Betty and Harold have been married for years .But one thing still puzzles (困扰) old Harold .How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa ,talking ,go out to a ballgame ,come back three and a half hours later ,and they’re still sitting on the sofa ? Talking ?

What in the world ,Harold wonders ,do they have to talk about ?

Betty shrugs .Talk ? We’re friends .

Researching this matter called friendship ,psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men .No matter what their age ,their job ,their sex ,the results were completely clear :women have more friendships than men ,and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is “marked and unmistakable .”

More than two –thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman .Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend ,and almost always it was a woman .More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend ,most trusted person ,or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress （感情危机）.“Most women ,”says Rubin ,“identified （认定） at least one ,usually more ,trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment ,and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives .”

“In general,”writes Rubin in her new book ,“women’s friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support ,but men’s relationships are marked by shared activities.” For the most part ,Rubin says ,interactions （交往）between men are emotionally controlled –a good fit with the social requirements of “manly behavior .”

“Even when a man is said to be a best friend ,”Rubin writes ,“the two share little about their innermost feelings .Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage ,it wasn’t unusual to hear a man say he didn’t know his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa .”

1.What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that     .

A．he is treated as an outsider rather than a husband

B．women have so much to share

C．women show little interest in ballgames

D．he finds his wife difficult to talk to

2.Rubin’s study shows that for emotional support a married woman is more likely to turn to     .

A．a male friend

B．a female friend

C．her parents

D．her husband

3.Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph ?

A．Men keep their innermost feelings to themselves.

B．Women are more serious than men about marriage.

C．Men often take sudden action to end their marriage.

D．Women depend on others in making decisions.

4.The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around________ .

A．happy and successful marriages

B．friendships of men and women

C．emotional problems in marriage

D．interactions between men and women .

 

ASK LASKAS

YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS. SHE'S GOT ANSWERS

My children go to a primary school where they are not allowed to play football in the playground for fear that a child might be hurt. Besides, now the school says there must be no homework because the local secondary school can't keep up with the amount of homework given in the primary school. Can the school do this?    Puzzled Dad

It can't if enough parents do something about it. It is not just schools. We live in a society which wishes to get rid of risk. However, schools should have a little common sense and courage. Children need risk if they arc to grow up self-sufficient and confident. They need homework, too, if they are to fulfill their academic potential. Complain, loudly.

I have a beautiful teenage daughter who spends an hour making up her face in front of the mirror every day. I tell her to go easy. She just gets mad or bursts into tears. How can I make her understand she's beautiful the way she is.       Plain Mom

You can't. Your daughter is at the age when she's trying to look beautiful, trying on new masks. And if her friends all dress up as she does, you're in for an extra hard time. Support her and tell her she's beautiful — even if she looks ridiculous for now. Then invite her to join you for a day at a spa. Let her try various looks until she's comfortable in her own skin.

Why are the children not allowed to play football in the playground?

A. The school is afraid that children might be injured.

B. The school is not sensible and confident.

C. The children don't have enough time to do homework.

D. The children may fail to fulfill their academic potential.

What disturbs Plain Mom is that her daughter______.

A. becomes mad                                       B. cries a lot

C. spends much time before the mirror    D. is not beautiful enough

The solution to Plain Mom's problem is to______.

A. make her daughter look less ridiculous           B. let her daughter dress up like her friends

C. make her daughter go to a spa every week   D. let her daughter feel herself what beauty is

What does the underlined word spa mean?

A. a place where water with minerals in it           B. a place where people can relax

C. a beauty salon                             D. a swimming pool

One morning Mrs Smith was driving home after she had done shopping. When she drove near a rubbish dump, she noticed a microwave oven(微波炉) not far from the side of the road.“John is a good electrician!”she said to herself.“Perhaps he can repair this. I'll take it home and let him try.”She picked up the oven and put it in the boot of her car. Then she drove on happily. A few kilometers later, she heard the siren (警报器)of a police car behind her. She looked in the driving mirror and saw a policeman waving to her to tell her to pull over and stop.
　Mrs Smith was very puzzled. She slowed down at the side of the road. A traffic policeman got out of the police car and walked up to her.　
“Can I see your driving license and insurance certificate(保险证)，please? ”he asked her. He copied down details of her name, address and the number of the car.“What's wrong, officer?” Mrs Smith asked. The policeman did not reply. He looked in the car and then at the back.      “Open the boot, please.”he said to Mrs Smith.
　Mrs Smith was still puzzled. She opened the boot and pointed to the microwave oven. "I found this old microwave oven a few minutes ago," she said. "I'm just taking it home to see if my husband can repair it." The policeman stared at her for a moment to see if she was telling the truth. "That's not a microwave oven." he said at last. "That's our radar set(雷达装置). It was the start of a speed trap. Do you mind if we have it back?"   Mrs Smith's face turned red. "Oh", she said," I'm very sorry. I wouldn't have touched it if I'd known what it was."
【小题1】Why did Mrs Smith pick up the police's radar set and want to take it home?

A．She had no microwave oven and wanted one.

B．She took it for a waste microwave oven.

C．She saw nobody was looking.

D．She just wanted to steal it.

【小题2】The underlined word "boot" in the third paragraph means_____ .

A．the outer covering for the foot

B．the outer covering for the car

C．the place for luggage at the back of a car

D．the place for metal equipment for protection

【小题3】Choose the right order of the events(事件) given in the passage.
a. The policeman wrote down Mrs Smith's name, address and the car number.
b. Mrs Smith picked up a radar set and put it in the boot of her car.
c. The policeman took back the radar set.
d. Mrs Smith went shopping.
e. A policeman signed Mrs Smith to stop her car.
f. The policeman found the radar set in the boot of Mrs Smith's car.

A．b,d,e,f,c,a

B．d,b,e,f,c,a

C．b,d,e,a,f,c

D．d,b,e,a,f,c

Directions: Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

(A)

ASK LASKAS

YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS. SHE'S GOT ANSWERS

My children go to a primary school where they are not allowed to play football in the playground for fear that a child might be hurt. Besides, now the school says there must be no homework because the local secondary school can't keep up with the amount of homework given in the primary school. Can the school do this?  Puzzled Dad

It can't if enough parents do something about it. It is not just schools. We live in a society which wishes to get rid of risk. However, schools should have a little common sense and courage. Children need risk if they arc to grow up self-sufficient and confident. They need homework, too, if they are to fulfill their academic potential. Complain, loudly.

I have a beautiful teenage daughter who spends an hour making up her face in front of the mirror every day. I tell her to go easy. She just gets mad or bursts into tears. How can I make her understand she's beautiful the way she is.   Plain Mom

You can't. Your daughter is at the age when she's trying to look beautiful, trying on new masks. And if her friends all dress up as she docs, you're in for an extra hard time. Support her and tell her she's beautiful — even if she looks ridiculous for now. Then invite her to join you for a day at a spa (健康美容中心). Let her try various looks until she's comfortable in her own skin.

Why are the children not allowed to play football in the playground?

A. The school is afraid that children might be injured.

B. The school is not sensible and confident.

C. The children don't have enough time to do homework.

D. The children may fail to fulfill their academic potential.

What disturbs Plain Mom is that her daughter______.

A. becomes mad                                                            B. cries a lot

C. spends much rime before the mirror                            D. is not beautiful enough

The solution to Plain Mom's problem is to______.

A. make her daughter look less ridiculous      

B. let her daughter dress up like her friends

C. make her daughter go to a spa every week  

D. let her daughter feel herself what beauty is

Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.

    The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. “Hot water” was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.

    That no longer happens. But we still get in “hot water”. When we are in “hot water”, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble---serious, and not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother, if he comes into the house with dirty shoes.

    Being in “deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in “deep water”, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who cannot swim being thrown into water over his head.

     You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you do not have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest(投资) in stocks(股票) without knowing anything about the stock market.

     “To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.

     “Water over the dam” is another expression about a past event. It is something that is finished. It cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water which has flowed over a dam cannot be brought back again.

53. The passage mainly tells us _______ .

A. the importance of water in our life    B. some expressions about water   

C. some sad stories about water         D. some lessons about daily life

54. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made, you might tell her to forget about it. You say “ _______”.

A. You are in hot water                          B. You are in deep water

C. Keep your head above water               D. It is water over the dam

55．Two of the phrases “to be in hot water” “to be in deep water” mentioned in the passage have the same meaning of “ _______ ”.

A. to be in debt                          B. to be in difficulty

C. to be useless                           D. to be out of water

56. Which of the following expressions is a bit different from the others in meaning?

A. To be in hot water.                B. To be in deep water.

C. To keep your head above water.      D. Water over the dam.