When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to Grandma's generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday-best. But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware-and-stainless in formality, with dresses assumig an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times. Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is 'eliminating 1,000 jobs--one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier. Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company "has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend" toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television. Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it' s better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a "real" dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment new ex comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth？ Forget it. Polish the silver？ Who has time？ Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents (" Chew with your mouth dosed." "Keep your elbows off the table.") must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be competent professionally but clueless socially.The trend toward casual dining has resulted in （）．

第1题

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text？（)

A.Cars have encouraged the growth of the cities

B.Cars can bring families together when they go for picnics

C.Cars have enabled people to live far from their place of work

D.Cars help city families to transport their children to faraway schools

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第2题

What kind of future will families who follow The Chinese Code of Success have？（)

A、When a family lives together in harmony and peace, even if they are poor and can hardly make ends meet, they will enjoy plenty of happiness

B、When hearing an accusation, do not readily believe it. Keep you cool and think carefully, for the charge may be false

C、When engaged in an argument, one should calmly ask himself whether he is at fault

D、When with others, do not talk too much. One who talks too much is prone to say the wrong thing

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第3题

It can be temptingto make a hasty decision when a killer opportunity comes along orthethou

It can be tempting to make a hasty decision when a killer opportunity comes along or the thought of spending another day on the job seems painful.【C1】______, Career coach Piotrowski recommends taking baby【C2】______to execute a new career strategy.

"Plan a timeline of one to two years to【C3】______your career change. Gather information for four to six months, and then get moving on activities that will【C4】______into your new specialty over the next few months. Remember, you can make the【C5】______over time. You don't need to do it all at【C6】______."

"Spend time looking【C7】______industry categories and a variety of jobs to get ideas about new career areas that may【C8】______to you. This can open your eyes to a multitude of【C9】______you hadn't considered before."

Informational interviews--the best-kept career-change secret, according to Piotrowski--will also help career changers come to a(n)【C10】______. The key is to seek people already lost in a【C11】______career and pick their brain with questions such as, "【C12】______training do I need to do well in this job, what kind of money will I【C13】______, and what's a day on the job really like？"

Finally, people should try a few career experiments to【C14】______their abilities and build experience to help them move into a new career more【C15】______."A career experiment can be one of thousands of activities that【C16】______you to learn more about a new type of work【C17】______you commit to choosing it." Career experiments【C18】______shadowing a specialist, volunteering,【C19】______field trips, and designing projects to【C20】______your knowledge and skills.

【C1】

A．Furthermore

B．Nevertheless

C．Accordingly

D．Therefore

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第4题

The key to any successful garage sale (家庭旧物出售)is to get the word out.The best me

The key to any successful garage sale （家庭旧物出售)is to get the word out.The best me

ans of advertising your sale is to place an ad in the local newspaper.If you have a city and neighborhood paper, make sure you advertise in both.The ad should be large enough that it stands out.It should also include information on where the sale is located with directions, the "hot" items you're selling and the time the sale will start and end.An ad should be placed at least two days before the sale and run until the day of your event.That way people can plan their route (路线)to the sale in advance.

Sig ns are another great way to inform. your community.Post them in places where people gather, such as stores and community centers.Some businesses have a central bulletin board (布告栏), which is the best place to advertise.Other places to post are at the loc al college or university campus.This is especially helpful if your sale is happening in August or early September when students have returned to school and are looking for cheap finds.

Post signs around your neighborhood.You should also place both ads a nd direction signs, especially if you're located on a side street without a major presence.Signs will attract and direct people.Just make sure you print in bold letters and use large direction signs so people can read the information from the front seat of their car.

1.The best way of getting out the news of your garage sale is to ().

A.publish the news online

B.visit people door-to-door

C.advertise in the local newspaper

D.make phone calls to your neighbors

2.You should place an ad at least two days before the sale so that people can ().

A.get enough cash for the sale

B.compare prices of the items

C.select the items they will buy

D.decide on their route in advance

3.Why should signs be po sted in a community center？()

A.Schools are nearby

B.There are many stores

C.Students often meet there

D.More people gather there

4.What advice is given for printing the signs according to the last paragraph？()

A.Colored signs are preferred

B.Bold letters should be used

C.Large pictures should be included

D.Phone numbers should be provided

5.The best title for the passage might be ().

A.Advertising Garage Sales

B.Advanta ges of Garage Sales

C.Importance of Garage Sales

D.Printing Ads for Garage Sales

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第5题

answer（）

A.meet

B.gather

C.introduce

D.recommend

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第6题

The number of the students who are going to plant trees is over forty （).

A.all

B.in together

C.altogether

D.gather

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第7题

The policeman ________ the curtains ________ to see whether there was someone hiding

A.gather together

B.tore apart

C.tag along

D.move around

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第8题

Extensive reporting on television has helped ？

Extensive reporting on television has helped to _________ interest in a wide variety of sports and activities.

A) assemble B) generate C) yield D) gather

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第9题

The signs of the degeneration of American society and of Western civilization are all

too plain: declining educational standards, rising crime, disintegrating families and record rate of suicide among the young.Able-bodied beggars have become a common sight in cities from San Francisco to Washington, as well as in London and Paris.

Murders involving guns in New York City are now more than 30 times what they were half a century ago. Racial polarization has become far more common on college campuses than it was 20 years ago, and separate living arrangements have been created by college administrators who nevertheless proclaim their devotion to"diversity".

Official irresponsibility in Washington is symbolized by the soaring national debt-during a decade when government revenues doubled. And the new tax increases will not reduce this debt by one penny because spending has not been cut but simply renamed"investment."

Worst of all, much of the degeneracy of our times is not merely tolerated but celebrated. The crude words of“rap” music have beensanctified in editorial columns and by PhD.s at respected universities.Multiple murderers are mourned at their executions. An accused child molester (骚扰儿童者) on the Stanford University faculty has a medal struck in his honor after he commits suicide when confronted with the charges.

Despite a long history of struggle by blacks for better education, it has now become common in ghetto schools for those black youngsters who excel academically to be denounced for“acting white”--and to face social exclusion, or even physical violence, from their classmates.

The barbarians are not at the gates. They are inside.

1.According to the author, college administrators().

A.should not be blamed for racial discrimination

B.have successfully implemented satisfactory living arrangements for the students

C.approve of the various living styles among the student

D.have contributed to racial discrimination against their promise

2.The author believes that the national debt is soaring because().

A.government revenues have doubled

B.the officials in the government are not responsible

C.the government has invested heavily in the defense fields

D.people have failed to pay their taxes

3.It can be inferred from the passage that the most serious social degeneration of American society is the fact that().

A.People’s moral values are confused

B.people are generally irresponsible

C.young people are no longer ambitious

D.legal system is too lenient for criminals

4.The word"sanctified" in the fourth paragraph most likely means().

A.forbidden

B.criticized

C.accompanied

D.approved

5.From the fifth paragraph we can see that().

A.black children now receive better education

B.black children do better academically than white children

C.black children who do well at school are persecuted

D.black children pay more attention to education than ever before

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第10题

Extended families can be found all over the world.（)

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第11题

William Dean Howells observed and described American _____________ class of their hous

es, families, jobs, and social customs.

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