2005年上海市中考英语试题

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X. Reading comprehension (阅读理解): (共18分)

(A)

Many American families live busy lives. Every week, the children have sports, music lessons, club meetings, and many other activities, including (包括) hours of homework. The parents are busy, too. They work, take care of their homes, cook meals, and drive their children to activities. Some families do not have time to eat meals together more than once a week. One American community (社区) decided that it was time to take a break.

After seven months of planning, the community of Ridgewood, New Jersey, took one night off. They called it “Family Night”, a night for families to spend time together. Sports teams stopped their practices, and teachers did not give homework.

On Family Night, families agreed to turn off their televisions. They also decided not to answer the telephone. Answering machines said, “Please call back tomorrow.” Many families ordered take-out pizza and other take-out food so that they wouldn’t spend time cooking.

Popular activities included board games and card games. These games gave families a chance to spend time together. Children and parents weren’t so busy, and children didn’t spend so much time playing video games and watching television. On Family Night, families relaxed and spent the evening together. The town hopes to have many more “Family Nights”.

True or False (判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用“T”表示，不符合的用“F”表示):

68. Many American families are too busy.

69. Children have many other activities besides homework.

70. It took one night for Ridgewood to plan the special “Family Night”.

7l. During “Family Night”, families watched television together.

72. Parents cooked a big dinner for the whole family on “Family Night”.

73. More “Family Nights” are expected by the people in the town.

(B )

When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect (尊敬) elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.

I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.

In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.

However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.

After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.

By Jack

Choose the best answer (根据短文内容，选择最恰当的答案，用A、B、C或D表示):

74. Jack brought the couple their food very fast because______.

A) the manager asked him to do so B) he respected the elderly

C) the couple wanted him to do so D) he wanted more pay

75. When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became ______.

A) nervous B) satisfied C) unhappy D) excited

76. In Jack’s hometown, ______.

A) people dislike being called “old”

B) people are proud of being old

C) many people reach the age of seventy or eighty

D) the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants

77. After this experience, Jack ______.

A) lost his job in the restaurant B) made friends with the couple

C) no longer respected the elderly

D) changed his way with older people

78. Which of the following is TRUE?

A) The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.

B) Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.

C) The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.

D) From this experience, Jack learned more a