How did your friendships begin? Most start with a short conversation on a random day. Asking about a homework assignment in class or complaining about your painful legs after playing in a soccer game, you found your best pal by accident.

“Small talk is where all your relationships begin,” Forbes magazine summed up.

The following is a five-step guide to making small talk from Bernardo J. Carducci, the director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast, US. Let’s have a look.

Getting started

Begin by talking about the setting, such as the weather outside or the room you are in (“It’s cold in here, isn’t it?”). The purpose of talking about the setting is to show the other person that you are willing to make a conversation.

②The personal introduction

You should mention something about yourself, such as your name. A good personal introduction helps move the conversation forward.

③Looking for topics

At this point, you and your conversation partner need to find common ground. This is a good time to ask questions or to refer back to things you’ve said or heard earlier. Don’t worry if it gets quiet. The other person is probably just thinking of something to say.

④Expanding the topic

The goal is to keep the conversation going. At every stage, you should be careful not to talk too much. But don’t let the other person dominate the conversation either. If that starts to happen, mention something about yourself when he or she takes a breath.

⑤A polite ending

When ending a conversation, let the person know you’ll be leaving soon, express gratitude for the conversation and set the stage for a future conversation. For example, you could say, “I really must be going soon, but I had a great time chatting with you. I really liked hearing your opinion about that new movie. Here’s my phone number. Call or text me if you know of any other movies you think I might enjoy.”

1.According to the article, starting by talking about the setting is meant to ________.

A. find common ground                          B. impress the other person

C. make a conversation                         D. make the room warmer

2.What does the underlined word “dominate” mean in Tip④?

A. interrupt                   B. control                  C. adapt          D. simplify 

3.When ending a conversation, you’d better ________.

A. talk about how much you want to keep talking

B. show that you’ve not enjoyed the talk

C. mention a specific movie that you love          

D. give your opinion about the other person’s earlier comments

4.The main purpose of the article is to ________.

A. encourage students to make more friends

B. give students tips on making small talk

C. introduce popular topics for students  

D. teach students how to create friendships

 

Water goes around and around Earth in a never ending journey called the water cycle（循环）. The sun heats up lakes, oceans, and other wet places on Earth. When the water gets warm enough, it changes into vapour. Plants also give off lots of water vapour. Some of this water vapour cools off high in the sky and becomes clouds. Then it falls back to Earth in a new place as rain or snow. This cycle happens over and over again.

The ground can absorb water like a sponge (海绵). If you could see this groundwater, it wouldn’t look like a lake or river. The groundwater is mixed in with the rocks and sand that lie in layers(层) below Earth’s surface.

Groundwater moves along slowly. How slowly? Maybe 1.5 kilometres in one century. Some of this water has been underground for thousands of years. And once groundwater is pumpedout of the ground from a deep well（井） by people, it may take hundreds of years for another water to take its place.

1.In which order does water go around Earth?

a .Fall down as rain or snow. 

b. Heated up by the sun on lakes, oceans and other wet places.

c. Cool off high in the sky.

d. Form clouds.

e. Change into vapour.

A．dacbe            B．becda            C．caebd            D．bceda

2.The groundwater seems to________.

A．be just on the ground                    B．be pure water like that in a lake or river

C．exist in rocks and sand                   D．flow along like rivers or streams

3.What conclusion（结论） can we draw from the passage?

A．Groundwater can be quickly replaced by other water once pumped out.

B．Groundwater is very valuable.

C．Groundwater has nothing to do with human beings.

D．Groundwater travel in an unknown way.

 

FFather was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes，hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better. paid job. Except. for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.
Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing，fine food and vacation abroad.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he took another course in an open university.
Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Happily, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium.  Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients.
 Over again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
As expected, Father's hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take any more courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to
his family, and it was a promise.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked and studied very hard because ________.

A．he had to support his family

B．he was enthusiastic in attending classes

C．he wanted to bring his family a better lire

D．he had to so as to reduce his family’s complaint

【小题2】What CAN’T Father get through his hard work?

A．Family time.

B．Higher education.

C．Better housing.

D．Vacation abroad.

【小题3】How would the family feel when “Father did not wake up the next day”?

A．To their joy, Father can have a good rest in the end.

B．They should have stopped Father from working so hard.

C．Thank God, Father can stay home with them.

D．There is no point working hard for a better life.

【小题4】What is the function of the italicized(斜体)paragraphs in this passage?

A．To make readers show sympathy for Father.

B．To show how stubborn Father was.

C．To make readers fee l how hard Father worked.

D．To imply a sad ending to the story.

One of Britain’s bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected (可疑的) police killer David Bieber -- and was thanked with flowers by the police. It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to ￡30,000 reward money.

Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt. Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber’s bedroom and to watch him secretly. Then she waited alone for three hours while armed police prepared to storm the building.

 She said: “I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen lined up in the car park I was so glad they were there.”

The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious (怀疑) of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the day before New Year’s Eve with little luggage and wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face. She said: “He didn’t seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact (接触).” Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stall McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.

Officers from Northumbria Police called Vieki at the hotel in Dunston, Gatesheed, at about 11:30 pm to make sure that this was the wanted man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15 minutes.

“It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said ‘Would you go and make yourself known to tile armed officers outside?’. My heart missed a beat.”

Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor room and handed over the key.

“I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that pair of the hotel, so I went to watch. I could not see into the man’s room, but I could see the passage. The police kept shouting at the man to come out with his hands showing. Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed (带手铐)。

The underlined phrase “be in line for” (paragraph 1) means __

       A. get          B. be paid       C. ask for       D. own

Vicki became suspicious of David Bieber because __________.

       A. the police called her

       B. he looked very strange

       C. he came to the hotel with little luggage

       D. he came to the hotel the day before New Year’s Eve

Vicki’s heart missed a beat because _________.

       A. the phone went again B. she would be famous

       C. the policemen had already arrived    D. she saw 20 policemen in the car park

David Bigber was most probably handcuffed in ________.

       A. the passage B. the man’s room 

C. Vicki’s bedroom      D. the top floor room

The whole event probably lasted about _______ hours from the moment Bieber came to the hotel to the arrival of some armed officers.

A.6            B.8               C.11           D.14