A

In most English?speaking countries， it is necessary and of great value to make small talk in certain situations. There are a few different reasons why people use small talk. The first， and most obvious， is to break an uncomfortable silence. You may not feel like chatting with anyone at a party， but if someone introduces you to another person who you do not know anything about， you have to start some small talk in order to show a polite interest in getting to know that person better.

There are certain “safe” topics that people usually make small talk about. The weather is probably the number one thing that people who do not know each other well discuss. Sometimes even friends and family members discuss the weather when they meet or commence a conversation. Another topic is current events. Sports news is a very common topic， especially if a local team or player is doing extremely well or badly. Entertainment news， such as a celebrity who is in town， is another good topic. If there is something that you and the other speakers have in common， that may also be acceptable to talk about.

There are also some subjects that are not considered acceptable when you make small talk. Discussing personal information such as salaries or a recent divorce is not done between people who do not know each other well. Compliments （赞美） on clothing or hair are acceptable； however， you should never say anything （good or bad） about a persons body. Also， it is not safe to discuss subjects that society thinks controversial such as religion or politics. Last， it is not wise to continue talking about an issue that the other person does not seem comfortable with or interested in.

1. What does the author think of small talk in certain situations according to Paragraph 1？

A. Boring. B. Meaningless.

C. Hard. D. Important.

2. What does the underlined word “commence” in Paragraph 2 probably mean？

A. Discuss. B. Start.

C. Remember. D. Change.

3. If you are introduced to a stranger， you can start small talk by ___ .

A. commenting on his health

B. discussing religion or politics

C. complimenting him on his clothes

D. talking about some personal information

B

When I was three， the most children I made friends with were about three or four. But I was shy and didnt join in activities. Even in preschool， I tried to avoid the groups at play. I just didnt fit in. But I kept on smiling and trying to be friendly. The adults in my life were more easily understood than my peers （同齡人）. They were children. At that point， I wasnt any more.

I started kindergarten knowing how to count to 100 and how to read. But even though I was far ahead of some of the other children， I was no perfect student. I was excited by all the friends I could make. But soon I discovered that I was hurt easily by their words. I made friends， but I didnt keep them， and eventually I was left alone. I sat alone， trying to keep happy and pretending that I didnt need anyone else to be happy.

My parents loved me. I know they did. But I dont understand why Id always been left to my own toys as a child. I explored the world in my own way， which gave me loneliness. The loneliness would invade （入侵） my body and pull me down to the floor， making me cry. Unlike other children at my age， I really didnt have a friend to spend time with. So I made them in my head.

The loneliness still controls me now. Its the reason why I was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. At times， I feel the choking and biting， and I know its the younger me reminding me I still have a lot to move beyond.

4. What can we learn about the young author from Paragraph 1？

A. He was very afraid of adults.

B. He didnt have friends around.

C. He didnt like to take part in activities.

D. He preferred to play with his peers very much.

5. What happened to the author when he attended kindergarten？

A. He always pretended to be unhappy.

B. He was always hurt by others words.

C. He hated to make friends with others.

D. He was thought unable to be a perfect student.

6. The author mentioned his parents in Paragraph 3 to show ___ .

A. he does respect and love them

B. they are hard-working parents

C. they were helpless about his situation

D. his problem has something to do with them

7. What can we learn about the author from the last paragraph？

A. He hopes to make many friends.

B. He has a serious physical illness.

C. He has recovered from his loneliness.

D. He is suffering a lot from his loneliness.

C

Dolphins are not fish， but warm-blooded animals. They live in groups， and speak to each other in their own language. In this way they are like other animals， such as bees and birds. But dolphins are very different from almost all land animals. Their brain is nearly the same size as our own， and they live a long time—at least twenty or thirty years.

Like some animals， dolphins use sound to help them find their way around. They also make these sounds to talk to each other and to help them find food. We now know they do not use their ears to receive these sounds， but the lower part of the mouth， called the jaw.

Strangely， dolphins seem to like man， and for thousands of years there have been stories about the dolphin and its friendship with people.

There is a story about sailors in the 19th century. In a dangerous part of the sea off the coast of New Zealand， they learnt to look for a dolphin called Jack. From 1871 to 1903 Jack met every boat in the area and showed it the way. Then in 1903 a passenger on a boat called The Penguin shot and wounded Jack. He recovered and for nine years more continued to guide all ships through the area—except for The Penguin.

Today， some people continue to kill dolphins， but many countries of the world now protect them and in these places it is against the law to kill them.

8. Why are the dolphins different from many land animals？

A. They have large brains. B. They live in groups.

C. They are warm-blooded. D.

9. What helps the dolphin find its way around？

A. Its ears. B. Its nose.

C. Its eyes. D. Its mouth.

10. Why did the sailors off the coast of New Zealand look for Jack？

A. They wanted his help.

B. He was seriously wounded.

C. They enjoyed playing with him.

D. He was lonely and liked to be with people.

11. What does the writer want to show us by telling the story of Jack？

A. Jack is different from other dolphins.

B. Dolphins should be protected by law.

C. Dolphins are friendly and clever.

D. People are cruel to animals.

D

Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example， in American culture， the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A womans smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion across cultures. For example， many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places （although this is less common in big cities）. Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places； some Americans believe that Russians dont smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures， a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.

Our faces show emotions， but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as members of another do does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather， there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressiveness permitted. For example， in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends， Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.

It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits， we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.

12. What does the smile usually mean in the US？

A. Love. B. Politeness.

C. Joy. D. Kindness.

13. The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that a smile can ___.

A. show personal habits

B. be used to hide true feelings

C. show friendliness to strangers

D. be used to show pleasure in public

14. What should we do before attempting to “read” people？

A. Learn about their relations with others.

B. Understand their cultural backgrounds.

C. Find out about their past experience.

D. Figure out what they will do next.

15. What is the best title for the text？

A. Cultural Differences B. Smiles and Relationships

C. Facial Expressiveness D. Habits and Emotions

Weekends are time to relax and forget the worries of everyday work. 1 However， the success you long for might be hiding somewhere in what you do over the weekend. Here are the top four things done by successful people on weekends.

Enjoy simple things. Spend time with your wife on the swing with a cup of tea， or just call your parents or visit them. 2 Take things and ideas as they come and enjoy the simple things.

3 While you are enjoying the weekend， make sure you plan your days for the week ahead as well. It is important to understand that a good look into the coming week will help make you more organized， planned and ready.

Find some “alone time”. The Internet and technology have invaded （侵擾） our privacy， time and space like never before. For the weekend， limit your Internet time and let your mind rest. The world is not going to come to an end as you relax.

4 Take your own time to do some other things.

Exercise. If you are really busy on all your weekdays， it becomes essential and important that you make time for some sort of physical activity or exercise during the weekend. 5 At night， you will usually end up spending time with family or friends or get engrossed （全神贯注的） in other activities.

A. Plan ahead.

B. Have a good rest.

C. Dont plan the whole day like any other day.

D. For a change， write a letter or go to a library.

E. Try to organize a long exercise period at a time.

F. Make sure that you exercise at the start of the day.

G. Many of you might want to spend more time watching TV to relax.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Tim Becker and his neighbors are doing something to make their neighborhood a trouble-free area.

When Tim Becker gets into his car to go shopping， he doesnt just 1 to a store and back home. He always looks

2 up and down the streets of his neighborhood. He looks for anything 3 such as strange cars， loud noises， broken windows， or people 4 on street corners.

Tim 5 to a neighborhood watch group in Stoneville， Indians， USA. The neighborhood watch group 6 on the third Wednesday of every month. Thats 7 Tim gets together with about ten of his neighbors to 8 community

safety. Members of the neighborhood watch group want to help the police 9 their homes， streets， and families safe.

Tina Stedman， president of their neighborhood watch group， 10 with Tim. “People seem to think that 11 happens to other people but not to themselves. Well， it has never happened to me，” She says， “but I dont think anyone has the 12 to steal from other people or to make them feel 13 living in their own homes.”

Alex， a member of the group， says that all the neighbors

14 out for one another. “We 15 each others homes. We keep watching on the neighborhood at night and on weekends. Usually a 16 of four or five of us goes out together. If something doesnt look right， then we call the 17 . For example， if we notice a group of teenagers who seem to be looking for 18 ， or someone destroying property （財产）， we 19 to the police.”

Alex feels the neighborhood watch group 20 a lot in keeping crime down. Her husband Jim agrees， “Police are good people， but they cant do everything.”

1. A. walk B. run C. drive D. rush

2. A. carefully B. curiously C. nervously D. seriously

3. A. familiar B. unusual C. expensive D. uncertain

4. A. waiting B. pointing C. resting D. gathering

5. A. attends B. belongs C. goes D. turns

6. A. meets B. wanders C. practices D. searches

7. A. where B. why C. when D. how

8. A. introduce B. hear C. argue D. discuss

9. A. keep B. hold C. build D. protect

10. A. speaks B. fights C. agrees D. lives

11. A. action B. condition C. change D. crime

12. A. right B. chance C. courage D. mind

13. A. unlucky B. unsafe C. disappointed D. disgusted

14. A. set B. let C. hold D. look

15. A. care B. enter C. watch D. manage

16. A. group B. series C. number D. crowd

17. A. judges B. police C. firemen D. doctors

18. A. work B. money C. service D. trouble

19. A. bring B. give C. shout D. report

20. A. needs B. helps C. finds D. gets

If you are learning English， it is not enough only to keep in mind the rules of grammars. Try to read stories in English and speaking in English wherever you can. When you had learned to use the language， you are sure not fail in the test. A few days after the exam， you should go to bed early. Dont stay up later at night studying. Before you understand the exactly meaning of each question， we should not pick up your pen to write. When you have been finished your paper， be sure to read over your answers， correct mistakes you could see and make sure that you havent missed anything.

有的學校为了提高学生的身体素质，建议将体育纳入高考。请以“健康与学习”为主题，用英语写一篇短文，谈谈你对此建议的看法。

内容包括：

1﹒你是否赞成此建议（简述原因）；

2﹒你的建议。

注意：

1﹒词数100左右；

2﹒可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

参考词汇：高考 College Entrance Examination