Here's a familiar version of the boy-meets-girl situation. A young man has at last plucked up courage to invite a dazzling young lady out to dinner. She has accepted his invitation and he is overjoyed. He is determined to take her to the best restaurant in town, even if it means that he will have to live on memories and hopes during the month to come. When they get to the restaurant, he discovers that this beautiful creature is on a diet. She mustn’t eat this and she mustn't drink that. Oh, but of course, she doesn't want to spoil his enjoyment. Let him by all means eat as much fattening food as he wants: it’s the surest way to an early grave. They spend a truly memorable evening together and never see each other again.

What a miserable lot dieters are! You can always recognize them from the sour expression on their faces. They spend most of their time turning their noses up at food. They are forever consulting calorie charts; gazing at themselves in mirrors; and leaping on to weighing-machines in the bathroom. They spend a lifetime fighting a losing battle against spreading hips, bigger tummies（肚子） and double chins. Some declare all-out war on FAT. Mere dieting is not enough. They exhaust themselves doing exercises, sweating in sauna baths, being massaged by weird machines. The really wealthy pay vast sums for “health cures”. For two weeks they can enter a nature clinic and be starved to death for a hundred dollars a week. Don’t think it’s only the middle-aged who go in for these fashions either. Many of these bright young things you see are living on nothing but air, water and the goodwill of God.

Dieters undertake to starve themselves of their own free will; so why are they so miserable? Well, for one thing, they’re always hungry. You can't be hungry and happy at the same time. All the horrible foods they eat leave them permanently dissatisfied. “Wonderfood is a complete food”, the advertisement says. “Just dissolve(溶解) a teaspoonful in water…”. A complete food it may be, but not quite as complete as a juicy steak. And, of course, they’re always miserable because they feel so guilty. Hunger just proves too much for them and in the end they may rush to eat five huge cream cakes at a time. And who can blame them? At least three times a day they are exposed to temptation. What torture（折磨） it is always watching others swallowing piles of mouth-watering food while you only have a water biscuit and sip unsweetened lemon juice!

What’s all this torture for? Saintly people keep themselves away from food to achieve a state of grace. Unsaintly people do so to achieve a state of misery. It will be a great day when all the dieters in the world abandon their slimming courses; when they hold out their plates and demand second helpings!

41.   Which of the following would the writer most probably agree with?

A. New ways of controlling weight are needed.   B. We should all have second helpings and grow fat.

C. Many diseases are connected with overweight.       D. Trying to be slim is not an excuse for suffering.

42. How did the boy and the girl most probably feel after the night?

A. Excited.                   B. Awkward.                 C. Nervous.                  D. Hurt.

43.   According to the writer, which of the following are all typical dieters?

	① weighs himself three times a day     ② eats five huge cream cakes at a time ③ always checks calorie charts          ④ has expensive yet nutritious meals every week ⑤ has big tummies and double chins   ⑥ takes sauna baths

 

A. ① ② ③                  B. ② ④ ⑤                   C. ① ③ ⑥                  D. ③ ④ ⑥

44. Why might the boy have to live on memories and hopes during the month to come (Paragraph 1)？

       A. He knew they would have a wonderful night.

       B. He knew there’s no hope of seeing the girl again.

C. He knew they would meet again and share the good memories.

D. He knew he would have no living expense for the next month.

45.   What is the writer’s attitude towards diet?

A. Supportive .       　　       B. Critical.                    C. Doubtful.          D. Uninterested.

More than three years after moving from Australia to this remote part of England, we are still learning how things are done here.

　　Not too long after we arrived and unpacked, we were invited for “a drink on Sunday morning” by a retired couple nearby. We got there about noon, to find the living-room crowded — lots of chat and discussions, and in all a very jolly occasion.

　　Trouble was, there was no food — no self-respecting Australian would regard a tray of crisps as food. In Sydney, when you are invited for a drink any time after midday on a Sunday, you know you will be fed as well as watered and you plan accordingly. Meaning the hardworked little woman makes no plans to cook lunch because you are eating out.

　　By one-fifteen my stomach was sending up “please explain” to me. Even the crisps had gone. There was nothing we could do except wait, and wonder if the hostess was going to perform some magic and feed us fashionably late. Then, as quickly as if word had spread that there was free beer at the local pub, the room emptied. By one-forty-five there were only a few guests left, so we decided to go home. Tinned soup for lunch that day because the little woman was not really interested in real cooking for us.

　　A few weeks ago we were invited out for “supper” and the hostess suggested 8:15. Ah, we thought greedily, “this is going to be the real thing.”

　　We dressed with some care — I putting on a dark suit — and arrived on time. My wife looked pretty good, I thought, a little black dress and so on. But when we walked in I had a terrible feeling we had got the night wrong because the hostess was dressed in a daytime kind of way and the husband was in jeans and an open-neck shirt. But no, we were greeted and shown into the sitting-room.

　　After a drink I looked around and saw that this was indeed a superior cottage because it had a (more or less) separate dining-room. But there were no signs of a table-setting. Not again! I thought. Were we meant to eat before we came? I decided that in future my wife and I would always carry a chocolate bar. About 9:28 our hostess went out of the room, saying something about food. Ten minutes later she returned and asked us to follow. We were led out to the kitchen. There on the table were country style plates and a huge bowl of soup, rough bread and all the makings of a simple meal. And that is what it was. In other words we had not read the signals right when we were invited for “supper”. If they want you to come to dinner, they say so, and you know that means dark suits and so on. If they mean supper, they say it, and you get fed in the kitchen.

When the author and his wife were invited out for “a drink on Sunday morning”, they thought _______.

       A. they would be the only people there

       B. they would be given lunch as well

       C. they would be taken to a restaurant for lunch

       D. they would be asked to take some food with them

The “party” had been going on for about an hour and three quarters when _________.

       A. the hostess decided to feed her guests      B. everyone had tinned soup for lunch

       C. most of the guests went to lunch at the pub     D. the author realized he would go home hungry

When invited out for “supper” a few weeks later, the writer _________.

       A. expected to be served a proper dinner

       B. arrived on the wrong evening

       C. interpreted the invitation correctly this time

       D. realized there was no dining-room in the cottage

As the evening went on, the writer became aware that _________.

       A. no one used their dining-rooms in the countryside

       B. he should have had a meal before going out

       C. “supper” meant a simple, informal meal

　    D. he should, in future, eat only chocolate in the evening

 “Privacy” is translated as “yin si” in Chinese.Traditionally，in the Chinese mind，“yin si” is associated with（与---有联系） that which is closed or unfair.If someone is said to have “yin si”，meddlers(好事者)will be attracted to pry into his or her affairs.So people always state that they don't have “yin si”．

On the contrary，Americans often declare their intention（意图） to protect their privacy.Their understanding of privacy is that others have no right to pry（窥） into things which belong to themselves alone and have nothing to do with others.One who is too curious（好奇） and who spreads rumors is said to violate the right to privacy.

In the evening，Sonia and I went to a bar for dinner.In China，when people mention bars，something bad usually comes to mind.But here，the bar was a quiet and tastefully laid out place.People spoke quite softly，afraid of interrupting their neighbors，and sat face to face as they drank，sometimes three or five persons sitting together.

This sort of atmosphere was totally different from my preconception（预想），so I wanted to take a picture.Sonia stopped me：“Don't you see these people are pouring out their hearts？Maybe they are colleagues（同事），friends，or lovers.They came here looking for a peaceful place free from interruption by others.They wouldn't want to leave any trace of their having come here.So taking their pictures would be a serious violation of their right to privacy.”

Is there privacy between husband and wife？One of Sonia's friends married a talented Chinese man，but recently she became so angry that she wanted a divorce.The reason was that her husband had opened one of her letters and looked through her purse.The husband didn't realize that this is not tolerated in the US.He thought that being a couple was like being one person；why couldn't he see the letter or the contents of the purse？Truly，everyone，even those living as a couple，needs room—not only in space，but in the heart.

68．Sonia stopped me when I wanted to take a picture in the bar because________.

A．taking pictures in a bar was not allowed in America 

B．taking pictures in a bar would interrupt the neighbors 

C．people who came here are colleagues，friends or lovers 

D．taking pictures in a bar would violate other people's right to privacy

69．Which of the following is NOT the Americans' understanding of privacy?

A．The right to privacy shouldn't be violated by others. 

B．Other people have no right to pry into his or her affairs.

C．There is privacy even between couples. 

D．Privacy is connected with something that is unfair and bad.

70．One of Sonia's friends wanted a divorce because________.

A．she thought her husband was not clever enough 

B．her husband didn't respect her right to privacy 

C．her husband always looked through her purse 

D．her husband always opened her letters