When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you’re at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it.
Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it’s the third most addictive（使人上瘾的） thing in modern life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their wishes to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships.
With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, the cell phone connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away. It affects us in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined.
Dr. Chris Knippers, an expert at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality.
Sounds extreme, but we’ve all witnessed the evidence: the person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him. Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?
Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, he points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don’t have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances(熟人) through the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says.
If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it’s because it has become very widespread. In 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use. Today, almost 300 million Americans carry them. The number of cell phones is far more than that of wired phones in the United States.
1.Which of the following could probably best explain the title of the passage?
A. Cell phone users smoke less than they used to.
B. More people use cell phones than smoke cigarettes.
C. Cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes.
D. Using cell phone is just as cool as smoking cigarettes.
2.The underlined word “curb” in Paragraph 2 means ________.
A. rescue B. control C. develop D. ignore
3.Which idea does the example of a woman talking on the phone in the car support?
A. Women use cell phones more often than men.
B. Talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.
C. Cell phones make one-on-one personal contact easy.
D. Cell phones do not necessarily bring people together.
4.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
A. How to make people get closer.
B. The advantages of wired phones.
C. How to use cell phones properly.
D. Giving an example to prove the bad effects of cell phones.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Hetty Robinson learnt all about money when very young. As a child, she read the financial pages of the newspaper to her rich father. Her father died when Hetty was 30, and she inherited $1 million. When she herself died in 1916, she left almost $100 million to her two children.
Hetty made her money on the New York stock(股票) exchange. She was a financial genius. She made money so easily that people called her the Witch of Wall Street. But although she was one of the richest women in the world, she counted every cent and spent as little as possible. She didn’t own a house, because she didn’t want to pay taxes. So she and her children lived in cheap hotels. She spent almost nothing on clothes, and always wore the same long black dress. She washed it herself, but to save soap she only washed the bottom of the dress, where it touched the ground. Other people had their own offices, but Hetty used a desk in the bank where she kept her money, because it didn’t cost anything. She sat in the bank and ate her sandwiches while she bought and sold stocks and shares. If the bank complained, she just moved all her money to another bank.
Hetty’s family paid the price for her meanness. When she was 33 she married a millionaire, Edward Green, and they had two children. But Green lost all his money, so she left him. When her son, Ned, injured his knee, Hetty didn’t want to pay for a doctor, so she took him to a free hospital for poor people. Unfortunately the doctor knew Hetty was rich and he asked for money. Hetty refused and took the boy away. His leg got worse and two years later doctors removed it.
But eventually Ned got his revenge(报复). At the age of 81, Hetty had an argument with a shop assistant about the price of a bottle of milk. She became so angry that she had a heart attack and died. So Hetty’s meanness finally killed her. Ned inherited half his mother’s fortune, and he spent it all on parties, holidays and expensive jewellery.
1.What fact can be learned about Hetty Robinson from the passage?
A. She was nice to her son. B. She worked for a bank.
C. She came from a poor family. D. She died from extreme anger.
2.Why was Hetty Robinson called the Witch of Wall Street?
A. She turned out to be the richest woman in New York.
B. She liked wearing the same long black dress every day.
C. She made a huge fortune easily through stocks and shares.
D. She was fond of reading financial pages of the newspaper.
3.Which of the following best describes Hetty Robinson?
A. Talented but not generous. B. Wealthy and selfless.
C. Easy-going but selfish. D. Curious and lucky.
4.Which is the best title of this passage?
A. A Mean Genius B. A Financial Success
C. A Lifelong Bad Luck D. A Good Way to Earn Money
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
People all need friends because nobody wants to be lonely and a friend can help you in good and bad times. You’ve made friends since childhood, but you still don’t know who your true friends are. Here are some signs to tell you if your friend is a true friend:
Always honest
Honesty is important to keep a relationship alive. A true friend always tells you the truth. It may be hard sometimes but lying can destroy a friendship. It is important that your friend speaks honestly and never makes up stories.
______________
There are always periods in your life when you have problems or difficulties. A true friend will always have time to listen to your problems and give advice. It may not be able to offer a solution to your problems but the fact that your friend made time to listen is a sign he/she cares for you. Your friend is not a true friend if he/she can never make time for you when you are in trouble. You also need to be reasonable and accept that your friend also has other things to do so he/she can’t always listen immediately to your problems.
Always respectful
A true friend will always respect your opinion no matter whether he/she agrees or not. Your true friend may disagree but never insists that he/she is correct.
Always understanding
It is possible that some problems will arise between you and your friend. A true friend will always be forgiving and understanding even if it isn’t his /her fault. We are all different people and we all make mistakes. A true friend is always forgiving and understanding because he/she doesn’t want to take the risk of losing his/her best friend.
1.What’s the best title for the third paragraph?
A. Always happy for you
B. Always there for you
C. Always solve your problems
D. Always remember your important days
2.According to the passage, what will a true friend always do?
A. Share the same interests with you.
B. Offer a solution for your problems in time.
C. Respect your opinion even if he/she disagrees with it.
D. Be a good listener and listen immediately to your troubles.
3.What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A. To teach us how to make true friends.
B. To find out how long a friendship can last.
C. To introduce his experience in making friends.
D. To tell us how to find out if a friend is a true friend.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Ahead of so-called Singles’ Day on the 11th of this month，2013, online sales have already begun peaking.
The leading e-business platform, tmall.com, has promoted(促销) its fifty-percent-off discount to attract consumers. They are also trying to attract buyers through social media. Vice President of tmall.com Wang Yulei says more than 20 thousand online stores have joined the Double 11 Day sales. But this number has doubled. The final number of how many products going to be on sale has not been known yet. But so far, many more products planned to be put on shelves with discounts.
During last year's Singles’ Day, tmall.com, together with taobao.com, reached a record of 19.1 billion yuan in sales, which considered a milestone in the e-business history of China.
Singles’ Day was first started by Chinese college students in the 1990s as the opposite of Valentine’s Day, a celebration for people without romantic partners. The timing was based on the date: Nov. 11—or double 11—for singles. Single young people would treat each other to dinner or give gifts to show love to someone and end their single status.
But now, the Singles’ Day has been promoted as a kind of grand craze just for the shopping season, thanks to thousands of discounted products being promoted online.
Taobao.com was the first big e-retail platform which used the double 11 idea to promote sales. Taobao.com reached one million yuan worth of sales on that day in 2009, when they first promoted the Singles’ Day idea. In 2010, the sales increased to 936 million yuan. The figure climbed up to 5.3 billion yuan in 2011, putting huge demand on shipping services. The figure doubled in 2012.
E-commerce is considered to be replacing the traditional retailing industry, but the reality is both sides are learning from each other.
1.How much is a dress that is usually sold at 250 yuan during Singles’ Day at tmall.com?
A. 500. B. 125. C. 100. D. 200.
2.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Taobao.com reached 2.65 billion yuan in 2012.
B. E-commerce is going to replace traditional business at the end.
C. Double 11 Day was created to get the single status over for young people.
D. More than 20 thousand products will be provided in the Double 11 Day sales.
3.Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
A. Singles’ Day promotes online sales.
B. Why Singles’ Day is so popular.
C. How people celebrate Singles’ Day.
D. What the definition of Singles’ Day is.
4.Where do you think is the passage taken from?
A. A science textbook. B. A newspaper.
C. A travel journal. D. A health report.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
At times, our worries and anxieties can defeat us. 1. Here is a brief list of techniques that you can use to help gain a better viewpoint on things during the anxious moments.
2. A person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off the problem. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things.
Remember that our fearful thoughts are made to seem worse and can make the problem worse. 3. When unexpectedly having thoughts that make you fearful or anxious, challenge these thoughts by asking yourself positive questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense.
Be smart in how you deal with fears and anxieties. Do not try to deal with everything all at once. When facing a current or upcoming task that makes you anxious, break the task into small ones. 4.
Remember that all the worrying in the world will not change anything. Most of what you worry about never comes true. 5. Then you should leave everything else in the hands of God.
It is not easy to deal with all the fears and worries. When your fears and anxieties have the best of you, try to calm down and then get the facts of the situation. The key is to take it slow. All you can do is doing your best each day, hope for the best, and when something does happen, take it easy. Take it one step at a time and things will work out well at last.
A. When feeling anxious, stop what you are doing and try to do something relaxing.
B. This will give you the confidence to manage your anxiety.
C. Instead of worrying about something that probably won’t happen, concentrate on what you are able to do.
D. The next time you fell depressed, review your list and think about the good things that you have in your life.
E. A good way to manage your worry is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking.
F. In addition, our worries can change our understanding of what is reality and what is not.
G. Completing these smaller tasks once at a time will make the stress more manageable and increase your chances of success.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Terror attacked the heart of the World War I soldier，as he saw his lifelong friend falling in the battle．Caught in a trench（战壕） with ________ gunfire whizzing（飕飕地移动）over his head，the soldier asked his ________ if he might go out into the “No Man's Land” between the trenches to bring his ________ partner back．
“You can go，”said the officer，“but I don't think it will be worth it．Your friend is ________ dead and you may throw your own ________ away．”
The officer's words didn't ________ to him，and the soldier went anyway. Surprisingly he ________ to reach his friend，lift him onto his ________，and bring him back to their own trench．As the two of them ________ in together to the bottom of the trench，the officer ________ the wounded soldier，and then looked kindly at his friend．
“I told you it wouldn't be worth it，” he said．“Your friend is dead，and you are terribly wounded．”
“It was worth it，________，sir，” the soldier said．
“What do you mean by ‘worth it’?” ________ the officer．“Your friend is dead!” “Yes sir，” the soldier answered．“But it was worth it because when I got to him，he was still ________，and I had the ________ of hearing him say，‘Jim，I knew you'd come．’”
Many a time in ________，whether a thing is worth doing or not really depends on ________ you look at it．Take up all your ________ and do something your ________ tells you to do so that you may not ________ doing it later in life．May each and every one of you be blessed with the company of ________ friends.
1.A．bright B．dusty C．continuous D．loose
2.A．partner B．officer C．reporter D．relative
3.A．grateful B．forgetful C．selfless D．helpless
4.A．probably B．personally C．exactly D．entirely
5.A．work B．life C．gun D．friendship
6.A．matter B．agree C．escape D．succeed
7.A．tried B．decided C．planned D．managed
8.A．hands B．head C．shoulder D．legs
9.A．trapped B．fell C．explored D．competed
10.A．checked B．recovered C．persuaded D．transported
11.A．although B．then C．while D．anyhow
12.A．advised B．warned C．responded D．ordered
13.A．alive B．afraid C．affected D．amazed
14.A．reality B．satisfaction C．responsibility D．experience
15.A．life B．battles C．nature D．society
16.A．what B．how C．when D．why
17.A．attention B．mercy C．courage D．money
18.A．intelligence B．friend
C．character D．heart
19.A．forget B．remember C．regret D．admit
20.A．true B．straight C．generous D．native
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
About the movie
It is the 1. (finally) part of the Hobbit movie trilogy, and it came out in the US on Dec 17. The main character Bilbo Baggins is 2. of fantasy’s most famous heroes. In the movie, he helps the dwarves to get their kingdom back from the dragon Smaug, and also fights an 3. (expect) group of enemies. He shows that true heroics are not the absence of fear, but 4. (have) that fear and doing something anyway.
Difficulties Freeman once had
He 5. (use) be overshadowed (使逊色) by Benedict Cumberbatch, his co-star in Sherlock. He seemed to be unable to take the role in the Hobbit trilogy because of his role in Sherlock.
His personality and habits
He is known 6. being outspoken and 7. (describe) as “direct and mean”. He is so old 8. he doesn’t use computers much, so he prefers his scripts to be mailed to him rather than e-mailed. He doesn’t drive, and he’s not interested in 9. (hang) out with celebrities at clubs. He said he always saw the world in a funny way and 10. (learn) not to care about being criticized.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词； 2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
During last summer holiday, I found part-time job, worked in a toothbrush factory at night. Not until I experienced it, did I realized that it was no easy job. I went to work when my parents were going to bed. On the morning, when my parents were going to work, I came to home to sleep. This backward schedule was very tough for me that I often felt tiring. But I am glad that I had this forgettable experience. Not only was it kind of fun to “rise and shine” along with the moon or stars, but I also learned to appreciate the hard work of those which are working while the rest of us are sleeping.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，暑假在英国参加了你校组织的“中国学生文化交流周”活动，并住在Kelly家里。请你给在英国期间认识的新朋友Kelly写封感谢信，内容包括：
1. 交流活动中的收获；2.难忘在Kelly家的美好日子；3.感谢她送你的英文词典。
2. 提示词汇：文化交流周：Cultural Exchange Week
Dear Kelly,
I’ve been back home safely from England. _________________________________
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Welcome to China when it’s convenient to you!
Yours
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析