We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.
What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.
Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t
even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. ＂Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,＂ he explains. ＂The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.＂
In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. ＂It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,＂ says Dunn. ＂But interactions with peripheral(边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.＂
Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. ＂Small talk is the basis of good manners,＂ he says.
1.What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?
A. Addiction to smartphones.
B. Inappropriate behaviours in public places.
C. Absence of communication between strangers.
D. Impatience with slow service.
2.What is important for successful small talk according to Carducci?
A. Showing good manners. B. Relating to other people.
C. Focusing on a topic. D. Making business deals.
3.What does the coffee-shop study suggest about small talk?
A. It improves family relationships. B. It raises people’s confidence.
C. It matters as much as a formal talk. D. It makes people feel good.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Conversation Counts B. Ways of Making Small Talk
C. Benefits of Small Talk D. Uncomfortable Silence
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem—inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room”. I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my “secret sharer”, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked identical(相同的) to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos: the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a brush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together
My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my “miraculous(奇迹)” experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
1.The author’s mother told him to borrow a book in order to ________.
A. encourage him to do more walking B. let him spend a meaningful summer
C. help cure him of his reading problem D. make him learn more about weapons
2.The book caught the author’s eye because________.
A. it reminded him of his own dog
B. he found its title easy to understand
C. it contained pretty pictures of animals
D. he liked children’s stories very much
3.Why could the author manage to read the book through?
A. He was forced by his mother to read it.
B. He identified with（对某事有同感） the story in the book.
C. The book told the story of his pet dog.
D. The happy ending of the story attracted him.
4.Which one could be the best title of the passage?
A. My Passion for Reading B. Mum’s Strict Order
C. Reunion with My Beagle. D. The Charm of a Book.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你的新西兰朋友Terry将去中国朋友家做客，发邮件向你询问有关习俗。请你回复邮件。内容包括：
（1）到达时间；
（2）合适的礼物；
（3）餐桌礼仪。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Incredible Women You Didn't Learn About in History Class
Here are the stories of women you may not know about, but definitely should
◆Maria Sibylla Merian
Born in Germany in 1647, Merian was fascinated by insects, and she began collecting, studying, and drawing them when she was as young as 13. She was one of the few naturalists of her time to actually study live insects. It was through her study of caterpillars(毛毛虫) that she discovered the truth about their life cycles. Her work provided major contributions to the field of entomology（昆虫学）。
◆ Murasaki Shikibu
Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese woman, was widely considered to be the world’s first novelist. She was a noble woman living in Japan around the year 1000 AD. She wrote a two-part novel called The Tale of Genji, which tells a riches-to-rags story about the son of a Japanese emperor forced to live as a common man. The Tale of Genji is widely considered to be a masterpiece of Japanese literature.
◆ Ada Lovelace
Ada was working to design early computing machines that she hoped would be able to quickly solve math problems. In addition to designing this early computer program, she also was first to suggest that these computers might be able to do more than, well, calculate. She imagined them doing everything, from producing images to composing music.
◆ Lucy Stone
Born in 1818, Stone married a fellow activist and changed her name, but decided to change it back a year later. She held the belief that "a wife should no more take her husband's name than hers." She became the first American married woman to keep her maiden name for her entire life. Stone was also one of the founding members of the American Equal Rights Association and fought for the ending of slavery.
1.What can readers learn about from The Tale of Genji?
A.Ancient Japanese culture.
B.Development of computer.
C.Research on living things.
D.Modern life of Japanese women.
2.What do Maria Sibylla Merian and Ada Lovelace have in common?
A.They were pioneers in computer.
B.They devoted themselves to science.
C.They created masterpieces of literature.
D.They made progress in studying Insects
3.Which of the following women fought for human rights?
A.Lucy Stone B.Ada Lovelace
C.Murasaki Shikibu D.Maria Sibylla Merlan
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
Scientists have always been interested in the high level of organization in ant societies. American researchers have watched ants build life-saving rafts to keep afloat during floods. They also have recorded how ants choose their next queen — the female whose job is to produce eggs.
New technology is helping to improve researchers’ understanding of the insects. But there is still a lot to be learned.
Fire ants living in Brazilian forests are perfectly at home in an environment where flooding is common. To save themselves, the insects connect their legs together and create floating rafts. Some ant rafts can be up to 20 centimeters wide.
David Hu is an engineer with the Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, saying, "If you have 100 ants, which means 600 legs, 99 percent of those legs will be connected to a neighbor. So they’re very, very good at keeping this network."
David Hu and other Georgia Tech researchers wanted to study ants and the secret of their engineering. They froze ant rafts and then looked at them with the help of computed technology, or CT images. The pictures showed that larger ants serve in central positions to which smaller ants hold. The larger ants create pockets of air that keep the insects afloat.
Scientists say small robots or materials that can change shape could be programmed in a similar way, working towards a shared goal.
Researchers at North Carolina State University are also studying ants. They examined how Indian jumping ants choose the leader of the colony when they lose their top female or queen.
1.The author takes fire ants as an example to tell us ________.
A. how ants survive B. how ants seek food
C. how ants communicate D. how ants live together
2.What can we know from what David Hu said in paragraph 4?
A. Ants know the way to keep in touch in the river.
B. Ants know the way to join together closely.
C. Ants know the way to look for each other.
D. Ants know the way to build a large raft.
3.Why did the larger ants serve in central positions in their ant rafts?
A. To stress their importance. B. To help all the ants float.
C. To fight against the enemies. D. To defend their top female.
4.What ideas do the ants give us according to the passage?
A. We can use similar-shaped machines in flooding areas.
B. We can combine small robots or materials into larger ones.
C. Small and shape-changeable things might work just like ants do.
D. Small robots or materials in the shape of ants can be made.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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。
Last winter vacation，I went to Hainan with my parents on air. We first went to the beach. The sky was clearly，the sea was blue and the beach was very beautiful. What was impressed me most was diving. I saw so much colorful tropical fishes. It was so amazing. Then we pay a visit to the Ends of the Earth，which I had dreamed of go to. We appreciated the beautiful scenery all the way and took many photo. During the visit，I tasted various delicious local foods，among that I liked sea food most. The people there were friendly and smiling faces were around us all the way，which made us exciting.
We had a wonderful time there and it was unforgettable journey. I look forward to travelling there again.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
We all often deal with people who complain about the failures and troubles of their daily lives. Life seems to be full of problems for them. 1.. If there were no problems in your job, then your employer would hire a much less capable (能干的) person than you to do the things that don’t need much thought. In the business world, those who are able to solve difficult problems are the ones who are the most valuable to the employer.
2.. The runner who trains for the mile run in the Olympics by running downhill will have no chance of winning the medal at all. The runner who trains by running uphill is far more likely to develop the speed and endurance（耐力）needed to win the medal.
Boxer Gene Tunney broke both hands in the ring. 3.. But at that time his manager felt that he could never again punch（重击）hard enough to be the heavyweight champion. Instead, Tunney determined to become a scientific boxer and win the title as a boxer. 4.. As a puncher, he would not have had a chance against Jack Dempsey, who was considered by many to be the hardest hitter in heavyweight history. Tunney would never have been a champion, if he had not had the problem of his broken hands.
5., you should smile and say, “Here’s my chance to win.”
A. Every time you are feeling down
B. It turned out to be the best thing to him
C. The next time you meet with a difficult climb
D. I would like to think such a life nothing unusual
E. He was lucky to be trained by an experienced coach
F. He proved to be one of the best boxers who had ever fought
G. Many times the problems we face force us to grow and become abler
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
In fifth grade, my backpack was stolen from my dad’s car. There was my binder(活页夹) in it, where all my school stuff was________in it, and it had notebooks in which I had stories that I had been________for quite a while. And when my dad had come and woken me up to tell me that his car was________ and my backpack was stolen, I________for about half an hour.
Then I decided to go to school with________nothing. My 5th grade ________, Miss Taylor, was really sweet and________to me and understanding. She gave me a/an________binder that she had and she got out a piece of ________, and set about writing my________‘Zoe’ in a cool font(字体). She was really good at fonts. She then________it to me.
Later that same day, Miss Taylor had gotten a________from the office and when she had gotten off the phone, she________me like this: “Zoe, a miracle has happened! Someone ________your backpack!”, I rushed to the ________, and got my binder.
When I opened it, I saw all my stuff including a(n)________. On the back of the envelope was “I'm sorry all your stuff got stolen, but I hope this________” and I opened the envelope and it had a ________worth $20 in it. The person that found all the stuff had put in the envelope so that I could________more school stuff! Seeing it, I was very________to the person.
1.A.dropped B.thrown C.put D.shaped
2.A.writing B.making C.playing D.printing
3.A.broken down B.broken into C.looked into D.broken off
4.A.laughed B.smiled C.jumped D.cried
5.A.gradually B.absolutely C.slightly D.simply
6.A.teacher B.manager C.conductor D.operator
7.A.strange B.mean C.kind D.lucky
8.A.cheap B.common C.complex D.extra
9.A.paper B.cake C.cloth D.silk
10.A.address B.name C.skill D.major
11.A.introduced B.exposed C.presented D.taught
12.A.call B.letter C.E-mail D.gift
13.A.blamed B.told C.charged D.warned
14.A.stole B.sold C.found D.opened
15.A.office B.school C.room D.station
16.A.note B.envelope C.story D.poster
17.A.changes B.rewards C.helps D.functions
18.A.treasure B.gold C.bill D.penny
19.A.need B.buy C.beg D.win
20.A.generous B.familiar C.thankful D.faithful
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
语法填空
Wikipedia says that a hero is “a character who, in the face of danger,displays courage and the will to sacrifice himself”．
A dictionary defines a hero 1. “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities”．
To me, a person's hero is someone they can rely on, someone providing endless 2. (encourage) and unconditional love and someone who sticks to you through thick and thin, and 3.keep) sticking to you even when you want them to leave.
For me, that person is my grandma. 4. was always my supporter. My grandma lived through death and loss, 5. woke up every morning with a smile on her face. She lived 1,729 miles away, yet managed 6.(visit) us four times a year.
She taught for 34 years , and was the one who instilled(逐渐灌输) the love of writing into me. Always encouraging me to write, she 7.(help) me grow as a person. Of the 8. (lesson) she taught me, the one I will always remember is 9. I should live a happy life, go about everything with a smile and never take myself too 10. (serious)．
So, here's to my grandma, my hero, my support group, and my best friend.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析