Red is used in many American expressions. It can be used to show1.(happy), as in “a red- letter day”. This is a day when something special happens. The expression is probably based2.church customs. For almost six hundred years, church calendars(日历)3.(mark) with red to indicate special holidays. Today’s calendars are still marked that way with the4.(meaning) of holidays and special days printed in red.
The expression “a red-letter day” is often heard in everyday life. A red-letter day is5.day when people are feeling quite happy. It may be a day6.you’ve long waited for, a wedding day, for example, or it may be a day with a happy surprise. You might tell your friends that yesterday was a red-letter day,7.you won sonic money in the state lottery (彩票).
“Rolling out the red carpet" is another8.(common) heard expression, which9.(represent) a warm welcome of any kind. A city may “roll out the red carpet” for its baseball team when the team arrives home after winning the championship.
Red is also used in some expressions that are not happy. Red-handed is one. To be caught red handed is to be caught10.(perform) a wrong act.
As I drove my blue Buick into the garage, I saw that a yellow Oldsmobile was _______ too close to my space. I had to drive back and forth to get my car into the _______ space. That left _______ enough room to open the door. Then one day I arrived home _______, and just as I turned off the engine, the yellow Oldsmobile entered its space-too close to my car, _______. At last I had a chance to meet the driver. My patience had _______ and I shouted at her, "Can't you see you're not _______ me enough space? Park farther over." Banging (猛推) open door into _______, the driver shouted back: "Make me!" _______ this she stepped out of the garage. Still each time she got home first, she parked too close to my __________. Then one day, I thought, "What can I do?" I soon found __________. The next day the woman__________a note on her windshield:
Dear yellow Oldsmobile,
I'm sorry my mistress shouted at yours the other day. She's been sorry about it. I know it because she doesn't sing anymore while __________. It wasn't like her to scream __________. Fact is, she'd just got bad news and was taking it out on you two. I __________ you and your mistress will __________ her.
Your neighbor,
Blue Buick
When I went to the __________ the next morning, the Oldsmobile was gone, but there was a note on my windshield:
Dear Blue Buick,
My mistress is sorry, too. She parked so __________ because she just learned to drive. We will park much farther over after this. I'm glad we can be __________ now.
Your neighbor,
Yellow Oldsmobile
After that, whenever Blue Buick __________Yellow Oldsmobile on the road, their drivers waved cheerfully and smiled.
1.A. stopped B. driven C. parked D. stayed
2.A. complete B. fixed C. close D. narrow
3.A. nearly B. hardly C. seldom D. quite
4.A. hurriedly B. first C. finally D. timely
5.A. as usual B. as planned C. as well D. as yet
6.A. run into B. run off C. run about D. run out
7.A. saving B. leaving C. offering D. keeping
8.A. itself B. hers C. ours D. mine
9.A. From B. For C. With D. Upon
10.A. side B. room C. front D. area
11.A. an instruction B. an answer C. a chance D. a result
12.A. sent B. wrote C. discovered D. put
13.A. working B. returning C. cooking D. Driving
14.A. so long B. like that C. on end D. any more
15.A. hope B. know C. suppose D. suggest
16.A. please B. help C. comfort D. forgive
17.A. office B. place C. garage D. flat
18.A. crazily B. eagerly C. noisily D. early
19.A. neighbors B. friends C. drivers D. writers
20.A. followed B. greeted C. passed D. found
Make the right choices
What is life’s gift? 1. Choice is the ability to select one course of action from a set of alternatives to achieve a goal. What is so great about choice? It transforms us from dumb animals into artists. Each of us becomes another Michelangelo. Choice becomes nothing other than the tool we use to sculpt (雕刻）our life. The tool doesn’t come free, however, for the price of choice is responsibility. 2. The reward is happiness.
Life is not still. It is a flow. 3. We constantly need to monitor where we are on our journey. We need to ask questions: Am I moving closer to my goals? If not, what corrective measures can I take? What action will I take now to readjust myself to my goals? Choice is power. Choice is at the heart of life. It is the creative power of life.
4. And your life becomes more convenient or comfortable because of them. For example, you decide which stores to shop at and which gas station to go to. But the decisions that we make to sculpt our lives are far more important than deciding where to shop. The more we appreciate the difference between minor and major decisions, the greater the probability that we will experience happiness and fulfillment.
All chess lovers realize that it isn’t necessary to win to enjoy the game. The pleasure is in the playing. Life is like a chess game. 5.
A.But when we accept ad carry it out, we get a great return.
B.Make the best moves you can under the circumstances.
C.Life is full of hard choices, and the bigger they are, the harder they get.
D.Every choice we make leads us closer to or farther from our goals.
E.Choose to carry out responsibilities not because you have to, but because you want to.
F.You have to make choices every day.
G..It is free will or choice.
The implication(含义) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores the highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.
Social psychologist Carol Dweck, PHD, tested the effects of over-praise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.
“Praising attributes(品质) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges,” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’d better quit while they’re ahead.”
1.
A. tired of being praised B. worthy of being praised
C. very proud of being praised D. extremely fond of being praised
2.
A. better-known B. better-organized
C. more persuasive D. more interesting
3.
A. praise for efforts should be more encouraged
B. praise for results works better than praise for efforts
C. praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life
D. praising a child’s abilities encourages him or her to take on challenges
Lions are opportunists. They prefer to eat without having to do too much work. When resting in the shade, they are also watching the sky to see what is flying by, and even in the heat of the day they will suddenly start up and run a mile across the plains to find out what is going on. If another animal has made a kill, they will drive it off and take the dill for themselves. A grown lion can easily eat 60 pounds of meat at a single feeding. Often they eat until it seems painful for them to lie down.
The lionesses, being thinner and faster, are better hunters than the males. But the males don’t mind. After the kill they move in and take the test share.
Most kills are made at night or just before daybreak. We have seen many, many daylight attempts but only ten kills. Roughly, it’s about twenty daytime attempts for one kill.
When lions are hiding for an attack by a water hole, they wait patiently and can charge at any second. The kill is the exciting moment in the day-to-day life of the lion, since these great animals spend most of their time, about 20 hours a day, sleeping and resting.
Lions are social cats, and when they are having a rest, they love to touch each other. After drinking at a water hole, a lioness rests her head on another’s back. When walking, young lions often touch faces with older ones, an act of close ties among members of the group.
1.By describing lions as “opportunists” in the first paragraph, the author means to say that lions ________.
A. like to take advantage of other animals B. are clever animals
C. are cruel animals D. like to take every chance to eat
2.According to the text, which of the following is true?
A. Lions make most kills in the daytime.
B. It doesn’t take lions too much time to make a kill.
C. Males care more about eating than active killing.
D. Lions are curious about things happening around them.
3.How can we know that lions are social animals?
A. They depend on each other. B. They look after each other well.
C. They readily share what they have. D. They enjoy each other’s company.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Lions, Skilled Hunters B. Lions, Social Cats
C. Lions at Work and Play D. Powerful Lions
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.
King's Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere.This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint—free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species；it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multibranched Torch Aloe here is impressive.The African plant produces red flowers above bluegreen leaves，and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula，a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlifeenthusiasts.Look for grass snakes in the lake.A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron's Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University.Arriving in 1805，he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”.However，it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough.I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms.He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake，which is now known as Byron's Pool.A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside，the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields.The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea.If you don't trust me，then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf—over a century after Byron，she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.
1.As mentioned in the passage，there is a small charge for ______.
A. attending the masters' class B. working with local artists
C. learning life drawing D. seeing an exhibition
2.We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ______.
A. to finish university in 1805 B. to fear pet bears
C. to be a heavy drinker D. to like walking
3.In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake ______.
A. surrounded by fields B. owned by Lord Byron
C. located in Grantchester D. discovered by Virginia Woolf
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Some places for weekend break.
B. A way to become creative in art.
C. The colourful life in the countryside.
D. Unknown stories of Cambridge University.
