The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, the Belgians and the Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities.

Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems restrained, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or having a light sleep in a corner, and no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately suspected.

In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc, often accompanied by appropriate gesture. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than anyone of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. A more emotional man might describe her state “Oh, she is a goddess”, whereas an Englishman might just say “Oh, she’s all right.” An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It’s not bad you know”, or on seeing some very unusual scenery he might convey (表达) his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice.” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement. Instead, he must realize that “all right,” “not bad,” and “nice,” very often have the sense of “first-class,” “excellent,” “beautiful”. This unique style of language use is particularly common in England, and is known as restrained statement.

1.According to the passage, the English are different from other nationalities in _______.

A. habits           B. attitudes          C. character          D. all of the above

2.The underlined word “restrained” in the second paragraph probably means “_______”. 

A. calm and controlled   B. polite and friendly    

C. nervous and quiet   D. silent and kind

3.In Britain, if you don’t want other people to think you are strange, you’d better _______.

A. talk with others as much as possible        

B. behave just like the English do

C. say nothing about yourself                  

D. shake hands with everyone you meet

4.If an Englishman says “all right”, it may mean “_______”.  

A. not bad              B. correct          C. quite right          D. wonderful

5.From the passage, we can infer that an Englishman _______.

A. doesn’t like to show his feelings so much  

B. has less emotion than people of other nationalities

C. finds it easy to express his emotion        

D. likes to have a joke with strangers

Dash of Hope

"Dash" is a symbol which represents every day we've spent alive on earth. Therefore, how you spend your "dash" is important.

Recently I  36  about a little girl named Hope. After learning more about her life, I couldn't help but feel it was not by  37 , nor happenstance（意外事件）, that she had been named "Hope". The strong feeling of sympathy and generosity  38  in her young heart made a lasting impression on me and countless others.  39  I never had the opportunity to meet her, I wish I had. It seems as though she was wise beyond her tender years and very, very special.

Hope was a twelve-year-old girl who was  40  a "wish" in early December 2010 by the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation after being  41  that she had a rare type of bone cancer. However, when she found out that more than 150  42  in her area were waiting for their wishes to be achieved , she unselfishly used her wish to  43  that those children have their wishes granted. She also asked that it be done  44  January 16, 2011. Unfortunately, however, the organization informed her that her  45   request could not be granted as the funds were simply  46 . They calculated that they would need to raise more than one  47  dollars in thirty days in order to grant her wish.  48 , but not discouraged, she turned her disappointment into an enthusiasm that inspired caring  49  to take up helping grant the wishes of the other children, and eventually  50  as well. Newspaper columnists and reporters for radio and TV stations  51  the story of this caring young girl who had  52  the hearts of so many and as word spread, the community was challenged. Committees were fanned and schools, corporations and various organizations assisted in  53  money to help make Hope's dream come true.

Her efforts were not in vain as they continue to help others, not only  54 , but spiritually and emotionally as well. At the gathering to celebrate her life, "A Celebration of Hope" on January 16, 2011 , the  55  was made that they had indeed received donations totaling more than one million dollars. Her wish had been granted!

1.A. heard            B. thought        C. cared           D. talked

2.A. coincidence     B. independence     C. convenience      D. intelligence

3.A. lost               B. carried          C. expected         D. housed

4.A. Until          B. Unless           C. Though           D. If

5.A. expressed      B. offered          C. made             D. sent

6.A. recognized     B. informed         C. reminded         D. understood

7.A. children           B. citizens         C. villagers        D. relatives

8.A. suggest         B. ask              C. arrange          D. order

9.A. for             B. to               C. on               D. by

10.A. final         B. formal           C. simple           D. noble

11.A. unbearable     B. unbelievable     C. unavailable      D. uncomfortable

12.A. thousand          B. hundred          C. million          D. billion

13.A. Disappointed      B. Surprised        C. Worried          D. Embarrassed

14.A. committees     B. individuals      C. corporations     D. organizations

15.A. theirs         B. ours             C. hers             D. yours

16.A. wrote         B. read             C. broadcast        D. shared

17.A. touched           B. examined         C. won              D. opened

18.A. finding           B. spending         C. raising          D. borrowing

19.A. perfectly     B. physically       C. healthily        D. thankfully

20.A. proposal          B. decision         C. conclusion       D. announcement

Sometimes I’m dying ______ him about it.

   A. tell          B. to tell      C. telling              D. of telling

Wherever such an area is located, it will be immediately ______ by the enemy if armed forces are lacking.

   A. taken             B. caught               C. occupied         D. kept

His hard work paid______ when he got the result.

   A. back              B. over             C. off              D. for

While typing, Helen has a habit of stopping ______ to give her long and flowing hair a smooth.

   A. now and then  B. over and over        C. up and down      D. here and there

In order to ______ his muscle, Mike goes to the gym regularly to do exercise.

   A. sharpen               B. brighten         C. strengthen           D. deepen

You were my ______ when I was weak; you were my voice when I couldn’t speak.

   A. ability               B. strength         C. energy               D. force

---I bet you will go on a trip after graduation.

   ---______. I can’t wait!

   A. Surely I will     B. Go ahead C. Take it easy D. My pleasure

Cole Bettles ______ by a number of universities when he received an e-mail from the University of California last month.

 A. had been rejected   B. has been rejected    C. has rejected D. was rejecting