Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no different. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.

Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.

First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances (情況), I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.

But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.

Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.

1.The purpose of the text is to ________.

A．tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day

B．tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day

C．introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day

D．introduce the American Thanksgiving Day

2.On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.

A．watching a movie                       B．making visits

C．having a big meal                        D．watching football

3.Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?

A．He is too thankful to say a word.            B．His mind is on the food before him.

C．He feels too excited to speak.              D．He is shy to speak in public.

4.The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．chat with others    B．make a hole        C．mix things up       D．start eating

5.What can we conclude from the text?

A．On Thanksgiving Day, men do nothing but eat.

B．The author is a middle school student.

C．The author’s family is not rich, but it’s a loving one.

D．Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday of December.

 

What makes Americans spend nearly half their food dollars on meals away from home? The answers lie in the way Americans live today. During the first few decades of the twentieth century, canned and other convenience foods freed the family cook from full-time duty at the kitchen range. Then, in the 1940s, work in the wartime defense plants took more women out of the home than ever before, setting the pattern of the working wife and mother. Today about half of the country’s married women are employed outside the home. But, unless family members pitch in with food preparation, women are not fully liberated from that housework. Instead, many have become, in a sense, prisoners of the completely cooked convenience meals. It’s easier to pick up a bucket of fried chicken on the way home from work or take the family out for pizzas or burgers than to start opening cans or heating up frozen dinners after a long , hard day. Also, the rising divorce rate means that there are more single working parents with children to feed. And many young adults and elderly people, as well as unmarried and divorced mature people, live alone rather than as part of a family unit and don’t want to bother cooking for one.

Fast food is appealing because it is fast, it doesn’t require any dressing up, it offers a “fun” break in the daily outline, and the outlay of money seems small. It can be eaten in the car--- sometimes picked up at a drive-in window without even getting out---or on the run. Even if it is brought home to eat, there will never be any dirty dishes to wash because of the handy disposable (一次性的) wrappings. Children, especially, love fast food because it’s finger food, no struggling with knives and forks, no annoying instructions from adults about table manner.

1.Americans enjoy fast food mainly because __________.

   A. it can be eaten in the car

   B. it is much more tasty than home-made food

   C. one only uses his fingers while eating it

   D. it is time-saving and convenient

2.It can be inferred that children __________.

   A. want to have more freedom at table

   B. never wash dishes after each meal

   C. are good at using forks and knives while eating

   D. take eating time as a fun break

3. Many Americans are eating out and not cooking at home partially because __________.

   A. they want to make a change after eating the same food for years at home

   B. the food made outside home tastes better than food cooked at home

   C. many of them live alone and don’t like taking trouble to cook

   D. American women refuse to cook at home due to women’s liberation movement

4.According to the text, a drive-in window is a __________.

   A. car window from which you can see the driver

   B. window in the restaurant from which you get your takeout in the car

   C. place where you check the mechanic condition of your car

   D. place where you return the used plates after eating

 

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no different. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.

Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.

First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.

But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.

Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.

The purpose of the text is to ________.

A. tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day

B. tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day

C. introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day

D. introduce the American Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.

A. watching a movie                   B. making visits

C. having a big meal                   D. watching football

Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?

A. He is too thankful to say a word.

B. His mind is on the food before him.

C. He feels too excited to speak.

D. He is shy to speak in public.

The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.

A. chat with others                   B. make a hole

C. mix things up                     D. start eating

What can we conclude from the text?

A. On Thanksgiving Day, men do nothing but eat.

B. The author is a middle school student.

C. The author’s family is not rich, but it’s a loving one.

D. Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday of December.

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no difference. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.

Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.

First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.

But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.

Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.

1.The purpose of the text is to ________.

A．tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day

B．tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day

C．introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day

D．introduce the American Thanksgiving Day

2.On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.

A．watching a movie                       B．making visits

C．having a big meal                        D．watching football

3.Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?

A．He is too thankful to say a word.            B．His mind is on the food before him.

C．He feels too excited to speak.              D．He is shy to speak in public.

4.The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．chat with others                        B．make a hole

C．mix things up                           D．start eating

 

EBay will launch an online group gift-buying service today designed to make it easier for several people to chip in, buy and pay for gifts using their social-network and e-mail contacts．
EBay North America Vice President Christopher Payne says it is going to be a major step forward in social commerce, which is the still-small practice of selling products through social networks．Online retail experts aren't as certain, but eBay says the new tool makes it easier for friends and relatives to chip in （湊錢） for gifts because it eliminates the headache of collecting contributions．It can also be used for family members to pitch in to buy, say, an expensive child seat for a mother．
Anything on eBay that's available immediately, rather than up for bid, can be purchased this way starting today at groupgifts．eBay．com．If members of an extended family wanted to buy a gift for one member, one person would choose a gift — or have one recommended by eBay — and invite family members to chip in using Facebook or e-mail．Those who wanted to join in would choose an amount to contribute （or agree to pay a requested amount） and pay using either PayPal or a credit card．They could also add a personal note．
If enough people don't chip in, the organizer can ask people to contribute more or choose a less expensive gift．
"I see myself using this most in cases when I typically might not buy someone what they want because of price," says Nitzan Shaer of Boston, who was part of an online test of the site．
EBay, with its 200 million products, millions of sellers and mobile commerce proficiency, is a logical place to pull together the products, groups of buyers and payment tools, Payne says．
At least 12 sites, such as FrumUs．com and eDivvy．com, facilitate （便于,利于） group purchases but don't sell products．Although a handful of retailers, including Victoria's Secret and 1-800-Flowers, sell products through Facebook, Payne says he expects social commerce will take off as rapidly as shopping using mobile devices．EBay did more than $600 million in sales on mobile devices last year and expects mobile sales to increase to $1．5 billion this year．
Although one in five consumers surveyed said they'd used Facebook for shopping in the past year, 88% said they would not be buying holiday gifts through a social network, mobile phone or smartphone．Of these, 26% were reluctant because of security or privacy concerns, and 20% were unclear about the benefits of using phones or Facebook to shop．
【小題1】What procedure should be followed if your extended family intends to buy your grandpa an 80^th birthday gift?
①Asking family members to contribute more money if enough members don’t chip in
②Choosing a gift at groupgifts．eBay．com
③Paying using PayPal or a credit card
④Contributing or agreeing to pay a requested amount of money via Facebook or e-mail

A．②-①-③-④	B．①-③-②-④
C．②-④-①-③	D．②-③-④-①

【小題2】Where can we most probably read this text?

A．In a research paper	B．In a travel magazine
C．In a microblog	D．On a website

【小題3】What does “it” mean in the 2^nd paragraph?

A．The online group gift-buying service

B．People’s social-network and e-mail contacts

C．A major step forward in social commerce

D．The still-small practice of selling products through social networks

【小題4】It can be inferred from the text that ______．

A．through eBay’s new tool, 200 million products on eBay are available to online shoppers

B．social commerce can eliminate the headache of collecting contributions

C．eBay’s new tool will gain mass adoption by online shoppers

D．with the help of eBay’s new tool, FrumUs．com and eDivvy．com will also sell products