There is a boy called Bill in my gym class who has unbearably yellow teeth that almost make everyone feel unpleasant．Recently another boy told Bill that he should "go Ajax" his teeth．Bill was crushed．If the other boy had been thinking, he would have realized that there is a better way to handle such a situation．He could have dealt with it with tact．He could have showed this hurtful truth in a more careful, sensitive way—that's "tact"．

    If a person isn't sensitive to another's feelings, there is no way he or she can be tactful．Yesterday, my 5-year-old brother proudly announced that he had cleaned the screen on our television set．Unfortunately, he used furniture polish, which produced an oily film on the television screen．My mother smiled arid thanked him for his efforts—and then showed how to clean the screen properly．Her sensitivity enables my brother to keep his self-respect．Yet, sensitivity alone does not make tact．

    "Tactfulness" also requires "truthfulness"．Doctors, for example must be truthful．If a patient has just been disabled in an accident, a tactful doctor will tell the truth—but express it with sensitivity．The doctor may try to give the patient hope by telling them curing techniques under study or about advanced equipment now available．Doctors must use tact with patients' relatives as well．Instead of bluntly saying, "Your husband is disabled," a doctor might say, "I'm sorry, but your husband has lost feeling in his legs and．．．"

    Tact should not be confused with trickery．Trickery occurs when a nurse is about to give a patient an injection（注射） and says, "This won't hurt a bit．" Instead of trickery, the nurse might guarantee the patient that the discomfort of the injection is a small thing compared to the benefits of it．It would also be thoughtful for the nurse to tell the patients about some of these benefits．

    Tact is a wonderful skill to have, and tactful people are usually admired and respected．Without tact our society would become an intolerable place to live in．

The underlined word "crushed" in the first paragraph probably means____．

    A．surprised            B．cheated         C．regretful        D．painful

According to the author, his mother's praise for the brother is ____．

    A．sensitive and tactful                   B．sensitive but not tactful enough

    C．truthful but not tactful enough         D．sensitive but trickish

Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

（The numbers stand for the paragraphs）

In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair-weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (经验) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

1.Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?

A．understanding.	B．honesty.
C．reliability.	D．a sense of humor.

2.If you have fair-weather friends, ______ .

A．they will give you all that they have when you need help

B．you will be refused when you get into trouble

C．you will become rich

D．you can be sure that you get real friends

3.Good friends need to ______.

A．always point out each other's mistakes

B．be helped with money

C．understand each other's feelings

D．have money or luck

4.This passage mainly discuss ______ .

A．the qualities of a friend

B．where to choose friends

C．how to get along with friends

D．the importance of having a friend

 

Some wonderfully creative uses of X-rays have been in the world of art．But the most impressive one is to uncover what has been covered up．Details unfolded by an X-ray of a painting can ' t be seen any other way．For example, in the past, paintings were often repaired if small pieces of paint fell off the canvas （帆布）． These repairs cannot be seen just by looking at the painting．It takes an X-ray to discover where the repairs have been made．

An X-ray of a painting is one of the best ways to tell if it was created by a famous painter or if it is a forgery（赝品）．If there is a question as to whether an old master has painted a certain painting or not, X-rays are made and compared to those of paintings that are known to be original．If the brushstrokes （笔迹） , for example, are shown to be totally different than in other work done by a certain artist, then the painting is proved to be a fake copy．

Since modern paints are usually made from different materials than paints of hundreds of years ago, the image they leave on an X-ray film looks different．This is another way X-rays can be used to spot a forgery．A modem artist will try to make a forgery look hundreds of years old by painting dirty varnish on it or by using artificial means to get the varnish to look cracked．To the naked eye the forgery may look old, but when a careful study of the X-ray image is made, the deception is obvious．

It was common many years ago for an artist to finish a painting, decide it wasn't any good, and paint a completely different picture on top of it．Or artists would paint over others' work —it was their version of recycling．Taking an X-ray is the only way to find out if there is a picture underneath the picture you see with your eyes．Sometimes museums will be more interested in the painting beneath than the one on top, and will restore the older one by having the top layer painstakingly removed．

1.What is the main purpose of the article?

A．To provide information to police who are looking for stolen art．

B．To persuade art dealers to check for fake copies before selling art．

C．To explain how modern technology can be applied in unique ways．

D．To help artists restore damaged artwork to its original appearance．

2.According to the passage，X-rays are used to ______．

A．make repairs on paintings in the past

B．identify the authenticity of an artwork

C．change the materials of a forgery

D．remove the recyclable paints

3.In Paragraph 3, the word "deception" probably means ______．

A．comparison        B．drawback          C．trickery           D．judgement

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．X-ray Detectives

B．Creative Uses of Technology

C．Forgery Studies

D．X-ray Painting Techniques

 

“There is an out – of – date idea that children grow up and leave home when they’re 18,and the truth is far from that,” says Mr．Larry Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin．Today unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents．“There is a great change in the middle class,” declares Allan Schnaiberg of Northwestern University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months．

    Scientists show a number of reasons for this return to the nest．The marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people．A high divorce （离婚） rate and a low remarriage rate make some differences．For some, the expense of an away - from - home college education has become so great that many students now attend local schools．Even after graduation, young people find their wings tied by terrible housing costs．

    Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give security （安全保卫） and moral（道义的） support．Her mother agreed．“Its strange for the kids to pay all that money for rent．It makes sense for kids to stay at home．” But sharing the family home requires changes for all．There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy．Some families, however, manage the careful balancing act．But for others, it proves too difficult．Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times and left three times．“What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol （酒精） problem,” she explains．“He never liked anyone I dated, so I either had to hide away or meet them at friends' houses．”

    Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most scientists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake．Children, can end up with a sense of defeat and failure．And aging parents, who should be enjoying some freedom, find themselves stuck with too many things．Many agree that brief visits, however, can work well．

According to the author, there was once a trend in the U．S．________．

    A．for young adults to leave their parents and live separately

    B．for middle class young adults to stay with their parents

    C．for married young adults to move back home after a lengthy absence

    D．for young adults to get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents

Which of the following does not lead to young adults returning to the nest?

    A．Young adults find housing costs too high．

    B．Young adults are not old enough．

    C．Young adults look for parental comfort and support．

    D．Quite a number of young adults attend local schools．

The underlined word “hassles” in the passage probably means _________．

    A．agreements       B．worries

    C．disadvantages        D．quarrels

According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?

    A．They should share the family expenses．

    B．Children should leave their parents when they are grown up．

    C．Adult children should live away from their parents and visit their parents from time to time．

    D．Parents should support their adult children when they are in trouble．

．One of the disadvantages of young adults returning to slay with their parents is that ______．

    A．there will certainly be inconveniences in even-day life

    B．most parents find it difficult to keep a bigger family going

    C．the young adults try to be overprotected by their parents

    D．public opinion is against young adults staying with their parents

If you have mice in your house, you’re not alone. Having mice doesn’t mean your house is dirty. It is one of the challenges of every house owner.

  When we are trying to catch a mouse, the first thing that comes to our mind is a mouse trap. Mice travel along walls for safety. Don’t touch the trap too much because you will leave your smell on it.

 Usually, mice will not visit your house when they hear there is a cat inside. It will also help you fight against the mice.

  Be careful when using poison (毒药) to kill the mice. It is dangerous because they may touch your food and pollute it.

  Mice can get into the houses through tiny holes. The best way to have a mouse-free house is to close any possible entry(入口).

If there is nothing there for them to eat, they won’t possibly stay.

A. Keep a cat as a pet in your house

B. Cheese is the favorite food of mice.

C. Every house may have mice for some reason.

D. Leave the poison out of your children’s reach.

E. Don’t leave even a small piece of food outside.

F. It will kill them, but you may not be able to find the dead mice.

G. Put a small piece of cheese under the trap, and put it near the wall.