1、Passage 1A foreigners first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. City people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going restlessly, seeking attention in a store, and elbowing others as they try to complete their errands(任务). Racing thr
2、ough daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish so that they too can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. Each person hurries to make room for the next person. If you
3、dont, waiters will hurry you.You also find drivers will be abrupt and people will push past you. You will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small courtesies with strangers. Dont take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else wasting it beyond a certain
4、 courtesy point. The view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority. Many of us have what might be called “a short fuse.” We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away without some returns in terms of
5、pleasure, work value, or rest. Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both business and daily life. Many newcomers to the States will miss the opening courtesy of a business call, for example, they w
6、ill miss the ritual interaction that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be a convention in their own country. They may miss leisurely business chats in a caf or coffee house. Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over prolonged small talks. We
7、 seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies. Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly.一个外国人对于美国的第一印象很有可能是每个人都在压力下匆匆忙忙。城市里的人总是表现得匆匆忙忙不知疲倦的，为了尽快做完一件事情，他们会在店里拼命引起店员的注意或者
8、用胳膊肘推搡别人。白天匆忙就餐也是这个国家生活节奏的一个部分。工作时间被认为是很珍贵的。在一些公共饮食场所，其他人会等在你旁边等你吃完，这样大家都可以得到服务，并赶在规定的时间内回去工作。每个人都会尽快给下一个人腾出地方。如果你不这样，侍者会催促你的。你会发现司机也都很匆忙，人们从你身边匆匆走过。你会错过一些微笑，简短的交谈和一些与陌生人的小礼节。不要在意，这是因为他们非常珍惜时间，而且他们认为一旦太注重这些社交礼节就是浪费时间。对时间的观念还会影响到我们对耐心的理解。在美国价值体系中，耐心并不是首要要考虑的。我们中的很多人被称为”短保险丝”。如果我们觉得时间在毫无意义的溜走，既没有娱乐价值，
9、工作价值，也不在休息，那就会开始不停地徘徊。那些来自时间观念不同的国家的人发现他们在商业和日常生活中最困难的就是对时间节奏的适应。许多刚到美国来的人都会想念他们在商业会谈中一些开场礼节。举个例子，他们会想念因欢迎你到来而泡的一杯茶或咖啡这样的社交礼仪，这在他们国家是常规礼仪。他们会想念在咖啡屋悠闲的会谈。而通常，美国人不会与来访者在这么悠闲的环境中进行一些冗长的小会谈。对于同事，我们总是看他过去的表现而不是与他的社交礼仪。因为我们一般都是更注重专业性的，而不是社交性的，因此我们总是很快进入正题。1. Which of the following statements is wrong? _ 以
10、下哪项陈述是错误的？ A. Americans seem to be always under pressure. B. Americans attach less importance to patience. C. Americans dont care much about ritual socializing. D. Americans are impolite to their business colleagues.美国人对他们的同事不礼貌。2. In the fourth paragraph, “a high priority” means _ 第四段中的“a high prio
11、rity”是什么意思？ A. a less important thing B. a first concern C. a good business D. an attractive gift要首要考虑的。3. Americans evaluate a business colleague _ 美国人评价他们的同事是根据 A. through social courtesy B. through prolonged business talks C. by establishing business relations D. by learning about their past perf
12、ormance他们过去的表现。24. This passage mainly talks about _ 本文主要讲了 A. how Americans treasure their time B. how busy Americans are every day C. how Americans do business with foreigners D. what American way of life is like美国人是怎样珍惜时间的。5. We can infer from the passage that the authors tone in writing is _ 从本文
13、我们可以看出作者写作的口吻是 A. critical B. ironical C. appreciative D. objective欣赏的。 Passage 2When John and Victoria Falls arrived in New York City for one-year stay, they did not bring very many things with them. They had planned either to live in a furnished apartment or to buy used furniture. But they soon le
14、arned about a new system that more and more people are using. The renting of home furnishings (bed, tables, dishes, and so on) has become one of Americas fastest growing businesses.What kinds of people rent their home furnishings instead of buying them? People who are international business or gover
15、nment officials, foreign students, airline workers, young married couple people whose job or business may force them to move frequently from one city to another. They save a lot of trouble and the cost of moving their furniture each time. They simply rent new furniture when they reach their new home
16、s. Young people with little money do not want to buy cheap furniture that they may soon dislike. They prefer to wait until they have enough money to buy furniture that they really like. Meanwhile, they find they can rent better quality furniture than they could afford to buy.One family, who now have
17、 a large, beautiful home of their own, liked their rented furniture so much that they decided to keep renting it instead of buying new things. But usually people dont like to tell others about it. The idea of renting home furnishings is still quite new, and they are not sure what their neighbors mig
18、ht think. (248words)6. Which of the following has become one of Americas fastest growing businesses? _A. Selling home furnishings.B. Renting furnished apartments.C. Selling used furniture.D. Renting home furnishings.7. Why do some people prefer to rent furniture? _A. Because the furniture they get i
19、n this way is new.B. Because it saves them a lot of money.C. Because it saves them much trouble and money.D. Because they can always get better quality furniture in this way.8. What can you infer from the passage? _A. The idea of renting furniture is not acceptable.B. Renting furniture is not popula
20、r in the couples home town.C. Only those who dont have enough money to rent furniture.D. People usually grow to like the furniture they have rented.9. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage? _A. Rent or Buy?B. A New Way of Getting Home Furnishings.C. Furnished Apartments.D
21、. A New Idea.10. Young people liked renting home furniture in that _.A. They have less moneyB. They dont want to buy old furnitureC. The new furniture is of good qualityD. They dont have much money and dont want to buy the cheap furniturePassage 3A million tourists go to Barcelona every year. They w
22、ant to see Antonio Gaudes church. This unusual church has a strange history. Gaude was born in Spain in 1852. He had to work and study at the same time. He often missed classes because he had to work, but one day he designed a very unusual show-case for an exhibition in Paris. People began to give h
23、im work. He designed houses, offices and gardens. They were all very unusual. He was soon rich and famous. Then a rich bookseller said, Will you build a church for the poor people of Barcelona? I will pay. I will build schools and workshops, too. They will help the people. I will do it, said Gaudi.
24、He worked for forty years, but he could not finish the church. It was too big. He needed $10,000,000. He gave all his money to the church. He was poor again when he died in 1926, and only the front of the church was finished. But architects, engineers and tourists from all over the world come to see
25、 it. It is very strange, very modern and very revolutionary.11、Which of the following titles best fits the passage? A：Barcelona- a Famous City B：A Strange History of An Unusual Church C：A Poor Architects Unusual Works D：Antonio Gaudis Life答案： C 12、Which of the following is NOT true? A：Gaudi was a Sp
26、anish architect B：Gaudi devoted most of his life to the building of the church C：People all over the world admire the architect very much D：many tourists go to see Gaudis unfinished church答案： B 13、Gaudi sometimes missed classes because _. A：he didnt like it B：he had to work at the same time C：they w
27、ere too difficult D：he had to build a church答案： B 14、The church is unusual because _. A：its unfinished B：its strange C：its modern D：all of the above答案： D 15、According to the passage, Gaude _. A：suffered a lot in his life B：was full of sympathy to the poor C：always created unusual works D：both B and
28、C答案： DPassage 4It has been reported that in colleges across the United States, the daytime serial drama known as the soap opera has suddenly become “in”. Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4:30p.m., college television lounges are filled with soap opera fans who cant wait to see the next episode in the
29、 lives of their favorite characters.Actually, soaps are more than a college favorite; they are a youth favorite. When school is out, high-school students are in front of their TV sets. One young working woman admitted that she turned down a higher paying job rather than give up watching her favorite
30、 serials. During the 1960s, it was uncommon for young people to watch soap operas. The moon of the sixties was very different from now. It was a time of seriousness, and talk was about social issues of great importance. Now, seriousness has been replaced by fun. Young people want to be happy. It may
31、 seem strange that they should turn to soap opera, which is known for showing trouble in people lives. But soap opera is enjoyment. Young people can identify with the soap opera character, who like college-age viewer, is looking for happy love, and probably not finding it. And soap opera gives young people a chance to feel close to people without having to bear any responsibility for their problems. 16.What is soap opera? A. Plays based on sci
