In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.

It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbours

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don’t want others to know they are rich

D．want to be happy

2.It can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to ________.

A．live outside New York City                 B．live in New York City

C．live in apartments                       D．have many neighbours

3.Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ________.

A．an important name                      B．a popular name in the United States

C．his neighbour’s name                   D．not a good name

4.If a person who keeps up with the Joneses, he would _________.

A．do as the poor persons around him do

B．do everything he likes to do

C．do as his neighbours do

D．do as the rich people around him do

 

完型填空（10分）

One night a young American doctor was sleeping at home when his doorbell began to ring.When he opened the door he saw a man   1   outside.

“Excuse me, Doctor,” said the man.“Can you come at once to a place out of town.It’s quite far but you have a car and I can  2  you the way”

“Certainly,” said the doctor, “I’m ready.I’ll come soon.”    3  a minute, the car came.The man got into the car and they     4   off.

They drove for a    5  time, and then the man said, “Here we are.This is my home.Now I can pay you and you can go   6  to town.”

“But I must    7   the patient,” the doctor said.“Where’s the patient?” “There are  8   patients,"answered the man.“Nobody is ill.I live here, you see, and I must  9  home from the town.There are no taxis at this time of the night.Here’s the money for you.Thank you, doctor.Good    10  !

1.                A．listening        B．standing        C．sitting    D．watching

 

2.                A．take           B．pass           C．see  D．show

 

3.                A．After          B．For            C．In   D．With

 

4.                A．drove          B．left            C．got  D．went

 

5.                A．short          B．long           C．hard D．late

 

6.                A．away           B．quickly         C．back D．slowly

 

7.                A．watch          B．look for         C．see  D．know

 

8.                A．my            B．no             C．a    D．your

 

9.                A．go             B．lose            C．find  D．ask

 

10.               A．evening        B．night           C．idea  D．for you

 

 

A young American doctor was sleeping when suddenly his doorbell began to ring. It was already midnight. But what could the doctor do? He had to put on his coat and go downstairs.

When he opened the door, he saw a man standing with his hat in his hand. “How do you do, sir?” said the man. “Can you come at once to a place out of town? It’s quite far but you have a car and I can show you the way.”

“Certainly,” said the doctor, “I’m quite ready. I can come at once.” In a few minutes the car was standing at the front door, and the man got on the doctor’s car. They drove on for a long time, then the man said, ”Here we are. This is my home. Now I can pay you and you can go back to town.”

“But I must see the patient,” the doctor said, “How can I go back without seeing the patient? Where is the patient?”

“There is no patient,” explained the man, “Nobody is ill. I live here. You see, one must go home from a town, mustn’t he? There are no taxis at this time of the night, but a doctor often makes night calls, so excuse me. Here is your money. Thank you, doctor. Good night.”

1.When the doorbell began to ring, the doctor_________.

A．was sleeping downstairs                  B．was working downstairs

C．was sleeping upstairs                     D．was working upstairs

2.The man asked the doctor ________.

A．to go to his house                       B．to go downstairs

C．to see a patient                         D．to go to a place out of town

3.They left ________.

A．at once           B．after a few minutes  C．on foot           D．on a bike

4.What the man wanted to do was only _________.

A．to fool the doctor                       B．to give the doctor money

C．to get home in the doctor’s car            D．to play a joke with the doctor

5.The doctor must be _________ at last.

A．happy            B．sad              C．angry             D．ill

 

One night a young American doctor was sleeping at home when his doorbell began to ring. When he opened  the door he saw a man  36 outside.

“Excuse me, Doctor,”said the man. “Can you come at once to a place out of town. It’s quite far but you have a car and I can  37 you the way”

“Certainly,” said the doctor, “I’m ready. I’ll come soon.”  38  a few minutes, the car came. The man got into the car and they 39 off.

They drove for a  40 time, and then the man said, “Here we are. This is my home. Now I can pay you and  you can go  41 to town.”

  “But I must 42the patient,” the doctor said. “Where’s the patient?” “There’s  43 patient,” answered the man. “Nobody is ill. I live here, you see, and I must 44home from the town.  There are no taxis at this time of the night. Here’s the money for you. Thank you, doctor. Good  45 !

1.A. listening     B. standing           C. sitting      D. watching

2.A. take         B. pass              C. see              D. show

3. A. After        B. For               C. In               D. With

4. A. drove       B. left                C. got              D. went

5.A. short        B. long              C. hard              D. late

6.A. away       B. quickly             C. back             D. slowly

7.A. watch       B. look for            C. see              D. know

8.A. my         B. no                C. a                D. your

9. A. go          B. lose               C. find             D. ask

10.A. evening      B. night              C. idea             D. for you

 

Ang Lee won the Best Director Oscar for his adventure film Life of Pi at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 24, 2013.

　　Life of Pi shows a young Indian named Pi, who finds the world he knows swept away when his family sells their zoo and sets sail for Canada with a few animals. Only Pi escapes from the storm and floats in a lifeboat with a giant Bengal tiger.

　　“I really want to thank you for believing this story and sharing this unbelievablejourney with me,” Lee said in his speech. The film also won three other Oscars, for best original music, best cinematography(电影艺术) and best visual(视觉) effects. It won more awards than Lincoln and Argo which were also among the hottest nominees.

　　Coming from China's Taiwan, the 58-year-old Lee won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and another for Best Director in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain. He is the only person of Asian to win the directing award and one of the rare people who won that award more than once.

In an after-ceremony interview, Lee said he believed Asian films would come to the main stage of the world sooner or later. "I was born in Asia and grew up with Chinese education. It is natural for me to put Asian thinking into Western things." The film, which cost 120 million U.S. dollars, has earned nearly 600 million dollars worldwide. Lee said most of the earnings came from outside China. Lee said he felt warm that he won the award on the day of the Lantern Festival, a Chinese traditional festival on which families get together to solve puzzles on lanterns and eat Tang Yuan. He wished everyone a happy new year of the snake and everybody gets lucky.

1.What kind of film does Life of Pi belong to?

A．Comedies.                             B．Tragedies.

C．Detective films.                         D．Adventure films.

2.So far, how many Oscar directing awards has Ang Lee won?

A．One.                                 B．Two.

C．Three.                                D．Four.

3.How do Chinese people celebrate the Lantern Festival?

A．Families get together and have rice dumplings.

B．Children make lanterns out of big orange pumpkins.

C．People solve puzzles on lanterns and enjoy Tang Yuan.

D．Children go to the display of lanterns and receive red packets.

4.What can we know from the passage?

A．The 85th Academy Awards was held in Hollywood, California this year.

B．Pi was a young American who had an adventure trip with a tiger in India.

C．Lincoln and Argo won more awards than Life of Pi.

D．Asian films have come to the main stage of the world.

5.Which of the following about Life of Pi is true?

A．It was a great success as it won four Oscars.

B．It earned nearly 600 million dollars in China.

C．It describes Pi’s escape from a terrible earthquake.

D．It is the only successful film Ang Lee has ever made.