Sometimes you just want to get away. Your older brother and his friends are constantly camped in front of the TV, your baby sister won't stay out of your room, and you want some time for yourself.
But when you get it — maybe at a friend's house for an all-weekend DVD marathon or on spring break at Disney World — you're surprised to find yourself missing the chaos(混乱） at home a bit.
What's that all about? _____1.____ _
When you're homesick, you might feel nostalgic（怀念的）for familiar things like your family, friends, pets, house, or neighborhood. Homesickness isn't only for kids. __2.___ Teens might get homesick when they leave home for the first extended period of time, like during a vacation with a friend's family.
Familiar surroundings, people, and routines provide people with a sense of security and comfort. _____3._____ Those homesick feelings are completely normal.
4. Others may feel physical symptoms, like stomachache or headache, or even become truly depressed. Most of the time, once the new surroundings and people become more familiar, feelings of homesickness go away. If you have additional stress in your life — like a divorce or a death in the family — homesickness can be more intense(强烈的).
Almost everyone has felt homesick at some time. __ 5. It means you have family and friends worth missing and a place you want to return to when your adventure away from home is over.
A. Believe it or not, you’re feeling homesick.
B. Remember that there’s a good side to homesickness, too.
C. Luckily, homesickness is usually mild and doesn’t last long.
D. Some people may only feel a little loneliness, sadness, or anxiety.
E. And you can do some things to make sure it doesn’t spoil your fun.
F. Practically everyone feels homesick from time to time, even adults.
G. In a new place, you may find yourself missing the comforts of home and loved ones.
Life comes in a package. This package includes happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. Life is a learning process. Experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person. With each passing day we learn to handle various situations.
Love
Love plays a vital role in our life. Love makes you feel wanted. Without love a person could become cruel and ferocious(残忍的). In the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who show us with unconditional love and care, and they teach us about what is right and wrong, good and bad. But we always tend to take this for granted. It is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands and becomes sensitive to others’ feelings. Kids make a person responsible and mature and help us to understand life better.
Happiness and Sorrow
Materialistic happiness is short-lived, but happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others’ face gives a certain level of fulfillment. Peace of mind is the main link to happiness. No mind is happy without peace. We realize the true worth of happiness when we are in sorrow. Sorrow is basically due to death of a loved one, failure and despair. But these things are temporary and pass away.
Failure and Success
Failure is the path to success. It helps us touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way. Success brings in money, fame, pride and self-respect. Here it becomes very important to keep our head on our shoulder. The only way to show our gratitude to God for bestowing(授予) success on us is by being humble, modest, courteous and respectful to the less fortunate ones.
Hope and Despair
Hope is what keeps life going. Parents always hope their children will do well. Hope makes us dream. Hope builds in patience. Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night there is a day. Nothing remains the same. We have only one choice: keep moving on in life and be hopeful.
Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control. Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dull. The only alternative is to work hard today, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.
1.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Life is a Journey of Ups and Downs
B. Love Plays an Important Role in Our Life
C. Failure is the Path to Success
D. Hope Keeps Life Going
2.What is the author’s understanding of happiness?
A. Materialistic happiness leads to people living a short life.
B. Smiling to others adds to our happiness.
C. Happiness is temporary and passes away.
D. Happiness is closely related with peace of mind.
3.In the author’s opinion, tomorrow ________.
A. is beyond our control
B. is bright and hopeful
C. calls for today’s efforts
D. count for more than yesterday
4.The passage is most likely to be found in a ________.
A. magazineB. tourist guideC. book reviewD. science report
One day on my luxury (奢侈的) holiday cost 30 yuan. Bus ticket: 2 yuan. Breakfast, lunch and dinner: 5 yuan. Hotel: 20 yuan. OK, so it was a 10-seater bus with only four seats that weren’t broken and 20 other people on it. OK, all my food came from one steamed bun (包子) stand at the side of the road, and the “hotel” was a hostel (青年旅社), and I shared a room with four strangers. But the steamed buns I bought were so delicious and the bed in the hostel was soft and comfortable and I had the best night’s sleep I’d had in years.
Cheap travel is “in”. It’s on reality shows, and it’s all around us. People who once went to five-star scenic spots are suddenly filling youth hostels and campsites, showing off to their friends about their 24-hour trip in the third-class sleeper train across Mongolia.
Now, I’m not a millionaire who can afford more than a budget holiday. But even if I could, I don’t think I’d spend the money.
Budget travel is addictive (令人上瘾的). It’s partly the challenge of squeezing the most out of your pennies — and it can get a bit ridiculous(荒唐可笑的). My stomach wasn’t too impressed with the meat stir-fry I bought from a stand simply because it was 1 yuan, for example.
But it’s easy to travel in a smart way, too. With the Internet, you can always check out reviews and find hostels, food and things to do, recommended by other budget travelers who’ve been there before. You don’t have to suffer, and it means you can afford to spend more nights on holiday, see more things and have more experiences.
1.The author mentions her budget travel story at the beginning to ________.
A. show what budget trips are generally like
B. introduce the best trip she’s had over the years
C. show how difficult it can be to spend as little money as possible
D. display her ability to spend her money cleverly
2.The underlined word “in” in the second paragraph probably means ________.
A. forgottenB. popularC. overlookedD. tough
3.What’s the author’s suggestion to budget travelers?
A. Share your travel budget with rich friends.
B. Only eat at street stands and live in hostels.
C. Organize budget trips with people you have traveled together with before.
D. Read other budget travelers’ tips online.
People around the world have their own ways of celebrating weddings. Now let’s compare Eastern and Western weddings.
Chinese and Indian brides normally wear red dresses and most of the wedding decorations are of the same color. This is because the color red is said to bring good fortune. In many Eastern weddings, especially Chinese weddings, the bride will change into a different dress after the ceremony. White dresses only arrived in modern times because of the influence of Western wedding dress designs.
Western wedding dresses are different. Brides usually wear a wedding dress that is white in color and wear it throughout the whole wedding. Wearing white wedding dresses is said to have started in the 1840s, beginning with Queen Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. There are occasions when brides dress into more comfortable clothing so that they will be able to move more freely during the wedding reception.
Traditional practices are strictly followed for most Western weddings. The couple follow up with any plans they have agreed and decided on to make their special wedding day unique and memorable. Wedding receptions and other celebrations differ among the East and the West, but the concept is still the same. They are held to show gratitude towards family members, friends and guests for being a part of the wedding ceremony.
Another common custom that weddings of the East and the West have is the wearing of the wedding veil(面纱). According to superstitious(迷信的) beliefs, the bride wears a veil to protect her from being seen by evil spirits and the bridesmaids are decoys(诱饵). This is still followed even today.
1.Queen Victoria is said to be the first woman in Britain to ________.
A. have a bridesmaid
B. wear a veil as a bride
C. wear a white wedding dress
D. wear a casual dress for the reception
2.According to superstitious beliefs, having bridesmaids is to ________.
A. protect guestsB. comfort brides
C. trick evil spiritsD. bring good fortune
3.The passage is mainly developed ________.
A. by timeB. by spaceC. by processD. by comparison
假如你是高二年级李华，你刚刚参加完一个为期一个月的语言学校的英语培训，请你根据以下提示，写一封抱怨信。
注意：1. 字数100字左右。
2. 信的开头已为你写好，字数不算在内。
不满原因 | 1. 学生太多，影响效果。 2. 不提供午饭，最近的餐馆（cafe）要走20分钟 3. 社会活动少，只有排球；没有组织参观游览，与广告不符。 |
要求 | 退款，否则采取进一步行动。 |
You walk into the classroom, look at that white piece of paper in front of you and are told you’ve got an hour and a half to do it. That can make anyone nervous, but here is the guide to stay calm.
Get a good night’s sleep the night before the test, and eat a healthy breakfast next day. _______1._____ If you’re too tired, you won’t remember what you learnt the night before.
Get to class a little earlier. If you get there early, you’ll make sure to get your favorite seat. __________2._______
Breathe. Before the test, breathe in through your nose deeply and slowly. __________3.________ Repeat this several times. If you experience a sudden panic during the test, perform the exercise again.
Skip questions if necessary. ______4._________ If you come across a difficult question, skip the question and move on. You can come back to it at the end of the test if you have time, and later questions may help you get the answer(s) to the one(s) you skipped.
________5._________ Don’t panic if you notice other students writing very quickly or handing in their tests early. Tell yourself it’s just a test. Really, it is. No matter what happens, everything will be OK.
A. Avoid staying up the night before the exam.
B. Act like you are the only person in the room.
C. Don’t spend too much time on any one question.
D. If you believe you can do it, you will find you can!
E. A little exercise will help you remain calm during any stressful situation.
F. Then, hold your breath for 3-4 seconds and blow out slowly through your mouth.
G. You’ll not also feel more relaxed if you don’t get there in time or worse yet, late.
