Comera is the only place in the world which has a whistle(口哨)language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistle language. There are many deep valleys on the island. A person on one side of valley cannot easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard from four miles away, and the record is seven miles. The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear other whistlers.
We can understand why the whistle language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of the telephone. If the sick person is a long way from the town, boys and men pass the news from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help each other in the same way when a car breaks or a cow is lost.
The whistle language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in the different parts of a country. But on Comera island you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, the people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions.
1.If a person on Comera island is ill, .
A. others will phone the doctor in town
B. the whistle language will pass the news to the doctor
C. his family will take him to the doctor
D. people will take him to the hospital
2. From the passage we know radio and TV at that time.
A. killed the special ways of speaking
B. whistled all the news and opinions
C. helped Comera people to communicate
D. did not appear on Comera island yet
3. Comera island is special in that .
A. it attracts visitors every year
B. no visitors have ever been there
C. people there have special ears to hear whistles
D. people there use the whistle language to communicate with each other
4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. It is not easy for a person to live on Comera island if he cannot whistle.
B. The whistle language can only be found on Comera island.
C. The whistle language has been used for hundreds of years on the island, but will not be used any longer.
D. The record shows that one best whistler can be heard by others seven miles away.
Many people think that the most popular way of communicating with other people is through the mouth. But what they don’t know is that actual communication using the mouth accounts for(占……比例)only around 10%(or even less)of all the means to communicate a message.
Moreover, you can never determine the truthfulness or honesty of people by what they say alone. In fact, words expressed through the mouth often do not reflect what people really think or feel. The more reliable way you can determine their true inner feelings and thoughts is by reading their body language. Everybody communicates using these gestures and if you understand the gestures and their meanings you will be able to read people and know what they are really communicating to you. One researcher even went as far as to say that we speak to hide what’s on our minds. But gestures cannot lie.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you can “see through” the emotions of other people? Let’s say you ask a person whether he can do an important task. He says “OK”. But deep inside, you are questioning yourself, “Is he really willing to do this job? ” or “Does he have the confidence in finishing this task? ”You can’t question him directly because that would be like belittling him. And even if you ask him those questions, his replies will not tell you what he really feels or thinks. So the most useful way is to observe his body language. Expressions like smiling, frowning(皱眉), pouting(撅嘴), facial reddening, sweating, toe curling and sideways glances are visible hints that can help you make a right judgment.
1. According to the passage, we know .
A. words through the mouth are the most common way in communication
B. body language is the quickest way to help people understand each other
C. expressions are the most powerful tool to judge whether a man is confident or not
D. you may know what a person really thinks with the help of reading his body language
2.What does the underlined sentence mean in the second paragraph?
A. We can express ourselves well by body language.
B. We use words to prevent others knowing our true thoughts.
C. Spoken words can fully reflect our true self.
D. We use body language to help express ourselves.
3.The underlined word in the third paragraph can be replaced with .
A. looking down upon B. speaking highly of
C. laughing atD. believing in
It was the district sports meet. My foot still hadn’t healed(痊愈)from a(n) injury. I had whether or not I should attend the meet. But there I was, for the 3, 000-meter run.
“Ready. . . set. . . ”The gun popped and we were off. The other girls rushed me. I felt as I fell farther and farther behind.
“Hooray! ”shouted the crowd. It was the loudest I had ever heard at a meet. The first-place runner was two laps(圈)ahead of me when she crossed the finish line. “Maybe I should , ”I thought as I moved on. , I decided to keep going. During the last two laps, I ran and decided not to in track next year. It wouldn’t be it, even if my foot did heal.
When I finished, I heard a cheer— than the one I’d heard earlier. I turned around and enough, the boys were preparing for their race. “They must be cheering for the boys. ”I was leaving several girls came up to me. “Wow, you’ve got courage! ”one of them told me.
“Courage? I just a race! ”I thought. “I would have given up on the first lap, ”said another girl. “We were cheering for you. Did you hear us? ”
Suddenly I regained . I decided to track next year. I realized strength and courage aren’t always in medals and victories, but in the we overcome(战胜). The strongest people are not always the people who win, the people who don’t give up when they lose.
1.A. slighter B. worse C. earlier D. heavier
2. A. expectedB. supposed
C. imaginedD. doubted
3. A. lateB. eagerC. readyD. thirsty
4.A. from behindB. ahead of
C. next toD. close to
5.A. ashamedB. astonished
C. excitedD. frightened
6.A. cheerB. shoutC. cryD. noise
7.A. slow downB. drop out
C. go onD. speed up
8. A. ThereforeB. Otherwise
C. BesidesD. However
9. A. with delightB. with fear
C. in painD. in advance
10. A. playB. arriveC. raceD. attend
11. A. worthB. goodC. valuableD. close
12. A. weakerB. longerC. lowerD. louder
13. A. wellB. sure
C. surprisinglyD. strangely
14. A. whileB. whenC. asD. since
15.A. finishedB. wonC. passedD. lost
16.A. cheerB. hopeC. interestD. experience
17. A. hold onB. turn to
C. begin withD. stick with
18.A. measuredB. praised
C. testedD. increased
19. A. sadnessB. struggles
C. diseasesD. tiredness
20.A. orB. norC. andD. but
A. Learn to Listen and Speak
B. Develop Healthy Relationships
C. Arrange Some Time to Go Out
D. Respect Each Other
E. Agree to Disagree
F. Learn Every Day
Healthy Relationship Tips
Healthy relationships are effortless, if both the people involved take equal effort to maintain it. Here are a few healthy relationship tips to help you build the dream of your life.
1.Communication is an art of putting your thoughts into words, so that they are exactly understood by the opposite person. Communication does not mean going on talking unnecessarily. This is the first mistake that couples make. One person in the relationship assumes the role of talker and the other becomes the listener. Their roles remain so forever. The talker forgets to listen and the listener becomes used to listening and not reacting. If your partner takes time to open up, help them out by asking questions. So hear them out and give proper reactions. You will obtain the benefits of a healthy relationship through increased confidence in both of you to open up and hear things out.
2.Regular conversations take the form of heated arguments amongst many couples. Understand that not every statement needs a reaction. Maybe a certain reaction may lead to an argument with your partner. Just agree with whatever it is and there will be no harm done. Try and reach a mutual(相互的)agreement. If that’s not possible leave the topic for later. If you give it time, maybe both of you will be able to think about it rationally.
3.Every single day is a blessing. Each moment with your partner is a moment to learn something new and discover the finer nuances(细微差别)of your relationships. Each one of us keeps changing every day, the circumstances around us change every day and with that our attitude also needs to change. The same applies when you are living with a person. Learning every day and taking every day as a challenge will help you perfect healthy relationship tips.
4.This tip is especially meant for couples with children on how to maintain healthy relationships. After a certain period, couples complain about romance being lost. To keep your relationship healthy, take some time out from your day-to-day routines to spend some quality time with your partner. This can be done as dinners, indulging in outdoor activities or just hanging out at a coffee shop like old times.
5.Respect has to be earned. It can be earned only if you learn to respect. Often, one of the partners plays the role of a dictator to give orders, while the other simply follows. Both sides involved are equally responsible for this mistake. Learn to respect each other and understand that both of you are equally responsible for the relationship.
Creating a healthy relationship takes equal effort from both sides. Sharing, caring, being apologetic, forgiving and having realistic expectations are some of the important ingredients to the recipe of a healthy relationship.
Tom: Hi, Cathy. 1.
Cathy: I have to finish my project on the history of the Internet. What about you?
Tom: 2. If it’s fine, we’ll go camping. Would you like to join us?
Cathy: I’d like to, but the deadline for my project is next Monday.
Tom: What a pity! 3.
Cathy: Yes, please. Can you suggest any good reference books?
Tom: You may want to read Origins of the Internet and The Digital Future.
Cathy: I’m reading the two books. 4.
Tom: Go to the Science Museum website, and you’ll find lots of up-to-date information.
Cathy: Good idea. Thanks for your help.
Tom: 5.
A. Never mind.
B. Don’t mention it.
C. Any other suggestions?
D. Will you come next time?
E. It depends on the weather.
F. Anything I can do for you?
G. What are you up to this weekend?
People often talk as if shyness is a disease or mental condition that can be cured. I prefer to think of it as an emotional disability. It’s something we are born with and something we carry with us in our entire lives. There are too many people, however, who seem to be determined to find some way of doing away with their shyness. In my opinion, it’s a waste of time. I don’t mean that we should do nothing about it; quite the contrary, I think we need to separate the basic fact of our shyness from our ability to take part in a social environment.
Look at one of the most famous shy people of them all, Johnny Carson. This man is painfully shy, yet for decades he made a living talking and associating with different people every night, in front of a national audience. Carson has never done away with his shyness, but he has successfully found a way to deal with it to the extent that he could be, not just a talk show host, but a legend among talk show hosts. Look also at Sally Fields, who has recently admitted her problem with shyness. This is a woman who has appeared in many films, TV shows and interviews, yet in her early years she was so shy that she turned down a lunch invitation from Jane Fonda because she was terribly afraid of meeting her.
I guess that our shyness is there because each of us is born with some insecurity and this insecurity prevents us from reaching out to others the way people with a more open personality do. As we grow up and become adults, we allow our social skills to grow and develop. But we are still stuck in kindergarten or elementary school or wherever it was when our shyness took root in our soul.
1.In the author’s view, shyness can be explained as .
A. a not very normal mental condition
B. a disease that can be easily cured
C. something we pick up after birth
D. a kind of emotional disability
2.From the passage, we know that Johnny Carson .
A. has dealt with shyness very successfully
B. has done away with his shyness carefully
C. is described as a hero in some legend books
D. failed to become a good talk show host
3. The passage tells us that Sally Fields was .
A. proud all the time
B. close to Jane Fonda
C. impolite when young
D. shy in her early years
4.The author thinks that our shyness is there because .
A. we are not open enough
B. we don’t feel secure at heart
C. we try to reach out to others all the time
D. we lack some social skills
