Mallery invited me.And because dinner parties in London are very different from those back in New
York.There, "I"m having a dinner party" means:"I"m booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you can"t
afford and we"ll be sharing the cheque evenly, no matter what you eat."Worse, in Manhattan there is
always someone who leaves before the bill arrives.They"ll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and
then people like me, who don"t drink,end up paying even more.But if I try to use the same trick,the
hostess will shout:"Where are you going?"And it"s not like I can say I have somewhere to go:everyone
knows I have nowhere to go.
But in London, dinner parties are in people"s homes.Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix.
The last time I went to one, the guests were from France, India, Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a
gathering at the United Nations.In New York, the mix is less striking.It"s like a gathering at Bloomingdale"s, a wellknown department store.
For New Yorkers,talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New York
.But at Mallery"s, when I said that I had been to Myanmar recently, people knew where it was.In New
York people would think it was a usual new club.
1. What does the word "shot" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. Choice.
B. Try.
C. Style.
D. Goal.
2. What does the writer dislike most about dinner parties in New York?
A. There is a strange mix of people.
B. The restaurants are expensive.
C. The bill is not fairly shared.
D. People have to pay cash.
3. What does the author think of the parties in London?
A. A bit unusual.
B. Full of tricks.
C. Less costly.
D. More interesting.
4. What is the author"s opinion of some New Yorkers from her experience?
A. Easygoing.
B. Selfcentred.
C. Generous.
D. Conservative.
The Parthenon in Athens is a building with a long and complex history.Built nearly 2,500 years ago
as a temple celebrating the Greek goddess Athena, it was for thousands of years the church of the
Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque (清真寺), and finally a ruin.The building was changed
and the sculptures were much damaged over the centuries.By 1800 only about half of the original
sculptural decoration remained.
Between 1801 and 1805, Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which
controlled Athens, acting with the full knowledge and permission of the Ottoman authorities, removed
about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and from the building itself.Lord Elgin loved
Greek history and transported the sculptures back to Britain.The arrival of the sculptures in London
had a huge effect on the European public, greatly increasing interest in ancient Greek culture and
influencing contemporary artistic trends.These sculptures were acquired from Lord Elgin by the British
Museum in 1816 and since then they have all been on display to the public, free of charge.
Since the early 1980s, however, the Greek government has argued for the permanent removal to
Athens of all the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum.They have also challenged the British
Museum Board of Trustees" legal title to the sculptures.
The British Museum, however, insists that it exists to tell the story of cultural achievement throughout
the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day.The museum
considers itself an important resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its collection allows the world public to reexamine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected world cultures.
It also says that, within the context of this unparalleled collection, the Parthenon sculptures are an
important representation of ancient Athenian civilization.Each year millions of visitors admire the artistry
of the sculptures and gain insights on how ancient Greece influenced-and was influenced by the other
civilizations that it encountered(遭遇).
B.pray to their god
C.search for sculptures
D.learn about its complex history
B.the Greek government
C.the Parthenon
D.the British Museum Board of Trustees
B.He worked for the Ottoman Empire.
C.He saved the Parthenon sculptures from being destroyed.
D.He had a deep interest in Greek culture.
B.what people can see in the British Museum
C.why the British Museum refuses to return the sculptures
D.the influence of Greece on British culture
each other.These tricks are usually silly rather than mean.Classmates sometimes tie each other"s shoelaces
to their chairs.Teachers might hand out an impossibly difficult surprise test that scares students before they realize it"s only a joke.Newspapers announce fake contests (such as "Win an elephant!") and report on
fake stories (like "UFO" lands in New York City).
Forget gifts, songs and special foods-those are for the other holidays of the year.On April Fool"s Day,
the only tradition is to laugh (and maybe to cause a little bit of trouble).
One April Fool"s Day, when I was in high school, a group of students in my class played a very clever
and funny trick on the teachers.They bought some chickens and set them free in our school cafeteria.The
chickens ran all round the school, in and out of classrooms and under our feet. Feathers were flying
everywhere.
Teachers began running after the chickens, trying to catch them.Finally, they caught four of them.But
the chickens were wearing numbered tags (商标) around their necks, and the teachers discovered that
they had only caught chickens No.1, 2, 3, and 5.Where was chicken No.4?
The teachers looked and looked.They couldn"t find another chicken.After a few hours, they realized
that the students had played another joke on them: There were only four chickens in the first place!
They"ve been tricked by the numbers on the chickens.
It"s been a long time since I was in high school, but that April Fool"s Day remains one of my favorite
memories from those years.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph on April Fool"s Day?
A. Everyone is hard to avoid being fooled on April Fool"s Day.
B. Students play jokes on teachers on April Fool"s Day.
C. Teachers play tricks on students on April Fool"s Day.
D. Newspapers often cheat people.
2. Why did students set chickens free?
A. They wanted to let chickens free.
B. They wanted to let chickens run all round the school.
C. They wanted to see feathers flying.
D. They wanted to play a trick on teachers.
3. How many jokes did the students play on teachers?
A. One.
B. Two.
C. Three.
D. Four.
4. What"s the title of the passage?
A. An unforgettable April Fool"s Day
B. April Fool"s Day
C. The origin of April Fool"s Day
D. What do people do on April Fool"s Day?
is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is
nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or
water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers.
Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers"
exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful
time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers"
exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a
path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the
top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we
could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will
find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.
1. Australia is ________.
A. the largest country in the world
B. as large as Shanghai
C. not as large as China
D. the largest island in the north of the earth
2. The government had made ________.
A. few laws to fight pollution
B. so many laws that it can fight pollution
C. enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution
D. enough laws because the pollution is very serious
3. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers.
B. Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia.
C. Perth lies in the west of Australia.
D. No other city is larger than Perth in Australia.
4. In Perth you may visit a wild flowers" show in ________.
A. October
B. January
C. May
D. July
factors contributing to the making of this flew nation and the forming of a new culture are the hard
environment, ethnic diversity(多民族) and plural religion, which is quite different from other nations in
the world.What is more, these elements are still influencing the American culture.
The early immigrants who were English Puritans settled down in northeast part of America. From
1607 to 1892, frontiers were pushed further west.The frontiersmen looked for a land of rich resources
and a land of promise, opportunity and freedom.Actually they looked for a better life.So individualism
(个人主义), selfreliance, and equality of opportunity have perhaps been the values most closely
associated with the frontier heritage(遗产) of America.
In history, people from different countries in the world rushed to America three times.They brought
their own culture to America and later on,different cultures were mixed together.Thus the unique
American culture is formed,a common cultural life with commonly shared values.
The fundamental American belief in individual freedom and the fight of individuals to practice their
own religion is at the center of religious experience in the United States.The great diversity of ethnic
backgrounds has produced religious pluralism; almost all of the religions of the world are now practiced
in the United States.
Nowadays, we can see the continual influence of the three elements in the current American society.
American family is typically parents and their unmarried children.Middleaged and elderly people generally do not live with their married children.The people in America have a very strong desire to start a new life
in a new place.Quite a number of people change residences every year.The average American moves
fourteen times in his lifetime.
1. American culture is unique because of the following factors EXCEPT________.
A. hard environment
B. ethnic diversity
C. plural religion
D. advanced modernization
2. We can learn from this article that________.
A. the frontiersmen left important society values for American culture
B. the early immigrants brought about the unique American culture
C. people in the world once rushed to America because of its unique culture
D. the American family members don"t get along well with each other
3. What"s the author"s attitude towards American culture?
A. He is critical of it.
B. He admires it very much.
C. He just states the facts.
D. He looks down upon it.
4. What might be the most suitable title of this article?
A. The Immigrants in America
B. Why American Culture Is Unique
C. The Influence of American Culture
D. Plural Religion and American Culture
阅读下面短文, 按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求, 在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空.
Traditional Chinese culture places much emphasis on food.Considered to be an important part of
each day, eating is far beyond simply (1)________ (meet) a need.However, people are living in a
fastpaced society now, so they hardly have time to enjoy their food.They need fast food.That is
(2)________ China"s fastfood market expands.
A foreign fastfood restaurant (3)________ (call) KFC arrived in China first, quickly followed by
(4)________ such as Pizza Hut and McDonald"s.(5)________ the development of China, foreign
fastfood chains are realizing highspeed growth in China.However, these "junk foods" (6)________
(criticize) by health experts for long because they can"t provide balanced nutrition.The experts also show
that some foreign fast food contains (7)________ food coloring, Sudan 1, (8)________ can cause
cancer.
In fact, China has many of its own traditional fastfood dishes.Among them, dumplings, soybean milk
and noodles are the most popular.(9)________ (compare) with foreign fast food, those traditional ones
are (10)________ (health). But many Chinese still enjoy the special taste and the good environment in
the foreign fastfood chains even though there exist some potential risks.
- 1“这一启蒙运动除了自由而外并不需要任何别的东西,而且还确乎是一切可以称之为自由的东西之中最无害的东西,那就是在一切事情上
- 2空气中含多种物质,其中体积分数最多的是[ ]A.氧气 B.氮气 C.二氧化碳 D.水蒸气
- 3图是沿东经87.5°经线的我国地形剖面图。据图回答1-2题。 1.该剖面经过地区自然环境的叙述,正确的是 [
- 4关于我国土地资源的叙述,正确的是( )A.类型齐全,耕地比重小B.难利用的土地多,后备耕地不足C.土地利用类型地区分布
- 5在一次普法教育讲座中,陈法官讲了一个令同学震惊大案例:“2007年03月10日温州都市报报道瓯海警方摧毁了一专门抢劫出租
- 6如图所示的是自动测定油箱内油面高度的装置原理图,R是滑动变阻器,它的金属滑片是杠杆的一端,从油量表(由电流表改装而成)指
- 7阅读下列材料回答问题。材料一 政治上建立中央集权的天皇制封建国家,废除贵族世袭制,以才选官;经济上把很多贵族土地收归国有
- 8(12分).已知圆C: 直线(1)证明:不论取何实数,直线与圆C恒相交;(2)求直线被圆C所截得的弦长最小时直线的方程;
- 9读图回答。(1)写出图中字母代表的陆上邻国和隔海相望的国家名称:A___________;B____________;C
- 10She is fond of _________.She cooks for her family every day.
- 1地球上形成四季的根本原因是A.受地球形状的影响B.地球公转轨道为椭圆形C.月球对地球的引力D.黄赤交角的存在和地轴倾斜方
- 2先化简.再求值:2(x+1)-(x+1)2,其中。
- 3文言文阅读理解(18分)送东阳马生序(8分)余幼时即嗜学。家贫,无从致书以观,每假借于藏书之家,手自笔录,计日以还。天大
- 4下列有关研究课题中,所选用的实验试剂或实验材料,不太理想的是[ ]A.课题:DNA粗提取和鉴定 实验试剂或实验
- 5阅读理解。 S
- 6Betty and John have come back , but ______ students in the c
- 7我国的新(饮用天然矿泉水国家标准)规定了饮用水中可能致癌物溴酸盐的限值:0.01mg/L,日前很多饮用水企业都采用臭氧消
- 8用科学记数法表示10300000,应记作( )。
- 9阅读《出师表》选段,完成练习。(16分)臣本布衣,躬耕于南阳, , 。先帝不以臣卑
- 10下列括号中,错误3是( )A.a2-(3a-2b+4c)=a2-3a+2b-4cB.4a2+(-3a+2b)=4a2+