In the United States, when one became 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 this 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 ‘Jonses’ 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. 小题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 | 小题2:It can be inferred 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 | 小题3:The underlined word “neighbourhood” in the second paragraph means ________.A.a person who lives near another | B.people living in an area | C.an area near the place referred to | D.an area in another town or city | 小题4: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 | 小题5:According to the writer, keeping up with the Joneses is ________.A.correct | B.interesting | C.impossible | D.good |
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小题1:B 小题2:A 小题3:C 小题4:B 小题5:C |
文章介绍了美国的一个熟语:keeping up with the Joneses。 小题1:B 细节题。根据第一段1,2行when one became rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is说明B正确。 小题2:A 推断题。根据第二段第三行He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City.他们是搬到了纽约郊外的富人区,说明富人喜欢住在郊外。故A正确。 小题3:C 猜测词义题。第二段中neighbourhood只的是人民聚集居住的地方,故C的说法正确。 小题4:B 细节题。根据第四段第三行‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.说明Jones是美国一个很常见的名字,故B正确。 小题5:C 推理题。根据文章最后一句话. 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.说明MrJones总是在前面,所以要想追上Jones是不可能的。故C正确。 |
核心考点
试题【In the United States, when one became rich, he wants people to know it. And even】;主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]
举一反三
Dr. Julie Coulton, a British psychologist, focuses her research on the extraordinary function of the play in the physical and spiritual development of children and Martti Bergson from the University of Helsinki shows that playing outside, in the open air, contributes to a better development of the brain. Thus parents must encourage their children to spend as much time as possible in the open air, and at the same time, to ask schools and kindergartens to assure the small a playground outside. Recent statistics (数据) and studies show an alarming increase of the number of hours spent by children in front of the TV and the computer and a decrease of the time spent outside. As a consequence more and more children suffer from eye problems and have to wear glasses. Also the problem of fatness among children concerns many parents who don"t know what to do anymore to make their children eat healthy and balanced. Children need a space where to develop their creativity mid parents should encourage them all the time. Too many rules hold back the child"s personality and creativity and prevent them to develop the desire to know, to find out, to learn. If you tell your child so many times: "Don"t do that, don"t mess the room, don"t go there ...", he will lose the desire to do something, anything. Parents must watch their children without suffocating (窒息) them. Should you consider they mustn"t do that or this, you have to logically explain them your reasons and they will understand. Through playing a child learns how to communicate, how to take decisions. Playing is connected to the intellectual, emotional and social progress of the child. Playing lets your children learn how to express his feelings. 小题1:What is worrying the scientists is that ______.A.most parents pay no attention to their children"s playing | B.most schools and kindergartens have no playgrounds | C.most parents encourage their children to watch TV or go surfing | D.most children spend more time on TV or tile Internet than on playing outside | 小题2:Children who watch TV or surf the Internet too much may suffer all the following EXCEPT .A.eye problems | B.weight problems | C.lack of creativity | D.lack of interest in their lessons | 小题3:The author advises us ______.A.to allow children to do whatever we want them to do | B.never to forbid children to do anything they want to do | C.to explain why when you don"t let children do something | D.to watch children playing anytime to ensure their safety | 小题4:Which would be a best title for this passage?A.How to develop the brain of your children better | B.Playing is good for your children in many aspects | C.Teaching your children what and how to play | D.Don"t forbid your children to do anything |
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In today’s world, English is the most wildly used language. It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening (改革开放) to the outside world. How can we master the English language ? I’d like to give you some good advice. First, get interested in it. I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child. At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Me on TV. From then on, I kept on learning English. The more I learned, the more progress I made. Second, practice makes perfect. Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes. Remember you have to make a mistake before you can correct it. A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too. Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to idioms. The English language has many idioms. For example, you should say “ He is as strong as a cow.” 小题1:The writer wants to tell us ____________. A.the importance of learning English | B.the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world | C.some good ideas on how to master English | D.the wide use of the English language | 小题2:If we want to learn English, we must first __________. A.show interest in it | B.enjoy listening to it | C.watch English programmes on TV | D.practice speaking it | 小题3:When we are learning English, ____________.A.remember the mistakes and correct them | B.try not to make any mistakes | C.avoid mistakes before making them | D.don’t be afraid of making mistakes | 小题4:The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 means “_______________.” A.Remember to make a mistake before you can correct it | B.You are sure to make a mistake before you can correct it | C.Remember you have to make a mistake and then correct it | D.You’ll make a mistake after you can correct it |
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A student is learning to speak British English. He wonders: Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask: What are the differences between British and American English? How important are these differences? Certainly, there are some differences between British and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and "Have you a pen?” , Americans say “in the hospital” and ‘Do you have a pen?’.Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird” and “hurt”. Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words. There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour” and “honour” are British, “color” and “honor” are American. These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language. 小题1:According to this passage, a student who is learning to speak American English might be afraid that __________.A.British people cannot understand him | B.American people cannot understand him | C.the grammar is too hard for him | D.the spelling is too hard for him | 小题2: American English and British English are different in __________.A.spelling | B.pronunciation | C.grammar | D.all of the above | 小题3:What is NOT mentioned(提及) in the passage?A.Whether there are differences between British English and American English. | B.Whether British English and American English are one language or two. | C.How the differences between British English and American English came about. | D.How important the differences are. | 小题4:Most __________ say “Do you have a watch?”A.British people | B.Americans | C.children | D.teachers | 小题5:According to this passage, British people and Americans have __________ difficulty in understanding each other.A.little | B.much | C.some | D.great |
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When the TV viewer turns on his set, what sort of programs does he have to choose from? You might think there would be more programs devoted to entertainment than to anything else, but that’s not the case. In most countries, fewer than 20% of broadcasting hours are devoted to entertainment. U.S. figures are high----34.8% , and the unloving Canadians are even higher with 44%. Except Canada and Italy, all countries give more broadcasting time to education than to either information (news , documentaries and so on) or entertainment programs. Of course, few educational broadcasts take place during peak viewing times. In Japan though , more than 60%of broadcasting time is taken up with education of one kind of anther----just another example of the businesslike Japanese philosophy. In the U.K., the figure is 56.4% . the Italians have fewer educational programs than anyone else. They don’t go in for entertainment either. Only about ten percent of viewing time is devoted to dramas and serials, quiz shows, music, sports etc. You will find more news information programs on Italian TV than anything else. That’s understandable in a country experiencing social and political changes. Italians rely on TV to tell them what’s going on---and events are happening almost too fast to follow. The percentage of time the U.S. devoted to news and documentary programs is much smaller. After education, most TV time is given to entertainment. Many of these programs are shown around the world. 小题1:Based on this passage, the greatest percentage of TV broadcasting hours to educational is in __.A.Japan | B.Italy | C.Canada | D.the United States | 小题2:More news information programs are broadcast on Italian TV than anywhere else because the Italians ___.A.are interested in what is happening in the world. | B.Like to follow the changes that are going on in their social life | C.Prefer to learn news information on TV rather than in newspapers | D.Expect TV to tell them the latest news about what is going on in their country | 小题3: So far as the broadcasting hours devoted to entertainment , which of the following is true?A.The Japanese figure is the highest in the world. | B.The U.S. figure is smaller than the U. K. figure | C.The U.K. figure is second to the Japanese figure | D.The Canadian figure is higher than that of any other country. | 小题4:In the United States, ____.A.TV programs are shown for world audience to watch | B.Most of TV broadcasting hours are give to entertainment | C.Educational programs are shown during peak viewing times | D.TV broadcasting hours devoted to education are more than those devoted to entertainment |
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A Shelter for the Homeless Last summer I was a volunteer (志愿者) at a shelter for the homeless, a place for homeless people to sleep at night. I wasn’t working that summer and was 36 only two classes in summer school, so I had some 37 time. Three nights a week, I 38 in the kitchen of the shelter along with four other volunteers. We planned and 39 for 45 people hot meals 40 vegetables, chicken, fish and fruit. The homeless people 41 this good food because many of them usually didn’t eat well. I 42 this volunteer work, making 43 with the four volunteers in the kitchen. One was a very nice elderly housewife, one a movie actor, another a young teacher, and the other a college student, 44 me. I talked to a lot of the homeless people at the shelter. Their life stories 45 me with sympathy (同情). Some of them had 46 with alcohol (酒) or drugs while others only had bad 47 . One woman worked for almost 30 years for a small company, and 48 she lost her job. She looked for a 49 job,but couldn’t find one, for she was too 50 . She could do nothing but sell her furniture — sofas, chairs, and tables 51 she could pay for her food.The woman 52 on job hunting, but she 53 couldn’t find one.She had no money for her 54 and had to sleep in her car. Then she had to sell her car. Alone, 55 , and homeless, she finally came to the shelter.
小题1: | A.studying | B.planning | C.holding | D.taking |
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小题2: | A.full | B.free | C.extra | D.long |
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小题3: | A.helped | B.waited | C.appeared | D.washed |
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小题4: | A.ordered | B.bought | C.cooked | D.finished |
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小题6: | A.demanded | B.needed | C.collected | D.requested |
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小题7: | A.wanted | B.had | C.owned | D.enjoyed |
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小题8: | A.decisions | B.wishes | C.friends | D.changes |
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小题9: | A.as | B.like | C.except | D.besides |
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小题10: | A.struck | B.filled | C.seized | D.provided |
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小题11: | A.habits | B.worries | C.difficulties | D.problems |
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小题12: | A.luck | B.pain | C.experience | D.loss |
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小题14: | A.good | B.fresh | C.skilled | D.new |
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小题16: | A.if | B.because | C.so that | D.in case |
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小题17: | A.went | B.moved | C.came | D.worked |
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小题18: | A.also | B.still | C.almost | D.even |
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小题19: | A.block | B.cottage | C.building | D.flat |
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小题20: | A.afraid | B.shy | C.shocked | D.mad |
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