A.      Lend a hand.

B.      Keep your eyes open.

C.      Be seen, but not be heard.

D.      Make friends with your neighbors.

E.      Volunteer in your community.

F.       Keep your home safe and attractive.

Tips for Being a Good Neighbor

1._______________

No one likes a noisy neighbor. Do you hold parties that last all night? Do you leave your dog outside to bark all day? Remember that not everyone has the same schedule as you do, so use some common sense. Keep noise to the lowest level. If you’re holding a party that’s likely to be loud, invite everyone within earshot.

2._______________

       It’s much easier to solve any problem with neighbors if you have a friendly relationship with those around you. Furthermore, you may realize that you have things in common and make a lifelong friend.

3._______________

       Once you know your neighbors, then you’ll also know if something seems out of place in the neighborhood. Are strange people carrying expensive things out of one neighbor’s house? Have several days passed since your elderly neighbor last collected his newspaper? The benefit of keeping an eye out for unusual behavior in the neighborhood is that others will do the same for you.

4._______________

       It never hurts to follow the Golden Rule: Do to others what you would like them to do to you. Treat your neighbors with respect. Offer to drive an elderly neighbor to the grocery store. Volunteer to collect mail while a neighbor is on vacation. The more often you lend a helping hand, the more likely that your neighbors will do the same for you when you need a little help.

5._______________

Don’t just limit your neighborly actions to your block or street. Remember that everyone who lives in a community has the ability to help make it a better place. Think about your passion and find a way to do it on a volunteer basis in your town. Volunteer at the local library. Enjoy working with kids. Consider becoming a scout leader. Whatever your passion is, there’s sure to be a thing suitable for you to help in the local community.

 

Fear is a fact of life everyone faces from time to time. In most cases fear is a healthy reaction to a dangerous situation. But sometimes fear can be so extreme, so overwhelming that it interferes with normal living. That is what happened to me driving cross-country last summer.

I’d agreed to help my brother, Mac, move from the East Coast to California. He would drive a rental truck loaded with his belongings and I would follow him in his sedan, then fly back. We figured it would be a simple trip, with four or five motel ( 摩托旅馆 ) stops along the way.

Living and working in coastal Georgia for most of my life, I didn’t have a great deal of long-distance driving experience. Looking back on it today, I can see that I’d always felt a twinge of fear when driving over small bridges and along hilly highways. And as I was getting ready for the trip I had a vague (模糊的)concern about the steep mountain roads that lay ahead. But I thought I would get used to them.

As we crossed some high bridges near the Blue Ridge Mountains on the first leg of our trip, a kind of breathlessness gripped（抓住）me, a sinking, rolling sensation in the pit of my stomach. I tended to veer slightly away from the edge of the roadway and thedrop-off beyond. My knuckles(手指关节) whitened from my tense grip on the steering wheel. At the end of each bridge, a great rush of relief would come over me, only to be replaced in short order by fear of the next obstacle.

When we stopped in Nashville the first night, I mentioned my feelings to Mac, who is the practical sort. “Oh, that’s nothing,” he said cheerfully. Lots of people hate driving on mountain roads and high bridges. Just turn up the music on your radio and focus on that. Keep your mind occupied.”

1．Which is Not the author’s attitude towards fear?

       A．Fear can sometimes disturb your life.

       B．It is natural to feel fear in everyday life.

       C．In dangerous situations, fear may do good to your body.

       D．Whenever you feel fear, you are likely to make a wrong decision.

2．How did the author and his brother go to California?

  A．They rented a truck and drove it in turn.

  B．The author and his brother drove different vehicles.

  C．The author drove while his brother flew to California.

  D．The author drove a rented car while his brother drove the truck.

3．To the author the trip is ___________.

  A．frightening         B．pleasant               C．nervous             D．exhausting

4．Mac asked his brother to turn on the radio and focus on that in order to let him _______.

  A．keep using his brains                  B．kill time during the long trip

       C．think of other things instead of fear      D．enjoy the beautiful music along the way

Fear is a fact of life everyone faces from time to time. In most cases fear is a healthy reaction to a dangerous situation. But sometimes fear can be so extreme, so overwhelming that it interferes with normal living. That is what happened to me driving cross-country last summer.

I’d agreed to help my brother, Mac, move from the East Coast to California. He would drive a rental truck loaded with his belongings and I would follow him in his sedan, then fly back. We figured it would be a simple trip, with four or five motel ( 摩托旅馆 ) stops along the way.

Living and working in coastal Georgia for most of my life, I didn’t have a great deal of long-distance driving experience. Looking back on it today, I can see that I’d always felt a twinge of fear when driving over small bridges and along hilly highways. And as I was getting ready for the trip I had a vague (模糊的)concern about the steep mountain roads that lay ahead. But I thought I would get used to them.

As we crossed some high bridges near the Blue Ridge Mountains on the first leg of our trip, a kind of breathlessness gripped（抓住）me, a sinking, rolling sensation in the pit of my stomach. I tended to veer slightly away from the edge of the roadway and the drop-off beyond. My knuckles(手指关节) whitened from my tense grip on the steering wheel. At the end of each bridge, a great rush of relief would come over me, only to be replaced in short order by fear of the next obstacle.

When we stopped in Nashville the first night, I mentioned my feelings to Mac, who is the practical sort. “Oh, that’s nothing,” he said cheerfully. Lots of people hate driving on mountain roads and high bridges. Just turn up the music on your radio and focus on that. Keep your mind occupied.”

1．Which is Not the author’s attitude towards fear?

       A．Fear can sometimes disturb your life.

       B．It is natural to feel fear in everyday life.

       C．In dangerous situations, fear may do good to your body.

       D．Whenever you feel fear, you are likely to make a wrong decision.

2．How did the author and his brother go to California?

  A．They rented a truck and drove it in turn.

  B．The author and his brother drove different vehicles.

  C．The author drove while his brother flew to California.

  D．The author drove a rented car while his brother drove the truck.

3．To the author the trip is ___________.

  A．frightening         B．pleasant               C．nervous             D．exhausting

4．Mac asked his brother to turn on the radio and focus on that in order to let him _______.

  A．keep using his brains             

  B．kill time during the long trip

  C．think of other things instead of fear

      D．enjoy the beautiful music along the way 

It was the second day of a winter holiday in Queenstown, New Zealand, three years ago. When we decided to explore the beautiful scenery, our landlady   36  us,“Make sure you are well wrapped up today. The weather is   37 . Head back when you see snowfall.”

The day was bright and sunny, and I started to wonder if she was being too cautious. When snow began to fall at 6:00 pm, I was not worried, thinking we’d have no   38  in catching a taxi back. However, we waited for a while, and all the drivers shook their heads when told of our   39 .

The first driver passed by and gave me a card with a number for me to   40  help. I was filled with   41  , but I had no choice but to lead my three sisters to a nearby place to make the   42 . Then a taxi drew up and we climbed in. The driver did not appear very friendly. Then the light streaming from his headlights showed very   43  why no taxi wanted to take us to our hotel. And I began to understand the driver’s apparently unfriendly silence — he was worried. The steep incline (斜坡) ahead was   44  with snow. The taxi slowly made its way up the hill. Suddenly, we came to a dead stop, and the driver turned to us. “Look! It is very    45  to go forward. You have to get out and walk. If I drive any further, the taxi will slide back,” he said. “Er ... can you keep your headlight on and help my elder sister? The rest of us will follow you up,” I said. The driver   46 .

We made it safely back to our hotel. Even though it   47   for the rest of the days, we could see the silver lining in the cloud(一线希望): the generous soul who helped us.

1.                A．protected       B．guarded        C．helped   D．warned

 

2.                A．hateful         B．colorful         C．changeable    D．unforgettable

 

3.                A．reason         B．time           C．trouble   D．opportunity

 

4.                A．situation        B．destination      C．background   D．information

 

5.                A．call for         B．wait for         C．give up   D．look up

 

6.                A．confidence      B．pride           C．doubt    D．joy

 

7.                A．appointment     B．call            C．way D．invitation

 

8.                A．clearly         B．weakly         C．Unwillingly D．quietly

 

9.                A．charged        B．covered        C．crowded  D．provided

 

10.               A．dangerous      B．possible        C．limited    D．unacceptable

 

11.               A．agreed         B．admitted        C．admired   D．applied

 

12.               A．shone          B．blew           C．rained    D．snowed

 

 

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

　 It was the second day of a winter holiday in Queenstown, New Zealand, three years ago. When we decided to explore the beautiful scenery, our landlady 　36 us,“Make sure you are well wrapped up today. The weather is 　37 . Head back when you see snowfall.”

　 The day was bright and sunny, and I started to wonder if she was being too cautious. When snow began to fall at 6:00 pm, I was not worried, thinking we’d have no 　38 in catching a taxi back. However, we waited for a while, and all the drivers shook their heads when told of our 　39 .

　 The first driver passed by and gave me a card with a number for me to 　40 help. I was filled with 　41 , but I had no choice but to lead my three sisters to a nearby place to make the 　42 . Then a taxi drew up and we climbed in. The driver did not appear very friendly. Then the light streaming from his headlights showed very 　43 why no taxi wanted to take us to our hotel. And I began to understand the driver’s apparently unfriendly silence — he was worried. The steep incline (斜坡) ahead was 　44 with snow. The taxi slowly made its way up the hill. Suddenly, we came to a dead stop, and the driver turned to us. “Look! It is very 　 45 to go forward. You have to get out and walk. If I drive any further, the taxi will slide back,” he said. “Er ... can you keep your headlight on and help my elder sister? The rest of us will follow you up,” I said. The driver 　46 .

　 We made it safely back to our hotel. Even though it 　47 　for the rest of the days, we could see the silver lining in the cloud(一线希望): the generous soul who helped us.

36. A. protected　　　　　 B. guarded　　　 C. helped　　　　　　　 　 D. warned

37. A. hateful　 　　　　　 B. colorful　　　 C. changeable 　　　　　　 D. unforgettable

38. A. reason　 　　　　　 B. time　　　　 C. trouble 　　　　　　 　　 D. opportunity

39. A. situation 　　　　 B. destination　　 C. background　 　　D. information

40. A. call for　　　　 　 B. wait for　　　 C. give up　　　　　 　 D. look up

41. A. confidence　　　　 B. pride 　　　　C. doubt　　　　　　　 　 D. joy

42. A. appointment　　　 B. call　　　　　 C. way 　　　　　　　 　　D. invitation

43. A. clearly　 　　　　 B. weakly 　　　　　　 C. unwillingly　　　　 　 D. quietly

44. A. charged　　　　　　　　　　 B. covered 　　　 C. crowded　　　　　　　　 D. provided

45. A. dangerous 　　　　 B. possible 　　　C. limited　　　　　　　　　 D. unacceptable

46. A. agreed　　　　　　　 B. admitted　　　 C. admired　　　　　　　　　 D. applied

47. A. shone　 　　　　　 B. blew　　　　 C. rained 　　　　　　 　　 D. snowed