus.

Learning the language of a country isn’t enough. If you want to ensure a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your hosts. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, you might see a man apparently（显然地）shaking his head at another and assume (认为) that he is disagreeing. But in many parts of India a rotating (旋转) movement of the head is a gesture that express agreement or acceptance. Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty. In that country you shake your head to express “yes” — a nod means “no”.

In Europe it is quite usual to cross your legs when sitting talking to someone, even at an important meeting. Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could cause offence (冒犯). It is considered too informal an attitude for such an occasion. Also when in Thailand avoid touching the head of an adult — it’s just not done.

Attitudes to women vary considerably（相当地）around the world. In Japan, for example, it is quite usual for men to plan evening entertainments for themselves and leave their wives at home.

Knowing about customs and attitudes is useful when you are travelling, but you also need to know the language used to express different degrees of formality (礼节).

The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed because __________________.

   A. they didn’t know the English language        B. someone called their names

   C. they didn’t know the custom of lining up for a bus

   D. they knocked someone down while getting on the bus

According to the passage, which attitude to women is usual in Japan?

   A. Men always go to parties with women.  

B. Men plan evening entertainments for their wives.

   C. Men and women have equal rights to go to parties.

   D. Men plan evening entertainments for themselves, while their wives stay home.

What’s the meaning of the underlined word “insulting” in Para. 1 ?

   A. 善意的           B. 咨询的            C. 商量的         D. 无礼的

In England three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop. They studied the information on the post sign and decided which bus to take. About five minutes later the bus they wanted came along. They prepared to get on. Suddenly people rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted insulting remarks about the foreigners. The bus conductor   came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed. No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus so that the first person who arrived at a bus-stop is the first person to get on the bus.

Learning the language of a country isn’t enough. If you want to ensure a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your hosts. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, you might see a man apparently（显然地）shaking his head at another and assume (认为) that he is disagreeing. But in many parts of India a rotating (旋转) movement of the head is a gesture that express agreement or acceptance. Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty. In that country you shake your head to express “yes” — a nod means “no”.

In Europe it is quite usual to cross your legs when sitting talking to someone, even at an important meeting. Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could cause offence (冒犯). It is considered too informal an attitude for such an occasion. Also when in Thailand avoid touching the head of an adult — it’s just not done.

Attitudes to women vary considerably（相当地）around the world. In Japan, for example, it is quite usual for men to plan evening entertainments for themselves and leave their wives at home.

Knowing about customs and attitudes is useful when you are travelling, but you also need to know the language used to express different degrees of formality (礼节).

The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed because __________________.

   A. they didn’t know the English language      

 B. someone called their names

   C. they didn’t know the custom of lining up for a bus

   D. they knocked someone down while getting on the bus

According to the passage, which attitude to women is usual in Japan?

   A. Men always go to parties with women.  

B. Men plan evening entertainments for their wives.

   C. Men and women have equal rights to go to parties.

   D. Men plan evening entertainments for themselves, while their wives stay home.

What’s the meaning of the underlined word “insulting” in Para. 1 ?

   A. 善意的           B. 咨询的            C. 商量的         D. 无礼的

From the passage, we know that shaking head means Yes in ______________.

A. India and Thailand                        B. India and Bulgaria   

C. Bulgaria and Thailand                      D. Thailand and Japan

The underlined sentence “Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty.” means ____________.

A. It’s probably that you are thirsty if you nod your head

B. You’re possibly eager to have a drink if you nod your head

C. You probably refuse to drink when you nod your head

D. You’d like to have a cup of tea because you nod your head

In a class I teach for adults, I recently did the “unpardonable．” I gave the class homework!

The assignment （任务） was to “go to someone you love   36   the next week and tell them you love them．It   37   to be someone you have never   38   those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time．” That doesn’t   39   like a very tough assignment,   40   you stop to realize that most of the men  were over 35 and were   41   in the generation of men that were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho （男子汉气概的）．” Showing feelings or crying （heaven forbid!） was just not done   42  this was a very threatening assignment for some．

At the   43   of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to   44   what happened when they told someone they loved them．I fully expected one of the   45   to volunteer, as was usually the   46  , but on this evening one of the men raised his hand．He appeared quite moved and a bit   47  ．As he unfolded out of his chair, he began by saying, “Dennis．I was quite   48   with you last week when you gave us the assignment．I didn’t think that I had   49  to say those words to and   50  , who were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my conscience （良知） started talking to me．It was telling me that I   51   exactly who I needed to say I love you to．You see, five years ago, my father and I had a heated   52   and really never resolved it since that one．We   53   seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings．But   54   then, we hardly spoke to each other．So last．Tuesday   55   I got home, I had convinced myself．I was going to tell my father I loved him．”

A．after          B．before          C．for             D．within

A．has to        B．ought to        C．had better     D．can

A．told           B．said           C．talked           D．spoken

A．look          B．hear          C．listen           D．sound

A．when         B．until            C．that             D．unless

A．born          B．grown          C．raised           D．risen

A．And           B．But             C．So             D．For

A．beginning      B．end           C．middle          D．stating

A．announce      B．share           C．answer          D．ask

A．men           B．adults           C．students         D．women

A．case           B．thing           C．story            D．experience

A．afraid        B．shaken          C．terrible         D．worried

A．happy        B．pleased         C．angry           D．satisfied

A．everybody     B．nobody          C．someone       D．anyone

A．else           B．except          C．beside           D．besides

A．thought      B．considered       C．knew         D．guessed

A．disagreement B．encouragement C．disappointment D．discouragement

A．imagined       B．risked           C．avoided         D．escaped

A．still               B．even            C．just           D．only

A．by the time    B．at the time       C．for the time      D．during the time

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand（木架）with a small notepad（记事本）and a hole for a pencil.

I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.

“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these year.” I say to her, walking bank into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”

My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly well. I’ve always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days.”

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”

This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible（看不到的）exhibits at every meal.

1．Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A．To leave messages.                      B．To list her everyday tasks.

C．To note down maths problems.             D．To write down a flash of inspiration.

2. What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

A. It has great value for the family.

B. It needs to be replaced by a better one.

C. It brings her back to her lonely childhood.

D .It should be passed on to the next generation.

3. The author feels embarrassed for_______.

A. blaming her mother wrongly.

B. giving her mother a lot of trouble.

C. not making good use of time as her mother did.

D. not making any breakthrough in her field.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A .The mother is successful in her career.

B. The family members like traveling.

C. The author had little time to play when young.

D. The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

5. In the author’s mind ,her mother is_________.

A. strange in behavior.             B. keen on her research.

C. fond of collecting old things.      D. careless about her appearance.

In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon(蜡笔) when all that was left was the ugly black one.

In primary school your ___1___ of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you; ___2___ your hand as you walked through the scary(可怕的) halls; ___3___ their lunch with you when you left ___4___ on the bus; saved a ___5___ on the back of the bus for you; knew ___6___ you had a crush on(迷恋) and never understood why. In ___7___ school your idea of a good friend was the person who let you ___8___ their social studies homework; went to that “cool” party with you  ___9___ you wouldn’t wind up(结束) being the only fresher there; did not let you lunch ___10___.

In pre-university your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you___11___ in their new car;  comforted you when you broke up with Nick or Susan: found you a(n) ___12___ to the prom(舞会) or went to the prom with you(both without dates); helped you pick a university and assured you that you would get into that ___13___; helped you deal with your parents who were having a ___14___ time letting you go.

On the threshold(开始) of ___15___  your idea of a good friend was the person who was there ___16___ you just couldn’t deal with your parents; assured you that now you and Nick or you and Susan were ___17___ together, you could make it through anything; just silently hugged you as you ___18___ through blurry(模糊的) eyes at 18 years of memories; and reassured you that you would ___19___ it in university as well as you had these past 18 years; and most importantly ___20___ you off to university knowing you were loved.

1. A. idea       B. thought      C. mind   D. sight

2. A. placed    B. shook  C. held    D. waved

3. A. cooked   B. seized C. shared D. bought

4. A. ours       B. hers    C. his      D. yours

5. A. ticket     B. seat     C. chair   D. stand

6. A. what      B. that     C. who    D. why

7. A. primary  B. secondary   C. college       D. pre-university

8. A. do   B. see      C. check  D. copy

9. A. and B. so       C. as       D. but

10. A. together       B. far      C. lonely D. alone

11. A. seat      B. time    C. money       D. rides

12. A. car       B. excuse C. friend D. date

13. A. school  B. prom  C. club    D. university

14. A. good    B. wonderful  C. hard    D. modern

15. A. boy      B. baby   C. child   D. adulthood

16. A. where   B. when  C. how    D. why

17. A. back     B. happy C. up      D. over

18. A. looked  B. went   C. came   D. passed

19. A. have     B. get      C. make  D. take

20. A. put       B. got     C. took    D. sent