The majority of Indian women wear a red dot (圆点) between their eyebrows. While it is generally taken as an indicator of their marital (婚姻的) status, the practice is primarily related to the Hindu religion. The dot goes by different names in different Hindi dialects, and “bindi” is the one that is most commonly known. Traditionally, the dot carries no gender restriction: Men as well as women wear it. However, the tradition of men wearing it has faded in recent times, so nowadays we see a lot more women than men wearing one.
The position of the bindi is standard: center of the forehead, close to the eyebrows. It represents a third, or inner eye. Hindu tradition holds that all people have three eyes: The two outer ones are used for seeing the outside world, and the third one is there to focus inward toward God. As such, the dot serves as a constant reminder to keep God in the front of a believer’s thoughts.
Red is the traditional color of the dot. It is said that in ancient times a man would place a drop of blood between his wife’s eyes to seal their marriage. According to Hindu beliefs, the color red is believed to bring good fortune to the married couple. Today, people go with different colors depending upon their preferences. Women often wear dots that match the color of their clothes. Decorative or sticker bindis come in all sizes, colors and variations, and can be worn by young and old, married and unmarried people alike. Wearing a bindi has become more of a fashion statement than a religious custom.
1.Why did people in India start wearing a red dot on their forehead?
A. To indicate their social rank.
B. To show their financial status.
C. To show their religious belief.
D. To highlight their family background.
2.What is the importance of the third eye in Hindu tradition?
A. To pay respect to God.
B. To stay in harmony with nature.
C. To see things with a subjective view.
D. To observe the outside world more clearly.
3.Why was red chosen as the original color of the bindi?
A. The red dot represented the blood of God.
B. Red stood for a wife’s love for her husband.
C. The word “bindi” means “red” in some Hindi dialects.
D. Red was supposed to bring good luck to a married couple.
4.Which of the following statements is true about the practice of wearing a bindi today?
A. Bindis are now used as a decorative item.
B. Bindis are worn anywhere on the face now.
C. Most Indian women do not like to wear bindis anymore.
D. Wearing a bindi has become more popular among Indian men.
A store that sells husbands has just opened in Ottawa where a woman may go to choose a husband from many men.
The store is comprised of 6 floors and the men increase in positive attributes（品质，特点）as the shopper goes up the flights. There is, however, a catch（陷阱）. As you open the door to any floor you may choose a man from that floor, but if you go up a floor, you cannot go back down except to exit the building.
So a woman goes to the shopping center to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1—These men have jobs. The woman reads the sign and says to herself, “Well, that’s better than my last boyfriend, but I wonder what’s further up?”
So up she goes. The second floor sign reads: Floor 2—These men have jobs and love kids. The woman remarks to herself, “That’s great, but I wonder what’s further up?”
And up she goes again. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3—These men have jobs, love kids and are extremely good-looking. “Hmm, better.”
The fourth floor sign reads: Floor 4—These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good-looking and help with the housework. “Wow!” exclaims the woman, “Very tempting. But, there must be more, further up!”
And again she heads up another flight. The fifth floor sign reads: Floor 5—These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good-looking, help with the housework and have a strong romantic character. “Oh, mercy me! But just think…what must be awaiting me further on?”
So up to the sixth floor she goes. The sixth floor sign reads: Floor 6 –You are visitor 3, 456, 789,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. Thank you for shopping Husband Mart and have a nice day.
1.Women tend to go up the floor until they reach the top floor because _____.
A. they think the husbands downstairs are not suitable
B. they are sure that the best husbands are on the top floor
C. they know the catch very well
D. they think even better husbands may be upstairs
2.The writer intends us to believe that _____.
A. women are hard to please
B. husbands are hard to shop
C. women think they are better than men
D. women can’t be too careful when choosing husbands
3.We can infer from the passage that _____.
A. more women will leave the shop alone
B. women are romantic
C. women are more kind than men
D. women are not good at shopping husbands
一家英语报社向中学生征文，主题是“十年后的我”、请根据下列要求和你的想象完成短文、家庭、工作业余生活
注意：1、字数100左右；2、可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3. 开头语已为你写好
I often imagine what my life will be like in the future.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。
At 3:42 a.m. everything began to shake. It seemed 1. the world was 2. an end! Eleven kilometers 3. (direct) below the city the greatest earthquakes of the 20th century began. It was heard in Beijing, 4. is one hundred kilometers away. One - third of the nation felt it. A huge crack that was eight kilometers long and thirty meters wide cut 5. houses, roads and canals. Steam burst from 6. (hole) in the ground. Hard hills of rock became rivers of dirt. In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay in ruins. Two-thirds of the people died or 7. (injure) during the earthquake. Thousands of families 8. ( kill) and many children were left 9. parents. The number of people 10. were killed or injured reached more than 400,000.
Have you ever heard of the saying , "if you want a friend, be "? What does it ? There are many different things that you can do to friends. You may find out what they are if you someone make friends.
Here is one new teacher made friends with the in her class on the first day of the school. When the bell , the teacher smiled at all the students. Then she said, "Good morning. How nice it is to have all of you my class this year! I want to each of you very much. I am sure we'll enjoy working together."
The teacher smiled, used a pleasant , and acted a friendly way. She told the students her and wrote it on the blackboard. Then she told them something she liked to and hoped to do with them during the year. The students knew that she liked many of the same things they liked. Everyone felt that she what she said. Each of them wanted to know her and be
her friend. Then she let the students tell something about . So they felt that the teacher knew them. Could you make friends as the teacher ?
How do you know and like your classmates? One is to find out more about them. During the you can talk to them. You may ask them their names and the names of the schools they went to last year. As you , the others may be thinking "I like to do the same things you do. It should be fun to be friends with you."
Remember! Just talking together in a friendly way is one good way to make friends.
1.A. it B．one C．that D．careful
2.A.mean B．want C．have D．show
3.A.make B．meet C．have D．get
4.A.look B．hear C．listen D．watch
5.A.what B．how C．why D．when
6.A.teachers B．students C．workmatesD．parents
7.A.rang B．got C．sang D．spoke
8.A.on B．in C．with D．about
9.A.reach B．learn C．know D．like
10.A.sound B．sentence C．phrase D．voice
11.A.on B．by C．in D．to
12.A.family B．father C．work D．name
13.A.do B．eat C．get D．play
14.A.was B．liked C．meant D．forget
15.A.less B．better C．enough D．still
16.A.themselvesB．their names C．the teacher D．the school
17.A.was B．did C．got D．saw
18.A.way B．day C．teacher D．class
19.A.room B．class C．break D．day
20.A.speak B．say C．tell D．talk
