Like most English children, I learned foreign languages at school. When I made my first visit to the United States, I was sure I could have a nice and easy holiday without any language problem. But how wrong I was!

    At the American airport, I was looking for a public telephone to tell my friend Danny that I had arrived. An American asked if he could help me. "Yes," I said, '1 want to give my friend a ring."

"Well, that's nice. Are you getting married?" he asked. "No," I replied, "I just want to tell him I have arrived." "Oh," he said, "there is a phone downstairs on the first floor." "But we're on the first floor now," I said.

    "Well, I don't know what you are talking about Maybe you aren't feeling too well after your journey," he said. "Just go and wash up, and you will feel a lot better." And he went off, leaving me wondering where on earth I was: At home we wash up after a meal to get the cups and plates clean. How can I wash up at an airport?

    At last we did meet. Danny explained the misunderstanding: Americans say "to give someone a call", but we English say "to give somebody a ring". When we say "to wash your hands", they say "to wash up". And Englishmen start numbering from the ground floor so the first floor is the second for Americans.

1.The writer went to America by ______.

A. plane             B. ship               C. bus                 D. train

2.The writer went to America for______  .

A. education       B. business         C. holiday           D. friendship

3.The American thought "a ring" should be a________ .

A. phone call       B. present         C. person                 D. letter

4.Englishmen usually wash up________    .

    A. after dinner         B. after a journey

    C. when they are tired  D. before they telephone someone

5.The third floor in England is the ______floor in America.

    A. first              B. second        C. third                 D. Fourth

 

What makes 15,000 men and women run for hours, and what makes them run through the streets on a cold day without coats? I was one of those runners.  The race is called marathon (马拉松).

I had never run more than eight miles before, and here I was training.  Since the race is in April, I had to run throughout the winter, and in Boston, winters are cold. For most people, just putting on their shirts, sweaters, jackets, and hats is exercise enough. I found myself out on the dark streets, running along ice sidewalks (人行道). Even in gloves, my fingers got so cold that they looked like red carrots. My nose didn't get warm until lunchtime !

Finally, the big day arrived. The weather was cold, with ice and rain. Bang! The gun sounded, and we started. I didn't go anywhere at first because I was standing behind so many people. I had to wait for them to move.

At first, the running was easy.  The other runners just seemed to pull me along. Somewhere around the 20-mile mark I even said to myself, "This is nothing, why did I train so hard?"

Then I hit "the wall". "The wall" is what marathon runners call the special point. I knew my body reached the point and I thought I couldn't go any more. I was out of breath and my legs turned into pieces of wood.  I was almost falling down.  I can't remember anything about the last five miles of the race.

I kept running though. At last, I heard a voice at the finishing line.

"You look good," my friend Ted said. "How did it feel?"

"Wonderful !" I replied.

For everything, if you devote yourself into it, there will be a way. I finished the race, at least, in my heart, I was the winner.

1.Which one best describes the weather on the race day?

A．Cold and rainy.

B．Cold and sunny.

C．Dry and cloudy.

D．Wet and foggy.

2. How did the writer feel about the race during the first 20 miles?

A．Difficult.

B．Boring.

C．Easy.

D．Interesting.

3. According to the article, what must someone do to prepare for a marathon?

A．One must eat certain food and get plenty of sleep.

B．One must be willing to eat, sleep, and train twenty-four hours a day.

C．One must run along ice sidewalks every day.

D．One must be willing to train a lot and doesn't give up easily.

4.Then I hit "the wall". What do you think "hit the wall" means here?

A．撞击墙壁

B．到达极限

C．抵达终点

D．中途加速

 

I bought a jasmine（茉莉花）plant for my office. When I bought it, I was told it would bloom（开花）and the sweet smell would fill my office. I had the plant for two months, and every day I looked at it, but there weren’t any flowers or pleasant smell. I was not happy, so I gave the plant to my friend Linda.

One day, another friend Mary called and invited me to her office. When I walked in, her jasmine flowers surprised me. I reached out to touch the flowers. Mary cut some and gave them to me. I couldn’t help smelling them. Surrounded by the sweet smell of only a handful of these flowers, I suddenly understood something.

Mary bought her plant the same time I did. It took a year for her jasmine to bloom. I was so impatient for mine to bloom; regretfully, I gave it away.

In a way my life is like the jasmine plant. I need to be patient and let things happen.

Last Sunday Linda told me that she was going abroad the next week. Before she left, she returned the plant to me. This time I am going to wait. I have learned that when we want something in our life, we have to be patient. I am slowly learning to have that patience to wait for my jasmine to bloom.

1. Before she gave the jasmine away, the writer had it for.

A. one day                  B. one year                 C. two weeks              D. two months

2. When the writer saw Mary’s jasmine, she felt _____.

A. unhappy                 B. peaceful                 C. hopeful                   D. surprised

3. What has the writer learned from her experience?

A. Patience is needed in life.

B. Flowers can make life better.

C. Friendship is necessary for us.

D. Jasmine can be a wonderful plant.

 

Going to a friend’s house is very exciting. You may spend time with a friend and get to see where he lives. So remember to be polite.
When to arrive
The first thing to remember is that when a friend invites you, you need to arrive on time. If your friend tells you to come “around 3:00”, that means you can turn up a little bit after 3:00. But usually it is a good idea to arrive at the right time.
What to bring
Often it is also nice to bring something to your friend’s house. This could be a box of chocolates for you two to share, or maybe a movie that you can watch together. You can also bring some flowers. A little gift is a nice way to show your friend that you are excited to be at his house.
How to greet (问候)
When you visit your friend’s house, you may also meet his parents. You should tell them who you are and they may tell you their names. As a child, I went to visit my friend Paul. I called his parents by their first names John and Mary. But now I know it is more polite to call them Mr. or Mrs. Smith. This will show them more respect (尊重) and then they may tell you to call them by their first names. Another way to show respect is to call them Madam or Sir. 
It is a cool thing to visit a friend’s house. Be polite to your friend and your friend’s parents, and you will be invited again!
【小题1】 If you are told to get to your friend’s house around 5:00 p.m., it is polite to arrive at_____

A．5:02 p.m.

B．4:50 p.m.

C．4:30 p.m.

D．5:30 p.m.

【小题2】When the writer was a child, he called his friend’s father _____.

A．Smith

B．John

C．Mary

D．Paul

【小题3】The passage mainly (主要) tells us _____.

A．when to arrive at your friend’s house	B．how to greet people
C．what to bring to your friend	D．how to be a good visitor