Every object has weight. But the center of its weight is not always in the middle of the object. If the top of an object is heavier than its bottom, it will fall over easily. We say that its center of gravity is high. But if the bottom is heavier, it won’t fall easily. Then we say that its center of gravity is low.

Look at the first picture. This empty box must fall over, because its center of gravity (C) is not above the line of its bottom (AB).

Now look at the second picture. There is some heavy iron in the bottom of this box. It will not fall, because its center of gravity is above its bottom.

1.If the bottom of an object is ______ its top, it will fall over easily.

A. lighter than　　 B. heavier than　　 C. no heavier than　　  D. as heavy as

2.Please point out which box will not fall.

3.The main idea of the passage is _________.

A. why things fall over　　　　         B. a low center of gravity

C. a high center of gravity　　             D. that everything has weight

 

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 develop 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 daily 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!
【小题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.

【小题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．offered a ride to his home

C．treated hospitably at his home

D．treated to dinner in a restaurant

【小题3】The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.

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

【小题4】A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.

A．Friendships between Chinese

B．Friendships between Americans

C．Americans’hospitality

D．Americans’and Chinese’s views of friendships

阅读并选择最佳选项。（共5小题；每小题1分，计5分）

请阅读下面的短文，并从下列各题所给的A、B、C、D三个选项中，选择最佳选项。

U.S. billionaire Bill Gates went to watch a game of his friend, U.S. teen player Ariel Hsing, at the ExCel Centre while the girl was playing against Chinese Li Xiaoxia.

Gates wore an orange jacket and dark blue baseball cap. He sat in the front row of the spectators’ stand (观众看台) and applauded (鼓掌) for every point Hsing scored.

“I’m wishing her the best of luck, but the opposite player is really great,” Gates said.

Hsing was in her third match at London 2012. She had already beaten Mexico’s Yadira Silva and Luxembourg’s Ni Xia Lian.

Hsing is known in the U.S. as a close friend with billionaires Warren Buffett and Gates. She is close enough to call them “Uncle Warren” and “Uncle Bill”.

Buffett met Hsing when she was only 9. Two years later, he invited her to play against his friends. She has returned several times after that. Earlier this year after winning a position on the U.S. team, she took a few points off Buffett and Gates.

When asked whether he has won a point off Hsing, Gates said, “She beat me when she was nine. She has been nice to me.”

1.Bill Gates went to the ExCel Centre to watch a game between Ariel Hsing and 　　　.

A．Li Xiaoxia          B．Warren Buffett     C．Ni Xia Lian         D．Yadira Silva

2.Bill Gates applauded when 　　　.

A．others applauded                       B．Hsing won a point

C．the Chinese player played well             D．Hsing won the game

3.What did Bill Gates think of Li Xiaoxia?

A．Exciting.          B．Just so-so.         C．Great.            D．Funny.

4.Buffett invited Hsing to play against his friends when she was 　　　.

A．seven            B．nine              C．ten              D．eleven

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Bill Gates cheered for Li Xiaoxia in London

B．How Ariel Hsing made friends with Buffett and Gates

C．An excellent teen player — Ariel Hsing

D．An interesting visit in London