A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as farmer or laborer of some sort.

       This attitude toward manual(体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward; furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily got from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

What can we infer from Paragraph 1?

In America, people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man.

In America, people can always rise to the top through their own efforts.

In America, college professors win great respect from common workers.

In America, people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.

Why does the hostess mentioned in the passage cook dinner herself?

Because servants in America are hard to get.

Because she takes pride in what she can do herself.

Because she can hardly afford servants.

Because it is easy to prepare a meal with canned food.

What does the underlined phrase “wait on table” in the second paragraph mean?

A. Work in a furniture shop.         B. Keep accounts for a bar.

C. Wait to lay the table.             D. Serve customers in a restaurant.

What is the passage mainly about?

A respectable self-made family.

American attitude toward manual labor.

Characteristics of American culture

The development of manual labor.

In a class I teach for adults, I recently did the “unpardonable．” I gave the class homework!

The assignment （任务） was to “go to someone you love   36   the next week and tell them you love them．It   37   to be someone you have never   38   those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time．” That doesn’t   39   like a very tough assignment,   40   you stop to realize that most of the men  were over 35 and were   41   in the generation of men that were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho （男子汉气概的）．” Showing feelings or crying （heaven forbid!） was just not done   42  this was a very threatening assignment for some．

At the   43   of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to   44   what happened when they told someone they loved them．I fully expected one of the   45   to volunteer, as was usually the   46  , but on this evening one of the men raised his hand．He appeared quite moved and a bit   47  ．As he unfolded out of his chair, he began by saying, “Dennis．I was quite   48   with you last week when you gave us the assignment．I didn’t think that I had   49  to say those words to and   50  , who were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my conscience （良知） started talking to me．It was telling me that I   51   exactly who I needed to say I love you to．You see, five years ago, my father and I had a heated   52   and really never resolved it since that one．We   53   seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings．But   54   then, we hardly spoke to each other．So last．Tuesday   55   I got home, I had convinced myself．I was going to tell my father I loved him．”

A．after          B．before          C．for             D．within

A．has to        B．ought to        C．had better     D．can

A．told           B．said           C．talked           D．spoken

A．look          B．hear          C．listen           D．sound

A．when         B．until            C．that             D．unless

A．born          B．grown          C．raised           D．risen

A．And           B．But             C．So             D．For

A．beginning      B．end           C．middle          D．stating

A．announce      B．share           C．answer          D．ask

A．men           B．adults           C．students         D．women

A．case           B．thing           C．story            D．experience

A．afraid        B．shaken          C．terrible         D．worried

A．happy        B．pleased         C．angry           D．satisfied

A．everybody     B．nobody          C．someone       D．anyone

A．else           B．except          C．beside           D．besides

A．thought      B．considered       C．knew         D．guessed

A．disagreement B．encouragement C．disappointment D．discouragement

A．imagined       B．risked           C．avoided         D．escaped

A．still               B．even            C．just           D．only

A．by the time    B．at the time       C．for the time      D．during the time

Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people，but I also explain that there's a big difference between “being a writer” and writing．In most cases these people are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. “You've got to want to write, ”I say to them, “not want to be a writer”．

    The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the U.S. Coat Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no hope at all．What I did have was a friend who found me a room in a New York apartment building．It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom．I immediately bought a used typewriter and felt like a real writer．

    After a year or so．However, I still hadn't gotten a break and began to doubt myself．It was so hard to sell a story that I hardly made enough to eat．But I knew I wanted to write，l had dreamed about it for years．I wasn't going to be one of those people who die wondering, what if? I would keep putting my dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadow land of hope，and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

1.The purpose of the passage is to          ．

A．warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience

B．advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer

C．show young people it's unrealistic for a writer to seek wealth and fame

D．encourage young people to be a writer over a long period of time

2.What can be concluded from the passage?

A．Real writers often find their work interesting and rewarding．

B．A writer's success depends on luck rather than on effort．

C．Famous writers usually live in poverty．

D．The chances for a writer to become successful are little．

3.Why did the author begin to doubt himself after the first year of his writing career?

A．He wasn't able to produce a single book．

B．He hadn't seen a change for the better．

C．He wasn't able to have a rest for a whole year．

D．He found his dream would never come true．

4.“…people who die wondering，what if?” refers to “those          ”．

A．who think too much of the dark side of life

B．who regret giving up their career halfway

C．who think a lot without making a decision

D．who are full of imagination even upon death

5.“shadow land” in the last sentence means          ．

A．the wonderland one often dreams about

B．the bright future that one is looking forward to

C．the state of uncertainty before one's final goal is reached

D．a world that exists only in one's imagination

 

In a class I teach for adults, I recently did the “unpardonable.” I gave the class homework!

The assignment（任务） was to “go to someone you love   1  the next week and tell them you love them. It   2    be someone you have never   3   those words to before or at least haven't shared those words with for a long time.” That doesn't   4  like a very tough assignment   5  you stop to realize that most of the men were over 35 and were   6  in the generation of men that were taught that   7  emotions is not “macho（男子汉气概的）.” Showing feelings or crying (heaven forbid!) was just not done. So this was a very threatening assignment for some.

At the   8  of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to  9   what happened when he told someone he loved them. I fully expected one of the   10  to volunteer, as was usually the  11  , but on this evening one of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit   12  . As he unfolded out of his chair, he began by saying, "Dennis, I was quite   13  with you last week when you gave us this assignment. I didn't feel that I had   14  to say those words to, and  15  ,　who were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my conscience started talking to me. It was telling me that I   16  exactly who I needed to say I love you to. You see, five years ago, my father and I had a heated  17  and really never resolved it since that time. We   18  seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings. But  19  then, we hardly spoke to each other. So last Tuesday   20  I got home I had convinced myself. I was going to tell my father I loved him.”

1．A．after                     B．before                 C．for                      D．within

2．A．has to                   B．ought to              C．had better            D．can

3．A．told                      B．said                     C．talked                  D．spoken

4．A．look                      B．hear                    C．listen                   D．sound

5．A．when                    B．until                    C．that                     D．unless

6．A．born                     B．grown                 C．raised                  D．risen

7．A．exchanging            B．conveying            C．express               D．explaining

8．A．beginning              B．end                     C．middle                 D．starting

9．A．announce              B．share                   C．answer                D．ask

10．A．men                    B．adults                  C．students              D．women

11．A．case                    B．thing                   C．story                   D．experience

12．A．afraid                  B．shaken                C．terrible                D．worried

13．A．annoying             B．pleased                C．angry                  D．satisfied

14．A．something           B．nobody                C．someone             D．anyone

15．A．besides                B．beside                 C．except                 D．else

16．A．thought               B．considered           C．knew                  D．guessed

17．A．disagreement       B．encouragement     C．disappointment     D．discouragement

18．A．imagined             B．risked                  C．avoided               D．escaped

19．A．still                     B．even                    C．just                     D．only

20．A．by the time          B．at the time           C．for the time         D．during the time

In a class I teach for adults, I recently did the “unpardonable.” I gave the class homework!

The assignment (任务) was to “go to someone you love 　36 the next week and tell them you love them. It 　37 to be someone you have never 　38 those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time.” That doesn’t 　39 like a very tough assignment, 　40 you stop to realize that most of the men were over 35 and were 　41 in the generation of men that were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho (男子汉气概的).” Showing feelings or crying (heaven forbid!) was just not done 　42 this was a very threatening assignment for some.

At the 　43 of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to 　44 what happened when they told someone they loved them. I fully expected one of the 　45 to volunteer, as was usually the 　46 , but on this evening one of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit 　47 . As he unfolded out of his chair, he began by saying, “Dennis. I was quite 　48 with you last week when you gave us the assignment. I didn’t feel that I had 　49 to say those words to and 　50 , who were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my conscience (良知) started talking to me. It was telling me that I 　51 exactly who I needed to say I love you to. You see, five years ago, my father and I had a heated 　52 and really never resolved it since that one. We 　53 seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings. But 　54 then, we hardly spoke to each other. So last. Tuesday 　55 I got home, I had convinced myself. I was going to tell my father I loved him.”

36．A．after　　　　　　　　　 B．before　　　　　　　　 C．for　　　　　　　　　　 D．within

37．A．has to　　　　　　　　 B．ought to　　　　　　 C．had better　　　　　 D．can

38．A．told　　　　　　　　　　 B．said　　　　　　　　　　 C．talked　　　　　　　　 D．spoken

39．A．look　　　　　　　　　 B．hear　　　　　　　　　 C．listen　　　　　　　　　 D．sound

40．A．when　　　　　　　　 B．until　　　　　　　　　 C．that　　　　　　　　　　 D．unless

41．A．born　　　　　　　　　 B．grown　　　　　　　　 C．raised　　　　　　　　 D．risen

42．A．And　　　　　　　　　 B．But　　　　　　　　　　 C．So　　　　　　　　　　 D．For

43．A．beginning　　　　　 B．end　　　　　　　　　　 C．middle　　　　　　　　 D．stating

44．A．announce　　　　　 B．share　　　　　　　　　 C．answer　　　　　　　 D．ask

45．A．men　　　　　　　　　 B．adults　　　　　　　　 C．students　　　　　　 D．women

46．A．case　　　　　　　　　 B．thing　　　　　　　　　 C．story　　　　　　　　　 D．experience

47．A．afraid　　　　　　　　 B．shaken　　　　　　　 C．terrible　　　　　　　 D．worried

48．A．happy　　　　　　　　 B．pleased　　　　　　　 C．angry　　　　　　　　 D．satisfied

49．A．everybody　　　　　 B．nobody　　　　　　　 C．someone　　　　　　 D．anyone

50．A．else　　　　　　　　　　 B．except　　　　　　　　 C．beside　　　　　　　　 D．besides

51．A．thought　　　　　　　 B．considered　　　　　 C．knew　　　　　　　　 D．guessed

52．A．disagreement　　　 B．encouragement　　 C．disappointment　　 D．discouragement

53．A．imagined　　　　　　 B．risked　　　　　　　　 C．avoided　　　　　　　 D．escaped

54．A．still　　　　　　　　　　 B．even　　　　　　　　　 C．just　　　　　　　　　　 D．only

55．A．by the time　　　　 B．at the time　　　　　 C．for the time　　　　 D．during the time