Dear Editor,
I am writing to ask what has happened to our youth. They are not as polite, hard-working or clever as my generation. I will give you two examples.
Last Friday, I got on the underground at 9.15a.m. It was very busy so there were no free seats. There were some teenagers sitting on the seats nearest me. I didn’t know why they were not at school. They were talking loudly and laughing. It was difficult to read my newspaper with all the noise. A heavily pregnant(怀孕的) woman and her daughter got on at the next stop, with lots of shopping bags. I expected the teenagers to let them sit down. They saw the woman but did nothing. I had to ask them to give her a seat. They reluctantly(勉强地)did so but give me a rude look. I got off at the next stop and was glad that the teenagers didn’t follow me.
Last Saturday, I had dinner with my friend’s family. I was expecting to meet his children, who I hadn’t seen for ten years. During dinner, we started talking about world politics. It soon became clear that they didn’t know much. They couldn’t tell me the name of the King of Spain or the President of Italy. All they knew about was the Internet and which singers were the most beautiful. In my day, students knew the kings, queens and presidents of every country in Europe.
I worry about the future of Germany. How could these young people become responsible workers and parents? They sit around Macdonald’s after instead of going to the library like I did at their age. Maybe they have too much money. Perhaps another reader can give us an idea about what to do with this“lost generation”.
Franz Vogts
Hamburg
1. Mr. Vogts writes this letter to the editor to _________.
A. show how rude the teenagers are
B. complain the way some people act
C. express his worry about Germany’s future
D. show how lazy young people nowadays are
2.When Franz Vogts met the teenagers on the underground, he_________.
A. expected that they would make less noise
B. knew there was no hope for him to get a seat
C. felt he would meet with some trouble from them
D. thought they should have been studying instead of staying there
3.Franz Vogts was not pleased at the dinner because_________.
A. he was not politely treated
B. the children cared more about singers than him
C. the children did not know much about world politics
D. he had different opinions about the world from his friend
4.By saying “lost generation”, Mr. Vogts refers to__________.
A. the fact that he is angry with young people today.
B. the people at his age
C. his worry about these young people
D. today’s young people
Most people like buying things by touching them on a store shelf. Many people begin to feel some goods as theirs when they touch them. They have “mine, mine, mine” feeling as little as 30 seconds after touching an object(物体).
In a study, some people were shown a cheap coffee cup, and were allowed to hold it for 10 seconds or 30 seconds. They were then allowed to buy it in either a closed or an open place. The people knew the real price of the cup before they began to buy.
If people hold the cup for a longer time, he will pay more for it. In fact, people hold the cup for 30 seconds pay more than the others. “The amazing part of this study is that people can become almost attached to something like a cup.” said James Wolf,”By touching the cup and holding it in their hands, they begin to feel the cup is theirs. Once they begin to feel it as theirs, they are willing to keep it.”
Many businessmen use this way to sell their things. For example, car sellers send the buyers out on test drives and pet shop owners encourage people to play with the dogs in the window. When you are testing out new cars, you are going to buy it at once. But you can do better if you get ready for it.
1.Many people want to buy something which they can______ by themselves.
A. see B. touch C. hear D. look
2.The _______ people hold the cup, the more they will pay for it.
A. longer B. shorter
C. more D. less
3.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Many businessmen use this”touch” way to sell their things.
B. By touching the cup and holding it in their hands, many people begin to feel the cup is theirs.
C. If people hold the cup for a longer time, he will pay less for it.
D. Car sellers send the buyers out on test drives and pet shop owners encourage people to play with the dogs in the window in order to sell them.
4.The main idea of this passage is_______.
A. more and more people don’t care about the goods they want to buy
B. many people are willing to pay for the goods which they would like to hold
C. how do the businessmen sell their cars
D. people often buy something they don’t like
What do you think of British people and American people? You might think that there are no differences between the people in the two countries. After all they speak the same language, don't they? But if you ask a British or an American person, the differences are quite great.
What do British people think Americans are like? The British think Americans are very strange. They make a lot of noise and they laugh too loudly. They are rich, and they only think about money. But the British do say that Americans are kind, friendly people. They are happy to help you if you are in trouble.
What do Americans think of the British? Well, they think the British are cold and very unfriendly. They are not interested in success or in making lots of money. They think Britain is the best country in the world. They look down upon other countries. But Americans say that the British are quite good workers. They are brave and honest. And in time of trouble they face difficulties happily.
You can see that these ideas can cause misunderstanding between the British and Americans. But when American and British people become friends, they usually find things are not as bad as they expected.
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1.What do you think of the differences between British and American people?
A. Their differences are very small.
B. The differences are very great.
C. There are no differences between them.
D. Some people think there are, but some people don’t think so.
2. What do the British think Americans are like?
A. They are strange but friendly.
B. They are poor.
C. They are rich but unfriendly.
D. They are happy in trouble.
3.The American and British people usually get along quite well ____.
A. when misunderstanding is caused between them
B. once they become friends
C. after they fight
D. when they help each other
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother， “Only a miracle（奇迹） can save him now，” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore （药店） with the money in her hand.
“And what do you want？” asked the salesman. “It‘s for my little brother，” the girl answered. “He’s really，really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon？” said the salesman.
“My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost？” “We don‘t sell a miracle here， child. I’m sorry，” the salesman said with a smile.
“Listen， if it isn‘t enough， I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
A well-dressed man heard it and asked， “What kind of a miracle does your brother need？”
“I don‘t know，” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can‘t pay for it， so I have brought all my money.”
“How much do you have？” asked the man. “$ 1.11， but I can try and get some more，” she answered. “Well， what luck，” smiled the man. “$ 1.11， the price of a miracle for little brothers.”
He took up the girl‘s hand and said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong，a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn‘t long before Andrew was home again.
How much did the miracle cost？
1.What was the trouble in the little girl‘s family？
A. Her brother was seriously ill.
B. They had no money.
C. Nothing could save her brother.
D. Both A and B.
2.In the eye of the little girl， a miracle might be _______.
A. something interesting
B. something beautiful
C. some wonderful medicine
D. some good food
3. The little girl said again and again “…I can try and get some more.” That shows _______.
A. she had still kept some money
B. she hoped not to be refused
C. There was no need to worry about money
D. she thought money was easy to get
4.From the passage we can infer （推断） that _______.
A. The doctor didn‘t ask for any pay
B. A miracle is sure to happen if you keep on
C. The little girl is lovely but not so clever
D. Andrew was in fact not so sick as they had thought
A beautiful ,expensively dressed lady came to see her doctor and complained that her whole ______ was empty: it had no meaning.
The doctor called over the old lady who______ the office floors, and then said to the rich lady, “I’m going to _____ Mary here to tell you how she found happiness. _____ I want you to do is to listen.”
So the old lady put_______ her broom and began her story: “Well, my husband died of malaria(疟疾） and three months later my______ son was killed by a car. I had nobody... I had nothing____. I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t eat; I never smiled at______, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little____ followed me home from work. Somehow I felt ______ for it. I decided to let the cat_______. I got it some milk, and it licked the______ clean. Then it purred(咕噜叫) and rubbed(蹭）against my ____, and for the first time in months, I smiled. Then I began to think: if_____ a little cat could make me smile, maybe doing something for people could make me_____. So the next day I took some biscuits to a neighbor who was______ in bed. Every day I tried to do something ______ for someone. It made me so happy to _____ them happy. Today, I don’t know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I’ve found _____, by giving it to others.”
When she heard that, the rich lady cried. She had everything that ____ could buy, but she had lost the things which money couldn’t buy.
1.A. house B. room C. life D. family
2.A. cleaned B. made C. stood on D. draw
3.A. let B. ask C. have D. teach
4.A. Something B. Both C. Everything D. All
5.A. down B. in C. off D. on
6.A. elder B. bigger C. only D. younger
7.A. better B. left C. made D. wrong
8.A. anyone B.everyone C. husband D. son
9.A. boy B. girl C. dog D. cat
10.A. happy B. sorry C. worry D. sad
11.A. in B. away C. go D. come
12.A. floor B. house C. plate D. milk
13.A. head B. leg C. floor D. bed
14.A. help B. helping C. feed D. feeding
15.A. smile B. cry C. sad D. happy
16.A. sleep B. happy C. sick D. glad
17.A. better B. nice C. wrong D. interested
18.A. see B. know C. look D. feel
19.A. happiness B. life C. value D. meaning
20.A. she B. people C. money D. her husband
Our plan to ______ a New Year’s party has won supports from our teachers.
A. organise B. volunteer
C. solve D. invite
