It's seven in the morning. Mr Li needn't go to work today. He knows English and is now looking through a list of TV programmes in today's newspaper. The list is as follows. Read it over and then do the exercises.

　　TV programmes

　　Friday, September 30

　　Channel 2（频道2）

　　9∶50 Olympic Games men's basketball final

　　11∶40 Olympic Games track and field events

　　19∶45 Olympic Games special

　　20∶22 2002 National Day evening party

　　20∶59 TV drama（戏剧）: Juan and Her Braised Ship (1)

　　22∶57 Olympic Games men's basketball final

　　Channel 8

　　9∶40 Daughter of the Sea

　　14∶20 Olympic Games men's tennis single final

　　15∶50 TV drama: Red Leaves Beyond the Mountain (3)

　　16∶37 TV drama: The Tea House

　　18∶00 Olympic Games women's table tennis double final

　　CCTV English Service

　　22∶10 News

　　22∶30 Olympic Games Special

Invitation to a Farewell Party

　　Friday, 22nd October

　　Dear Michael and Lisa,

　　You are invited to a farewell party for the“LIU FAMILY'S VISIT TO AUSTRALIA”.

　　Departure（出发）date: 4th of November

　　The best part of our big adventure to Australia will be when we come face to face with kangaroos and other Australian wildlife.

　　Party given by: Mr and Mrs Liu, Liu Mei and Liu Tang

　　Date: Saturday, 6 November, 2002

　　Time: 7∶00 p. m. until 12∶30 a. m.

　　Place: Beijing Hotel

　　Reply by: Tuesday, 2 November

　　Phone: 528--0903

　　Food and drinks will be provided at the party.

　　PS: This event is NOT to be missed!

　　We hope to see you there.

(1) Mr Li wants to find out what day it is the day after National Day. Please help him find it out. It is ________.

[　　]

(2) Suppose Mr Li wants to watch TV in the morning and he doesn't feel much interested in sports or games. Which program would he like to choose?

[　　]

A．CCTV English Service, News.

B．Channel 2,2002 National Day evening party.

C．Channel 8, film: Daughter of the Sea.

D．Channel 8, TV Drama: The Tea House.

(3) From the invitation we can tell ________.

[　　]

A．Liu Mei and Liu Tang will attend the farewell party

B．only Mr and Mrs Liu will travel to Australia

C．the Liu family have been to Australia before

D．the Liu family will not return from Australia

(4) By what date is it necessary to reply to the invitation?

[　　]

Friends play an important role in our lives, and although we can’t be more familiar with the fact of friendship, we often don’t clearly understand how we make friends, especially with Americans. Here are some pieces of advice on making friends with Americans:
　　1. Visiting places Americans enjoy: parties, churches, restaurants, parks and sports clubs.
　　2. Be willing to take the first step. Don’t wait for them to get close to you. Americans in China may not know you speak English. They may be uncomfortable if they can’t speak your language.
　3. Use small talks to open the conversation. Ask them where they’re from, why they come to China, etc. . Remember: Be careful not to ask personal questions about age, salary and so on.
　　4. Show an interest in their culture, their country or their job. Americans like to talk about themselves!
　　5. Invite them to join you for dinner or just for coffee or tea. Try to set a specific(明确的)time. Americans sometimes make general invitations like “Let’s go out for dinner sometime. ”Often this is just a way to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation.
　　6. Don’t expect too much at first. Maybe they’re being friendly. But maybe they want to be your good friends. It will take time to tell.
【小题1】According to the text, Americans like to visit the following places except＿＿＿＿.

A．shopping centers	B．parks
C．sports clubs	D．churches

【小题2】What should you say when meeting an American for the first time?

A．What’s your age?

B．How much do you get in a month?

C．Nice to meet you! Are you from America?

D．Let’s get together sometime. I want to ask you some questions.

【小题3】What is mainly discussed in the text?

A．It’s very important to be a good friend of an American.

B．Some advice on how to make friends with Americans.

C．Something about the friendship in America.

D．Friendship is the most important in our life.

【小题4】Which is the best way to make friends with an American?

A．To ask him if he is willing to make friends with you.

B．To spend a long time learning about him.

C．To wait until he tells you his thoughts.

D．To ask him to join you for dinner.

Friends play an important role in our lives, and although we can’t be more familiar with the fact of friendship, we often don’t clearly understand how we make friends, especially with Americans. Here are some pieces of advice on making friends with Americans:

　　1. Visiting places Americans enjoy: parties, churches, restaurants, parks and sports clubs.

　　2. Be willing to take the first step. Don’t wait for them to get close to you. Americans in China may not know you speak English. They may be uncomfortable if they can’t speak your language.

　3. Use small talks to open the conversation. Ask them where they’re from, why they come to China, etc. . Remember: Be careful not to ask personal questions about age, salary and so on.

　　4. Show an interest in their culture, their country or their job. Americans like to talk about themselves!

　　5. Invite them to join you for dinner or just for coffee or tea. Try to set a specific(明确的)time. Americans sometimes make general invitations like “Let’s go out for dinner sometime. ”Often this is just a way to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation.

　　6. Don’t expect too much at first. Maybe they’re being friendly. But maybe they want to be your good friends. It will take time to tell.

1.According to the text, Americans like to visit the following places except＿＿＿＿.

A．shopping centers	B．parks
C．sports clubs	D．churches

2.What should you say when meeting an American for the first time?

A．What’s your age?

B．How much do you get in a month?

C．Nice to meet you! Are you from America?

D．Let’s get together sometime. I want to ask you some questions.

3.What is mainly discussed in the text?

A．It’s very important to be a good friend of an American.

B．Some advice on how to make friends with Americans.

C．Something about the friendship in America.

D．Friendship is the most important in our life.

4.Which is the best way to make friends with an American?

A．To ask him if he is willing to make friends with you.

B．To spend a long time learning about him.

C．To wait until he tells you his thoughts.

D．To ask him to join you for dinner.

 

Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on many public issues. He says that a long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.

Can American students afford to take a summer vacation? In a summer vacation, millions of kids spend valuable time sending messages, watching TV, playing video games and doing shopping in the mall. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.

Summer vacation once made sense in the past when you didn’t need an education to get a good job. But now things have changed. For today’s students, academic skills are important to students’ future success, but such skills are affected in the summertime. Many nations don’t give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive(连续的) weeks of vacation. Most American school districts offer up to thirteen weeks. To compete in the global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.

Summer vacation also causes challenges for today’s families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home Mom. Now, two-thirds of American children live in households where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids.

But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Researchers have found that disadvantaged students lose significant ground in the summertime.

A longer school year does not have to be an invitation to hard boring work. Rather, it should allow time-pressed teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time to devote to athletics, languages, music and the arts. Summer vacation can be a grand thing. But in the 21st century, it may also be outdated.

Title: Long Summer 　1

Theme	A long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.
Basic Information	Vacation length	2 weeks in most American schools
	Students’ activities	·Sending messages and watching TV ·Playing video games ·Doing 　3
4	Putting student’s academic futures at risk	Affect academic 　5
	Causing challenges for families	Make parents watch kids at home
	Hurting academic 　6	Make students lose significant ground
7	Students should be conducted to study more imaginative 8 such as athletics, languages, music and the arts.
9	Summer vacation can be both grand and 　10 .

 

阅读下面短文，从短文所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

My husband Jeff and I moved into our new home in Scottsbluff last year just before Christmas. I did not have the 　1 or energy to carry out my traditional Christmas decorating and baking activities. What was the point, anyway? It was going to be a 2 Christmas after all.

3 , the neighborly nature of west Nebraska residents started to trickle (陆续来临) in.

There was a 4 on the door one evening. It was Jeff’s new colleague, John Smith, and his wife, Phyllis. The Smiths had stopped by to 5 us to town with a loaf of homemade bread. They pointed out a 　6 on the porch (门廊). Apparently the doorbell wasn’t working in the cold snowy weather and we had 7 a visit from the Browns, our across-the-street neighbors, who brought us a Christmas card and more Christmas cookies.

The 8 feelings brought by these thoughtful gestures lasted longer than the food.

As Jeff and I were clearing pre-Christmas 　9 from our driveway, Ernie Guzman came over from next door to 　10 us to dig out.

Then, we received an invitation to 　11 a Christmas Eve meal with our neighbors, Ernie and Nancy Sommer, and their 　12 —a 90-year-old lady, who also had no family in the immediate area with whom to spend the holiday.

Our Christmas Eve was quite merry, thanks to our 13 . Our Christmas morning 　14 was special, thanks to the Smiths’ gift of bread. I was so 15 for these gestures of welcome, especially during the holidays.

This year, we were again unable to be with our families for Christmas. The 　16 and work schedules just made things too difficult. 17 that sense of Christmas isolation (孤立) all too well, we decided to try to round up some other folks who were 18 in the holidays.

Lonely people are all around us, but most of us 19 notice them. Just take a look around you. Sometimes, the smallest 20 gesture can make a world of difference.

1. A. chance　　　　 B. time 　　　　 C. anxiety 　　　　 D. ability

2. A. merry　　　　　　 B. free　　　　　　 C. lonely 　　　　　 D. usual

3. A. Therefore　　　　 B. Meanwhile　　　　 C. Somehow 　　　　 D. However

4. A. card 　　　　　　 B. sign　　　　　　 C. knock　　　　　　 D. note

5. A. welcome　　　 B. invite　　　　　 C. drive　　　　　　 D. send

6. A. tree 　　　　　　 B. package 　　　　 C. mail 　　　　 　 D. flower

7. A. forgot　　　　　 B. arranged　　　　 C. received 　　　　 D. missed

8. A. deep 　　　　 B. true 　　　　 C. warm 　　　　 D. mixed

9. A. snow 　　　　 B. rubbish　 　　 C. dust　 　　　　　 D. leaves

10. A. teach　 　　　　 B. help　 　　　 C. urge　 　　　 D. forbid

11. A. share　 　　　　 B. prepare 　　 C. taste　 　　　　 D. exchange

12. A. aunt　 　　　　 B. guest　 　　　　 C. maid　　　　　　 D. partner

13 A. folks　 　　　　 B. relatives　 　　 C. colleagues　　 　 D. neighbors

14. A. call 　　　　　　 B. greeting 　　　 C. breakfast 　 D. meeting

15. A. sorry 　　　　　 B. eager　 　　　 　　C. ready 　　　 D. grateful

16 A. distance 　　　　 B. expense 　　　　 C. season　 　　　　 D. situation　

17. A. Studying 　　　　 B. Showing　 　　 C. Knowing　 　D. Discovering

18. A. alone 　　　　 B. busy　 　　　 C. happy 　　　 D. active

19. A. always　 　　　　 B. seldom 　　　 C. finally　 　　 　　D. usually

20. A. careful　 　　　 B. patient　 　　　 C. vague 　　　　　 D. kind