It was the American sitcom that influenced a generation. The six stars of Friends went their separate ways after 237 episodes and a decade together as flatmates, sharing their lives, loves and careers in a New York apartment.
“Friends had a huge influence on American TV history”, said Steve Beverly, professor of communication arts. “This group of six reflected what people their age experienced in their daily lives, so viewers could understand them easily.”
We all wanted a life like theirs——the cool New York flat with table football and easy chairs, and the social circle of beautiful, supportive friends. We also wanted to drink endless coffee, which was one example of how the show changed our lives. Even the haircut of Rachel——one of the six——was copied by millions of women.
The show has been credited with influencing how many of us speak. Researchers analysed every episode to explore whether popular culture influenced how we speak. Before the show, people usually put very or really before an adjective. On Friends, they used so. “This guy is so cool,” they said, and now we all say it.
The show enjoyed a huge increase in ratings after the 11 September terrorist attacks, as sad New Yorkers struggled to make sense of the real horrors that had unfolded around them. In the show, they sought the return of a feel-good factor, according to Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture. “Friends is set not in the real New York, but in the fantasy New York where everybody leaves their doors unlocked and people don’t fly planes into buildings,” he said.
Friends is more than just a sitcom; it’s a way of life. Our attitudes to the Friends’ lives is a mixture of envy—— ‘How do they get to sit on sofas all day drinking coffee? ——” and disdain: “Don’t they have anything better to do with their time, like earn a living to pay for that Manhattan apartment?” Anyway, although Friends came to an end long ago, it will last forever.
1.According to Steve Beverly, why did many people like Friends？
A. Because its actors were very attractive.
B. Because it was the first American sitcom.
C. Because it described American dream life.
D. Because viewers could relate to its characters.
2.What’s Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A. Researchers’ interest in the show.
B. The show’s influence on language.
C. The relation between the show and culture.
D. The way the show’s characters use adjectives.
3.What do we know about the show after 9/11?
A. It helped people face terrorist attacks. B. It stopped being set in New York.
C. It provided people with comfort. D. It attracted fewer viewers.
4.When you show disdain for something, you_______.
A. have no respect for it B. pay no attention to it
C. are curious about it D. are surprised at it
It was reported last week that developers could take photos from Apple mobile and Google Android devices without the phone owners knowing that the images were being taken. In Apple’s case, developers can also obtain the location information for each photo.
Senator(参议员) Charles Schumer said in a telephone interview that his office had spoken with officials at both Apple and Google on Monday.
“We asked them if they could find a way on their own to prevent Apple from having access to private information,” Mr. Schumer said. “They were friendly and open to the idea that this ought to be changed.”
On Sunday, Mr. Schumer said that he planned to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to investigate Apple and Google after the privacy concerns came to light. Claudia Bourne Farrell, an F.T.C. spokeswoman, said the agency had received the letter but she could not comment further.
“It worries people to think that one’s personal photos, address book, and who knows what else can be obtained and even posted online without permission,” Mr. Schumer wrote in his letter to the F.T.C. “If the technology exists to open the door to this kind of privacy invasion, then surely technology exists to close it, and that’s exactly what must happen.”
Mr. Schumer said if Apple and Google could not come to an agreement to fix the problem, then he would be forced to take the issue further.
He said other companies had been willing to work with his office to fix issues. “I’m optimistic that we can get this changed without any regulation,” he said. “If it’s not changed, then we’ll turn to the F.T.C., and if that doesn’t work then we’ll consider legislative approach.”
The F.T.C. has warned companies to try to be more vigilant(警醒的) in their efforts to protect consumers when it comes to privacy.
1.The senator’s office spoke with officials at both Apple and Google___________.
A. to urge them not to invade consumers’ privacy
B. to discuss whether it is illegal to have access to private information
C. to stop them from developing the technology of taking photos
D. to keep them from obtaining the location information for each photo
2.Which of the following statements is true?
A. Privacy invasion from Apple has existed for a long time.
B. Mr. Schumer takes the privacy concerns caused by Apple and Google seriously.
C. Privacy invasion from Google has existed for a long time.
D. Apple and Google have decided to make a change.
3.Mr. Schumer’s letter to the.F T C mainly shows that the technology to open the door to privacy invasion_____.
A. causes privacy invasion to happen frequently.
B. can be used if permitted.
C. causes people to worry about the safety of their personal information.
D. causes personal information to be posted online without permission.
4.If the privacy concerns can’t be solved with the help of theF.T C., ___________.
A. The senators will force the companies not to invade privacy
B. The companies will be closed
C. The companies will be fined
D. The senators will turn to legislation
At an outdoor restaurant, a cockroach(蟑螂) flew in and landed on a woman. She started screaming out of fear；with a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping , with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was spreading, as everyone in her group also got into a panic. The woman finally managed to flick the cockroach away but it landed on a man in the group who continued the drama. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon a waitress who had rushed to their rescue.
The waitress stood firm, calmed herself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on her blouse. When she was confident enough, she grabbed it and threw it out of the restaurant.
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, I started wondering: was the cockroach responsible for their funny behavior? If so, then why was the waitress not disturbed? She handled the situation to near perfection, without panic.
It was not the cockroach, but the inability of the customers to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed them. I realized that it’s not the shouting of my children or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting.
It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturb me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.
I understood. I should not react in life. I should always respond. The customers reacted, whereas the waitress responded. Reactions are always instinctive(本能的), while responses tend to be well thought out.
1.What happened in the outdoor restaurant?
A. A cockroach was found in a woman’s food and then a man found the same problem.
B. A cockroach appearing in the restaurant caused a state of panic among the customers.
C. A cockroach rushed the waitress into apologizing to the customers.
D. A woman and a man were trying to rescue the waitress from the cockroach.
2.According to the passage, if you ran into a traffic jam, you might as well_______.
A. complain your delay B. feel upset and annoyed
C. relax yourself by listening to music D. expect someone to clear the road right away
3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word?
A. confusion B. success
C. poverty D. harmony
4.What does the passage tell us?
A. Speak less, do more!
B. Actions speak louder than words!
C. Mind your manners while in a restaurant!
D. Don’t react just from your feelings; respond positively!
Beloit Summer Language
If you’re serious about learning a language, come to one of the nation’s finest language summer camp programs, the Center for Language Studies (CLS) at beautiful Beloit College in Wisconsin. CLS is a four-or eight-week language program in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian that is open to high school students and people who are studying or working at college.
Phone: 608-363-2500
Email: admiss@beloit.edu
Website: https://www.beloit.edu
Georgetown University: Summer Medical Program
If you’re a teen thinking about learning medicine in college, explore the medical summer camp program offered at Georgetown University. In this 20-day course, you will get a brief idea of the first-year medical school curriculum. The course includes lectures, laboratory work and fieldwork.
Phone: 202-687-7087
Email: highschool@georgetown.edu
Website: http://scs.georgetown.edu
Bard College at Simon’s Rock Young Writers Workshop
In the summer of 1983, Bard College at Simon’s Rock began offering a three-week writing workshop for high school students. Each year 84 academically motivated students are chosen to participate in the Simon’s Rock program. Former participants have gone on to such colleges as Bard, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and so on.
Phone: 413-528-7231
Email: jamieh@simons-rock.edu
Website: https://simons-rock.edu
Art: Summer at Penn
Each summer, the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design offers an unparalleled four-week summer art program for artistically gifted high school students. This pre-college art program in Philadelphia prepares you for the college admissions process as you experience university life. Courses are held within the School of Design’s fine art studios and you can develop your technical skills and expand your styles of creative expression.
Phone: 610-265-9401
Email: imagine@jkcp.com
Website: http://www.jkcp.com
1.Which program accepts college students?
A. Bard College at Simon’s Rock Young Writers Workshop
B. Georgetown University: Summer Medical Program
C. Beloit Summer Language
D. Art: Summer at Penn
2.If you want to improve your writing skill, you can send an email to_________.
A. admiss@beloit.edu B. imagine@jkcp.com
C. jamieh@simons-rock.edu D. highschool@georgetown.edu
3.How can you learn more information about the art program?
A. By visiting http://scs.georgetown.edu B. By visiting https://simons-rock.edu
C. By visiting https://www.beloit.edu D. By visiting http://www.jkcp.com
假如你叫李华，你和笔友Jane互寄了全家的合影。Jane看了合影后来信问为什么你没有兄弟姐妹。请用英语写封100字左右的回信说明情况。内容包括以下几点：
原因 | 1．中国人口增长过快； 2．二十世纪八十年代开始实行计划生育； 3．大部分中国家庭是独生子女。 |
看法 | 1．能受到好的教育；父母关爱更多； 2．孤独、自私，生活能力差；建议多交朋友。 |
注意：1．可适当增加细节使行文连贯；
2．字数100左右；
3．开头已给出，不计人总字数；
4．参考词汇；计划生育family program独生子女the only child
Dear Jane,
Thank you for your letter and the photo of your family.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。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（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It is clear shown that many middle school students have physical and mental problems. 68% of the students surveying have studying anxiety as well as poor eyesight too. And a larger percentage lacks sleep. 52% are short of physical exercise. 42% of the students won’t obey our parents or teachers. Personally, I think we student should balance our physical exercise and studies. Without sound body, one can’t achieve anything. However, too much attention has been paid only on studies. As a result, I suggest we are given less homework or more time for out-of-classroom activities. Only in this way can we live a happy and healthy life.
