1 . There are so many expressions in American English that sound good but actually are not.

“Face the music” is a good example. When someone says they have to face the music, it does not mean they are going to a musical show or a concert. To “face the music” means accepting the bad results of behavior.

Imagine a friend asks you to take care of her beautiful red sports car. She gives you the keys and says, “Thanks so much for watching my car while I’m away. But please do not drive it. It is a very fast car and you are not on the insurance (保险).” But you do not listen. You want to show it to some friends and pretend (假装) the car is yours. So, you drive it around town one night. As bad luck would have it, you lose control of the car and drive it into a stop sign. The damage is serious. When your friend returns, you must tell her what you have done and “face the music”. The “music” here is the result of your behavior. It could be losing her friendship or paying for repairs to her sports car or both. Whatever the “music” is, you must face it.

There are other American expressions that mean the same as “face the music”.

“Take your medicine” means accepting the results of something bad you have done. And if someone says, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” He means you created a bad situation and now you will experience the results, or as we say in American spoken English, you must deal with it!

“Pay the piper” also means the same as “face the music”. But that expression has its own very interesting beginning. We will talk about that in the next Words and Their Stories.

1. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．To invite a friend to go to a musical performance.

B．To tell people how to deal with a bad situation.

C．To give people a lesson on an action.

D．To introduce some expressions.

2. Which action belongs to “take your medicine”?

A．You broke the traffic rules and were liable to a fine.

B．You worked hard but failed in the exam.

C．You caught a cold and took some medicine.

D．You moved to a new city and lost touch with your old friends.

3. Which of the following expressions doesn’t have the same meaning with the others?

A．Face the music.	B．Take your medicine.
C．Make your bed.	D．Pay the piper.

4. The next programme may talk about ________.

A．other words and their stories	B．the beginning of “pay the piper”
C．the wider use of “face the music”	D．an example of “take your medicine”

2 .    

Welcome back to school! Have you signed up for an after-school activity yet? Here are some of the activities you can try.

SPORTS TEAMS

Do you like sports? How about joining the football team? It has tryouts at 3:00 pm next Tuesday. Many of our best players have moved up to college. So now the team needs new players. For more information, meet our sports advisors, Ms. Matte or Mr. Stergis.

GOOD AT ART?

This year, your schoolmates in the school art club plan to paint a mural (壁画) on the wall by the office. So they need new members to help create it. Are you interested in drawing, painting or taking photographs? This club is for you. The first meeting of the school year is at 3:15 pm next Wednesday in room 221. Please see Ms. Greenway for more information.

NEW THIS YEAR

There are some new activities you can have a go at. Try the new after-school science club. It has plans to enter the national senior robotics competition this year. So if you want to try building a robot, this club is for you. See Mr. Larson in room 105 for more details. The club meets at 3:30 pm every Thursday.

Do you like acting? Are you good at singing? The school play this year is a musical — The Sound of Music. Come and try out for it at 3:10 pm next Monday in room 125.

For a list of all the after-school activities this year, click here, or pick up a membership form from the advisor’s office — room 107.

1. When are the tryouts for the football team?

A．At 3:10 pm next Monday.	B．At 3:00 pm next Tuesday.
C．At 3:15 pm next Wednesday.	D．At 3:30 pm every Thursday.

2. What does the art club plan to do this year?

A．To paint a mural.	B．To put on a musical.
C．To offer photography courses.	D．To enter a national competition.

3. Where can you get more information about the science club?

A．In room 221.

B．In room 125.

C．In room 107.

D．In room 105.

4 . It has always been thought that alcohol causes people to put on weight because it contains a lot of sugar, but new research suggests a glass a day cold form part of a diet. Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight; those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight.

A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Light to moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain.” The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight.

Boston University’s Dr. Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms (生物学机制) relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood. His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes (糖尿病), which relate to increasing obesity. Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers.

The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods. They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight.

For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese. What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol (白藜芦醇), a compound present in grapes and red wine destroys fat cells.

1. The passage is mainly for those ________.

A．who produce wine	B．who go on a diet
C．who are eager to lose weight	D．who have a drinking habit

2. The underlined phrase “in moderation” in the first paragraph means ________.

A．properly

B．carefully

C．frequently

D．excitedly

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Moderate drinking increases weight.

B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat.

C．Moderate drinking has a strong protective effect.

D．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear.

4. What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A．How to do some easy experiments.

B．How to reduce the calories contained in wine.

C．How to make wine in a healthy way.

D．How to prove the finding mentioned in the last paragraph.

6 . In Washington DC, there is an entrepreneurial (创业的) teen, who owns and _________ his own bakery business. Young Michael Platt is the owner of Michael’s Desserts.

Born with a(n) _________ love for sweets, he became _________ in baking when he was nine. Since he was diagnosed with severe epilepsy (癫痫) at 10, Michael has been home schooled by his mother. With his activities _________ by his medical condition, Michael threw himself into _________. However, this is not just a(n) _________ bakery business. It operates on a one-for-one donation model—for every cupcake sold he_________one to the homeless.

“I knew that I wanted to start a(n) _________, but I knew I didn’t just want to make _________—I also wanted to __________ people in need at the same time,” he says. His business_____________creates new baked goods, which include __________ cookies and cupcakes, and cupcakes are his biggest seller.

Stephanie Gerstenblith, one of his __________, comes to buy cupcakes every day. She says that Michael’s cupcakes are not only delicious, but also have __________ her to “provide everyone with sweetness’”

__________ running his bakery, Michael hosts bake sales for the non-profit No Kid Hungry. Jessica Bomberg, a leader of fund-raising for the campaign, says, “Young heroes like Michael prove that everyone can __________ in society.”

It is Michael’s faith that everyone should take the __________ to take care of others. “When I see people lack foods, I want to give them __________,” he says. “It’s my way of telling them that they haven’t been __________.”

Michael believes his cupcakes inspire smiles, tears, amazement, joy, satisfaction, __________and other human emotions in those homeless people.

1.

A．displays

B．increases

C．runs

D．evaluates

2.

A．occasional

B．shocking

C．abnormal

D．unbelievable

3.

A．interested

B．convinced

C．disappointed

D．tired

4.

A．guided

B．limited

C．delayed

D．improved

5.

A．baking

B．study

C．work

D．research

6.

A．difficult

B．strange

C．special

D．ordinary

7.

A．returns

B．shows

C．gives

D．lends

8.

A．innovation

B．business

C．school

D．conversation

9.

A．history

B．friends

C．money

D．mistakes

10.

A．help

B．detect

C．teach

D．save

11.

A．apparently

B．barely

C．potentially

D．constantly

12.

A．simple

B．popular

C．official

D．meaningful

13.

A．classmates

B．customers

C．relatives

D．colleagues

14.

A．inspired

B．warned

C．forced

D．asked

15.

A．Rather than

B．Such as

C．Due to

D．Apart from

16.

A．make a fortune

B．make a living

C．make a difference

D．make a donation

17.

A．decision

B．responsibility

C．consequence

D．conclusion

18.

A．something

B．everything

C．freedom

D．security

19.

A．misunderstood

B．doubted

C．controlled

D．forgotten

20.

A．enthusiasm

B．intelligence

C．happiness

D．argument

8 . Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal, or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.

Different cultures emphasise the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example,business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work,it is necessary to spend a lot of time in“small talk”, usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries—like the UK or France—people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.

Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realised that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.

Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.

People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a better chance to us to understand and learn from each other.

1. What’s the benefit of eating together at restaurants in some countries according to this passage?

A．People can develop closer relations.	B．People can share the same culture.
C．People can get to know each other.	D．People can keep each other company.

2. Why does the author mention his experience in Thailand?

A．To show the English prefer to make long speeches.

B．To show too many words are of no use.

C．To show people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature.

D．To show even talk and silence can be culturally different.

3. According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?

A．By sharing different ways of life.	B．By accepting different habits.
C．By recognising different values.	D．By speaking each other’s languages.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Multicultural Environment	B．Cross-cultural Differences
C．How to Understand Each Other	D．How to Build up a Relationship

9 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar (农历) divides the year into 24 solar terms (节气), which reflect the Chinese people’s understanding of time. Here several special solar terms are listed.

Rain Water

Rain Water signals the increase in rainfall and rise in temperature. With its arrival, the river water defreezes (解冻), wild geese move from south to north, and trees and grass turn green again. Extra care is needed to cope with a returning cold spell in this period. The wet and damp weather during Rain Water period is considered harmful for people’s spleen (脾) and stomach according to Chinese medical practice. Therefore, a bowl of nutritious porridge is the best choice to nourish the body.

Awakening of Insects

As the third solar term in the lunar year, its name implies that animals sleeping in winter are awakened by spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural activities. Modern meteorological (气象) science shows that around this period, the earth becomes wet, the hot humid air from the north is strong and creates frequent winds. For this reason, thunder often occurs.

Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, the sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere. Standing an egg upright is a popular game during this period. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

Grain Rain

Grain Rain originates from the old saying, “Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains”, which shows that this period of rainfall is extremely important for the growth of crops and people are busy working on the land. Grain Rain falls between the end of spring and the beginning of summer, with infrequent cold air moving to the south and lingering cold air in the north. With dry soil, an unsteady atmosphere and heavy winds and sandstorms become more frequent.

1. What can we know about Rain Water?

A．River water starts to freeze.

B．Taking off the thick coats is advisable.

C．Lively spring-like scenery can be seen.

D．It falls between the end of spring and the start of summer.

2. What do Awakening of Insects and Grain Rain have in common?

A．Farming season.	B．Animal activities.
C．Air temperature.	D．Frequent thundering.

3. On the day of the Spring Equinox,________

A．the sun moves southwards.	B．the sun is directly above the equator.
C．days are short and nights long.	D．it will bring good luck.

4. In which solar term would people most probably put on masks?

A．Rain Water.	B．Grain Rain.
C．Spring Equinox.	D．Awakening of Insects.

10 . In America when people say “man’s best friend” they don’t mean another person. Instead they are talking about a lovely animal: A dog ! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give happiness to people’s lives. Some people think of their pets as their children. A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!

Animals can help people too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes” for a blind person or “ears” for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier too. Because of that animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.

Americans hold “Be-Kind-to- Animals Week” in the fist week of May.

Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America you can do this too. How? First think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.

If you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example if you see a street dog don’t kick it or throw things at it. Instead just leave it alone or better yet make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal try to stop them. As people we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.

1. “A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die !” means that________.

A．pets have the right to inherit(继承) money.

B．money can give pets happiness.

C．it’s the best way to spend money.

D．some pets are taken as children.

2. Why are dogs brought to hospitals?

A．Because they are ill and need to see doctors.

B．Because they can make the patients happier.

C．Because they can find out the problems of the patients.

D．Because doctors can do experiments on them.

3. If you don’t have pets, you should________.

A．be kind to animals around you.	B．kick or throw things at them.
C．do bad things to them.	D．take them home.

4. The words “man’s best friends” shows________.

A．the friendship between people.	B．the friendship between people and animals.
C．the friendship between animals.	D．the friendship between men and women.