Before you hit ‘Enter’ on MSN, read this
It is often said that the language we use online is less formal than that we use in a letter, or in direct speech sometimes. This is true, but it can also make us in trouble sometimes.
The thing about online communication is that you have no idea what the person who is reading your messages is feeling. For this reason, it is always a good idea to be polite and cautious when writing e-mails or messages to your friends.
Chinese can be a direct language, but in English, people often talk about a subject in another way. So instead of saying “Please meet me here” or “Do this for me now”, English speakers usually go for indirect phrases like “Would it be possible”, “if you have time” or “It would mean a lot to me if…”
If you have a close friend, you may still run into trouble because of your jokes. If you have asked someone to do something and they need a bit more time, you might joke with him: “What? You still haven’t done it yet? What’s wrong with you?” While this seems funny to you, your friend may feel unhappy.
If you have foreign friends in different countries, the time difference can also be a factor. While you are waking up for class on Friday morning, they may be having a party on Friday night. You will be serious and they will, probably, be excited. So don’t be angry if they seem not to care about you. Just try to message them at the proper time.
【小题1】 According to the passage, we learn that our letters are more ______ than the e-mails.

Now tell you a story，many years ago，there was a doctor in a small town．He was so good and kind．__1__ any time of the day and night，he was always ready to go and help a sick __2__．Everyone in the town liked him and people always liked to see him when there was anything __3__ with them．

But the years went past，and the doctor became old．He began to __4__ his memory．When people noticed this，they did not go to see him __5__ more．

“He may give us the wrong medicine，” they said，and they __6__ about that．

The good old doctor found that nobody came here to see a doctor，__7__ he did not understand why．So he asked why no one came to see him then．

No one wanted to tell him the __8__，because they did not __9__ to make the old man  __10__．So the lonely man felt very sad．When the villagers noticed the situation，they went to visit him again．But they didn't ask him to see their illness，they just talked to him．

1．A．About                 B．On                      C．In                          D．At

2．A．man                      B．person                 C．child                      D．woman

3．A．ok                         B．wrong                 C．right                      D．trouble

4．A．read                      B．remember              C．forget                    D．lose

5．A．any                       B．some                   C．much                     D．little

6．A．worry                B．worried                C．worrying                D．being worried

7．A．or                         B．so                       C．but                        D．yet

8．A．truth                     B．thing                    C．matter                    D．true

9．A know                       B．knew                   C．wanted                  D．want

10．A．glad                     B．unhappy               C．happily                   D．unhappily

阅读理解

　　Mr Smith, an expert of medicine, was very strict(严格的) with the students. Every time he took the chair on the exam committee(担任考试委员会主席), the students would be worried, for he was seldom pleased with their answers. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark(分数) from him. Now a student came into the exam room and sat before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy for him to pass the exam.

　　The student was asked to describe an illness. His answer was OK. Then Mr Smith asked about the cure(疗法) for the illness, and the student, too, gave a quick answer. “Good,” said Mr Smith, “and how much will you give the patient(病人)?” “A full spoon,” answered the student.

　　“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get,” said Mr Smith. At the same time the committee discussed the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student realized that there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Very worriedly he opened the door of the room arid cried, “Mr Smith, I've made a mistake. A full spoon is too much for the patient. He can take only five drops(滴).” “I'm sorry, boy,” said Mr Smith coldly. “But it's too late. Your patient has died.”

l．Why were all the students afraid of Mr Smith?

[　　]

A．Because he was always strict with them.

B．Because he often laughed at them when they were in trouble.

C．Because he never listened to them carefully when they answered his questions.

D．Because he often misunderstood(误解) them and gave them bad marks.

2．What does the underlined word “seldom” in the passage mean?

[　　]

3．Before he left the room, the student was almost sure that ________.

[　　]

A．he hadn't done well in the exam

B．he had made a mistake in the exam

C．his answer to the last question was wrong

D．he had passed the exam and the only thing was to wait for the result

4．From the passage we can learn that the patient would ________.

[　　]

A．be safe in taking only five drops at a time

B．be in trouble if he took five drops at a time

C．be all right soon if he took one full spoon at a time

D．be not well again without the student's help

5．We can guess that the student ________.

[　　]

A．received a good mark at last

B．failed the exam at last

C．passed the exam at last

D．would be no longer afraid of Mr Smith from then on ________.

Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it repaired, as there are a lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception（接待）． I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

    The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth -- so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

    I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair?"

    He looked it over carefully and said,- "Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?"

    “Twenty pounds," I said.

    “OK," he said, "I'll give you twenty pounds."

    “It's got a slightly broken leg," I said.

    ‘'Yes, I saw that, it's nothing."

    Everything was going according to my plan and l was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked.

    “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done."

    “I'll buy it," I said.

    “What do you mean? You've just sold it to me," he said.

    "Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it."

    “You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair."

    “You're right," I said. "And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, 'Would you repair this chair for me?"'

    “I wouldn't have agreed to do it," he said. "We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I'II repair this for you. Shall we say for five pounds?" He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_______.

A. was rather impolite                                                  B. was warmly received

C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair       D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2. The underlined word "approach" in the second paragraph means_______.

A. plan for dealing with things                           B. way of doing things

C. idea of repairing things                                  D. decision to sell things

3.The expression "the penny dropped" in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper_______.

A. changed his mind                                            B. accepted the offer

C. saw the writer's purpose                                         D. decided to help the writer

4.How much did the writer pay?

A.￡5.                               B.￡7.                                C. ￡20.                  D. ￡27.

5.From the text, we can learn that the writer was_______.

A. honest                B. careful                          C. smart                   D. funny