Letter A

Dear Rose,

I like your programmes very much. I’m now writing to ask you something about American social customs (社交习惯). My American friends want me to join them in their dinner party. I am very happy and have decided to go, but I’m a little worried about it, too. The social customs in my country are very different from here, so I’m afraid of making mistakes.

Should I bring a present, such as sweets or flowers? Should I arrive on time or a little late? At the dinner table, how can I know which fork (叉子) or knife to use? How can I let the family know that I’m thankful for their kindness?

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Wang Lin

Letter B

Dear Wang Lin,

It’s a good idea to bring a small present when you go to a dinner party. Flowers are always nice, or you may bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) if you know that your friends drink it.

You should arrive on time or five to ten minutes late. Don’t get there early. If you’re going to be more than fifteen minutes late, you should call and tell them.

Try to be free at the dinner table. If you don’t know about choosing the right fork or knife, just watch the other people, and follow them. If you still have no idea of what to do, ask the person next to you.

If you like the food, say so. Of course, you’ll thank them for the meal and for their kindness. It’s also a good idea to send a thank-you card the day after.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Rose

1. Wang Lin wants to _______.

A. make friends with Rose　　　　　　

B. know some social customs for a dinner party

C. make her friends happy　　　　　　

D. give her friends a surprise

2. Rose is possibly ________.

A. a good housewife　　　　　　　　　 B. a TV hostess (主持人)

C. a member of the dinner party　　　　 D. a friend of Wang Lin’s

3. If you’re asked to a dinner party but not sure about what to bring as a present, it’s good to bring _______.

　 A. some fruits　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. a bottle of wine

　 C. some flowers　　　　　　　　　　　 D. a knife and fork

4. Which of the following is NOT proper (适当的) for joining in a dinner party?

　 A. Get there 15 minutes earlier.　　　　　 B. Make yourself at home.

　 C. Follow others to use forks and knives.　 D. Thank your friends for the meal.

5. From the letters we’ve learned that it’s very _____ to know something about American social customs.

　 A. difficult　　 B. friendly　　　 C. enjoyable　　　 D. helpful

　 Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset（不安的）if your English friends don’t invite you home. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you.

　 Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11. Ask your hosts（主人）what time you should arrive. It’s polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.

　 Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks（小吃）. If you want to be extra polite, say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember－it’s not polite to ask how much things cost.

　 In many families, the husband sits at one of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.

　 You’ll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you’ll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert（甜点心）, followed by coffee. It’s polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.

　 Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “thank you” letter. British and American people like to say “thank you, thank, thank you” all the time!

（　）1. If your English friend doesn’t invite you to dinner at home, it means he or she ______.

　 A. doesn’t like you　　　　　　　　　 B. likes you

C. can’t afford to do so　　　　　 D. is too busy

（　）2. It’s impolite ______.

　 A. to ask about the price of a certain thing

　 B. to say “thank you” to hosts

　 C. take nothing with you when you are invited to dinner

　 D. to eat up everything on your plate

（　）3. The meal ends with _______ usually.

　 A. soup　　　　　　　 　　　 B. coffee

　 C. meat or fish　　　　　　　　　 D. dessert

（　）4. When you are invited to a dinner party, you’d better _______.

　 A. ask what time you should arrive

　 B. take your wife with you

　 C. drink as more as possible

　 D. eat more snacks as you can

（　）5. Which of the following is true?

　 A. The hosts like the people who sit closer to them.

　 B. The hosts like the people who ask them time, price, age, etc.

　 C. The husband and the wife usually sit together.

　 D. You can call your host the next day or write a letter of thanks after that.

Do you want to do well in exams? Sometimes your knowledge is not enough, you also need good strategies. Here are some for you:

●Before you answer the questions, if you feel a little nervous, take a few deep breaths to help you relax.

●Always read the question carefully and make sure that you understand it. Read it a few times if possible.

●Find out how much each question is worth or how many points you need.

●If it asks to give one answer, only write one.
　　●If there is a difficult question, don’t worry. Go on to the next question and come back to it if you have time later.

●Try not to leave questions unanswered when you finish the test. Sometimes a guess may get you points.

●When you finish, go back and check your answers. You will need to check your writing for spelling mistakes.

41. From the passage, we know we can _____ to help ourselves relax if we feel a little nervous.

A. tell ourselves not to be nervous　　         B. ask the teacher for help

C. go out for a walk　　　　　　　　　     D. take a few deep breaths
42. To make sure we understand the question, we had better __________.

A. read it fast　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. read it till we finish it

C. read it a few times if possible　　           D. read it slowly

43. When we finish answering all the questions, we need to _________.

A. hand in at once　　　　　　　　　 B. check spelling mistakes

C. worry about our points　　　　　　      D. check with classmates

44. The underlined word “strategies” in the passage means __________.

A. 策略　　　　    B. 思维　　　　       C. 途径　　　　         D. 智慧

45. Which of the following is NOT RIGHT according to the passage?

A. Find out how many points we need or how much each question is worth.

B. Try not to leave questions unanswered when we finish the test.

C. If it asks to give one answer, we’d better write more.

D. Sometimes we should guess the answers to get points.

任务型阅读。阅读短文，并回答问题。（10分）
　　The Wilsons decided to go overseas for vacation. They had a family meeting(会议) to plan the vacation. “First,” Mr Wilson said, “we should decide where we are going.”
　　“I don’t agree,” Mrs Wilson said, “I think we should decide when we are going first. We don’t want to go to places when they are cold.” Mr Wilson agreed, so the family’s first decision was when to go on vacation. They decided to go in July.
　　“Now we can decide where to go,” said Mr Wilson.
　　“But, Dad,” Ben said, “don’t you think that where we go depends on how we go? If we plan to fly, we can go a long way. If we plan to drive, we can’t go far.”
　　Again, Mr Wilson agreed, and they discussed this. At last they agreed to travel by plane.
And so the planning meeting went on. The next day, one of Mr Wilson’s friends at work asked, “Where are you going for vacation?”
　　“Well,” Mr Wilson told him, “we are going in summer by plane, but I don’t know where we are going!”
根据短文内容回答下列问题。
【小题1】Why did the Wilsons have a family meeting?
                                                                       
【小题2】What did they decide first?
                                                                       
【小题3】When did they decide to go?
                                                                       
【小题4】How did the Wilsons decide to travel?
                                                                       
【小题5】What they didn’t decide？
                                                                       

Mr. and Mrs. Long had one daughter. Her name was Lena. She was eighteen years old. Lena lived with her parents and worked in an office. She had some friends, but she didn’t like any of the boys very much.
One day she met a very nice man. He was young. His name was Watts and he worked in a post office. They became friends and he came to Lena’s parents house twice. Last week Lena said to her father, “I’m going to marry（嫁给） Watts, Daddy. He was here yesterday.”
“Oh, yes.” her father answered. “He’s a nice boy, but has he got much money?”
　　“Oh, no, both of you are the same,” the daughter answered angrily. I met Watts on the first day of June and the next day he asked me, “Has your father got much money?”
【小题1】Mr. and Mrs. Long had a ______.