【推荐1】Each year millions of people go abroad to work, study or travel. It’s a great way to find out what life is like in another part of the world! You’ re probably hoping to make new friends and learn about the culture in your host country. But constantly having to deal with new situations can be frustrating, even stressful.

    1     It is a result of carrying out your everyday life in a way that you are not used to, as well as being far from familiar places and faces. At first you may feel like getting on a plane and heading home. It’s OK to have those feelings but the following are some tips to help you handle the challenges that you will face.

Have an open mind. While it’s certainly OK to feel frustrated or confused in your new surroundings, try not to form an opinion about the new culture too soon. You may be quick to judge the food, manners and communication styles and as a result, you may want to do things the way you are used to.     2     If you can have this kind of attitude, you’ll be more willing to try new things.

Participate in your new life. This is obvious, but everybody needs to be reminded. Just watching life go on around you isn’t good enough. You really need to try things for yourself. Don’t worry about making a mistake; people in your host country will generally be very understanding and willing to help if you have problems.     3     It is also a good opportunity for us to imitate and learn from the words and behaviors of the local people on different occasions, so as to better understand the local culture.

    4     Write letters or call your family regularly. Talking to someone familiar to you always makes you feel better. They can encourage you when you’re feeling homesick. A good idea is to make plans to call every week on the same day and time.

Your study abroad experience is a unique and special time in your life, one that you’ll never forget. If you follow our suggestions, you’ll be able to handle it well and have a wonderful time. Good luck!

A．Try to form the opinion about the new culture as soon as possible.

B．Keep in touch.

C．Talk to someone about your problem.

D．Don’t think of the host culture as better or worse, just different.

E．Homesickness, stress, fear, and confusion are all symptoms of “culture shock”.

F．If you are unsure of what to do in a formal setting, follow others’ lead.

【推荐2】I can’t think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. Some festivals are celebrated by an entire country, while others many be unique to a single city. Festivals play an important role in a certain culture. Just enjoy them!
Batalla del Vino—Haro, Spain
For many years, June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain. Bring a bottle of wine and prepare to be washed in red wine in the heart of Spain’s grape-growing area. After a church ceremony, crowds flock（集结）to the hills for the battle, where white shirts will be made bright purple by the end of the morning.
Bay to Breakers—San Francisco, California
Created after the terrible 1906 earthquake as a way of encouraging people, the race has become one of the region’s most important events. Held every year on the third Sunday of May, the race runs through the city from the Bay to the Pacific Breakers. The real highlight, however, is the thousands of people dressed up in a show.
Pillow Fight Day—Worldwide
These events are organized mainly through the Internet. Tens of thousands of people participated in the 4th annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 2,2013. From London to Vancouver to many other cities, the festivals were held in more than 100 countries. So just bring a soft pillow in early April, and watch feathers flying.
Koninginnedag— The Netherlands
Although their Queen’s birthday is really during the winter, she celebrates it on April 30th — the country’s official “Queen’s Day” since 1949.
Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of shining wigs（假发）and body paints, as crowds gather in the squares and on boats in the canals. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.
1. People celebrated Batalla del Vino by ____.

A．wearing bright purple shirts

B．pouring wine onto others’ white shirts

C．flocking to the hills after a ceremony

D．holding a drinking wine competition

2. The underlined word “highlight” in the passage means ____.

A．the most exciting part	B．the brightest part
C．the highest part	D．the hardest part

3. Which of the festivals has the shortest history?

A．Batalla del Vino.	B．Bay to Breakers.
C．Pillow Fight Day.	D．Koninginnedag.

4. Which of the statements is NOT true?

A．June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain.

B．The race is held every year to encourage people.

C．Pillow Fight Day is held in more than 100 countries.

D．The Queen of the Netherlands was born on April 30th.

【推荐3】We know good manners are important. Today I am going to tell you something about manners in different countries. I think you already know that people in different countries usually have different ways of doing things. Something that is rude in one country may be quite polite in another. For example, in Britain you mustn’t lift your bowl to your mouth when you are having liquid food. That is considered bad manners in Britain. But in Japan you needn’t worry about making a noise when you drink something. It shows that you are enjoying it. In Britain we try not to put our hands on the table at all during a meal. In Mexico, however, guests are expected to keep their hands on the table throughout a meal. In Arabic countries we must be careful with our hands. You see, in Arabic countries you mustn’t cat with your left hand. This is considered to be very impolite. So, what should you do if you visit a foreign country? Well, you needn’t worry. You can ask the native people there to help you and you can just watch carefully and try to do what they do.

1. In Britain we try not to put our hands during a meal ______.

A．in the bowl

B．in your mouth

C．beside the food

D．on the table

2. In Arabic countries you must be careful with your ______.

A．mouth

B．eyes

C．food

D．hands

3. Which of the following is true?

A．In different countries, the manners are the same.

B．Different manners in different countries.

C．Good manners are not important.

D．In Arabic countries we mustn’t be careful with our hands.

4. The main idea of this passage is ______.

A．Manners

B．Habits

C．Traffic

D．Lights

【推荐1】With the development of technology and economy, social media is becoming one of the fastest-growing industries in today’s world. A study conducted by the US Pew Research Center showed that 92 percent of teenagers go online daily.     1    

Changing relationships

High school student Elly Cooper from Illinois said social media often reduces face-to-face communication. “It makes face-to-face relationships harder because of people s attention given to their phones instead of their friends,” Cooper said.

    2     Beth Kaplan from Illinois met her long-distance friend through social media. He currently lives in Scotland, but they’re still able to frequently communicate with each other. “I can feel close to someone that I’m talking to via FaceTime,’’ Kaplan said.

Wanting to be “liked”

    3     The 19-year-old Essena O’Neill announced on the social networking service Instagram that she was emitting social media because it made her unable to stop thinking about appearing perfect online.     4     Teenagers who get negative comments can’t help but feel hurt.

    5    

However, Armin Korsos, a student from Illinois, takes advantage of the comments he receives over social media to improve his videos on the social networking site YouTube. “Social media can help people show themselves and their talents to the world in a way that has never been possible before,” Korsos said.

A．Opening new doors.

B．Teenagers’ attitude toward social media

C．However, the social media is beneficial to long-distance friends.

D．The rise of social media has changed the way teenagers see themselves.

E．Negative comments can also do great damage to a teenager’s self-respect.

F．The wide spread of social media has changed nearly all parts of teenagers’ lives.

G．Yet, some think with social media, it’s easier to start relationships with anyone from anywhere.

【推荐3】When you set a foot outside of your door to drop trash, go to a social event or go for a walk, thoughts like “I hope I don’t see anyone I know” or “please don’t talk to me” may run through your mind. I’ve also said such things to myself. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is to talk with someone, especially someone new.

Why do we go out of our ways to avoid people? Do we think meeting new people is a waste of time? Or are we just lazy, thinking that meeting someone new really is a trouble?

Communication is the key to life. We have been told that many times. Take the past generations, like our parents, for example. They seem to take full advantage of that whole “communication” idea because they grew up talking face to face while Generation-Y grew up staring at screens. We spend hours of our days sitting on Facebook. We send messages to our friends and think about all of the things we want to say to certain people that we don’t have the courage to actually do in reality.

Nowadays, we are so caught up in our little circle of friends — our comfort zone. We love it that they laugh at our jokes, understand our feelings and can read our minds. Most importantly, they know when we want to be alone. They just get us.

Holding a conversation with someone new means agreeing with things that you don’t actually believe and being someone you think they want you to be — it is, as I said before, a trouble. It takes up so much energy, and at some point or another, it is too tiring.

But meeting new people is important. Life is too short, so meet all the people you can meet, make the effort to go out and laugh. Remember, every “hello” leads to a smile — and a smile is worth a lot.

1. What do we learn about the author?

A．He likes to be alone.	B．He feels nervous lately.
C．He’s afraid of talking to others at times.	D．He’s active in attending social events.

2. What’s the problem of Generation-Y in the author’s eyes?

A．They rely on the Internet to socialize.

B．They are less confident in themselves.

C．They have difficulty in communicating.

D．They are unwilling to make new friends.

3. Why do many young people avoid meeting new people?

A．They fear to disappoint their old friends.

B．They want to take time to do meaningful work

C．They are busy with their study.

D．They think it troublesome.

4. Why does the author write the text?

A．To tell about the importance of friends.

B．To encourage people to meet new people.

C．To give tips on how to meet new people.

D．To introduce the disadvantages of Generation-Y.