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Have you ever wondered what goes through your mind when you choose where to sit in a new classroom? Or in a waiting room full of strangers? Or on a bus? Researchers have found out some interesting facts.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, we prefer to sit closer to people like ourselves. Girls sit by girls and boys sit by boys. Adults sit together and young people choose another young person to sit near. But it goes further than this. We even choose to sit near someone who looks like us. People with glasses are more likely to sit near other people with glasses. People with long hair sit closer to other people with long hair.
We seem to believe that people with similar habits or hobbies will share similar attitude and we are more likely to be accepted by people like ourselves or even, we think we may be safer with people who look like us. Sometimes that’s true but it's a pity if we always stick to the same people, the same group. The danger in always staying in our comfort zone (舒适区)is that we just recycle the same opinions, the same tastes and the same ideas. We lose the chance to learn something new, find out about interesting things, hear funny stories and discover difference.
When we always stick to the same people, how can we ever break down the barriers which prevent us from getting to know people with different ideas? And how can we avoid the ignorance (无知),which too often leads to prejudice (偏见) and even fear? If instead you want to live in a society that opens to changes and new things and different opinions, be the cat among the pigeons.
Move out of your comfort zone. Go and sit next to someone different. And don't just sit there in silence. Say hello. Ask a question. Start a conversation. That’s how we make friends. That’s how we learn about people. That’s how we open our minds to new ideas. That's how we live an exciting life.
1.From the passage, we know that people prefer sitting by someone who________.
A.is like themselves
B.has a sense of humor
C.is open-minded
D.lives an exciting life
2.People like staying in their comfort zone because they may________.
A.remain comfortable and special
B.be accepted easily and feel safe
C.find out more interesting things
D.discover differences among themselves
3.What is the purpose of the passage?
A.To tell us just to be ourselves in social life.
B.To introduce ways to learn about the world.
C.To explain how people communicate with others.
D.To encourage us to meet people of different kinds.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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Round eyes, round head, round ears, round body! What is this lovely little animal? He looks like a bear. But he is not a bear. He’s a KOALA.
People in Australia love koalas and take care of them. They have set up places for them to live safely. No one can kill them for their pretty fur. When a koala is born, he has no fur. And he is not as big as your little toe！The mother koala has a pocket in the front of her body. The baby goes into this warm pocket. There he stays for six months.
When the baby leaves the pocket, he has much fur. And he is about as big as your shoe. He climbs to his mother’s back. He rides there while she teaches him how to find food. Mrs. Koala is a loving mother. She takes good care of her baby. But when he is bad, she beats him! The baby cries just as a small child does. If he keeps on crying, his mother beats him again. When he stops crying, she takes him in her arms. And then they both go to sleep for a while.
The koala could not live without a special kind of tree. The tree gives him both his home and his food. For most of the day, the koala sleeps in the tree.
At night, the koala looks for food. He may go miles to find it. He likes only the bark (树皮) and the leaves of the tree. He eats nothing else. And he eats more than two pounds each night!
It’s a pity that thousands of koalas were killed by bush fires months ago in Australia. We should protect the environment and care more about wildlife, and then we will see the smiling faces of lovely koalas again,
1.People in Australia_________.
A.set up places for koalas to live safely B.put koalas in the tree
C.raise baby koalas in their pockets D.keep koalas in their homes
2.Koalas cannot live without a special kind of tree because_________.
A.they have to keep cool under the tree B.they eat the fruit on the tree
C.they live in the tree and get food from it D.they stay in the tree all the time
3.Which of the following is True according to the passage?
A.Koalas only live in Australia and we should protect them.
B.Australians look after koalas at home and give them enough food.
C.Thousands of koalas hid themselves safely in the bush fires months ago.
D.There are no differences between our food and koalas’ food.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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The Guinness World Records Museum
Address
329 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205
Business
Hours
From September to May
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
From June to August
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday
10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
Price
Adult single
＄14 for 2 attractions
＄18 for any 4 attractions
＄22 for all attractions
Child(4～12)Single
＄8 for 2 attractions
＄11 for any 4 attractions
＄14 for all attractions
In the museum you can enter different exhibition halls, like Material World, World Matters and Society & Money. In each of these halls you can see the world records of different kinds. For example, you can enjoy the smallest picture in the Arts & Entertainment Hall. Sometimes you may get a chance to do something so that you can know better how a record was set.
1.On a Sunday in October, you may stay in the museum until _________.
A.7:00 p.m. B.8:00 p.m. C.9:00 p.m. D.10:00 p.m.
2.A 10-year-old girl and her mother will visit two attractions. How much will they pay?
A.$14. B.$17. C.$22. D.$18.
3.If you want to see the smallest picture in the world, which exhibition hall will you visit?
A.Society & Money. B.Arts & Entertainment.
C.World Matters. D.Material World.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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When learning English, reading can help you a lot. When you read, you can not only learn some new words, but also learn how to use them. When you read, you can find a good example for your writing.
Good reading tips:
Try to read at the right level. Read something that you can more or less understand. If you need to stop every three words to use a dictionary, it is not interesting.
Try to increase the number of your new words. If there are four or five new words on a page, write them in your notebook. But you don’t have to write them while you read. Instead, try to guess their meanings as you read, and mark them with a pen. Then come back when you have finished reading to look them up in a dictionary and write them in your own vocabulary book. Then try to remember them.
Try to read regularly. For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Fix a time to read and keep doing that. For example, you could read for fifteen minutes before you go to bed, or in the morning or at lunchtime.
Read what interests you. Choose a book or a magazine about a subject that you like. Because you are going to spend time and money to read it, choose an interesting one. You can also read newspapers. There are many English newspapers for teenagers in China. You can always find something interesting in them.
1.How many reading tips does the writer give us?
A.Six. B.Three. C.Five. D.Four.
2.Which of the following is true?
A.When you read, you can only learn some new words.
B.It is interesting for you to stop every three words to use a dictionary.
C.Reading a lot can help you write better.
D.Try to read something that you can’t understand to make your English better.
3.If you meet a few words on a page while reading, _________.
A.write them down at once B.guess the meaning at first
C.give up reading D.copy them in a notebook
4.The best title is_________.
A.Reading is Very Helpful B.When and Where to Read
C.What to Choose to Read D.How to Make Reading Better
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Doctor Seuss was born in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.
In 1954, life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books.
In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book is called Green Eggs and Ham.
In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策奖). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided American children and their parents.
He died at the age of 87, but his influence remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people."
1.Doctor Seuss learned from the magazine that _________.
A.some school children could not read
B.many children's books were interesting
C.children wanted to learn to read
D.a writer for children was wanted
2.Doctor Seuss_________ to make his book interesting and easy to read.
A.sold his books in large outdoor theme parks
B.used words with the same ending sound and drew pictures
C.sold his books with some free toys to the children
D.used as many simple words and sentences as possible
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Doctor Seuss wrote books only for children in the United States.
B.Doctor Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham with more than 230 words.
C.The Cat in the Hat was written only for six-year-old children.
D.His books provided education and enjoyment for children and parents.
4.From the text we know that Doctor Seuss_________.
A.won a Pulitzer Prize soon after his death
B.sold millions of his books himself worldwide
C.changed American children's way of reading
D.wrote the largest number of books in the world
难度: 中等查看答案及解析