Working people are usually very busy or tired　　　　　　　　（1）. _________

after a day's work to do cooking. They prefer to eating　　　　（2）. _________

out. This saves them a lot of time and trouble. Eat　　　　　　（3）. _________

out is that many people do to solve（解决） their meal　　　　 （4）. _________

problems although it cost a little more than preparing　　　　 （5）. _________

meals by themselves.?

And this is not to say that nobody really does any　　　　　　（6）. _________

cooking at all. In the fact, many do. It is just that　　　　　　 （7）. _________

eating out is easier as no preparation is need and　　　　　　 （8）. _________

no washing to be done. Some, however, eat out

sometimes because they may want little change　　　　　　 （9）. _________

from their usual, ordinary, home-cooked meal.　　　　　　 （10.） _________

“When are you going on holiday? And where? ”are usual questions in the office before the summer holiday, and the answer often is: “In one week, to the beach. ”“Aha! You have a beautiful tan（＝brown by sunshine）! How was your holiday? ”These continue for days after you return.　　  Many Europeans have not only weekends and bank holidays but also five to seven weeks paid leave. おUsually parents in the summer plan to spend three or four weeks with the family. Because of my earlier years in China, I found it difficult to understand the European attitude （态度）toward holidays.

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours

 

Looking forward to the weekend? You are not alone in the world．People in the UK also get excited about ．he weekend，as it is a time to go out and catch up with family and friends．

Saturday morning is sports time! For boys，football is the usual choice，while girls often go to dance or fitness（健康） classes．On Saturday afternoon，the shopping malls get busy．Young people hang out，looking at clothes，music or video games．Older people like to shop on Saturday too and will take a trip to the supermarket if they need something for their house．Saturday night is the time people show off their new clothes．It's common for people to get dressed up and go out．Some people go out for dinner，to all kinds of restaurants-Italian，Indian or Chinese．

It is traditional on Sunday to go to church．A lot of places close on Sunday because of strict hours set by the government．Most people have a family day．

Sunday lunch is a big occasion，with roast（烤） bed，mast potatoes and vegetables．This often leads to a quiet night in，since everyone is very full from lunch．By Sunday night people wish they could have the weekend again．

1．People in the UK like to go to the shopping malls______．

A．every day                               B．on Saturday

C．on Sunday                                   D．on Saturday and Sunday．

2．In this passage，the word "occasion" means______

A．时刻                B．机会                 C．地方                   D．场合

3．According to this passage，which is NOT TRUE?

A．On Saturday，young people do some sports in the morning．

B．People like to dress themselves on new clothes on Saturday night．

C．A lot of places close on Sunday，for people must go to church．

D．Sunday lunch is very important and usually lasts a long time．

4．The best title for this passage would be _______．

A．UK weekends                           B．Weekends are funny

C．We like our weekend                     D．Enjoy your weekend

Mr White works in an office. He’s very busy and has no time to have a good rest. Every evening, when he comes back from his office, he’s always tired and wants to go to bed early. But his wife often has a lot of interesting things to tell him after dinner. She doesn’t stop talking until she falls asleep (入睡). But it’s usually too late and Mr White has to get up early in the morning when she is still sleeping.
One day Mr White felt terrible and couldn’t go to work. He decided to go to see a doctor. Mrs White went to the hospital with him. Before her husband said what was the matter with him, the woman told the doctor all. The doctor wrote out a prescription (处方). When Mrs White took the medicine to the doctor’s room, the doctor said to her, “The bottle of medicine is for your husband and the pills (药片) are for you. ”
“For me?” the woman said in surprise. “I’m fine. I don’t need any medicine!”
“I don’t think so, madam,” said the doctor. “They are sleeping pills. Your husband will be all right soon if you take them. ”
【小题1】Mr White ______.

A．has time to have a good sleep

B．is busy but he can have a good sleep

C．isn’t tired and doesn’t like to go to bed early

D．doesn’t have a good rest

【小题2】Mr White’s wife ______ every evening.

A．works late

B．writes things

C．keeps talking late

D．watches TV late

【小题3】Mr White has to get up when his wife is sleeping in the morning because ______.

A．he can’t fall asleep	B．he has to go to work
C．he doesn’t want to sleep	D．his wife asks him to get up

【小题4】One day Mr White couldn’t go to work because ______.

A．he was ill	B．his wife was ill
C．his wife didn’t let him go	D．he didn’t want to go to work

【小题5】The sentence “Your husband will be all right soon if you take them. ” means Mr White will soon be all right if ______.

A．Mr White takes the pills

B．Mr White takes the bottle of medicine

C．Mrs White takes the pills

D．Mrs White stops talking too much at night

Mr White works in an office. He’s very busy and has no time to have a good rest. Every evening, when he comes back from his office, he’s always tired and wants to go to bed early. But his wife often has a lot of interesting things to tell him after dinner. She doesn’t stop talking until she falls asleep (入睡). But it’s usually too late and Mr White has to get up early in the morning when she is still sleeping.

One day Mr White felt terrible and couldn’t go to work. He decided to go to see a doctor. Mrs White went to the hospital with him. Before her husband said what was the matter with him, the woman told the doctor all. The doctor wrote out a prescription (处方). When Mrs White took the medicine to the doctor’s room, the doctor said to her, “The bottle of medicine is for your husband and the pills (药片) are for you. ”

“For me?” the woman said in surprise. “I’m fine. I don’t need any medicine!”

“I don’t think so, madam,” said the doctor. “They are sleeping pills. Your husband will be all right soon if you take them. ”

1.Mr White ______.

A．has time to have a good sleep

B．is busy but he can have a good sleep

C．isn’t tired and doesn’t like to go to bed early

D．doesn’t have a good rest

2.Mr White’s wife ______ every evening.

A．works late         B．writes things       C．keeps talking late    D．watches TV late

3.Mr White has to get up when his wife is sleeping in the morning because ______.

A．he can’t fall asleep                     B．he has to go to work

C．he doesn’t want to sleep                D．his wife asks him to get up

4.One day Mr White couldn’t go to work because ______.

A．he was ill                              B．his wife was ill

C．his wife didn’t let him go                 D．he didn’t want to go to work

5.The sentence “Your husband will be all right soon if you take them. ” means Mr White will soon be all right if ______.

A．Mr White takes the pills

B．Mr White takes the bottle of medicine

C．Mrs White takes the pills

D．Mrs White stops talking too much at night