How did your friendships begin? Most start with a short conversation on a random day. Asking about a homework assignment in class or complaining about your painful legs after playing in a soccer game, you found your best pal by accident.
“Small talk is where all your relationships begin,” Forbes magazine summed up.
The following is a five-step guide to making small talk from Bernardo J. Carducci, the director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast, US. Let’s have a look.
Getting started
Begin by talking about the setting, such as the weather outside or the room you are in (“It’s cold in here, isn’t it?”). The purpose of talking about the setting is to show the other person that you are willing to make a conversation.
②The personal introduction
You should mention something about yourself, such as your name. A good personal introduction helps move the conversation forward.
③Looking for topics
At this point, you and your conversation partner need to find common ground. This is a good time to ask questions or to refer back to things you’ve said or heard earlier. Don’t worry if it gets quiet. The other person is probably just thinking of something to say.
④Expanding the topic
The goal is to keep the conversation going. At every stage, you should be careful not to talk too much. But don’t let the other person dominate the conversation either. If that starts to happen, mention something about yourself when he or she takes a breath.
⑤A polite ending
When ending a conversation, let the person know you’ll be leaving soon, express gratitude for the conversation and set the stage for a future conversation. For example, you could say, “I really must be going soon, but I had a great time chatting with you. I really liked hearing your opinion about that new movie. Here’s my phone number. Call or text me if you know of any other movies you think I might enjoy.”
小題1:According to the article, starting by talking about the setting is meant to ________.
A．find common groundB．impress the other person
C．make a conversationD．make the room warmer
小題2:What does the underlined word “dominate” mean in Tip④?
A．interruptB．controlC．a(chǎn)dapt D．simplify
小題3:When ending a conversation, you’d better ________.
A．talk about how much you want to keep talking
B．show that you’ve not enjoyed the talk
C．mention a specific movie that you love
D．give your opinion about the other person’s earlier comments
小題4:The main purpose of the article is to ________.
A．encourage students to make more friends
B．give students tips on making small talk
C．introduce popular topics for students
D．teach students how to create friendships

小題1:C
小題2:B
小題3:A
小題4:D

試題分析：文章向?qū)W生介紹了如何通過聊天建立友誼的技巧。
小題1:C推理判斷題。“根據(jù)The purpose of talking about the setting is to show the other person that you are willing to make conversation可知談?wù)摥h(huán)境是一個很好的開始談話的契機，它讓對方明確領(lǐng)會你的意圖�！笨梢酝茢郈正確。
小題2:B詞義猜測題。根據(jù)“At every stage, you should be careful not to talk too much. But don’t let the other person dominate the conversation either.(每個步驟，你要十分注意不要說得太多，但是也不要讓對方控制談話)”可知交談的雙方的地位應(yīng)當是平衡的，任何一方也不要霸占話語權(quán)。dominate的意思為“支配”也就是“control”的意思。
小題3:A推理判斷題。根據(jù)step⑤可知答案。一步驟講的是如何結(jié)束聊天的技巧。從所舉例子可以看出：要給予對方以暗示要結(jié)束談話了，同時還要傳遞“我很想把本次談話延續(xù)下去”的意思。結(jié)合“When ending a conversation, let the person know you’ll be leaving soon, express gratitude for the conversation and set the stage for a future conversation.”推斷A正確。
小題4:D主旨大意題。從第一段看這是寫給學(xué)生看的。再根據(jù)第一段第一句話“How did your friendships begin? ”可推測作者的意圖是向?qū)W生介紹如何建立友誼。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Many women write to me perplexed(困惑的) about why they can't form close friendships.They try new approaches，put themselves in all the right places，see therapists，and read relevant self­help books.They consider themselves interesting，loyal，kind，and friend­worthy people.But for reasons unknown to them，they have a tough time forming intimate relationships.Many admit to not having even one close friend.
A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology offers some clues as to how both nature(personality) and nurture (experience) impact our friendships.Researchers at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto，Mississauga studied more than 7,000 American adults between the ages of 20 and 75 over a period of ten years，looking at the number of times these adults moved during childhood.Their study，like prior ones，showed a link between residential mobility and adult well­being：The more  times participants moved as children，the poorer the quality of their adult social relationships.
But digging deeper，the researchers found that personality—specifically being introverted (內(nèi)向的) or extroverted (外向的)—could either intensify or buffer (緩沖) the effect of moving to a new town or neighborhood during childhood.The negative impact of more moves during childhood was far greater for introverts compared to extroverts.
“Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long­term close relationships，” stated Dr.Shigehiro Oishi，the first author of the study，in a press release from the American Psychological Association，“This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily.Less outgoing people have a harder time making new friends.”
Families often have to relocate—across town，across the country，or across the globe.Yet，in many cases，their kids and young adolescents haven't yet built up a bank of friendships.So the conventional wisdom is to try to minimize moves for the sake of your child，whenever possible，and to move at the end of the academic year.
小題1:The passage is written mainly to ________.
A．offer advice to women on how to form intimate relationships
B．explain how nature and nurture impact our friendships
C．explain how moves during childhood affect children
D．tell us how to help children make friends
小題2:Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?
A．People who moved less during childhood have better social relationships.
B．The more people moved during childhood，the more friends they have.
C．The more people moved during childhood，the better they adjust to society.
D．There is no link between residential mobility and adult well­being.
小題3:In order for children to maintain long­term close relationships，parents ________.
A．should not relocate their homes
B．should relocate their homes within the town
C．had better move at the end of the school year
D．had better move when their children couldn't build up a bank of friendships
小題4:We learn from the fourth paragraph that moves during childhood ________.
A．have a bigger impact on an introverted person compared to extroverts
B．have no impact on an outgoing person
C．a(chǎn)re a big problem for both introverts and extroverts
D．help children better adapt to a new environment
小題5:We can infer from the passage that ________.
A．our friendships are mainly affected by our nurture
B．we can move when children have made a lot of friends
C．the impact of moves will disappear when one reaches adulthood
D．there is some way to minimize the impact of moves during childhood on children

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

It was the end of the school term and my son Tom had less than three months left before he would finish his six years at high school. During this time he had developed a love for basketball. Sadly, because of my work over the last twelve months, I had only been able to attend a few of his games; however, I was determined to get to his last game for the school term.
Tom’s team came out in the first 10 minutes with a burst of goals that saw them leading by just over 20 points at the end of the first half. The second half changed as the other team quickly played themselves back into the game. Tom’s team started to miss an increasing number of shots. It was at that point that the coach called his first time out.
The noise of the spectators (觀眾) became quiet as the coach spoke to them. He had the team standing in a half circle, but he squatted (蹲) down, looking up at them and fiving some very calm and clear instructions on what they needed to do in the last couple of minutes. As he stood up to allow the team to return to the court, I saw him give some further words of encouragement to all of them.
You could see that he knew that the team was fighting to save the game and that he needed to lift them up. By squatting down he placed himself in a position where he was talking up to them, rather than down or at them, and as the players went back onto the court his words of encouragement served to lift their energy and spirits.
Well, Tom’s team went on to win the final by 5 points. As I drove away I thought about what can happen to us all in our everyday life. One of my favourite quotes is about the half filled glass of water --- “Is it half full or is it half empty?” Like the coach, the answer to this quote all depends on how you look at things.
小題1:Why did the writer come to see his son play basketball?
A．Because his son would graduate from high school.
B．Because he felt sorry for never watching his son play.
C．Because it was a final his son played a key role in.
D．Because he had a strong interest in basketball himself.
小題2:By squatting down, the coach wanted to _____ .
A．talk about what the players were doing wrong
B．make the players feel better
C．prevent spectators from hearing what he said
D．show his anger at the bad performance of the players
小題3:What is the writer’s attitude towards the coach?
A．Negative.B．Supportive.C．Interested.D．Unconcerned.
小題4:What can we infer from the passage?
A．A father should care about his son at school.
B．Playing hard is rewarded with a close match.
C．What a coach says has the most influence on players.
D．Looking at things positively is important in hard times.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Ever wonder how this season’s celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic:

The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I’m not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts.
Lately I’ve been particularly curious as to whether Santa’s old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car.
I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa’s magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don’t complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article.
Santa’s yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa’s sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!!
So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they’re eating corn, they’d need to eat 16,500 lbs each — or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we’ll leave for another calculation.
We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are “l(fā)etting out” some of that corn in the form of methane (甲烷，沼氣). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO2, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20 times, we can put Santa’s round-trip emissions at 15,488 tons. This is much more than the 100 tons an environmentally-friendly car would release on the same trip!
Bad Santa.
小題1:Which aspect does the writer NOT include in her analyses about reindeer’s influence on environment?
A．Distance covered.B．Calories consumed.
C．Tons of waste let out.D．Money spent on food.
小題2: According to Paragraph 6, how many acres of corn would Santa need to feed 10 reindeer?
A．1.6.B．16.C．12.8.D．128.
小題3:Which of the following statements would the writer most probably agree with?
A．Christmas celebrations are really a waste of money.
B．Vegetarians are more likely to survive than meat-eaters.
C．Raising animals has a negative influence on environment.
D．The car industry does less harm to environment than farming.
小題4:Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?
A．Humourous and concerned.B．Cheerful and friendly.
C．Academic and formal.D．Serious and boring.
小題5:Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A．Is Santa driving clean and green?
B．Santa, watch where you’re going!
C．Santa Claus is coming to town!
D．Let’s reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

My cat Toto is aging，and as she ages，her body is failing her．Mentally，she seems sharp，but after nearly sixteen years，Toto’s hips are causing her obvious trouble．In fact，they make it so that she can’t use a litter box effectively．She tries to squat（蹲坐），but mostly she just pisses（撒尿）out the back end of the box．
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“Actually，”I said a couple of days later，“maybe it’s a dog．Whoever is eating Toto’s food keeps knocking the bowl over．”
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Today I got to see the cat－food thievery first－h(huán)and．Turns out it’s not one raccoon－it’s a family of four．I was lucky enough to have my camera handy as they performed their daring raid：My favorite part of this video is how Toto simply sits on her heating pad and watches the raccoons eat her food．She isn’t bothered at all．
小題1:Which of the following about Toto is true?
A．She is physically sharp．
B．She is at least sixteen years old．
C．She can’t use a litter box properly．
D．She stays outside all the while recently．
小題2:The underlined part in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to________．
A．drove away or forced somebody or something to leave
B．put away or stored something
C．protected somebody or something from being harmed
D．threw something away
小題3:What does the writer like most about what he filmed?
A．How Toto fought against the raccoons．
B．A family of raccoons stole the food together．
C．Toto’s casual attitude toward the raccoons．
D．How the raccoons made the writer’s porch dirty．
小題4:What would be the best title of the passage?
A．My Aged CatB．A Banished Cat
C．An Unforgettable ExperienceD．The Raccoons on My Porch

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

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A child       in this way learns his or her role through joining in the community's       ：helping to dig or build, look after animals or babies -- rather than      playing with water and sand in kindergarten, keeping pets      playing with dolls.
These children may grow up with a less oppressive sense of space and time than the      children. Their sense of days and time has a lot to do with the change of seasons and positions of the sun or the moon in the sky. Children in the rich world,         , are provided with a watch as one of the      signs of growing up, so that they can      along with their parents about being late for school times, meal times, bed times, the times of TV shows …
Third World children do not usually      to stay indoors, still less in high-rise apartments. Instead of dangerous roads, "keep off the grass" signs and "don't speak to strangers", there is often a sense of        to study and play. Parents can see their children outside rather than observe them      from ten floors up.
     , twelve million children under five still die every year through hunger and disease. But childhood in the Third World is not all     
小題1:
A．come B．surviveC．sufferD．learn
小題2:
A．As usualB．In factC．For instanceD．In other words
小題3:
A．inB．byC．toD．under
小題4:
A．childhoodB．povertyC．spiritD．survival
小題5:
A．neighborsB．fathersC．a(chǎn)dultsD．relatives
小題6:
A．Anyhow B．InsteadC．HoweverD．Still
小題7:
A．a(chǎn)wayB．a(chǎn)loneC．nearbyD．a(chǎn)long
小題8:
A．workingB．living throughC．playingD．growing up
小題9:
A．funB．lifeC．studyD．work
小題10:
A．byB．throughC．fromD．with
小題11:
A．orB．butC．a(chǎn)ndD．so
小題12:
A．WesternB．goodC．poorD．Eastern
小題13:
A．a(chǎn)t any momentB．a(chǎn)t the same timeC．on the other handD．on the whole
小題14:
A．easiestB．quickestC．happiestD．earliest
小題15:
A．careB．worryC．hurryD．fear
小題16:
A．dareB．expectC．haveD．require
小題17:
A．freedomB．dangerC．disappointmentD．control
小題18:
A．eagerlyB．a(chǎn)nxiouslyC．impatientlyD．proudly
小題19:
A．Above allB．In the endC．Of courseD．What's more
小題20:
A．poorB．goodC．richD．bad

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Most people will praise many technological gadgets（小裝置） that they use in their everyday lives. Technology is developing at a very fast rate, and what most people did not even think could be real a few years ago is now becoming a reality. Although many will use and advertise modern technology for many of its achievements and advancements, what many don’t realize is that it has affected and continues to affect society and people in general in a negative way.
Newspaper companies, as we all know, have been hit very hard by the advancements in technology. Big newspapers have been forced to either lay off a percentage of their work force or shut down altogether because news is readily available for free on the Internet. Music does not have to be purchased at a music store any more because MP3 files are readily available on the Internet as well, thus causing big music store chains to shut their doors for good. The movie industry has also been hit hard because DVD sales have decreased since people can pay for and download their favorite movies online.
Technology has its benefits, but when you take a look at how people communicate with one another, you will quickly see that it has a negative impact. Modern technology has allowed people to communicate with just about anyone they want to at any given time. The fact remains that people do not interact personally with one another as often as they used to. This has created a barrier for face-to-face communication among people because they no longer have to hold a meeting in an office or they no longer have to call friends or family members together to wish them a happy birthday or congratulate them on their recent success.
As a result, people don’t feel the urgent need to step outside of their home to find entertainment, such as participating in a dynamic game of basketball with friends, meeting a friend at a coffee shop, etc.
小題1:The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that _____.
A．technology is developing rapidly
B．many dreams have come true.
C．technology benefits us a lot
D．technology has its disadvantages
小題2:The author shows us the negative effects of the technology by _____.
A．telling some storiesB．giving some examples
C．listing some figuresD．doing some experiments
小題3:What does he underlined word “interact” in the third paragraph probably mean?
A．a(chǎn)rgueB．consultC．communicateD．work
小題4:Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A．The negative effects of advancing technology
B．The benefits of the modern technology
C．The development of the modern technology
D．The social problems caused by the technology

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs. Coupled with the aging of the baby-boom (生育高峰) generation, a longer life span(壽命) means that the nation’s elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995. The change brings many problems for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions,  and in law and business as well. “In addition to the doctors, we’re going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers,” says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Gerontology (老年學(xué)).
Lawyers can specialize in “elder law” which covers everything from trusts(信托) and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination. Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees(退休者) in human history. “Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,” one professor says.
Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC. She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria.” So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she liked it. She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”
小題1:.“…Old is suddenly in” (Line 1, Para. 1) most probably means “_____”.
A．America has suddenly become a nation of old people
B．more elderly professors are found on American campuses
C．gerontology has suddenly become popular
D．American colleges have realized the need of getting older students
小題2:Why can businessmen make money in the emerging elder market?
A．The elderly possess an enormous purchasing power
B．They can employ more gerontologists
C．Retirees are more generous in spending money
D．There are more elderly people working than before
小題3:Who can make big money in the new century according to the passage?
A．Retirees who are business-minded
B．The volunteer workers in retirement homes
C．Professionals with a good knowledge of gerontology
D．College graduates with an MBA or law degree
小題4:.It can be seen from the passage that the expansion of America’s elderly population ______.
A．will provide good job opportunities in many areas
B．will cause a heavy burden on society
C．may lead to nursing home abuse and age discrimination
D．will create new fields of study in universities

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In the face of tragedy，you must of course let yourself feel: Cry without holding back, shake with fear, yell out in anger, accept and follow your feelings. This is part of the wise approach to tragedy: The Upward Path —the feeling of emotions, the acceptance of them, and the coupling of the emotional mind with wisdom. Along this path, you'll take the experience —no matter how sad or upsetting —as a learning event, just as a11 other points on your journey will prove to be. While tragic, you must recognize this is still a chance for all involved to grow. You should let both sadness and joy, fear and courage, dark and light fill your world, and learn to find your steady, calm center in the midst of the opposing forces. This is the Upward Path. Use the event as a chance to gain balance and discover wisdom —the wisdom of love and of letting go, of non-attachment and non-resistance, and using this experience to eventually help others in need of guidance.
Being able to relate to others who have also experienced tragedy and inspire in them hope — of recovery, and of moving forward —is perhaps the greatest gift you can receive from tragedy. Turn the negative into positive, the pain into connection. After you've taken appropriate time to be sad, to feel your own pain, you should make it your work，your goal, your purpose to connect with others who need help. Show them how you've experienced feelings, achieved
balance，and gained wisdom that you would never have otherwise had the chance to learn.
FEEL, but do not FEED on tragedy. Rather, let it inspire you to go beyond the person who you were before. With demise comes renewal, so let this loss be also your rebirth. No matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how difficult this becomes, you have the power to transform yourself into someone greater than you ever knew you could be.
小題1:When following the Upward Path, the person facing tragedy should _______.
A．free his emotions
B．hold back his feelings
C．fill his world with positive ideas
D．give in to tragedy and all opposing forces
小題2:According to the author，the greatest gift one gets from tragedy is being able to _______.
A．seek solutions from others
B．forgive others and move on
C．stay calm and resist change
D．understand and help others
小題3:The purpose of the passage is to _______.
A．a(chǎn)nalyze the causes of tragedy
B．suggest a way of dealing with tragedy
C．tell people how to prevent tragedy
D．encourage people to build friendship after tragedy

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