1 . America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while, then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客) easily.

Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

2. From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be                 .

A．warmly welcomed at the airport

B．treated hospitably at his home

C．offered a ride to his home

D．treated to dinner in a restaurant

3. The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean                  .

A．willing to spend time	B．serious with time
C．careful with time	D．strict with time

4. A suitable title for this passage would probably be “                ”.

A．Friendships Between Chinese

B．Friendships Between Americans

C．Americans' and Chinese's Views of Friendships

D．Americans' Hospitality

2 . College is a lifetime investment(投资)—the gift of a college education can open the door to a world of opportunity for your child or grandchild. Savings(储蓄), even not so many at a time, can make a big difference.

With the cost of a college education continuing to rise, the key is to start saving early and regularly. By saving a set(固定的) amount at set times, your money can grow as your child does. According to the College Board, the average cost for four-year public colleges has increased by nearly 51% over the last 10 years and these costs will almost certainly continue to rise. Saving for college can help with the increasing cost of a college education and help you be well prepared when your child is ready for college.

Saving for your child's college education is an investment in their future. The savings you make today will pay off in increased earnings(收入) in the future. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, college graduates earn an average of $1 million more than high school graduates during their careers. The value of your investment in a college education will continue to grow for a lifetime.

Set your college saving goals realistically(现实地). You may not be able to save enough for all four years' fees, but you could save enough to give your child the right start.

More and more families depend on student loans(贷款) to pay for college. By saving for college, families will have less burden of paying off loans and help their children leave school without worrying about paying off loans.

1. From the second paragraph we can learn that                 .

A．the College Board increased public college costs

B．public college costs will increase by 51% in the next ten years

C．it's not too late to start saving when your child is ready for college

D．saving can help deal with the rising cost of college education

2. Savings for college education                 .

A．will increase in the value in the future

B．make one earn a lot

C．help create good jobs

D．are wise for businessmen to invest

3. Which of the following is TRUE about saving for college?

A．You should save to help children get scholarships more easily.

B．It's better to increase the savings as the child grows.

C．It's better to save early and regularly.

D．You should set a further and bigger saving goal.

4. Who are the expected readers of the passage?

A．Parents.	B．High school students.
C．Educators.	D．Bankers.

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．When to Save for Children's College Costs

B．How to Make a Good Investment

C．Why We Should Save for Children's College Costs

D．How Much Four-Year College Costs

3 . It was a sunny day. A city man was driving along a country road with a new wagon（马车）and a beautiful pair of horses. He didn’t pay a lot of_______to where he was going. Pretty soon he_______that he was lost, but he continued to drive, expecting to re-find his way or to_______someone who could tell him how to get back to the_______.
It was a long_______road. For many _______he kept on driving. When it was almostdark, he saw in a field a tall_______ploughing（犁地） the land. He stopped his_______team of horses near the fence and called out，“Hello，farmer.”
“Hello，yourself，”the farmer_______ ,still ploughing .
“Where does the horse go?”he asked without knowing his language mistakes.
“I haven’t seen it go anywhere. It_______stays right where it is,”said the farmer，withoutstopping his work.
“How far is it to the next town?” said the city man,speaking a little more_______.
“Don’t know. I never　________it,” replied the farmer. By this time the city man was getting________“What do you know?You’re the biggest fool I ever saw.”
Finally stopping, the farmer turned and looked for a long time________at the city man. Then he said，“Maybe I don’t know much.________I am a fool. But at least I’m not lost!”1.

A．signs

B．orders

C．attention

D．direction

2.

A．realized

B．recognized

C．accepted

D．received

3.

A．miss

B．meet

C．look

D．lose

4.

A．town

B．country

C．capital

D．village

5.

A．lonely

B．busy

C．dirty

D．crowded

6.

A．seconds

B．minutes

C．hours

D．years

7.

A．driver

B．policeman

C．farmer

D．worker

8.

A．strong

B．tired

C．weak

D．tiring

9.

A．asked

B．demanded

C．replied

D．ordered

10.

A．always

B．often

C．sometimes

D．seldom

11.

A．politely

B．friendly

C．loudly

D．angrily

12.

A．judged

B．measured

C．saw

D．studied

13.

A．sad

B．lovely

C．friendly

D．angry

14.

A．gladly

B．immediately

C．silently

D．excitedly

15.

A．Generally

B．Fortunately

C．Certainly

D．Perhaps

4 . Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends（小商品）for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said “FIVE CENTS EACH’. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always ran his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was : ‘THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”
1. Frank took a short business course in order to __________.

A．earn more money for his family

B．learn something from a salesman

C．get away from the farm

D．get enough to eat

2. Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because ________.

A．he knew how to get people to buy his goods

B．he cut down the price by half

C．he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way

D．the sign he put on the table was well designed

3. The price of the knives was cut down by half because _________.

A．the factory workers worked 24 hours a day

B．knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory

C．the knives were made in German, where labour was cheap

D．the knives were produced in one factory

4. __________   make Woolworth a world-famous man.

A．His business skills and his wealth

B．The low price of the goods he sold

C．His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives

D．His natural skill for showing things

5. The belief that “The customer is always right” suggests that __________.

A．whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right.

B．If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way

C．stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money

D．stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful

5 . Hundreds of years ago, Native-American tribes lived in Mexico. The Aztecs built beautiful cities. They had a calendar (历法) and a written language. However, the Spanish destroyed the Aztecs in l521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That’s why Mexicans speak Spanish.
Every September l6 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country’s capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled. Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.
Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn’t always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from l846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.
Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.
1. According to the passage, what happened second on historical timeline?

A．Mexicans declared their independence from Spain.

B．The Spanish ruled Mexico.

C．The Aztecs lived in Mexico.

D．Americans fought a war with Mexico.

2. The passage says that President Polk wanted ________.

A．the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean

B．Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th

C．Mexico to become one of the states of the Union

D．Americans to adopt the Mexican language

3. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ________.

A．inspect	B．cover
C．change	D．determine

4. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ________.

A．building styles	B．vocabulary
C．clothes	D．food

5. Before the Aztecs were conquered(征服), these Native Americans probably ________.

A．didn’t speak Spanish

B．couldn’t read or write any language

C．didn’t have tools

D．didn’t understand the concept of time