“Sending thank-you notes is becoming a lost art,” mourns May Mitchell, a syndicated columnist known as “Ms Demeanor” and author of six etiquette(礼节) books. In her view, each generation, compared with the one before, is losing a sense of consideration for other people. “Without respect,” she says, “you have conflict.”
Ms. Demeanor would be proud of me: I have figured out a way to ensure that my children always send thank-you notes. And such a gesture is important, says Ms. Demeanor, because “a grateful attitude is a tremendous life skill, an efficient and inexpensive way to set ourselves apart in the work force and in our adult lives. Teach your children that the habit of manners comes from inside---it’s an attitude based on respecting other people.”
A few years ago, as my children descended like piranhas (一种南美淡水鱼，喜吞食或攻击) on their presents under the Christmas tree, the only attitude I could see was greed. Where was the appreciation of time and effort?
A thank-you note should contain three things: an acknowledgement of the gift (Love the tie with the picture of a hose on it); a recognition of the time and effort spent to select it (You must have shopped all over the state find such a unique item!); a prediction of how you will use your gift or the way it has enhanced your life (I’ll be sure to wear it to the next Mr. Ed convention!).
So, five years ago, in one of my rare flashes of parental insight, I decided that the most appropriate time to teach this basic courtesy is while the tinsel (装饰用光亮金属) is hot. To the horror of my children, I announced that henceforth every gift received will be an occasion for a thank-you note written immediately, on the spot.
I have reluctantly given my kids the green light to send e-mail thank-you notes; though hand-lettered ones (at least to me) still seem friendlier. But pretty much any thank-you makes the gift giver feel special—just as, we hope, the recipient feels. It’s a gesture that perfectly captures the spirit of the holidays.
41. 1.in Ms. Demeanor’s point of view, children born in the ______ is probably the least respectful generation.
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A．1960s |
B．1970s |
C．1980s |
D．1990s |
42. 2. The phrase “set oneself apart” (Para. 2) means _______.
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A．to reserve to a particular use |
B．to put to one side |
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C．to make noticeable or outstanding |
D．to determine to purse |
43. 3.According to the passage, a thank-you note may contain the following information EXCEPT “_______”.
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A．I love the pearl necklace you bought me for my birthday |
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B．it must have taken you a long time to find just the right thing for me |
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C．is it very expensive |
D．I promise I will wear it on my wedding day |
44. 4.How did the author feel when she saw her children searching under the Christmas tree for their presents?
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A．Greedy. |
B．Cheerful. |
C．Laughable. |
D．Disheartened. |
45. 5.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about the author?
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A．She feels hand-written letters are friendlier than word-processed ones. |
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B．She does not allow her children to sent email thank-you note. |
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C．She thinks the best time to teach her children the basic etiquette of appreciation is to strike while the iron is still not. |
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D．She thinks a thank-you note can make the gift giver feel special just as the |
recipient does.
My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”
Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity (实物) that could be carried, or stolen.
Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable（难以渗透的), the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol reflected people’s prevailing attitude toward money.
But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit (赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavy-walled bank.
Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion (人们的说法) begins.
36. 1.The main idea of this passage is that________.
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A．money is not as valuable as it was in the past |
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B．changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks |
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C．the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank |
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D．prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable |
37. 2.How do the older generation and the younger one think about money respectively?
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A．The former thinks more of money than the latter. |
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B．The younger generation values money more than the older generation. |
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C．Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money. |
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D．To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter be a means to produce more money. |
38. 3.The words “tangible commodity” (Line 2, Para. 4) refer to something ______.
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A．that can be replaceable |
B．that is usable |
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C．that can be touched |
D．that can be reproduced |
39. 4.According to this passage, a modern banker should be _______.
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A．ambitious and friendly |
B．reliable and powerful |
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C．sensible and impenetrable |
D．imaginative and creative |
40. 5.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards the new trend in banking is _______.
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A．cautious |
B．regretful |
C．positive |
D．hostile |
After that, she knew she could __________ any difficulties by doing what she could to the best of her ability.
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A．get through |
B．get on with |
C．get across |
D．get away with |
The new movie __________ to be one of the biggest money-makers of all time.
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A．pretends |
B．declines |
C．agrees |
D．promises |
None of us had expected the middle-aged engineer died __________ his design uncompleted.
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A．from |
B．without |
C．with |
D．of |
Always read the __________ on the bottle carefully and take the right amount of medicine.
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A．descriptions |
B．instructions |
C．introductions |
D．Explanations |
