A friend of mine told me a story about Thanksgiving, a holiday American people celebrate on the fourth Thursday of November. It is their custom to give thanks to God for the harvest. A big dinner is prepared, and turkey is the main dish.
One Thanksgiving Day, a teacher of a primary school asked her first graders what they were grateful for. She asked them to draw a picture of it. These children were from poor neighborhoods. Their families could hardly provide them with a big dinner most of them would draw pictures of turkeys on tables, because they had looked forward to having turkey for a long time. The teacher was surprised and puzzled by the picture that Jack handed in — a hand, a simple childishly (幼稚地) drawn hand!
But whose hand? The class was excited by the strange painting. “I think it must be the hand of God that brings us food,” said one child. “It must be the farmer’s hand,” said another, “because he raises turkeys.”
Finally, when the others were back at work, the teacher bent over Jack’s desk and asked whose hand it was. “It’s your hand, Teacher,” he said in a weak voice.
She remembered she had taken Jack, a poor shy child, by the hand several times. She often did that with the children. But it meant so much to Jack. Perhaps this was everyone’s Thanksgiving, not for the material things given to us, but for the chance, in whatever small way, to give to others.
1. What does Thanksgiving mean to Americans?2. What happened on Thanksgiving Day at a primary school?
3. Why was the teacher surprised?
4. What did the class say about it?
5. It is the teacher’s hand, isn’t it?
6. What is the true meaning of Thanksgiving according to the author?
An American friend has invited you to visit his family. You’ve never been to an American’s home before, and you’re not sure what to do. Should you take a gift? What should you dress? When should you arrive? Glad you asked. When you’re the guest, you should just make yourself at home.
The question of whether or not to bring a gift often troubles guests. In American culture, a guest is not obligated (强迫) to bring a present. Of course, some people do bring some small gifts to their hosts. Proper gifts generally might be flowers, candy or—if the family has small children—toys. If you choose not to bring a gift, don’t worry. No one will even notice that.
For most informal (非正式的) dinners, you should wear everyday clothes. Plan to arrive on time, or call to tell your hosts about the delay (延迟). During the dinner conversation, it’s customary to compliment (称赞) the hosts about the wonderful meal. Of course, the biggest compliment is to eat lots of food! When you’ve had plenty, you might offer to clear the table or wash the dishes. But since you’re the guest, your hosts may not let you do that. Instead, they may invite you to move to the living room for dessert with tea or coffee. After an hour or so of general talking, it’s probably time to head for the door.
Americans usually like to have advance notice (提前通知) when people come to see them. Only very close friends drop by without any notice. This is especially true if the guests want to stay for a few days. Even relatives don’t usually stay for several weeks at a time. Here’s some good advice for house guests: Short stays are the best. While you’re staying with an American family, try to keep your living area clean and tidy. Your host family will be thankful for your consideration. And they may even invite you back!
| How to be | ||
| Gift | ☆Proper gifts: flowers, candy or toys. ☆No present is also OK. | |
| Before the dinner | ☆Try to arrive on time. *If you can’t ☆Wear everyday clothes. | |
| During the dinner | ☆Compliment the hosts about the meal. ☆ | |
| After the dinner | ☆Offer to do some cleaning work, though your hosts may not let you do that. ☆Leave after about an hour after dinner. | |
| A short stay | ☆You are ☆Don’t stay too long. ☆Keep your living area clean and tidy. | |
You may not realize it, but you are doing much more than just studying when you are at school．School is also the place where you learn to get along well with people．But this is not always easy．What can you do if you just don't like one of your classmates?
If you discover that you have problems getting along with your classmates or friends, the most important thing to learn is tolerance．Tolerance is the ability to realize and respect the differences in others．We cannot change the way that other people do, so it is important to learn to live happily with them．
Tolerance will make everyone get on better with each other．Knowing others constantly makes us understand others' differences．
Something different does not exactly mean that it is bad．Tolerance teaches us to keep an even temper and an open mind．
You need to remember an old saying ,“Treat others how you want to be treated．”You would like to be treated kindly by your classmates. If you tolerate something, it does not mean that you have to like it．No one is asking you to change who you are or what you believe in．Tolerance just means that you should respect the differences in others and not try to make them change．
It is important to practice tolerance, because it will make everyone's life easier．Learn to accept people for their different abilities and interests．The world is very different, and practicing tolerance in your own school and city can help make a difference．
1. Can you learn how to get on well with people at school?2. What is the most important thing to learn to get along with your classmates?
3. What is tolerance?
4. Why is tolerance important?
5. What is the passage mainly about?
4 . It's true that you can learn new words when you read or listen, but you should also study new words seriously. Here are a few things I do:
Make flash cards(识字卡)：(A) I find this is really the best way to learn new words. Make some small cards and write the new English word on one side and the word in your language or in easy English on the other side to test yourself. To really make this work, you have to review often(You need a system! ). I think this is the best method for learning English vocabulary.
Make sentences with the new words: This is great if you can ask someone to check them. It's also great to make some really crazy sentences-that way you won't forget them! I also collect example sentences of the words I'm trying to learn一if I see the word in a book, I write down the sentence.
Make up a mnemonic：A mnemonic is a way to remember something, like a little story. For example, (B) 我在厨房的门上贴上单词 kitchen. The problem with this is that it works for a while but then you get used to the words and forget to read them!
1. 把文中(A)处句子翻译成汉语.2. How does the writer collect example sentences of the words he is trying to learn?
3. 把短文中(B)处的句子翻译成英语.
4. 从文中找出与下列句子意思相同的的句子。
It is great for you to ask someone to check them.
5. What does the passage mainly tell us?
5 . It is December thirty-first, the time when the old year dies and the New Year is born.
Many Americans have parties at home and invite all their friends. Many of these events are noisy. People shout and sing. They often blow on small noisemakers when the New Year arrives at midnight. They kiss their husband or wife or the person they are with. They dance to music. Other Americans spend a quiet evening at home. They drink Champagne at midnight to welcome the New Year.
Some people drink too much alcohol at New Year’s Eve celebrations. This can lead to tragic (悲剧的) results if a person drinks too much and then drives a car. The National Safety Council says hundreds of people die in road accidents during the holiday.
In recent years. the danger of accidents has resulted in a new tradition called the “designated driver”. One person among a group of friends drinks little or no alcohol during New Year’s Eve celebrations. Then this designated driver can safely drive the other people home. Many American cities also offer free taxi services on New Year’s Eve to take people home safely.
Other Americans observe the coming of the New Year at events without alcohol. More than 220 American cities hold these First Night celebrations. Artists in Boston Massachusetts started the tradition of First Night celebrations. In 1976, they wanted to observe the coming of the New Year. But they did not want to hold noisy drinking parties. So they organized music concerts, art exhibitions and other events to observe the holiday.
How Americans
| Ways to celebrate | Celebrations with alcohol | Celebrations without alcohol |
| At | At theatre or museum | |
| Having parties with | Attending music | |
| Making very loud noises | ||
| Kissing each other | ||
| Problems | Many deaths on the road | None |
| Ways to solve the problems | Making arrangements for someone not to drink so as to drive others home | None |
6 . American and British people both speak English of course. But sometimes it does not seem like the same language. In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English.
First of all, they sound very different. Often, Americans don’t say each word（2）separately. They say several words together. Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know”. Or they may say “Whaddya say?” instead of “What did you say?” However, the British are more careful in their speech. They usually say all the words and keep them separate.
（3）Sound is not only the difference between British English and American English. Words sometimes have different meanings, too. Some American words are never used in England. The same thing is true of some British words in America. For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is very different. Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries.
Many expressions are also different in the two countries. In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you “phone them up”. In America, you “give them a call”. When you are saying goodbye in England you might say “Cheerio!” In America you might say “See you later.”
There’re also some differences in grammar. For example, Americans usually use the helping verb “do” when they ask a question. They say “Do you have a storybook?” But the British often leave out the helping verb. They say “Have you a storybook?” All these differences can be confusing（易混淆的）if you are learning English. But most languages are like this. Languages change over time. When people live in separate places, the languages change in different ways. This is what has happened to English. It can also happen to other languages, such as French. Many people in Canada speak French.（4）但是他们的法语和法国的法语不一样。
1. This passage is mainly about2. What does the word “separately” mean in this passage? It means “_________” in Chinese.
| A．含糊地 | B．快速地 | C．分开地 | D．简略地 |
4. Put the sentence into English.
5. How many differences has the writer told us between American English and British English?
7 . I live in Mentone, a quiet, simple, restful place, where the rich never come. I met Theophile Magnan, a retired, rich, old man from Lyons yesterday. In the Hotel des Anglais. Theophile looked sad and dreamy, and didn't talk with anybody else. which brought me back to the past.
A long time ago, Francois Millet. Claude, Carl and I were young artists - very young artists - in fact.
Yes, Francois Millet. the great French artist, was my friend.
Millet wasn’t any greater than we were at that time. He didn't have any fame, even in his own village.
We were all poor though we had stacks and stacks of as good pictures as anybody in Europe painted. Once a person ever offered four francs for Millet’s "Angelus", which he intended to sell for eight.
It was a fact in human history that a great artist would never be acknowledged* until after he was starved and dead. His pictures climbed to high prices after his death.
Then we made a decision that one of us must die, to save the others and himself.
Millet was elected , elected to die.
During the next three months Millet painted with all his might, enlarged his stock all he could, not pictures, no! sketches, studies, parts of studies, fragments of studies, of course, with his cipher * on them.
They were the things to be sold.
Carl went to Paris to start the work of building up Millet's name. Claude and I went to sell Millet's small pictures and to build up his name as well.
We made Millet a master. I always said to my customer, "I am a fool to sell a picture of Francois Millet's at all, for he is not going to live three months, and when he dies his pictures can't be had for love or money. "
Claude and I took care to spread that little fact as far as we could.
Carl made friends with the correspondents, and got Millet's condition reported to England and all over the continent, and America, and everywhere.
The sad end came at last, Millet died, not really. He became Theophile Magnan.
The pictures went up. There's a man in Paris today who owns seventy Millet pictures. He paid us two million francs for them. Do you still remember the "Angelus"? Carl sold it for twenty-two hundred francs. And as for the bushels of sketches and studies which Millet produced in the last six weeks, well, it would astonish you to know the figure we sell them at nowadays.We are no longer artists and Millet dead.
1. ''Why did the four friends decide to elect one of them to die?| A．They wanted to be rich. | B．They wanted to be famous. |
| C．They wanted to save money. | D．They wanted to be respected. |
| A．The writer lives a busy life in Mentone. |
| B．Millet was finally made a famous artist. |
| C．Millet painted best among the four friends. |
| D．The story was written in memory of Millet. |
| A．That they didn't want to be artists any longer. |
| B．That Millet's pictures were sold at very high prices. |
| C．People's attitude towards the artists who were starving. |
| D．People's desire to own precious art works at low prices. |
Passage5
Have you ever spent more money than you were planning in the supermarket? Don’t blame(责备> yourself. In fact, supermarkets always do something special to mislead(误导> you into buying more. Here are some examples.
10 For $10
It sounds like a great idea to you. However, you’ll save the same money even if you only buy one item(商品>. A recent survey has found when people see 10 for $ 10, five for $ 5 and one for $1, their mind usually feels them into thinking it’s a good idea to buy more.
Bigger Carts(购物车>
Have you found that the supermarket carts are growing? The bigger the cart is, the more things you’ll get, so try to use a hand basket next time.
Pre-Cut(事先切好的> Vegetables and Fruits
Pre-cut vegetables and fruits look attractive with their colorful packing. However, they aren’t exactly good for you. Pre-cut vegetables and fruits can be a lot more expensive than the whole items. Besides, these pre-cut vegetables and fruits go bad faster.
Where Is Everything?
Shelves in the supermarkets don’t stay at the same place all the time. The stores are actually doing it on purpose(故意>, because if you don’t know where the items are, you’ll spend more time in the store. More time to look around means more chances to buy more items.
1. How many examples does the writer give us?___________________________________________________
2. What do people usually think when they see 10 for $ 10?
__________________________________________________
3. Are the supermarket carts growing bigger and bigger?
__________________________________________________
4. Why aren’t pre-cut vegetables and fruits good for us?
__________________________________________________
5. Why don’t shelves in the supermarkets stay at the same place all the time?
__________________________________________________
Some people seem to have unusual memories. Zheng Aiqiang, a "memory athlete" on TV show Super Brain, can remember 2,660 numbers in just one hour!
You would think people like him must have special brains. But according to a recent study by researchers from America and Holland, the brain structure (结构) of ordinary people and 23 of the world’s leading memory athletes shows no difference.
Good memories can be trained. New research in the magazine Neuron suggests that a person will get a super memory with just six weeks of hard training.
Researchers found that a technique (技巧) called loci, invented by the ancient Greeks, can greatly help improve memory.
By using loci, you are using your imagination to improve the brain's memory networks. You can link (关联) something you need to remember with a place that you know very well. For example, to remember a list of numbers, imagine yourself walking through your house. Each thing is linked to a number. For example, zero could be the handle on the door and five could be the painting on the wall.
In one study, some ordinary people were given 20 minutes to remember 72 nouns. At the beginning, they could only remember 26 words, but when they were taught loci, they could remember 62 words.
“Not everyone can become a memory winner. But everyone using the technique can improve his memory greatly,” said Boris Konrad, one of the researchers in the study.
请根据短文内容，完成下列任务。
1. From the recent study, we know that ordinary people and memory athletes have similar
2. To memorize a list of numbers by using loci means you are using your
3. 请根据短文内容回答问题。
What does the new research in the magazine Neuron suggest?
4. 请用一句话概括段落大意。
Paragraph 6 tells us that
5. 请将文中划线句子译成汉语。
What are hurricanes?
You may already know that hurricanes are storms. They can cause terrible waves, winds, and rains. They happen during “Hurricane Season,” which is from June 1st until November 30th in the Atlantic Ocean and from May 15th until November 30th in the Pacific Ocean.
Kinds of Hurricanes
There are five kinds of hurricanes. it helps people know a hurricane is so bad because the greater the wind speed is, the more dangerous the storm is. For example, a kind of hurricane has winds over 155 miles per hour, which are strong enough to break the buildings along the seaside completely.
Hurricane Dangers
When a hurricane happens together with heavy rain, there can be a terrible flood. The centre of a hurricane is called the eye. While most of a hurricane has dangerous strong winds, when the eye is a calm area in the storm in fact. When the eye of a hurricane passes over land, people might think that it's over, but before long the wind and rain increase again as the second part of the hurricane moves through.
Hurricane Safety Tips
There is no way to stop a hurricane or make it change direction, so if you ever find yourself in the path of a hurricane, be sure to remember the following safety tips.
● Be sure you have a radio, fresh drinking water, and enough food.
● Tell neighbors, friends, and family members your emergency plans. Tell them where you'll go if you need to leave your home.
● Stay inside during the storm. You could be badly hurt if you go outside.
| Hurricanes | |
| Characteristics | ● Hurricane Season usually has about Atlantic Ocean and six and a half months in the Pacific Ocean. ● Terrible waves, wind, and rain are usually the hurricanes. |
| ● There are five kinds of hurricanes. Different hurricanes have different wind speeds. ● A kind of hurricane can break all the buildings along the seaside. | |
| Dangers | ● When a hurricane comes together with heavy rain, a terrible flood may happen. ● The eye is the center of a hurricane. Soon after it passes, the wind and rain increase again. |
| Safety Tips | ● It's ● Don't a hurricane. ● Stay inside during the storm, or you could be seriously hurt. |
