C. Ishmael Beah. D. Debbie Macomber.

4. A Long Way Gone tells ______. A. a new romantic love story

B. memories of a boy solider C. hopes, fears, and desires

D. some ways to win customers \\

13. When Abraham Lincoln was young, he worked in a store. One day a woman came into the store and bought some things. They added up to two dollars and six and a quarter cents.

The bill was paid, and the woman was satisfied. But the young storekeeper, not feeling quite sure about his

calculations (计算), added up the things again. To his

surprise he found that it should have been but two dollars. “I’ve made her pay six and a quarter cents more,” said young Abe, upset.

It was an unimportant thing, and many salespersons would forget it, but Abe was too careful for that. “The money must be paid back,” he decided.

At night, he closed the store and walked to the home of his customer. He explained the matter, paid over the six and a quarter cents, and returned satisfied.

Here is another story of young Lincoln’s strict honesty. A woman entered the store and asked for half a pound of tea. The young man weighed it out. This was the last sale of the day.

The next morning, when beginning his duties, Abe discovered a four-ounce

weight on the scales (磅秤). It flashed upon him at once that he had used this in the sale last night, and so, of course, given his customer short weight. Many people would not have been much worried by this discovery. But Abe

weighed out the balance of the half pound, shut up the store, and carried it to the customer. I think that the name, so often given in late times to President Lincoln, of “Honest Old Abe”, was well deserved (应得的). 1. When young Abe found he made a wrong calculation, he ______. A. tried to forget it B. paid over the money C. felt it was unimportant D. gave back the short weight

2. What happened to Abe in the second story?

A. He played a joke with the customer.

B. He wasn’t paid two dollars and six cents.

C. He didn’t notice a four-ounce weight on the scales. D. He explained the matter to the customer that night. 3. We can know from the passage that Abe was ______. A. easy to get worried B. confident but careless C. honest and responsible

D. funny but well behaved

14. Saying “thank you” is probably the first thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language. After all, we’re brought up to be kind and polite.

So, what exactly are you supposed to say when “thank you” is only the 20 th most popular way to express gratitude (感激)? According to a recent report, 19 other ways of expressing gratitude finished ahead of “thank you” in a poll (投票) of 3,000 people.

Pollsters found almost half those asked preferred the more informal (非正式的) “cheers”, while others liked to use such expressions as “ta”, “great” and “nice one”.

So, just what is the right form of words to express your thanks?

Luckily, the answer is in the language itself. “Cheers” is considered an informal way to say thank you. For example, when going for a drink with

friends, a smile and a “cheers” by way of thanks is not only acceptable to the situation, it is also culturally accurate .

“Ta” was the second-most popular expression of thanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as “nice one”, and “wonderful”.

Interestingly, one word that didn’t make it into the top 20 was “thanks”. But “thanks” can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between “thank you” and the downright relaxed “cheers”.

Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. For example, words like “awesome”, “brilliant” and “you star” can tell both your pleasure at someone’s action, as well as serving to express your thanks. If you are on the receiving end of a “new” thank you, you can reply with a simple “no problem”, or “sure”.

Of course, a simple wave, nod or smile may be all right. For example, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand is enough to show that you are thankful for the driver’s consideration.

Sometimes, formality is necessary, and “thank you” is still the best choice in such situations. But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.

Many people in western countries are worried that good manners are in decline (衰退). People are tired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass without any feedback. So don’t think that your “thank you” was useless or too formal. The chances are, if you said “thank you”, you made someone’s day.

1. We can tell from the result of the poll that ______. A. people are worrying about politeness nowadays B. there are many kinds of expressions of gratitude

C. “thank you” is the most popular expression of gratitude

D. there are more formal expressions of gratitude than informal ones 2. What does the underlined word “ accurate” in Paragraph 5 mean? A. Clear and exact. B. Simple but strange. C. Short and informal. D. Informal but popular.

3. Which of the following can express gratitude as well as pleasure? A. Sure.B. No problem. C. Ta. D. You star.

4. In the last paragraph the writer encourages people to ______. A. help others behave well

B. show their gratitude to others C. continue their language learning

D. stop worrying about social activities

15. As one of the most well-known of the fantasy languages invented for science fiction film, television and book, and developed by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, Elvish is made up with several thousand words and different sentence structures.

Constructed languages (人造语言) like Elvish are real languages, made up of thousands of words created by fantasy writers, linguists and fans, with real language rules. While a widespread vocabulary is advantageous to a constructed language, there is a key differentiator (区分者) we can see between just a lot of words and real language: Grammar.

Grammar is what makes constructed languages like Elvish learnable by

everyday superfans. Superfans of The Lord of the Rings have built websites and created dictionaries, apps and translators, to teach Elvish. They have also created online clubs where fans can discuss and even create new words based on

the already existing vocabulary, and continue to study the language. So what does it take to be a master of Elvish?

In learning Elvish, there are a couple of grammatical rules similar to those of the English language. For example, in order to make a verb past tense in English, you have to add an -ed, making wash, washed. Similarly in Elvish, in order to change the word for wash, which is allu, to the past tense then you have to add an -ne to the word. So washed is then translated to allune in past tense.

Nouns in Elvish are different in the way that the noun changes depending on how it’s used in a sentence, just like in Latin or Russian. For example, the word head in Elvish is CAS. However, if you duck your head, then the word changes to CARA. When mentioning something in your head, then it changes to CASSE. Tolkien’s attention to detail in creating the fantasy world used in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, complete with multiple functioning (多功能的) invented languages, has attracted readers and movie viewers these years. Elvish is only one of the many magical languages

developed by J.R.R. Tolkien. Creating language for fantasy has proven to add to viewers and readers experiences. By

transplanting their imagination to a new world, fans are

able to learn the new language and speak Elvish with each other, much like their favorite characters. 1. Elvish is considered a real language because ______.

A. certain grammatical rules make the language learnable B. it is made up with lots of words and sentence structures

C. characters in The Lord of the Rings use it to communicate

D. new words can be created based on already existing words 2. For the fans of The Lord of the Rings, ______.

A. Elvish is a language difficult to learn B. there is no Elvish dictionary to refer to C. Elvish adds to the novel’s attractiveness D. they can even create new grammar for Elvish 3. Which of the following is TRUE about Elvish?

A. The translation of “washed” in Elvish is “allu”. B. The form of a noun doesn’t change in Elvish. C. Elvish and English share the same grammar. D. Elvish is also used in the film The Hobbit.

4. The best title for this passage might be ______.