【推荐2】When people meet for the first time, it is customary to shake hands, both for men and for women. Kissing is not common, and men never kiss other men.
Americans will usually introduce themselves by their first name and last name (such as “Hello, I'm John Smith.”), or by their first name only (“Hi, I'm John.”). The common response when someone is introduced to you is “Pleased to meet you.” Unless someone is introduced to you with their title(头衔) and last name (such as Mister Smith or Miss Johnson), you should address（称呼） them by their first name. Americans normally address everyone they meet in a social or business setting by their first name. However，you should always address your college professors by their title and last name (such as Professor Jones), unless they ask you to do otherwise.
1. People often ______________________________ when they meet for the first time.
2. Americans will introduce themselves by their ________________________________ or by their first name only.
3. If John Smith is your college professor, you can call him “_______________________”.
4. When an American is introduced to you, you should respond, “____________________”
5. In our daily life, a man ________________________________ kisses another man.

【推荐3】阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

British people love going to pubs. They often say "If you haven't been to a pub,you haven't been to Britain.”

The word "pub" is short for "Public House". There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK（53,000 in England and Wales, 5,200 in Scotland and 1,600 in Northern Ireland）. One of the oldest pubs, Fighting Cocks in St. Albans Herts, is located(位于）in a building that dates back to the eleventh century.

Pubs are an important part of British life. People talk, eat, drink, meet their friends and relax there.

Pubs often have two bars, one usually quieter than the other. Many have a garden where people can sit in the summer. Children can go in pub gardens with their parents.

In pubs, groups of friends normally buy “rounds" of drinks, where the person whose turn it is will buy drinks for all the members of the group. It is sometimes difficult to get served when pubs are busy: people do not queue, but the bar staff will usually try and serve those who have been waiting the longest at the bar first. If you spill a stranger's drink by accident, it is good manners to offer to buy another drink.

Most pubs belong to a brewery（a company which makes beer) but sell many different kinds of beer, some on tap (from a big container under the bar) and some in bottles. The most popular kind of British beer is bitter, which is dark and served at room temperature (not hot, not cold). British beer is brewed from malt and hops.

Pubs have traditional names which date back over 600 years. Some typical names are The Chequers, The White Swan, The Crown, The King's Arms, The Red Lion and The White Horse. There is usually a sign outside the pub showing the pub’s name with a picture.

British pubs are required to have a license, which is difficult to get. And they are allowed to open for 24 hours every day. Most pubs are open from 11 to 11.

So next time when you go to UK, please go to one of the pubs. After all, seeing is believing!

1. What is the word "pub" short for?
______________________________________________________________
2. What do people do in pubs in the UK?
______________________________________________________________
3. Is it good manners to offer to buy another drink if you spill a stranger's drink by accident?
______________________________________________________________
4. How long are British pubs allowed to open every day?
______________________________________________________________
5. What does the passage mainly tell us?
______________________________________________________________

【推荐1】完成表格。阅读下面短文，根据短文内容，完成表格中所缺的信息，并将其答案的完整形式写在答题卡上相应的位置。每空一词。

Nowadays, many people in China and Japan are racing against time. They put a lot of value in “being on time”. However, in some countries of the world, people have different opinions on “being on time”.

Germany

Thanks to its industrial past (过去的工业化), in Germany you are expected to arrive at least ten minutes earlier for any planned meeting.

In Germany, being on time is risky (有风险的) enough because your hosts will probably already be there waiting, wondering how on earth（究竟）you could be so stupid. What will you do if anything unexpected happens, like heavy traffic or a sudden rain? So, remember to arrive early in Germany.

Saudi Arabia

Some countries care little about time and Saudi Arabia is one of them. It’s because of their long history of desert living where time is not the first thing to think about. It could be that it’s too hot to do anything on time. So don’t expect them to be on time. Moreover, looking at your watch during an event is even considered as bad manners. So don’t get angry with them, either.

Ghana

Most meeting times can be changed, even if an exact time is given, Ghanaians are very relaxed and easygoing（随和的）. They think that if everyone is late, then no one is late. After all, what can’t be done today can get done tomorrow. If you find it difficult to deal with, prepare to be unhappy. Otherwise, sit back enjoy the ride.

Russia

Patience is considered a very important quality（品质）in Russian culture but being on time is not. When doing business in Russia, do be on time. Otherwise, it will be considered disrespectful（无礼的）. But Russians won’t hold themselves to the same standard(标准). So, again, patience can be key.

How differently people think “being on time” in different countries
1	Different opinions on “being on time”
China and Japan	●Both Chinese and Japanese think it     2     to be on time.
Germany	●Germans     3     you to arrive early for any planned meeting because of the influence of their industrial past. ●You are thought to be so     4     unless you arrive at least ten minutes earlier.
Saudi Arabia	●Time is not the     5     thing for people living in the desert to consider. ●Looking at your watch during an event is considered to be     6    .
Ghana	●Ghanaians think that if everyone is late, then     7     is late. ●Most meeting times can be     8    . You might be unhappy if you can’t accept it.
Russia	●Be patient in Russia because it’s very important quality in its     9    . ●While doing     10     in Russia, you should be on time, though Russians are not strict with themselves in it.

【推荐2】Halloween（万圣节前夕）is an autumn holiday that American celebrate every year. It means “holy（神圣的）evening”, and it comes every October 31st, the evening before All Saints’ Day（万圣节）. However, it’s not really a church holiday, it is a holiday for children.

Every autumn, when the vegetables are ready to eat, children pick large orange pumpkins（南瓜）. Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!

The children also put on strange masks（面具）and frightening clothes every Halloween. Some children paint their faces to look like monsters（怪物）. They carry boxes for UNICEF（联合国儿童基金会）. They ask for money to help poor children all around the world. Of course, every time they help UNICEF, they usually receive a treat（款待）for themselves, too.

1. What does “Halloween” mean?     
It means __________________________________________________________.
2. What’s the date of “Halloween”?’
It’s on ____________________________________________________________.
3. Is the holiday for children?
_________________________________________________________________
4. What do children do with the pumpkins?
They ____________________________________________________________
5. What do children put on on Halloween?
The children put on ________________________________________________.
6. Some children paint their faces to look like monsters, don’t they?
________________________________________________________________

【推荐3】阅读下面短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

A different culture keeps my eyes and mind open. When I stayed in Russia as an exchange student, I learned about it.

One day, a Russian friend invited me to a well-known restaurant in Moscow（莫斯科）. I looked forward to trying local（当地的）food. After arriving there, I found nothing on the table but several small plates, on which there were nuts, a few slices（片）of tomatoes, and several pieces of onions. Although the dishes were simple, we drank a lot and I felt the passion（热情）from the bottom of his heart. In China, when we invite friends or relatives, we always treat them to a big dinner. We buy as much food as we can to show our friendliness.

What a different culture it is! Even though we try our best, it’s very difficult to get used to their customs.

Another Russian custom also impresses me deeply. As we know, it is very cold in winter there. When winter comes, Russians love to swim. They even take their kids outside together. Like their parents, Russian kids rub（擦）their bodies with snow before jumping into the water. Although the water is freezing cold, they all play happily in it.

What fun it is to know about a different culture!

1. What did the writer look forward to doing when his friend invited him to a restaurant?
________________________________________________________
2. How many kinds of food did the writer find after arriving at the restaurant?
________________________________________________________
3. Why do we buy much food in China when we invite our friends according to the passage?
________________________________________________________
4. Are Russian kids afraid of going swimming in winter?
________________________________________________________
5. What is the main idea of the passage?
________________________________________________________

【推荐1】阅读下面的短文, 完成短文后的问题。

Everyone is good at something, but some people are truly talented. It’s always interesting to watch other people show their talents. Talent shows are getting more and more popular. First, there were shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent. Now, there are similar shows around the world, such as China’s Got Talent.

All these shows have one thing in common: They try to look for the best performers. All kinds of people join these shows. But who can play the piano the best or sing the most beautifully? That’s up to you to decide. When people watch the show, they usually play a role in deciding the winner. And the winner always gets a very good prize.

However, not everybody enjoys watching these shows. Some think that the lives of the performers are made up. For example, some people say they are poor farmers, but in fact they are just actors. However, if you don’t take these shows too seriously, they are fun to watch. And one great thing about them is that they give people a way to make their dreams come true.

1. How are the talent shows getting now?
______________________________________________________
2. What do talent shows have in common?
______________________________________________________
3. Who decides the winners?
______________________________________________________
4. Why do some people not like these shows?
______________________________________________________
5. Why do some people like these shows?
______________________________________________________

【推荐3】阅读下面短文，按要求完成下面小题。

Scientists have created an underwater robot that can tell different kinds of pollution at the bottom of the sea. The robot will help clean-up teams find the rubbish and give them a chance to remove the things that can cause the most harm to the environment.

The robot, which weighs nearly 100 pounds and uses special cameras to take 3D pictures, was created by a team at Skarv Technologies.

The researchers put their work to the test at a lake. First, the robot swam up and down in rows at about six feet above the lake bed, collecting information with the special cameras. Then a computer turned the information into a map, which showed different kinds of rubbish in different colors.

A total of 3, 894 objects were found in the lake and divided into different kinds. “There’s too much rubbish,” a member of the Skarv Technologies team, Fossum, told New Scientist. “There’s somewhere around 165 to 300 tons of rubbish in the lake.”

It is not always possible for clean-up teams to remove all the rubbish they find underwater, because there is something more important to clean. The robot will be used to help the teams find the most harmful things. And the teams spend their time, efforts and money in removing them first. “Glass isn’t really polluting,” said Fossum. “So if you know there’s an area with a lot of glass, you probably can ignore (忽视) that. Instead, you should pay more attention to the things that are putting heavy metals (金属) into the environment.”

Besides helping to check the pollution, the robot can also tell the positions of animals in the sea. It can avoid hurting the animals while the clean-up teams remove the rubbish.

1. There are ________ in the underwater robot to take photos.
2. The information was turned into ________ to show different kinds of rubbish.
3. What things do the clean-up teams remove first in the sea?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why can the teams probably ignore the areas with glass?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What will the writer probably write about next?
__________________________________________________________________________________________