America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real，yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two，perhaps a few letters for a while— then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance，even years later，they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand，because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings，extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes，share their holidays，and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives，they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes，we，as hosts，will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans，however，express their welcome usually at homes，but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes，the welcome will be full，warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans，it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants，except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
【小题1】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?　　

A fish that lives in America can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals got used to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.

The Mangrove Rivulets, a kind of little fish, lives in small pools of water. When their living place dries up, they live on the land, said Scott Taylor, a researcher in Florida.　　　　　　　　　　　　

The fish can grow as large as three inches. They group together and breathe air through their skin before they can find water again.

The new scientific discovery came during a trip.

　 “We were travelling for fun. and one day I kicked over a log (圆木) and the fish came out.” Taylor told reporters by telephone. He said he would make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.

In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.

Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time, while lungfish (肺鱼) found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in a not active (活波的) way. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulets and keep active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at a Canadian University.

More studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.

“These animals live in conditions similar to those millions of years ago, when animals began to move from water onto land.” Wright said.

41. The Mangrove Rivulets is a type of fish that_________.

　 A. lives on land in Africa　　 　　　　　　

B. can stay alive for months out of water

　 C. prefers living in dry places　　 　　　

D. is the longest living fish on earth

42. Who will write a report on Mangrove Rivulets?

A. Scott Taylor.　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. Some reporters.

　 C. Patricia Wright.　　　　　 　　　　　 D. Scientists from Europe.

43. According to the passage, lungfish can___________.

　 A. breathe through its skin　　　　 　　 B. be found in Asia

　 C. keep alive out of water　　　　 　 D. keep alive and walk on land

44. Which one of the sentences below is not true?

A. The Mangrove Rivulets fish can live out of water as long as other animals if it has something to eat.

B. Millions of years ago, animals began to live onto land from water.

C. Lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water in a not active way.

D. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time.

45. What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulets?

A. ft was made by Scott Taylor, a researcher in New York.

　 B. It was helped by an American magazine.

　 C. It was helped by Patricia Wright.

　 D. It was made by a researcher while travelling.

Betty is not a traditional American beauty. She is unfashionable, has thick red glasses, untidy hair and large metal braces (牙套) on her teeth. But this hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of America’s favorite TV characters. So how did she manage to do it?
The answer is that charm can be more attractive than beauty. Betty is the main character in a TV show Ugly Betty. The show is about her life as an office worker at a fashion magazine in New York.
The TV show has just started. Betty has many exciting experiences and romantic stories. Betty is often looked down on and laughed at by the people around. But she manages to do better than others with her hard work, charm and wisdom. The show tells us about how a girl goes from an ugly young duck into a beautiful swan.
Though you may know the ending of the show from the beginning and the story is familiar to many of us, it has still been a big success in the USA. It has attracted a large number of viewers and won two Golden Globes awards, one of the highest honors for a television program in the USA. “I think you can see a bit of Betty in all of us, and I mean men as well, because it’s about the underdog (弱者) ”, says Ashley Jensen, who plays one of the characters on the show.
The program is so popular because of the performance of the 23-year-old actress America Ferrera who plays the role of Betty. She brings the character alive on the screen.
【小题1】Betty is popular because of                   .