After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, so mostly I just lied a lot to appear to be skilled at dealing with people. At least I never needed the map.
One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she gossiped about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.
We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.
It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.
They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't staring at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an over interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught and held my attention.
I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all extremely, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine, or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful -- maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “diplomatic” mean?

In November of 2007, NBC Universal launched its first official Green Week. Throughout the week, NBC Universal presented over 150 hours of environmentally themed content through multiple platforms (平台).

Now, NBC Universal is proud to present Green Week 2012. With a new theme and message of “Green Your Routine”, NBC and NBC.com presents green-themed tips in several of our daytime life, among several other features here on the “Green Your Routine” site.

Fashion & Beauty

Throw a clothes exchange party! Are you dying for that sweater your friend wore the other day? Well, maybe she’ll trade for that old T-shirt you have. Here’s a website that helps you organize an exchange party (www.swapstyle.com), or just plan your own!

Go natural with organic make-up. Applying unnatural products on your skin wasn’t exactly that nature intended. Try switching to a line of organic make-up and cosmetics for a different way to bring out your natural beauty.

Home

Drop a brick in your toilet tank! Literally! According to the EPA, flushing (冲洗) makes up 30 percent of a household’s water use (about three to six gallons per flush). By placing a brick in your toilet tank, you can help to conserve the amount of water used during each flush.

Work

Print smarter. Printing and copying can be one of the most costly operations in any office. To save on ink and paper costs, print double-sided and try to fit more than one page on a sheet. More printing tips can be found here: lifehacker.com

Turn off your computer. Do you leave your computer on over night? If so, you’re using up a good amount of electricity. If you can, try turning off your computer and the power strip it’s connected to. If you can’t, shut off your monitor at least.

Transportation

Organize a car pool (拼车). There are many benefits to carpooling. You save on gas and you get to ride in the HOV lines. Get connected with your neighbors and co-workers to start sharing rides and check out this website for more tips: www.erideshare.com.

Lose the car and get a bike. If you live close to where you work, try taking a bike instead of driving. You’ll keep in shape and save on gas!

Every small step and efforts makes a difference! Be sure to GREEN YOUR ROUTINE!

1.NBC Universal holds Green Week activities ________.

A．in a university                          B．in a park

C．in an office                            D．on the Internet

2.This year, Green Week welcomes________. 

A．advice on how to improve the website

B．suggestions about how to make their activities more interesting

C．tips on what to do to make our life greener

D．opinions on whether we should have campaigns

3.Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?.

A．Never use make-up and cosmetics any more.

B．Putting a brick in the toilet tank can help flash quickly.

C．Printing double-sided can save paper costs.

D．You’ll keep fit through carpooling.

4.The passage is mainly intended to _______.

A．call on readers to be environmentally friendly and present some good tips

B．tell readers to be environmentally friendly while travelling

C．persuade readers to ride bicycles when travelling

D．inform readers of measures to improve our environment

A letter to Edward, a columnist（报刊专栏作家）

Dear Mr Expert:

I grew up in an unhappy and abusive home. I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved.

Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine — so much so that they make mine theirs.

It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever.

I enjoy having my friends here sometimes — it makes the place feel comfortable and warm— but this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy（隐私）?

Joan

Edward’s reply to Joan

Dear Joan:

If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now.

And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere（气氛）,you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with— or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time.

Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over.”

63. We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward        .

A. lives away from her parents

B. takes pride in her friends

C. knows Mr Expert quite well

D. hates her parents very much

64. We can infer from the first letter that        .

A. Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy

B. Joan’s friends visit her more often than she can accept

C. Joan doesn’t like the parties at all

D. Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

65. According to Mr Expert, why can’t Joan tell her friends her feelings?

A. She is afraid of hurting her friends.

B. She does not understand true friendship.

C. Her family experience stops her from doing so.

D. She does not put her needs first.

66. The underlined word “conflict” in the second letter means      .

A. dependent life    B. fierce fight C. bad manners      D. painful feeling

67. The second letter suggests that Mr Expert        .

A. is worried about Joan’s problem      B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends

C. advises Joan on how to refuse people      D. encourages Joan to be brave enough

Columbus returned home with the news of his discovery of “Indian” 36 Columbus called it. Then he was considered as the hero who had given a new world to Spain. Never had so great __37__ been shown to any __38__man.But there were some who were jealous of the __39__.”Who is this Columbus?” they asked, “and what has he done? Isn’t he a poor sailor from Italy？And could __40__ other seamen sail across the ocean just as he has done?”
One day Columbus was at 41 and several of these fellows were __42__ too. They tried to make Columbus __43__.”You have discovered strange lands __44__ the sea,”they said.“But we don’t see why there __45__ be so much said about it. Anybody can sail across the ocean and anybody can coast along the islands __46__ ,just as you have done. It is the __47__ thing in the world.”
Columbus made no answer, but after a while he took an egg from a dish and said to the people at the table, “Who __48__ you, gentlemen, can make the egg stand __49__ ?” One by one they tried the __50__．When the egg had gone __51__　around and everyone had failed, all said that it could not be done, Then Columbus took the egg and __52__the shell of the egg’s small end a little upon the table. After that there was no trouble in making it stand __53__.“Gentlemen,”said he, “what is easy than to do this __54__ you said was impossible ? It is simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it-----AFTER HE HAD BEEN SHOWN __55__.”
【小题1】A. so         B. when     C as        D. that

On June 17, 1774, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In a letter the next day they refused the offer as follows:

We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are sure that you mean to do us good by your proposal（提议）; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be offended（冒犯） if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces: they were taught all your sciences; but when they came back to us, they were bad manners, ignorant（无知的）of every means of living in the woods–they were totally good for nothing.

　We are, however, not the less thankful by your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and, to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them in all we know, and make men of them.

1.The tone(语气) of the letter as a whole is best described as________.

2.The Indian chief’s purpose of writing the letter seems to be to ____.

3.According to the letter, the Indians believed that ____.

4.Different from the officials’ view of education, the Indians thought ____.