Saying “thank you” is probably the first thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language. After all, we’re brought up to be polite, and it is important to make a good impression upon other people — especially across national divides.

So, what exactly are you supposed to say when “thank you” is only the 20th most popular way to express gratitude? According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciation finished ahead of “thank you” in a poll of 3,000 people.

Pollsters(民测调查员) found almost half of those asked preferred the more informal “cheers”, while others liked to use such expressions as “ta”, “great” and “nice one”.

So, just what is the appropriate form of words to express your thanks?

Fortunately, the clue is in the language itself. “Cheers”, despite its popularity, is considered an informal way to say thank you — and this is a definite clue as to when you can best use it.

For instance, when going for a drink with friends, a smile and a “cheers” by way of thanks is not only appropriate to the situation, it is also culturally accurate.

“Ta”, originated from the Danish word “tak”, was the second-most popular expression of thanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as “nice one”, and “brilliant”. Interestingly, one word that didn’t make it into the top 20 was “thanks”, Thank you is shorter, more informal cousin.

“Thanks” can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between the formality of “thank you” and the downright relaxed “cheers”.

Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. Again, the words themselves offer the clue as to when best to use them.

For example, words like “awesome”, “brilliant” and “you star” featured highly in the new poll and they can hint at both your pleasure at someone’s action, as well as serving to express your thanks. If you are on the receiving end of a “new” thank you, you can respond with a simple “no problem”, or “sure”.

Of course, in certain circumstances, a simple wave, nod or smile may be appropriate. For instance, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand in acknowledgement is enough to show that you appreciate the driver’s consideration.

Sometimes, formality is necessary, and “thank you” is still the best choice in such situations. But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.

Many people in Western countries are worried that good manners are in decline. People are tired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass without comment. So don’t think your “thank you” is clumsy or awkwardly formal. The chances are, if you said “thank you”, you made someone’s day. You star.

1.We can tell from the results of the poll that __________.

A．people are unconcerned about politeness nowadays.

B．“thank you” remains the best expression of gratitude.

C．there is a variety of expressions of appreciation.

D．there are more formal expressions than informal ones.

2.According to the passage, which is an appropriate response to “awesome” or “brilliant”?

A．Thanks.           B．Sure.             C．Nice one.          D．Cheers. .

3.In the last paragraph the author encourages people to          .

A．show their gratitude to others.             B．behave themselves well.

C．continue their acts of kindness.             D．stop worrying about bad manners.

4.Which of the following can serve as the best title of this passage?

A．How to Appear More Polite .               B．Ways to Show Gratitude.

C．Never hesitate to Say “Thank You”.        D．Good Manners in Decline!

 

We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people. “Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job， did Jim really feel good about it， as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?” “And Paul-why didn’t pick up that he was friendly just because 1 had a car?” When we look back， doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, It’s too late.

Why do we go wrong about our friends – or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don’t really listen we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you， “You’re a lucky dog .” that’s being friendly. But “lucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is that the doesn’t think you deserve your luck.

“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for ” is another noise that says one thing and means another. It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole. But is he? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important. It’s telling you to think of a all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night.

How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture ? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people to you may save another mistake.

1.In the first paragraph, the writer recalls some things that happened between him and his friends. He ________.

A．feels happy, thinking of how nice his friends were to him

B．feels he may not have “read” his friends true feelings correctly

C．thinks it was a mistake to have broken up with his girl friend, Helen

D．is sorry that his friends let him down

2.In the second paragraph, the writer talks about someone saying, “You are a lucky dog.” He is saying that _____.

A．the speaker of this sentence is just being friendly

B．this saying means the same as “You area lucky guy” or “You are a lucky gal”

C．the world “dog” should not be used to apply to people

D．sometimes the words used by a speaker give a clue to the feeling behind the words

3.This passage tries to tell you how to ____.

A．avoid mistakes about money and friends

B．“size up people”

C．avoid mistakes in understanding what people tell you

D．keep people friendly without trusting them

4.In listening to a person the important thing is _____.

A．to notice his tone, his posture, and the look in his eye

B．to listen to how he pronounces his words

C．to check his words against his manner, his tone of voice, and his posture

D．not to believe what he says

 

Saying “thank you” is probably the first thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language. After all, we’re brought up to be polite, and it is important to make a good impression upon other people — especially across national divides.
So, what exactly are you supposed to say when “thank you” is only the 20th most popular way to express gratitude? According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciation finished ahead of “thank you” in a poll of 3,000 people.
Pollsters(民测调查员) found almost half of those asked preferred the more informal “cheers”, while others liked to use such expressions as “ta”, “great” and “nice one”.
So, just what is the appropriate form of words to express your thanks?
Fortunately, the clue is in the language itself. “Cheers”, despite its popularity, is considered an informal way to say thank you — and this is a definite clue as to when you can best use it.
For instance, when going for a drink with friends, a smile and a “cheers” by way of thanks is not only appropriate to the situation, it is also culturally accurate.
“Ta”, originated from the Danish word “tak”, was the second-most popular expression of thanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as “nice one”, and “brilliant”. Interestingly, one word that didn’t make it into the top 20 was “thanks”, Thank you is shorter, more informal cousin.
“Thanks” can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between the formality of “thank you” and the downright relaxed “cheers”.
Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. Again, the words themselves offer the clue as to when best to use them.
For example, words like “awesome”, “brilliant” and “you star” featured highly in the new poll and they can hint at both your pleasure at someone’s action, as well as serving to express your thanks. If you are on the receiving end of a “new” thank you, you can respond with a simple “no problem”, or “sure”.
Of course, in certain circumstances, a simple wave, nod or smile may be appropriate. For instance, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand in acknowledgement is enough to show that you appreciate the driver’s consideration.
Sometimes, formality is necessary, and “thank you” is still the best choice in such situations. But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.
Many people in Western countries are worried that good manners are in decline. People are tired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass without comment. So don’t think your “thank you” is clumsy or awkwardly formal. The chances are, if you said “thank you”, you made someone’s day. You star.
【小题1】We can tell from the results of the poll that __________.

A．people are unconcerned about politeness nowadays.

B．“thank you” remains the best expression of gratitude.

C．there is a variety of expressions of appreciation.

D．there are more formal expressions than informal ones.

【小题2】According to the passage, which is an appropriate response to “awesome” or “brilliant”?

A．Thanks.

B．Sure.

C．Nice one.

D．Cheers. .

【小题3】In the last paragraph the author encourages people to          .

A．show their gratitude to others.	B．behave themselves well.
C．continue their acts of kindness.	D．stop worrying about bad manners.

【小题4】Which of the following can serve as the best title of this passage?

A．How to Appear More Polite .	B．Ways to Show Gratitude.
C．Never hesitate to Say “Thank You”.	D．Good Manners in Decline!

      "Most episodes (经历) of absent-mindedness -- forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room -- are caused by a simple lack of attention," says Schacter.  "You are supposed to remember something, but you haven't encoded (编号) it deeply."

      Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don't pay attention to what you did because you are involved in a conversation, you'll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in your wardrobe (衣柜). "Your memory itself isn't failing you," says Schacter.  "Rather, you didn't give your memory system the information it needed."

      Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness.  "A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski , "may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox." Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory relies on just that.

     Visual clues can help prevent absent-mindedness, says Schacter. "But be sure the cue (暗示) is clear and available," he warns. If you want to remember to take medicine with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table -- don't leave it in the medicine box and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.

     Another common episode of absent-mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you are there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else.  "Everyone does this from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you'll likely remember.

57. What is absent-mindedness mainly caused by?

   A. Lack of interest.   B. Lack of attention  C. Walking into a room. D. Visual clues.

58. Which of the following is an absent-minded symptom?

   A. Walking into a room to find where you are.  

B. Leaving the clue in the medicine bottle.

   C. Forgetting to drop a letter into the mailbox. 

 D. Reciting sports statistics 30 years ago.

59. What can help prevent absent-mindedness?

   A. Trying to remember something as much as possible. 

B. Returning to where you were.

   C. Encoding something deeply in your mind.  

D. Showing more interest in something.

60. According to the two experts, what can help people to remember

   something?

   A. Cues.        B. Bottles.          C. Environment.         D. Statistics.

阅读理解

　　This question has puzzled scientists since the SARS virus first appeared and spread around the world: Where did it come from?

　　Now, the first clue has appeared. Researchers in Hong Kong and Shenzhen have proved the probable culprit (凶犯)— the palm civet, a small cat-like animal that is treated as a tasty dish in some parts of China.

　　After investigating many civets and other animals, scientists from the University of Hong Kong and Shenzhen Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, made a discovery. Four of the palm civets tested were carrying the coronavirus(冠状病毒)that causes SARS.

　　The study provides the first suggestion that the SARS virus exists outside humans. However, many important questions remain. The possibility of animal-to-animal transmission(传播)has to be investigated. For example, the presence of the virus could result from eating of an infected animal.

　　Yuen Kwok-Yung, a microbiologist at the university, said the virus may have jumped into humans as people raised, killed and cooked the wild animals.

　　The civet is one of the main parts in the usual wildlife dish “dragon-tiger-phoenix soup”, for which wealthy Chinese in Guangdong Province will pay large stums . The soup includes pieces of civet cat and snake.

　　Hong Kong virologist Malik Peiris, who heads the team that first found the SARS coronavirus, said that if the food was properly cooked, the virus should be killed.

　　However, he said, it obviously cane from the wild animal, and someone could came into contact with it while the live animal was being handled(买卖).

　　The findings, announced Friday, caused Chinese officials to ban the sate of the animals to try to stop the spread of the disease and prevent new outbreaks, World Health Organization officials said.

　　News from the WHO website says that it is too early to know how much wild animals cause the transmission of SARS.

1．Scientists have been puzzled since SARS first appeared and spread because ________.

[　　]

A．SARS virus existed outside humans

B．SARS virus came from a cat-like animal

C．they didn't know where SARS virus came from

D．they didn't know how to control SARS virus

2．In order to prevent the spread of the disease, Chinese officials ________ .

[　　]

A．encourage people to carry on the sale of wild animals

B．ask people to protect wild animals

C．forbid people to sell and buy wild animals

D．ask people to eat wild animals so that they can be more healthy

3．Who was the fist to find the clue that shows where the SARS virus comes from ?

[　　]

A．World Health Organization officials.

B．Researchers in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

C．Chinese officials.

D．Wealthy Chinese in Guangdong Province.

4．The passage as a whole is about that ________.

[　　]

A．Chinese officials try their best to ban the sale of the animals

B．it is very that wild animals are the source of the SARS

C．SARS virus appeared and spread around the world

D．Scientists have found the probable source of the SARS virus