1 . You’re enjoying a quiet evening at home when suddenly your neighbor’s dog starts barking(吠叫)and doesn’t stop. Sure, dogs need to bark every now and then, but if the barking is getting in the way of your daily life, you need to do something.
“Before you take action, make records of when the dog is disturbing,” says expert Sharon Schweitzer. “Record the dates and time when the barking appears to find out the features of the barking. Check them carefully and get your facts straight. You might notice the barking only happens when the owners are at work, or during thunderstorms.”
After two to three weeks, visit your neighbors with the facts. “Since you’re trying to keep a good relationship, you can’t go when you’re angry and frustrated,” says Schweitzer. Plus, your neighbors might not even realize the barking is a problem, for the worst noise may happen when they’re gone.
Explain the time when the barking gets bad, then suggest a way to solve the problem. “You can sit and complain all day, but that will go nowhere,” says Schweitzer. Ask if the dog can stay inside during the storm, or suggest a dog training class. Be open to compromise(妥协)because the owners might have other ideas about how to deal with the noise.
Befriending the dog could help. Have your neighbors introduce you to their dogs. “If they become more comfortable in your presence, they’re less likely to bark when they see you or when they’re in the backyard,”says Schweitzer. You might even be able to use commands such as “quiet” once the dog trusts you.
Avoid gossiping(说长道短)with other neighbors about the dog.“That’s when things escalate.” After all, most people will want to solve the problem.
1. What can you do first when the barking of your neighbor’s dog influences your life?| A．Bring the dog to a training class. |
| B．Show it to your neighborhoods. |
| C．Drive it out of your neighborhood. |
| D．Record the dates and time of the barking. |
| A．They may like the barking. |
| B．They all think their dogs are friendly. |
| C．They have been used to the barking of the dogs. |
| D．They may be out when the worst barking happens. |
| A．Become better. |
| B．Become worse. |
| C．Remain unchanged. |
| D．Become more personal. |
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．Barking dogs seldom bite. |
| C．Good communication is a must. |
| D．Treat violence with violence(暴力). |
2 . Since December,there have been tens of thousands of the COVID-19 cases both in and out of China,caused by a previously unknown virus:novel coronavirus.
What are they?Viruses are considered to be non-living organisms(有机物).They can't reproduce(繁殖) on their own. Instead, they invaded the cells of living organisms to reproduce, spread and take over.But the basic question is,where did viruses first come from? Until now, no clear explanation for their origin exists.
Understanding the origins of viruses means fully understanding the history of their hosts not only humans,but also bacteria,plants and other animals,which is a complicated task. However,there are three main theories to explain the origin of viruses.First,viruses started as independent organisms,then became parasites(寄生者). Second,viruses evolved(进化) from pieces of DNA or RNA that"escaped"from larger organisms.The third one is that viruses co-evolved with their host cells,which means they existed alongside these cells.
For the time being,these are only theories.The technology and proofs we have today cannot be used to test these theories and discover the most plausible explanation.Continuing studies may provide us with clearer answers.Or future studies may find that the answer is even more mysterious than it now appears.
1. What can we learn about viruses from the article?| A．They mainly infect animals and plants. |
| B．They are really small living organisms. |
| C．They are more dangerous than bacteria. |
| D．They can't reproduce unless they find a host cell. |
| A．They evolved along with their host cells. |
| B．They evolved from the DNA or RNA in animals. |
| C．They evolved from the fossils of large organisms. |
| D．They evolved from parasites to independent organisms. |
| A．creative | B．reasonable |
| C．common | D．unbelievable |
| A．The author is confident about future virus research. |
| B．Viruses will become more like bacteria as they evolve. |
| C．Viruses live longer in human host cells than in animals. |
| D．It may take a long time to understand the origin of viruses. |
3 . Working or learning in a foreign country can be a difficult experience. The hardest part of working abroad isn't finding a place to stay or learning the language. It's learning to overcome the culture shock.
These things are part of everyday life, and include many signs, gestures, facial expressions ,and customs. When we enter a new culture, these cues (提示)are usually not present or so different that they’re no longer understandable to us.
“When a person enters a foreign culture, ” wrote Oberg, “all or most of these familiar cues are eliminated. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded he or she may be, lots of props(支柱) have been knocked out from the environment.”
This is what happened to Lara, a young IT consultant (顾问) from America moved last year to their company in southern Europe. Three weeks after she arrived in Europe. Lara sent a desperate e-mail begging to return home. “The people are so unfriendly, ”Lara wrote ,"They eat at strange hours and I'm starting to get allergic (过敏的)to the local food. I can't get anything done because their way of doing business is so disorganized and so inefficient and I have a terrible skin itch because of the water. I want to come home! ”
What Lara and other IT consultants meet on their first assignment abroad is a culture shock. While you can’t prevent the culture shock from happening, you can take some measures to cut down its effects.
1. What is the most difficult part for a foreign student?| A．Entering a famous school. |
| B．Finding a right place to live. |
| C．Adapting to the local culture. |
| D．Learning the foreign language. |
| A．solved | B．measured |
| C．observed | D．removed. |
| A．Her life got into a mess. |
| B．She worked more efficient than at home. |
| C．She couldn’t get on well with her colleagues. |
| D．She was out of condition because of the weather |
| A．To tell us how she manages to work well. |
| B．To explain to us what the culture shock is. |
| C．To show us how to adapt to the culture shock. |
| D．To show us where we'll meet with the culture shock. |
