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!

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.　　

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

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

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

 

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon. They don’t feel hurt. If the same two people meet again, even years later, they pick up the friendship .This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand .Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）deeply into both families.

There is another difficult point for us to understand .Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time. But in China ,we are usually generous with our time. We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take a day off from our work to act as guides to our friends : It is opposite in America ,Americans can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels. And they expect the visitors will phone them from there. Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full ,warm and real.

For Americans , it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. So accept their hospitality（好客）at home and enjoy your visit in America!

1.The underlined phrase “pick up” in Paragraph 1may mean “_______”.

A. keep out                  B. give up                     C. pay no attention to          D. continue

2.Which of the following is the typical（典型的）way of American hospitality?

A. Treating friends at home.

B. Taking days off to be with friends.

C. Meeting friends at the airport at midnight.   

D. Sharing everything they have.

3.Which of the following statements in True according to the passage?

A. Americans are always generous with their time.

B. Americans don’t feel hurt if their friendships disappear soon.

C. Chinese friendships develop more slowly but will never disappear.

D. Chinese friendships are more sincere than American friendships.

 

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon. They don’t feel hurt. If the same two people meet again, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand. Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）deeply into both families.
There is another difficult point for us to understand. Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time. But in China, we are usually generous with our time. We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off from our work to act as guides to our friends: It is opposite in America, Americans can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels. And they expect the visitors will phone them from there. Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real.
For Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. So accept their hospitality（好客）at home and enjoy your visit in America!
【小题1】The underlined phrase “pick up” in Paragraph 1 may mean “_______”.

A．keep out

B．give up

C．pay no attention to

D．continue

【小题2】Which of the following is the typical way of American hospitality?

A．Treating friends at home.

B．Taking days off to be with friends.

C．Meeting friends at the airport at midnight.

D．Sharing everything they have.

【小题3】Which of the following statements in True according to the passage? 

A．Americans are always generous with their time.

B．Americans don’t feel hurt if their friendships disappear soon.

C．Chinese friendships develop more slowly but will never disappear.

D．Chinese friendships are more sincere than American friendships.

【小题4】This passage is most probably written for         .

A．American students

B．Chinese students

C．Chinese visitors to America

D．American visitors to China

The Girl From the Street

The workers who brought the girl to the orphanage（孤儿院）knew little about her. The streets where they found her had been her home for many years. Her parents were unknown. They left her long ago. At the orphanage, the girl, like all the children there, was taught to read and write. While she was studying at the orphanage, she learned something else—to be independent（独立）. At twenty-one, she left the orphanage and began working as a secretary.（秘书）And then, in 1975, while she was still working as an ordinary secretary, something special happened. She entered the Miss Hong Kong competition and won it. This was the turning point in her life. Now her name, Mary Cheung, was known to everybody.

Mary entered the competition because she wanted to show that orphanage girls could be something. Winning the competition gave her the chance to start a new life. This led her first into television and then into business as a manager. When she was working as a manager, she had trouble with her reports. “My English just wasn’t good enough.” She says. Luckily, she had a boyfriend (who later became her husband) to help her.

Mary studied management（管理）at Hong Kong and graduated in 1980, She started her own business in 1985. But she did not stop developing herself. She then studied at the University of Hong Kong. Since 1987, she had spent a lot of time on photography. She has held several exhibitions of her work in many places---China, New Zealand and Paris. She still found time, however, to work on TV, write for newspapers and bring up her family.

The girl from the street has come a long way, but her journey is not finished yet.

1.Before Mary Cheung was brought to the orphanage, ___________.

A．She had lived with her parents whose names were not known

B．She had lived in the street for many years

C．The workers knew her well

D．She had learned to write and read by herself

2.The sentence “orphanage girl could be something” means that orphanage girls could be_________.

A．popular and successful                   B．understood by others

C．Miss Hong Kong                         D．known to everybody

3.This passage is probably taken from___________.

A．a newspaper       B．a science magazine C．a history textbook   D．a novel

4.According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A．All the children at the orphanage liked Mary.  B．Mary was not happy as a secretary.

C．Mary’s boyfriend was good at English.       D．Mary’s life in the orphanage was difficult.

 

What makes 15,000 men and women run for hours, and what makes them run through the streets on a cold day without coats? I was one of those runners.  The race is called marathon (马拉松).
I had never run more than eight miles before, and here I was training.  Since the race is in April, I had to run throughout the winter, and in Boston, winters are cold. For most people, just putting on their shirts, sweaters, jackets, and hats is exercise enough. I found myself out on the dark streets, running along ice sidewalks (人行道). Even in gloves, my fingers got so cold that they looked like red carrots. My nose didn't get warm until lunchtime !
Finally, the big day arrived. The weather was cold, with ice and rain. Bang! The gun sounded, and we started. I didn't go anywhere at first because I was standing behind so many people. I had to wait for them to move.
At first, the running was easy.  The other runners just seemed to pull me along. Somewhere around the 20-mile mark I even said to myself, "This is nothing, why did I train so hard?"
Then I hit "the wall". "The wall" is what marathon runners call the special point. I knew my body reached the point and I thought I couldn't go any more. I was out of breath and my legs turned into pieces of wood.  I was almost falling down.  I can't remember anything about the last five miles of the race.
I kept running though. At last, I heard a voice at the finishing line.
"You look good," my friend Ted said. "How did it feel?"
"Wonderful !" I replied.
For everything, if you devote yourself into it, there will be a way. I finished the race, at least, in my heart, I was the winner.
【小题1】Which one best describes the weather on the race day?

A．Cold and rainy.

B．Cold and sunny.

C．Dry and cloudy.

D．Wet and foggy.

【小题2】 How did the writer feel about the race during the first 20 miles?

A．Difficult.

B．Boring.

C．Easy.

D．Interesting.

【小题3】 According to the article, what must someone do to prepare for a marathon?

A．One must eat certain food and get plenty of sleep.

B．One must be willing to eat, sleep, and train twenty-four hours a day.

C．One must run along ice sidewalks every day.

D．One must be willing to train a lot and doesn't give up easily.

【小题4】Then I hit "the wall". What do you think "hit the wall" means here?

A．撞击墙壁

B．到达极限

C．抵达终点

D．中途加速