If a strange person says“ Excuse me!” to you in the street, you could answer ________

is frustrated by the culture shock？

A．He is most likely to refuse to absorb the strange environment at first.

B．He is ready to accept the change and adapt himself to the new environment.

C．Although he takes the culture difference for granted, he still doesn't know how to do with it.

D．He may begin to hate the people or things around him.

atement？ Hold the glance for a second longer, and you have made a different statement. Hold it for three seconds, and the meaning has changed again. For every social situation, there is permissible time that you can hold a person's gaze without being intimate, rude, or aggressive. If you are on an elevator, what gaze-time are you permitted？ To answer this question, consider what you typically do. You are very likely give other passengers a quick glance to size them up(打量) and to assure them that you mean no threat. Since being close to another person signals the possibility of interaction, you need to emit a signal telling others you want to be left alone. So you cut off eye contact, which sociologist Erving Goffman(1963 ) calls "a dimming of the lights". You look down at the floor, at the indicator lights, anywhere but into another passenger's eyes. Should you break the rule against staring at a stranger on an elevator, you will make the other person exceedingly uncomfortable, and you are likely to feel a bit strange yourself.

If you hold eye contact for more than three seconds, what are you telling another person？ Much depends on the person and the situation. For instance, a man and a woman communicate interest in this manner. They typically gaze at each other for about three seconds at a time, and then drop their eyes down for three seconds, before letting their eyes meet again. But if one man gives another man a three-second-plus stare, he signals— "I know you. " "I am interested in you. " or "You look peculiar and I am curious about you. " This type of stare often produces hostile feelings.

It can be inferred from the first paragraph that______.

A．every glance has its significance

B．staring at a person is an expression of interest

C．a gaze longer than three seconds is unacceptable

D．a glance conveys more meaning than words

根据下列文章，回答21～25题。

If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006's World Cup tournament you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk elite soccer later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks， you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.

What might account for this strange phenomenon？ Here are a few guesses： a） certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills. b） winter-born bathes tend to have higher oxygen capacity which increases soccer stamina. c） soccer mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime at the annual peak of soccer mania. d） none of the above.

Anders Ericsson， a 58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University， says he believes strongly in “none of the above.” Ericsson grew up in Sweden， and studied nuclear engineering until he realized he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct his own research if he switched to psychology. His first experiment nearly years ago， involved memory： training a person to hear and then repeat a random series of numbers. “With the first subject. after about 20 hours of training his digit span had risen from 7 to 20，” Ericsson recalls. “He kept improving， and after about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers.”

This success coupled with later research showing that memory itself as not genetically determined， led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. In other words， whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize those differences are swamped by how well each person “encodes” the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully， Ericsson determined， was a process known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task. Rather， it involves setting specific goals， obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome. Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits， including soccer. They gather all the data they can， not just predominance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own lavatory experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion： the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or， put another way， expert performers whether in memory or surgery， ballet or computer programming are nearly always made， not born.

第 21 题 The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to

A．stress the importance of professional training.

B．spotlight the soccer superstars in the World Cup.

C．introduce the topic of what males expert performance.

D．explain why some soccer teams play better than others.

Part A

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)

If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006's World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.

What might account for this strange phenomenon？ Here are a few guesses: a) certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.

Anders Ericsson, a 58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University, says he believes strongly in "none of the above". Ericsson grew up in Sweden, and studied nuclear engineering until he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct his own research if he switched to psychology. His first experiment, nearly 30 years ago, involved memory: training a person to hear and then repeat a random series of numbers. "With the first subject, after about 20 hours of training, his digit span had risen from 7 to 20", Ericsson recalls. "He kept improving, and after about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers".

This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. In other words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those differences are swamped by how well each person "encodes" the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson determined, was a process known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task, Rather: it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, including soccer. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers—whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming—are nearly always made, not born.

The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to ______.

A．stress the importance of professional training

B．spotlight the soccer superstars in the World Cup

C．introduce the topic of what makes expert performance

D．explain why some soccer teams play better than others

ctually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain.(77)Its first use was as a shade against the sun.

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, in the eleventh century B.C..

We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high office.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first person in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century.(78)And again it was considered a symbol of power and authority. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France, and later in England.

By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style. during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors.

At first, the umbrella was used as ______.

A．protection against rain

B．a shade against the sun

C．a symbol of power

D．a symbol of honor

请根据短文的内容，回答题。

Some Unusual Celebrations

Some holidays are well-known all around the world. Among them are New Year&39;s Eve celebrations.＜br＞

Also common are days in honor of love and friendship, like Valentine&39;s Day. Each country has its own special holidays, too, often to mark important events in its history. Schools, banks, and government offices all close on days like these. __________ (46) A few of them are really very strange.＜br＞

Of course, they are not strange to the people who celebrate them. Perhaps that is because the celebrations have long traditions. Consider April Fool&39;s Day, for example. No one knows when or why it began. Today it is celebrated in many countries- France, England, and Australia, among others. On this day, people play practical jokes. __________ (47) The ones who laugh are the ones playing the jokes. The people they fool often get angry. Does celebrating this day make sense to you？＜br＞

Day in Poland seems strange, too. On this day, it is traditional for boys to pour water over the heads of girls. Here is the strangest part: They do it to girls they like. Other unusual celebrations take place in a single city or town. A holiday called La Tomatina is celebrated in Bunol, Spain. Every year, in late August, big trucks carry more than 200,000 pounds of tomatoes into this little town. __________ (48)＜br＞

For two hours, people in the streets throw tomatoes at each other. Everyone ends up red from head to toe.＜br＞

August 10 marks the start of the Puck Fair, an Irish festival with a very unusual tradition. People from the town of Killorglin go up into the mountains and catch a wild goat. __________ (49)＜br＞

There are also some celebrations that are really strange. In the United States, sometimes one person gets an idea for a new holiday and tries to get others to accept it. Whose idea was Public Sleeping Day？ That one is on February 28. It may seem strange, but it sounds like more fun than the one on February 9. __________ (50)＜br＞

Do you like the idea of inventing a new holiday？ If you do, then you will want to mark March 26 on your calendar. That is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.

第46题__________ 查看材料

A.They bring him back to town， put a crown on his head， and make him king for three days.

B.Some of the days people celebrate， however， are less serious.

C.That is supposed to be Toothache Day.

D.Then begins the world"s biggest food fight.

E.Some people have fun imagining new holidays.

F.Jokes are supposed to be funny， but these jokes do not make everyone laugh.

ure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds.

Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If parents, teachers or peers mocked your foibles as a child, you fear a repeat. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of failing in the most public of ways.

While extroverts will feel less fear before the ordeal, it does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself.

Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written screeds to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.

Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana's funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally, as script. rarely works and it is used as a crutch by most people. But, being yourself doesn't work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, it would be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.

I remember going to see British psychiatrist RD Laing speak in public. He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.

The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of "flow", as psychologists call it, is very satisfying. Whether in normal life or making speeches, the key is to remind yourself that, contrary to what your teachers or parents may have implied, your best is good enough. In the zone, a strange place of authentic falsehood and shallow depth, play is possible.

For most people the biggest fear for public speaking is______.

A．looking foolish

B．failing in words

C．not attracting attention

D．appearing pressurized

Most parents forbid their children to speak to ______ .(strange)

A.similar

B.different

C.strange

D.odd