The phone rings. It’s a friend who wants to tell you his or her latest health problems. You hate to be impolite and cut your friend off, but what can you do? Stephanie Winston, author of Stephanie Winston’s Best Organizing Tips, offers his advice:

Don’t ask questions like “What’s new?” They give the information that you have time to talk. After “hello”, get right to the heart of the matter.

Time your calls wisely. If you make a call right before lunch or dinner, or at the end of the workday, people chat less.

Set a time limit. Start with, “Hi, I’ve only got a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you about….” Or, “Gee, I’d love to talk more, but I only have a couple of minutes before I have to leave.”

Jump on a pause（间歇）. Even the most talkative caller has to pause now and then. Quickly say, “It has been great talking with you.” Then end the conversation.

Forget niceties. Some people just don’t take a hint. Cut your caller off and say, “I’d like to talk to you longer, but I’m afraid I have no enough time. Good bye.” Then hang up.

Find “a partner in crime”. If nothing else works, ask someone in your home to help you. For example, one woman gives a sign to her husband, who shouts, “Jane, I think the roast chicken is burning.”

Avoid the phone completely. Use an answering machine to screen calls. If you have an important message for a chatterbox（唠叨的人）, leave the message when he or she isn’t in.

50. What’s the good time to make a call so that people can chat less?

A. After lunch or dinner.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In the middle of the workday.

C. Before lunch or dinner.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. At the beginning of the workday.

51. “Finding a partner in crime” means ______.

A. finding someone to answer the call

B. getting right to the heart of the matter

C. telling the caller you are just cooking

D. asking someone to help you end the call

52. What’s Winston’s advice about?

A. How to talk on the phone.　　　　　

B. How to make calls wisely.

C. How to make a phone call.

D. How to keep phone calls short.

Today people can use the phone to talk with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you use the phone, you don’t see the person you are talking with. This may change in the near future.

Today some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone. With it, two people who are talking can see each other.

Picture phones can be useful when you have something to show to the person you’re calling. They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a library and ask to read a book. Then you’ll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping through your picture phone. If you want to buy something in the newspaper, you’ll use your phone and call the shop. People at the shop will show you the thing you’re interested in right over the phone. You’ll be able to shop all over town and never even leave your room!

1.Today people can use the phone to talk with others ______.

A．in all the towns

B．in some places in the world

C．only in big cities

D．almost anywhere on the earth

2.The underlined word “it” in the passage means ______.

A．the picture phone                       B．any phone

C．the use                               D．the change

3.We can ______ through the picture phone according to the text.

A．write a book                           B．do shopping

C．play games                            D．have classes

4.Picture phones can be used for ______.

A．ringing up a library to see a book

B．going shopping without leaving our homes

C．showing the person we’re talking with something

D．All of the above.

5.The title of the article can be “______”.

A．The telephones

B．Picture phones

C．Shopping on the phone

D．Talking on the phone

 

    When I was a child, my mother often told me, “Don’t run around, or bad uncles will grad（抓住） you. And you know what? You will never see Mum and Dad again.”

    “Why, Mama? Why would these uncles grab me?” I would ask. “The city is a dangerous place and we don’t trust any strangers, ”she would reply.

  Well, that might answer the question of why my second brother never picks up calls from an unknown person either on his mobile or his home phone. It seems that he doesn’t care if he misses an important call. because he thinks that all unknown calls are from bad persons.

    So, have we given too much protection to our young kids? Perhaps it is so. But the adults’ thoughts are indeed easy to understand. The kids meet swindlers sometimes as we adults tell them. Also they get some news about cheating（欺骗） in newspapers or on TV every day. That makes the kids believe that they just cannot trust strangers.

    Let’s look at an example from everyday life. Say, if someone carrying a wooden stick（棍子） comes nearer to you, will you try to run away at once even before he or she starts talking to you? Will you guess this person’s intentions（意图） and think that he or she wants to rob（抢劫） you of something? Think of the answer for yourself.

    Of course, the kids should look after themselves, but overprotection can sometimes stop them from making new friends. Sometimes it’s not good for their new friendships.

    Trust is like a mirror. When we offer trust to people, they might just show you trust in return.

1 What do “swindlers” probably do?

  A. They cheat other people.

  B. They often call other people.

  C. They rob people of something.

  D. They teach children to protect themselves.

2 Which of the following is NOT the reason why children don’t trust strangers?

  A. Their parents tell them not to trust strangers.

  B. They get to know some news about cheating in newspapers or on TV every day.

  C. Strangers always have bad intentions.

  D. They sometimes have experiences of being cheated.

3 What does the writer want to tell us?

  A. Children should always follow their parents’ advice.

  B. We should never talk to strangers.

  C. Parents should learn to protect their children.

  D. People should try to trust each other.

Young Min Kim，a journalist from Students around the world，interviews an American university student，Lisa Conroy．They talk about living on a student budget（预算）

Young Min: Thanks for talking with me today，Lisa．Tell us a little bit about yourself．

Lisa: Well，I’m twenty-one，and I’m a junior 2 at a university in Chicago．

Young Min: How are you paying for your college education?

Lisa: The costs for every semester are about $15，000．At the start of each semester my parents pay the $10，000 tuition（学费）．I also get $2，000 in financial aid（助学金）．I have to make money for the rest by myself．

Young Min: How do you do that?

Lisa: I have a part-time job at a hotel．I work about twenty hours a week，and make about $320．

Young Min: How do you spend that money?

Lisa: It helps to pay for my room．It also pays for things like my mobile phone transportation and clothes．

Lisa: That’s true! I keep my budget carefully so I don’t have to borrow．I don’t like to borrow money from people．

Young Min: You don’t have much money for fun，do you?

Lisa: I hardly ever go to the movies．My roommate and I usually rent（租） videos．

     and share the cost, so it’s cheaper.

Young Min: How else do you save money?

Lisa: I don’t go to restaurants．I make meals with my roommates so it’s cheaper to eat．I try to walk or ride my bicycle to college．Oh ，and I buy a lot of my clothes at second-hand stores．You can find some very cheap，decent clothes in those stores．

Young Min: So much for this．Thank you．

Lisa: You are welcome!

1．Lisa’s parents pay _________ in tuition each semester．

A．$15，000               B．$10，000                C．$5，000                 D．$2，000

2．Lisa has a part-time job at a __________

A．restaurant               B．theater                    C．hotel                       D．campus

3．Some of Lisa’s costs include __________．

A．mobile phone，books and clothes

B．food，computer games and transportation

C．restaurants，clothes and cars

D．transportation，clothes and medicine．

4．Lisa tries to keep a budget so she doesn’t have to __________

A．buy cheap clothes                                       B．ride her bicycle

C．borrow money                                           D．buy clothes at second-hand stores

5．The title for the passage should be ________．

A．Making money                                           B．saving money

C．Spending money                                        D．My money

　　Today people can use the phone to talk with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you use the phone, you don't see the person you are talking with. There will be many changes in the near future.

　　Today some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone. With it , two people who are talking can see each other.

　　Picture phones can be useful when you have something to show the person you're calling. They may have other uses in the future. One day you may be able to ring up a library and ask to see a book. Then you'll be able to read the book right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go shopping through your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you think you want to buy, you'll go to your phone and call the shop. People at the shop will show you the thing you're interested in right over the phone. You'll be able to shop all over town and never even leave your room.

(1) Today people can use the phone to talk with others ________.

[　　]

A．in all the towns

B．in some place in the world

C．only in big city

D．almost anywhere on the earth

(2) The word “it” in the text means ________.

[　　]

(3) We can ________ through the picture phone according to (根据) the text.

[　　]

(4) Picture phones are very ________.

[　　]

(5) Which is not true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Today some people are using a kind of telephone called the picture phone or vision phone.

B．With the picture phone, two people can't see each other.

C．The phone is very useful.

D．Today people can use the phone to talk with others almost everywhere on the earth.