The Turning Point

A handsome, middle aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down. Before he  1 , he couldn't help but  2  a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was  3  they were making fun of something about him, and it wasn't until he remembered he was  4  a small pink ribbon on the lapel (翻领) of his suit that he became aware of what the  5 was all about.

The man  6  the reaction as ignorance, but the smirks (嬉笑) began to get to him. He looked one of the  7  men square in the eye, placed his hand beneath the ribbon and asked, "This?"

With that the men all began to laugh out loud. The man he  8  said, as he fought back  9 , "Hey, sorry man, but we were just commenting on how  10  your little ribbon looks against your blue jacket!"

The middle aged man  11  motioned for the joker to come over to his table, and invited him to sit down. As  12  as he was, the guy obliged, not really sure why. In a  13  voice, the middle aged man said, "I wear this ribbon to bring  14  about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother's  15 ."

"Oh, sorry. She died of breast cancer?"

"No, she didn't. She's alive and 16. But her breasts nourished (养育) me as an infant, and were a soft  17  place for my  18 when I was scared or  19  as a little boy. I'm very grateful for my mother's breasts, and her  20 ."

 A. ordered                  B. settled                   C. realized                    D. left

A. notice                       B. meet                      C. glance                       D. catch

A. common                   B. strange                   C. natural                      D. obvious

A. showing                    B. wearing                  C. hanging                     D. fixing

 A. fun                         B. talk                        C. joke                          D. story

A. shut off                     B. took off                 C. put off                      D. brushed off

A. happy                       B. rude                       C. dishonest                   D. selfish

A. addressed B. interrupted                              C. scolded                     D. questioned

A. anger                        B. laughter                 C. tears                         D. words

 A. ugly                        B. small                     C. funny                        D. pretty

A. quickly                     B. calmly                   C. cleverly                     D. carefully

 A. unfortunate             B. uncertain                C. unfair                       D. uncomfortable

 A. high                        B. sharp                     C. soft                           D. loud

A. awareness                 B. promotion              C. changes                     D. lessons

A. name                        B. honor                     C. request                      D. sense

A. suffering                   B. wealthy                  C. lucky                        D. well

A. hiding                       B. healing                   C. resting                      D. sleeping

A. hand                         B. arm                       C. head                         D. mind

A. hungry                      B. lonely                    C. proud                        D. nervous

 A. strength                   B. accompany             C. fame                         D. health

You must have a favorite line or pet phrase you repeat often in your conversations. Studies say that pet phrases can reflect our changing society and reveal information about a person’s personality. Here are some of the most popular pet phrases among young people.

脑残---nuts

I love the word and use it whenever I think a person is stupid, or a behavior is crazy. I learned the term from one of my classmates. Once, we saw two high school girls wearing miniskirts on a very cold winter day and my classmate called the two girls “nuts”. I don’t think the word reflects my personality. I use it because it sounds cool.

Diao Yujie, 22, computer science major at Nanjing University.

汗---stunning

I use this word very often. Once, my classmates and I were discussing how amusing QQ is. One guy suddenly burst out, “I have MSN too”. This comment had no relation with the topic we were discussing. I used this word and everybody laughed. I think it is a fantastic word that can change awkwardness to amusement.

Mu Li, 20, journalism major at Beijing Normal University.

晕死---I’m giddy!

I use this word a lot---more often than my classmates. It has became a symbol of me, as my friends sometimes refer to me as the guy who often says the word. I am a person who wants to be different and this word gives me that feeling.

Chen Zhou, 21, Nanjing University.

雷---stunning

I only use this word with my friends. My parents don’t understand it. The word, which is only used among people of my age, is intimate. I think it stands for being young and energetic. And I want to be young forever, so I like the word.

Chen Jianjun, 23, senior at Nanjing University.

If a man wearing suit and a tie is climbing a mountain, what can we say to him according to the passage?

A. nuts                B. I’m giddy.       C. 汗---stunning   D. 雷---stunning

What’s the meaning of “pet phrase” in the first paragraph?

A. 习惯用语       B. 宠物语言       C. 口头禅               D. 座右铭

What’s young people’s attitude to pet phrase?

A. indifferent      B. crazy              C. reasonable         D. against

Pet phrase can ________ according to studies.

A. reflect our changing society  

B. reveal information about a person’s personality

C. make young people popular  

D. both A and B

Gallows humor（黑色幽默）seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress. “Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it's not,” says James M. Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.

Psychologists say that just because you're laughing doesn't mean you’re wasting time. Occasional teasing among colleagues, particularly if it revolves around things associated with the job, can boost creativity, departmental cohesiveness（凝聚力）and performance.

“There are a lot of stressors out there,” says Ed Dunkelblau, a psychologist with the Institute for Emotionally Intelligent Learning in Chicago. “But gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”

This is true as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be inspiring people --- not laughing at them. “Anything that would lift morale（士气）in terms of the company would be good humor,” says Thierry Guedj, a professor of business and psychology at Boston University. “Before you say or do anything, think about, ‘How is this helping my employees’ morale?’”

You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don’t make observations that are aggressive. Most obviously, Dr Guedj says, don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance, or faith. If you have any doubt, it's appropriate, don't go through with it.

Or you can take aim at the one person you know won't be offended（冒犯）:Yourself. “If there's going to be a joke or story, it should be you,” Mr. Dunkelblau says. For example, if you're a marketing manager reviewing a failed campaign that you led, begin with a line like, “The guy who gave permission to this deal might just be looking for work next week.”

“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves too,” Mr. Jones says. “And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”

1.According to the text, gallows humor has the following functions EXCEPT ________.

A. improving performance

B. reducing pressure

C. leading to a big mistake

D. making people more creative

2.What is Ed Dunkelblau’s attitude towards gallows humor?

A. Negative.          B. Positive.         C. Uncertain.          D. Neutral.

3.Which of the following would Dr. Guedj most probably agree with?

A. Gallows humor allows people to laugh at others.

B. Gallows humor is the basic source of morale.

C. Anything that may lift morale can be called gallows humor.  

D. Gallows humor may sometimes be used for the wrong purpose.

4.When people use gallows humor, they should ________.

A. show a sense of belonging

B. observe who is aggressive

C. try to avoid irritating others

D. doubt about the result of humors

5.What can we infer from the text?

A. Laughing at ourselves can help relieve the stress of others.

B. People tend to laugh at others rather than themselves.

C. People who laugh at themselves are hard to be friends with.

D. People can’t avoid offending others with gallows humor.

 

The guy is always running ______ the other cars on the road, unfortunately he ran his car ______ a tree.

A. after; into       B. after; out         C. away; into      D. into; into

 

完形填空（20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

    阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    Everywhere, you will find "the white-haired boy", sometimes called "the fair-haired" boy．He gets special   36   , as if he were above everybody else．You will find him in school, in college, at home, or   37   you work．

    In school, he is teacher's   38   , her favorite who can do nothing   39  ．Sometimes she lets him do little jobs for her．He comes to class in the morning, all shiny and clean．" He is always raising his hand,   40   with answers to the teacher' s questions．And he knows all the answers．

    He gets into your hair, especially if you are at the  41   of the class and die teacher thinks you are slow at learning things．How you   42   the guy!

    At college, he walks across the school ground as if he  43   it．Sometimes he wears a, colorful football or basketball shirt or sweater, with a bright red, or green or yellow college letter   44  worn on the front of it．What   45   shoulders, what muscles he has! He   46   the girls happy by just smiling at them．He has the mark of _47_ on him．   

    At home, "the fair-haired boy" is  48   choice．Sometimes, he is the oldest son—  49  , the youngest．If you are in between, you are out of  50   ．

    Then, you discover that there are others who   51   your feelings, ready to tell you their private   52  ．One of them asks, "What does he have that I haven't got?" You ask yourself the same question．

      53  , there comes a day when you decide to stop hating him. Is it  54  because he has been made boss and you  55   yourself working for him?

A．treatment   B．belief   C．courage  D．encouragement

A．somewhere   B．anywhere C．where    D．everywhere

A．pet B．friend   C．workmate D．child

A．correct B．wrong    C．special  D．difficult

A．curious B．willing  C．interested   D．ready

A．front   B．top  C．bottom   D．point

A．hated   B．envy C．admire   D．like

A．brought B．won  C．owned    D．gained

A．freely  B．quickly  C．delightedly  D．proudly

A．great   B．broad    C．manned   D．bright

A．makes   B．les  C．takes    D．keep

A．success B．challenge    C．faith    D．innocence

A．Father’s   B．Mother’s    C．Sister’s    D．Grandma’s

A．seldom  B．never    C．usually  D．at times

A．pity    B．luck C．shame    D．sight

A．understand  B．realize  C．share    D．reach

A．opinions    B．suggestions  C．expressions  D．thoughts

A．Gradually   B．Finally  C．Surprisingly D．Actually

A．certain     B．true C．perhaps  D．possible

A．see B．know C．notice   D．find