A

It is not unusual for us to gather with our nearest and dearest on the weekends. But do you know that holidays, much like relationships, can be “made, maintained (保持) and broken” through conversations? Deborah Tannen, a Georgetown University linguistics (语言学) professor, believes so. She offers suggestions to improve communication at the holiday table and beyond. Let’s take a look.

* A round dining table is best for promoting (促成) a lively conversation because everyone faces one another.

* Avoid (保持) seating grandparents at the ends of a rectangular (长方形的) table, even though it is the traditional place of honor. Elderly people may feel lonely there because they will be unable to hear or keep up with a conversation.

* Women prefer to face each other and make eye contact when they talk. Men might look around at other things. “Guys may be more relaxed keeping their gaze (盯着看) on the TV,” says Tannen. “They’ll still be listening, though.”

* Be aware (意识到) that people have different ways of talking. Each person has a different sense of tone, rhythm, timing and how long of a pause is normal in a conversation. Be aware of people who seem left out. If you feel you are doing all the talking, hold back to give others a chance to join in. If you feel you aren’t getting a chance to speak, try pushing yourself to start talking before it seems natural or polite.

* Some families find that gatherings go more smoothly (顺利地) if they participate (参与) in an outdoor activity. Going to a park for a walk may be more enjoyable than sitting around chatting.

THE WASHINGTON POST

1. The purpose of the article is to _____.

A. inform us of some basic table manner

B. introduce Deborah Tannen and her achievement

C. give some advice on how to spend weekend

D. suggest how to make the holiday a time of great communication

2. According to Deborah Tannen, seating the elders at the ends of a rectangular table _____.

A. might prevent them from talking

B. is likely to embarrass them

C. is to show them honor and respect

D. allows them to follow a conversation

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. Men tend to make more eye contact than women while talking.

B. Men may be more relaxed talking while watching TV.

C. Women speak faster and with a higher tone than men.

D. Women prefer outdoor activities over sitting around chatting.

4. According to Deborah Tannen, you should _____.

A. look at the person you are talking with

B. listen more carefully when you feel you are not a part of a conversation

C. try to find an interesting topic to talk about

D. not talk endlessly without giving others a chance to speak

B

Do you find that late at night, your homework done, you aren’t tired enough to sleep? In fact, you could get out of bed and go for a run, or play a quick game of basketball? It’s not a good feeling because, although you don’t feel sleepy, you certainly will in the morning.

It’s probably not coffee or tea or other stimulants (刺激物) that are the problem. Indeed, it may not be a problem at all, according to some researchers, just the way the teenage body works. But not all schools seem to realize this.

It seems that some American schools are getting the message and giving teenagers more time to sleep in the morning. They’ve found that starting after 8am makes students more likely to turn up on time to school, do better work, and generally feel happier.

But in most American schools after school activities like sports and bus routes are given as reasons for a morning start time between 7am and 8am.

All this, the US National Sleep Foundation (协会) says, has serious consequences (后果) for teenagers. It means they don’t get the 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night they need. In fact some teens get just 7 hours or less under the covers. Researchers have come to the conclusion over the last 10 years that teens cannot easily fall asleep until about 11pm and need to sleep until about 8 the next morning.

Mary Carskadon of Brown University was in charge of (负责) a study of teen saliva (口水). Her team measured the amount of sleep-producing hormone (荷尔蒙) in the saliva.

She found teens have a higher hormone level late at night than either adults or young children. It also remains high the morning after. Why this is the case is not yet clear to scientists. But experts say they do know that the consequences to teenagers sleep deprivation (剥夺) are more serious than classrooms full of sleepy kids.

Falling asleep at roll call (点名) is just the beginning of the problem. In her book Snooze … or Lose Helen Emsellem says that sleep-deprived teens get sick more easily, are prone (易于) to headaches and get poorer grades.

THE WASHINGTON POST

5. According to the article, what contributes to many teenagers’ late sleeping habits?

A. Coffee and tea. B. Some stimulants.

C. Biological clock. D. Activities before sleep.

6. According to researchers, starting schools later in the morning is likely to ______.

A. lead teenagers to go to bed later

B. cause teenagers to become sick more easily

C. help teenagers get on with each other better

D. improve teenagers’ academic performance

7. ______ has the highest sleep-producing hormone level in their saliva late at night?

A. Young children. B. Teenagers.

C. The middle-aged. D. Old people.

8. Which of the following is FALSE?

A. Early morning starts are to blame for teen sleep deprivation.

B. Many American teenagers have trouble getting enough sleep.

C. Many American schools argue that after school activities help teenagers sleep.

D. The book Snooze … or Lose stresses the importance of good sleep for teenagers.

C

9. What can we learn about the driverless taxi from the first news story?

A. It is powered by petrol.

B. It can carry up to five people.

C. Passengers can go to their destination by simply pressing a button.

D. There are 18 such taxis in use at Heathrow airport in London.

10. Which of the following is an advantage of the driverless taxi?

A. It can solve the traffic problem completely.

B. It is a form of environmentally friendly transport.

C. It will save passengers a lot of money.

D. Passengers can choose to go anywhere they want.

11. What’s the second news story mainly about?

A. How different people handle anger in different ways.

B. Insults don’t make people so angry when they’re lying down.

C. When they are standing up, people are more likely to insult others.

D. If a person is insulted while standing up, he/she is less likely to respond with anger.

12. What can we learn from the second news story?

A. If you must upset someone, make sure they’re in a good mood.

B. The students were told that they were taking part in an anger study.

C. The students were asked to write an essay on how to deal with smoking in public.

D. Scientists believe that body position has an effect on emotions.

D

When I saw a big handmade signboard “Welcome Yuxin” at the airport, I knew I had found a caring family at the other side of the world – the United States.

My host mom had already decorated (装饰) my room for me. There was a doll on one side of the room, and a bookcase full of books on the other – they had heard I loved reading. Mom had also prepared a keyboard for me, since she knew that I played the piano.

My life in the family did not go so well at first. Because I am the only child in my family in China, I was not used to having two younger kids – Zachary and Grace – running around me yelling (大喊大叫) all the time.

Mom had a serious talk with me about this problem on a Sunday afternoon. She told me: “You can’t just come home from school every day, go to your room and do your homework. You need to be a part of this family. You need to play with my kids for at least an hour.” This rule was very annoying (烦人的) at first. I did not have much experience playing with children.

However, the more time I spent with the kids, the more I grew to love them. We played games and read books together. I even taught them Chinese. Thanks to Mom’s rule, I began to feel like I was really part of the family.

Mom also inspired (启发) me to live a healthier life. She got up early every morning to go running. On weekends, she took the whole family to visit parks or go camping.

I did not like sports much when I was back home, but now I love to join all kinds of sports. I am healthier and more confident too.

With my American family, I found joy and laughter. I learned to live with energy and optimism (乐观) thanks to the care and responsibility of my loving American parents. By Jiang Yuxin

13. The passage is mainly about ______.

A. the cultural differences Yuxin experienced in America

B. how Yuxin learned to get along with younger kids in America

C. how much Yuxin’s caring host family in America changed her

D. various difficulties Yuxin met in America

14. From Paragraph 2, we can see that _______.

A. the host mom was good at decorating room

B. Yuxin was fond of American doll

C. the host mom tried hard to make Yuxin feel at home

D. Yuxin kept busy with a lot of hobbie

15. What led Yuxin to feel like she was really part of the family?

A. Yuxin’s talks with her host parents.

B. Having to join in sports with the family.

C. The host mom’s rule about playing with the kids.

D. Enjoying weekends with the host family.

16. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Yuxin’s life with her American host family went very smoothly from the beginning.

B. The host mom cared about Yuxin’s overall development.

C. The host family’s two children didn’t like Yuxin at all.

D. Yuxin didn’t notice what the host family did for her.

17. How did the host mom influence Yuxin gradually?

A. By words and by force.

B. By words and by actions.

C. By force and by behavior.

D. By talking and by force.

E

When I worked as a waitress in Chicago, US, my coworkers (同事) and I would groan (叹 息) whenever we heard someone with a foreign accent (口音) coming into our restaurant. We knew what it meant to serve a non–American: no tip. We would work just as hard as we always did, but we might not get paid.

Americans have an unspoken rule about tipping: they give tips to almost everyone who offers them a service of some kind. Americans tip their waiters, barbers (理发师) and taxi drivers. An appropriate (合适的) tip is between 15 and 20 percent of the amount charged for the service, but the charge for the tip doesn’t appear on the bill. The customer is expected to add it on himself/herself.

So if you order $100 worth of food, you are expected to pay your waiter at least $15, making your total payment $115. Tipping less than this sends a message to your waiter that you think they’ve done a bad job serving you. And to leave no tip at all is simply unacceptable.

It’s not that American waiters are greedy (贪婪的). In many countries, waiters are paid a salary (工资) for their work. They’ll earn money even if no one comes into the restaurant. This system offers much more safety for waiters than the American version. In the US, waiters know that a night without customers means a night without pay.

Some countries include a tip for waiters – a “service charge” – on the bill itself. Since the tip is included with the other charges, waiters don’t need to worry about people forgetting to tip. But in the US, waiters do not receive a salary, and service charges only appear on bills when there are six or more customers at the table.

Since almost all American customers are familiar (熟悉) with the system (体系), they know to add a tip without being told. But visitors to the US may expect waiters to be paid a salary, or think that the tip is included on the bill.

So as much as we waiters loved hearing stories about other places from our foreign customers, we were always nervous when they got ready to leave the restaurant. We were never sure what to expect. By Ariel Lewiton, 21st Century staff

18. Why would the author and her coworkers groan when they had to serve a non-American?

A. They would have difficulty understanding the customer.

B. They had to work harder to get tips from the customer.

C. They might not get any payment from the customer.

D. They thought a non-American customer would be hard to please.

19. If you order $550 worth of food, you are supposed to pay your waiter at least ______.

A. $55 B. $82.5

C. $100 D. $110

20. Why would it be thought unacceptable not to tip a waiter in the US?

A. They enjoy getting tips from their customers.

B. They work harder than waiters in other countries.

C. They are greedier than waiters in other countries.

D. They earn most of their money from diners’ tips.

Key:

1-4 DABD 5-8 CDBC 9-12 CBBD

13-17 CCCBB 18-20 CBD