唐唐sweet
英语阅读理解素材
学习任何语言都需要大量阅读。学习英语也需要大量阅读。为了帮助大家，我分享了一些英语阅读素材，欢迎阅读!
How Long Could You Go Without Complaining
Baseball fans are gearing up for the World Series, but we all know what's the real national pastime: complaining. Could you go without griping about anything for a day? For a week?
棒球迷们正在翘首以待即将到来的世界职业棒球大赛，但我们大家都清楚美国真正的全国性休闲方式是什么:发牢骚。你能不能一整天都不发一句牢骚?整整一周呢?
A couple of editors at Slate's Double X women's site are trying to go a whole month without complaining. Both Jessica Grose, managing editor, and Hanna Rosin, founding editor, say on the site that they've grown concerned about over-relying on complaints in getting through their juggles Ms. Grose is newly engaged, Ms. Rosin married with three young children. Over the course of their efforts, the two realize how much of their interactions with friends and colleagues are based on the common currency of complaining.
女性网站Slate's Double X的几个编辑正在尝试整整一个月都不抱怨。主编杰西卡·格罗斯和创始人兼编辑汉娜·罗森在网站上说，她们越来越担心自己需要过度依赖诉苦的发泄方式才能渡过难关。杰西卡最近刚刚订婚，汉娜则是有三个小孩的已婚妈妈。在体味人生酸甜苦辣的过程中，她们俩都意识到，自己与朋友同事之间的很多沟通都是以发牢骚为主的。
Ms. Grose recounts a recent pleasant drive during which she realized she was enjoying a good moment in her life and had nothing to complain about which led to "a twinge of panic" at the very fact of having nothing to complain about. "This shining moment of whine-free living made me realize how much kvetching I do on a daily basis. If I am honest with myself, I would estimate that about 70% of the things that come out of my mouth are gripes. Good-natured，often, but still nonessential and sometimes obnoxious to others."
杰西卡回忆起最近一次愉快的驾车旅途，她发现那是自己人生中一段美好的时光，根本没什么可抱怨的——于这一事实，她居然感觉到"一阵恐慌"。她说：“这种无可抱怨的美好时光让我意识到，自己平时的生活都是在牢骚满腹中度过的。凭心而论，我估计自己嘴里说出来的话有70%左右都是在发牢骚。这种抱怨往往没有恶意，但还是属于可有可无，有时还会让别人感到厌烦。”
So Ms. Grose decides to "try to stop complaining entirely about small things and quit excessively complaining about the bigger ones," for a month. She enlists her boss, Ms. Rosin, in the effort to reach a state of more "mindful complaining," as Ms. Rosin terms it.
因此，杰西卡决定在一个月内，“试着完全停止对琐事的抱怨，并对更重要一些的事情也尽量不去大发牢骚。”她把自己的老板汉娜也拉进来，以汉娜的话来说，这是为了“互相监督”。
Ms. Rosin relates her own tale of addiction to complaints: After she griped about keeping up with her children's complex schedule of after-school activities, her husband made up a weekly schedule and posted it on the fridge. "I nearly killed rum. Honestly, it was our most dramatic marital fight to date. Why was I angry with him? It took me a few days to figure it out. Because by helping to solve the problem, he had robbed me of my God-given right to complain."
汉娜也谈到自己发牢骚上瘾的故事：她抱怨自己很难跟得上几个孩子错综复杂的校外兴趣活动安排，于是她丈夫做了一张每周活动日程表，贴在冰箱门上。“为这事儿，我差点宰了他。说实话，这是我们结婚来吵得最凶的一次。可我为什么这么生气?过好几天后我才想明白：因为他帮我解决了问题，但同时也剥夺了我天经地义的发牢骚的权利。”
I certainly join Ms. Grose and Ms. Rosin in spending a fair amount of time complaining, especially at work. As we've written about before, at some workplaces, people end up spending more time kvetching about work than actually working. Most of our gripes there these days center on our new publishing system, which remains a bit buggy after five months of use. But there's some modest enjoyment in commiserating about an experience we're all going through together, and for the most part I'm fortunate not to have truly awful work woes to complain about, my co-workers are talented and conscientious，and the section we produce is something we can be proud of.
和杰西卡与汉娜一样，我也经常发牢骚，特别是上班的时候。我以前也在文章里写到过，在有些办公场所，人们抱怨工作的时间比真正工作的时间还要多。最近，我们对工作的抱怨大多数都集中在新开发的编辑系统上，因为经过五个月的使用后，系统似乎还有些小问题。不过，在对一种共同经历发牢骚时，确实有一种隐约的快感;而我算是幸运的，因为基本上没有真正意义上的工作难题需要抱怨一我的同事们既有才华、人又好，我们共同开发出来的内容板块也令大家感到自豪。
I have few serious complaints at home, either. We have the usual little squalls, but my wife and I often remark how much we enjoy our children, our friends and each other. I try to look on the bright said most of the time, so I feel like whatever complaining I do isn't a debilitating problem in need of aggressive correction.
我在家也很少真正抱怨什么。我和妻子有时也拌几句嘴，但经常的话题是谈孩子和朋友们的趣事，以及对彼此的喜爱。大多数时候，我都试着乐观处事，因此并不觉得自己偶尔发牢骚是一个急需改正的`坏毛病。
How about for you? What are the sources of your biggest complaints? Do you think you complain too much at home or at work, and could you see making a concerted effort over some period of time to cut back? Do you think you could go on a complaint fast?
你的情况如何?抱怨最多的事情是什么?你觉得自己在家或上班时抱怨过多吗?能不能在一段时间内有意识地控制自己少发牢骚?能不能把少发牢骚这个“封口令”进行到底?
句型讲解：
1. Over the course of their efforts, the two realize how much of their interactions with friends and colleagues are based on the common currency of complaining.
本句是一个复合句。over the course of their efforts介词短语作状语。主句是the two realize how...，how引导名词性从句作realize的宾语。
语法重点：介词短语作状语，名词性从句
2. Ms. Grose recounts a recent pleasant drive during which she realized she was enjoying a good moment in her life and had nothing to complain about which led to "a twinge of panic" at the very fact of having nothing to complain about.
本句是一个复合句，主句是Ms. Grose recounts a recent pleasant drive during。 which引导限制性定语从句，修饰drive，在从句中充当during的宾语。 she was enjoying...complain about为省略了引导词的宾语从句。其中which引导定语从句，修饰前面的句子she was...complain about。
语法重点：定语从句
3. But there's some modest enjoyment in commiserating about an experience we're all going through together, and for the most part I'm fortunate not to have truly awful work woes to complain about, my co-workers are talented and conscientious，and the section we produce is something we can be proud of.
本句是一个复合句。主句由4个并列的句子组成。第一个句子中 we're all going through together为省略了引导词的定语从句，修饰 experience。第四个句子中we produce和we can be proud of两个句子为省略了引导词的定语从句，分别修饰section和something。
语法重点：定语从句
4. I try to look on the bright said most of the time, so I feel like whatever complaining I do isn't a debilitating problem in need of aggressive correction.
本句是一个复合句。主句是I try to look on the bright side…, so引导一个结果状语从句，在这个状语从句中又有一个whatever引导名词性从句作feel like的宾语。 in need of aggressive correction介词短语作后置定语，修饰problem。
语法重点：名词性从句，介词短语作定语
雁塔陶瓷001
Bob and Jim once worked in the same factory. One day, Bob lent Jim ten dollars, but then Jim left his work and went to work in another town without paying back the money.
Bob didn't see Jim for a year, and then he knew from another friend that Jim was in another town and staying at a hotel. So he went there to see him late in the evening.
When he got to Jim's room, he saw his shoes near the door. "Well, he must be in," he thought, and knocked again, and said, "I know you are in, Jim. Your shoes are out here."
"I've gone out in my boots," answered Jim.
True or False
1. Bob and Jim once worked in different factories.
2. One day Jim borrowed ten dollars from Bob.
3. Jim paid back the money to Bob and went to work in another town later.
4. Bob hadn't seen Jim for a year when he learned that Jim was in another town.
Key: 1-4 F T F T
An old lady in a plane had a blanket(毯子)over her head and she did not want to take it off . The air hostess spoke to her, but the old lady said, “I have never been in a plane before , and I am frightened. I am going to keep this blanket over my head until we are back on the ground again !”
Then the captain came. He said, “Madam, I am the captain of this plane. The weather is fine, there are no clouds in the sky, and everything is going very well. ”But she continued to hide.
So the captain turned and started to go back. Then the old lady looked out from under the blanket with one eye and said, “I am sorry, young man, but I don’t like planes and I am never going to fly again. But I’ll say one thing, ”She continued kindly, “You and your wife keep your plane very clean!”
1. An old lady had _________ .
A. glasses B. a blanket over her head C. a coat D. a basket
2. A. She didn’t want to ________ .
A. take it off B. turn it off C. get on D. talk about it
3. _________ spoke to her .
A. The air hostess B. The man next to her C. her husband D. one of her friends
4. The old lady had never been _________ before .
A. abroad B. home C. in a plane D. in hospital
5. The woman didn’t like planes and she was never going ________ .
A. to fly again B. to travel C. to go abroad D. to go home
Key: 1-5 BAACA
Little Tom down the street calls our dog "The keep dog".Zip is a sheep dog. But when Tom tries to say" Seep", it comes out "keep". And in a way Tom is right. Zip is always bringing things hoem for us to keep! I'll tell you about some of them.
Zip's first present was a shoe. It was made of green silk.
We didn't know how Zip found the shoe. But after a moment Mary, my big sister, told me the shoe had a strange smell. I nodded(点头)and held my nose. "What do you think it is?"
"It smells like something for cleaning. I think someone tried to clean a spot (污点) off the shoe. Then he put it at the door to dry."
"Along came Zip. And good-bye shoe!" I said."We should take it back."
"We can't ".said my sistter.
"Maybe little Tom is right," Mary said. "Maybe Zip is a keep dog!"
1.The writer and Mary didn't know______.
A.what Zip's first present was
B.how Zip carried its first present home
C.who owned Zip's first present
D.what Zip's first present was made of
2.Tom calls Zip "the keep dog"because ______.
A.the dog likes keeping things
B.the dog likes playing with shoes
C.he doesn't know the dog's name
D.he can't pronounce the word "sheep"well
3.What made the shoe strange was ______.
A.its colour B.its smell
C.its size D.that it was a silk one
4.The word "keep"in the last sentence means "_____"
A.keeping things for itself
B.bringing things for other to keep
C.not letting it run about
D.taking care of a small child
5.We can know from the reading that the dog _____.
A. likes to give presents to people
B.has been kept in at the writer's home
C.has brought some trouble
D.likes to be called "the keep dog"
Key: 1.C 2.D 3.B 4.B 5.C
In England, afternoon tea is the most informal (非正式) meal of a day. It is taken between four and five. If you are a friend of the family, you may come for tea at any time. Very often it is not taken at a table. The members of the family and visitors take the tea in the sitting room. Each person has a cup and saucer (茶盘), a spoon (调羹) and a small plate for bread and butter (黄油) and cakes. By the way, do not help yourself to cakes first, bread and butter first, and then cake. Do remember: Though you can eat as much as you want, do not put more than one piece of bread or cake on your plate each time.
( ) 6. In England, afternoon tea is usually taken .
A. between breakfast and lunch B. in the middle of a day
C. early in the afternoon D late in the afternoon
( ) 7. A real English afternoon tea has .
A. tea only B. both tea and food
C. tea, food and vegetables D. the same things as other meals
( ) 8. If you want to have afternoon tea in a friend's home, .
A. you must send a message before you go
B. you must take food with you
C. you must go only when he asks you to
D. you may put only one piece of bread or cake on your plate each time
( ) 9. Help yourself to .
A. cakes first B. bread and butter first
C. either bread first or cake first D. only one piece of bread or cakes .
( )10. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. People don't use the same spoon for afternoon tea.
B. Afternoon tea is often taken in the sitting room.
C. For afternoon tea, people use cups only.
D. Afternoon tea is often taken with bread and cakes.
Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.
He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi (出租车) and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."
Choose the right answer
1. Dick flew to New York because ___.
A. he went there for a holiday
B. he had work there
C. he went there for sightseeing (观光)
D. his home was there
2. Why did his wife want a telegram from him?
A. Because she didn't know his address yet
B. Because she wanted to go to New York, too
C. Because she might send him another telegram
D. Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York
3. Where did Dick stay in New York?
A. In the center of the city.
B. In a hotel.
C. In a restaurant.
D. At his friend's house.
4. Who would send him the name and address of his hotel?
A. The manager (经理) of his hotel.
B. The police office.
C. The taxi driver.
D. His wife.
5. Which of the following is not true?
A. Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city.
B. Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival.
C. Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram.
D. Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi.
