_______ you think graffiti (涂鴉) is mindless vandalism(破壞行為) against property or a living art form, its popularity suggests that it is here to stay.

    A. Although         B. No matter            C. Whether          D. Suppose

It tastes just like chicken

Away from home, eating is more than just a way to keep your stomach full．It is a language all its own, and no words can say, "Glad to meet you ．．．glad to be doing business with you ．．．" quite like sharing a meal offered by your host．

Clearly, mealtime is not the time for you to say, "Thanks, but no thanks．" Acceptance of the food on your plate means acceptance of host, country, and company．So, no matter how difficult it may be to swallow, swallow．Or, as one experienced traveler says, "Travel with a cast-iron stomach and eat everything everywhere．"

Often, the food offered represents proudly your host country's eating culture．What would Ataiericans think of a French person who refused to take a bite of homemade apple pie or sirloin? Our discomfort comes not so much from the thing itself; it comes from our umamiliarity with it．After all, an oyster has remarkably the same look as a sheep's eye; and a first look at a lobster would remind almost anybody of a creature from a science fiction movie, not something you dip in butter and eat．By the way, in Saudi Arabia sheep's eyes are a famous dish and in parts of China it's bear's paw soup．

Can you refuse such food without being rude? Most experienced business travelers say no, at least not before taking at least a few bites．It helps, though, to slice any item very thin．This way, you minimize the taste and the reminder of where it came from．Or, " Swallow it quickly, " as one traveler recommends．"I still can't tell you what sheep's eyeballs taste like．" As for dealing with taste, the old line that "it tastes just like chicken" is often thankfully true．Even when the "it" is really rat or snake．

Another useful piece of advice is not knowing what you are eating．What's for dinner? Don't ask． Avoid glancing into the kitchen or looking at English-language menus．Your host will be pleased that you are eating the food he offers, and who knows? Maybe it really is chicken in that soup．

The purpose of the article is to ____．

    A．introduce unfamiliar food

    B．share the writer's personal experiences

    C．suggest ways to overcome a cultural barrier

    D．a(chǎn)dvise on how to politely refuse to eat foreign food

According to the writer, people hesitate at strange food mainly due to ____．

    A．the way it looks                     B．safety worries

    C．lack of information about it         D．the unfamiliar atmosphere

From the article we can infer that ____．

    A．a(chǎn)n American may feel comfortable with sirloin

    B．one should refuse strange food after a few bites

    C．English-language menus are not always dependable

    D．one needs a cast-iron stomach to travel in other cultures

One may say "It tastes just like chicken．" when ____．

    A．showing respect for chicken-loving nations

    B．greeting people with different dieting habits

    C．evaluating chefs at an international food festival

    D．getting someone to try a visually unpleasant meal

以下標(biāo)有題號(hào)的每一行均有一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤，請(qǐng)找出，并按下列情況改正：

    此行多一詞：把多余的詞用斜線（＼）劃掉，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該詞，并也用斜線劃掉。

    此行缺一詞：在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)（^），在該行右邊橫線上寫出該加的詞。

    此行錯(cuò)一詞：在錯(cuò)詞的下面劃一橫線，在該行右邊橫線上寫出改正后的詞。

注意：請(qǐng)?jiān)诖痤}卡上作答。

Here is my idea about how a friend is like. Firstly,     76.        

a friend is someone you can share your secrets. If you       77.        

tell him a secret, never will he talks about it with anybody  78.        

else. Besides, a friend is always good listener when you      79.        

need one. After hear your sad stories, he will say some       80.        

words that is nice and warm. Still, your happiness makes    81.        

him happily too. What’s more, a good friend is willing to   82.        

offer the help to which you need, or can at least give you   83.        

some advices. In a word, friends are those you like and      84.        

trust, and you will enjoy every minute that you spent with  85.        

them.

The dictionary  is what I  want,but I don’t  have  enough  money     me.

A.by      B. for     C. in      D.with

Medicine should be placed where it is not ______ to children.

A. accessible       B. available               C. acceptable          D. noticeable

Nino Hernandez, who ________ only 10kg and is regarded as the world’s shortest living man, has not grown since he was 2 years old.

   A. weighed        B. had weighed      C. weighs       D. has been weighed

— I have no question at the moment, sir.

   — Don’t ________ to call me if you need a hand. I’ll help you.

   A. wait                          B. hesitate             C. delay                       D. abandon

—Mummy, could you buy me a skirt like this?

—Certainly. We can buy ________ one than this, but ________ this.

       A. a better; better than B. a good; as good as

       C. a cheaper; as good as       D. a more expensive; not as good as

Taylor sings with heart

The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.

Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.

She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首張專輯) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”

What led to Taylor’s fame?

A. Her wonderful looks.              B. Her songwriting skills together with her looks.

C. Her beautiful voice.                 D. Her special life experience in her teenage years.

Which of the following is true?

A. Taylor is now in her twenties.

B. Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards

C. Taylor has produced three albums up till now.

D. Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

What may be written in the album, Speak Now?

A. Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. k*s5*u

B. Her concern for her popularity.

C. Her happy childhood.

D. Her worries for environmental pollution. 

  Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so．“Health is the greatest wealth,” wise people say. _

       If you have a headache, toothache, backache, or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you go to the doctor．

       The doctor will examine your throat, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. ．The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice．

       ．

       An old gentleman came to see the doctor．The man was very ill．He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs．The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease．He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest．．In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is．” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day．

       A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office．．He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man．

       “But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age”

       A．He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks．

       B．You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill．

       C．After that he will advise some treatment or some medicine．

       D．All these will cost a lot of money．

       E．He looked cheerful and happy．

       F．He was more worried about his illness．

       G．Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story．