In ancient Japan, if you saved someone’s life, they would make it their duty to spend the rest of their life serving you. Nowadays, if you rescue someone’s story, he or she will feel the same kind of gratitude(感激).
It happens all the time. Someone in a group is telling a story and, just before their big point, BOOM! There’s an interruption. Someone new joins the group, a waiter with a plate of biscuits comes over, or a baby starts crying. Suddenly everyone’s attention turns to the new arrival, the food on the plate, or the “charming” little child. Nobody is aware of the interruption — except the speaker. They forget all about the fact that the speaker hasn’t made his or her point.
Or you’re all sitting around the living room and someone is telling a joke. Suddenly, just before his big punch line(妙语), little Johnny drops a dish or the phone rings. After the crash, everyone talks about little Johnny’s carelessness. After the call, the subject turns to the upcoming marriage or medical operation of the caller. Nobody remembers the great punch line got unfinished — except the joke teller. When it’s you entertaining everyone at a restaurant, have you ever noticed how you can almost set your clock by the waiter coming to take everyone’s order just before your funny punch line?
Most joke and story tellers are too shy to say, after the interruption, “Now, as I was saying…” Instead, they’ll spend the rest of the evening feeling bad they didn’t get to finish. Here’s where you come in. Rescue them with the technique I call “Lend a Helping Tongue.”
Watch the gratitude in the storyteller’s eyes as he stabilizes where his story sunk and he sails off again toward the center of attention. His expression and the appreciation of your consideration by the rest of the group are often reward enough. You are even more fortunate if you can rescue the story of someone who can hire you, promote you, buy from you, or otherwise lift your life. Big winners have excellent memories. When you do them subtle favors like Lend a Helping Tongue, they find a way to pay you back.
1.
Very often, a storyteller cannot make his point because ______.
A. people are more interested in food than his story
B. many guests bring their babies to the party
C. his story is easily forgotten by the listeners
D. he is interrupted by something unexpected
2.
From Paragraph 3, we know that when someone is telling a joke, ______.
A. something bad will surely happen just before their punch line
B. the only person really interested in the joke is the joke teller
C. listeners’ attention is often drawn to something else
D. the waiter knows when to take everyone’s order
3.
How can we “Lend a Helping Tongue” to the story tellers, according to the writer?
A. Comfort them to make them happy.
B. Give them a chance to finish.
C. Go on telling the story for them.
D. Teach them some useful techniques.
4.
What is the text mainly about?
A. People should learn how to take turns in a conversation.
B. Telling jokes will make you the center of attention.
C. We can win someone’s heart by getting him back to his story.
D. It is impolite to cut in on someone’s talk.
When you think about math, you probably don’t think about breaking the law, solving mysteries or finding criminals. But a mathematician in Maryland does, and he has come up with mathematical tools to help police find criminals.
People who solve crimes look for patterns that might reveal(揭示) the identity of the criminal. It’s long been believed, for example, that criminals will break the law closer to where they live, simply because it’s easier to get around in their own neighborhood. If police see a pattern of robberies in a certain area, they may look for a suspect(嫌疑犯) who lives near the crime scenes. So, the farther away from the area a crime takes place, the less likely it is that the same criminal did it.
But Mike O’Leary, a mathematician at Towson University in Maryland, says that this kind of approach may be too simple. He says that police may get better clues to the location of a criminal’s home base by combining these patterns with a city’s layout(布局) and historical crime records.
The records of past crimes contain geographical information and can reveal easy targets — that is, the kind of stores that might be less difficult to rob. Because these stores are along roads, the locations of past crimes contain information about where major streets and intersections are. O’Leary is writing a new computer program that will quickly provide this kind of information for a given city. His program also includes information about the people who live in the city, and information about how a criminal’s patterns change with age. It’s been shown, for example, that the younger the criminal, the closer to home the crime.
Other computer programmers have worked on similar software, but O’Leary’s uses more math. The mathematician plans to make his computer program available, free of charge, to police departments around the country.
The program is just one way to use math to fight crime. O’Leary says that criminology — the study of crime and criminals — contains a lot of good math problems. “I feel like I’m in a gold mine and I’m the only one who knows what gold looks like,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun.”
1.
To find criminals, police usually ______.
A. focus on where crimes take place B. seek help from local people
C. depend on new mathematical tools D. check who are on the crime scene
2.
O’Leary is writing a computer program that ______.
A. uses math to increase the speed of calculation
B. tells the identity of a criminal in a certain area
C. shows changes in criminals’ patterns
D. provides the crime records of a given city
3.
By “I’m the only one who knows what gold looks like”, O’Leary means that he ______.
A. is better at finding gold than others
B. is the only one who uses math to make money
C. knows more criminals than other mathematicians
D. knows best how to use math to help solve crimes
4.
What is the main idea of the text?
A. Criminals live near where crimes occur.
B. Math could help police find criminals.
C. Crime records could be used to fight crime.
D. Computer software works in preventing crimes.
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions
1.
What does the phrase “green shoots” mean in “Green shoots have begun to appear in different markets”?
A. Signs of recovery. B. High prices.
C. Environmental protection. D. Change in policy.
2.
Fill in the blank in the sentence “I can’t believe this is Joshua—he’s ______ since we last met!”
A. shot out B. shot through C. shot up D. shot down
3.
When you are talking about unimportant things, we say you are ______.
A. shooting yourself in the foot B. shooting the breeze
C. shooting your mouth off D. shooting questions at somebody
4.
Choose a word to complete the sentence “The ______, which killed a policeman and wounded a passer-by, was reported to have lasted only 13 seconds.”
A. shooter B. shoot C. shot D. shooting
Being the head of a high school for many years, I grew tired of budget meetings, funding cuts, and many other administrative chores(杂务). I started to dream of retirement. Sitting in traffic on a weekday morning, I would find my mind wandering. I would imagine spending time with my grandchildren, quiet evenings with my wife, traveling, or rediscovering some great books. I told myself that I wouldn’t sign myself up for any committees, any classes, or anything requiring a schedule.
My first day of retirement came at last! I cooked a great breakfast for my wife and me, leisurely read the paper, cleaned a bit of the house, and wrote a few letters to friends. On the second day, I cooked breakfast, read the paper… On the third day, … This is retirement? I tried to tell myself that it was just the transition(过渡), that those golden moments were right round the corner, and that I would enjoy them soon enough. But something was missing.
A former colleague asked a favor. A group of students was going to Jamaica to work with children in the poorest neighborhoods. Would I interrupt my newfound “happiness” and return to the students, just this once? One trip. That’s all. My bags were packed and by the door.
The trip was very inspiring. I was moved not only by the poverty I saw but also by the sense of responsibility of the young people on the trip. When I returned home, I offered to work one day a week with a local youth organization. The experience was so positive that I was soon volunteering nearly full-time, working with students across North America to assist them in their voluntary work.
Now, it seems, the tables have turned. Some days I am the teacher, other days I am the student. These young people have reawakened my commitment(责任感) to social justice issues by challenging me to learn more about the situation in the world today, where people are still poor and suffer because of greed, corruption and war. Most important, they have given me the opportunity to continue to participate in helping to find solutions. In return, I help them do their charitable projects overseas. I’ve gone from running one school to helping oversee the construction of schools in twenty-one countries!
1.
What did the writer expect to do after he retired?
A. To write some great books.
B. To stay away from busy schedules.
C. To teach his grandchildren.
D. To plan for his future.
2.
Why did the writer decide to go to Jamaica?
A. He wasn’t satisfied with his retired life.
B. He couldn’t refuse his colleague’s favor.
C. He was concerned about the people there.
D. He missed his students in that country.
3.
The underlined part “the tables have turned” (Paragraph 5) most probably means that the writer ______.
A. improved the situation in his school
B. felt happy to work with students again
C. changed his attitude toward his retirement
D. became a learner rather than a teacher
4.
What does the writer think of his retired life now?
A. Meaningful. B. Troublesome.
C. Relaxing. D. Disappointing.
At the beginning of this century, medical scientists made an interesting discovery: we are built not just of flesh(肌肉) and blood but also of time. They were 21 to show that we all have a ‘body clock’ 22 us, which controls the 23 and fall of our body energies, 24 us different from one day to the next.
The 25 of a ‘body clock’ should not be too 26 since the lives of most living things are controlled 27 the 24-hour night-and-day cycle(循环). We feel 28 and fall asleep at night and become 29 and energetic during the day. If the 24-hour cycle is 30 most people experience unpleasant 31 . For example, people who are not 32 to working at night can find that 33 of sleep causes them to 34 badly at work.
35 the daily cycle of sleeping and 36 , we also have other cycles which 37 longer than one day. Most of us would 38 that we feel good on some days and not so good on 39 ; sometimes our ideas seem to flow and at other times, they 40 do not exist.
1.
A. anxious B. careful C. able D. proud
2.
A. around B. inside C. between D. on
3.
A. rise B. supply C. use D. movement
4.
A. showing B. treating C. changing D. making
5.
A. idea B. opinion C. story D. invention
6.
A. difficult B. exciting C. interesting D. surprising
7.
A. from B. over C. by D. during
8.
A. dull B. dreamy C. tired D. peaceful
9.
A. regular B. excited C. clear D. lively
10.
A. shortened B. disturbed C. reset D. troubled
11.
A. moments B. senses C. feelings D. effects
12.
A. used B. allowed C. expected D. prevented
13.
A. miss B. none C. need D. lack
14.
A. show B. perform C. manage D. control
15.
A. With B. Except C. As well as D. Rather than
16.
A. waking B. moving C. living D. working
17.
A. repeat B. remain C. happen D. last
18.
A. believe B. agree C. realize D. allow
19.
A. others B. the other C. all other D. other
20.
A. only B. just C. still D. yet
---I’m afraid that Mr. Wood can’t see you until 4 o’clock.
---Oh, ______ I won’t wait.
A. no doubt B. after all
C. in that case D. in this way
