— Thank you, Joan, for the lovely party and the delicious food. 

—　________.
A. No thanks    B. Never mind        C. All right　     D. My pleasure

Come and see me whenever _______.

A. you are convenient　　　 　　 　B. you will be convenient

C. it is convenient to you　　 　　　 D. it will be convenient to you

Those __ agree may come with me.

A. that　　　　　 B. who　　　　　 C. to whom　　　 D. with whom

I had planned for the house　　 closer to a river, but I was told there was a danger of flooding.

　　 A．built　　 B．be built　 C．being built　 D．to be built

_____ , the subject belongs to biology.

A. Strictly spoken 　 B. Spoken strictly

C. Strictly speaking 　 D. Speaking strictly

Three fifths of the cattle　　　 sold abroad in the city．

　 A．has　　　　　 B．has been　　　 C．have　　　　　 D．have been

–Why is the university doing so much building?

　 --____ number of students ____ so rapidly.

　 A. The; have increased　　　　　　 B. A; have increased

　 C. The; has increased　　　　　　 D. A; has increased

If I ___ the money, I would have bought a much bigger car.

A. possessed B. owned C. had D. had had

—Do you mind if I smoke here?

　　—___ , but it’s not allowed here in this room.

　　A. Never mind B. Don’t worry C. I’m sorry D. Of course not

The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose(夸大的)words．“Outstanding” is the

new “good,” “amazing” is the new “OK, ” and “huge” is the new “big.”

　 I was in a restaurant in Washington D．C．last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration．

　 Me：How is the salmon?

　 Sever：Fantastic!

　 Me：Does it come with rice?

　 Sever：Absolutely!

　 Would a “good” and a “yes” have been enough? Of course!

　 My father is an average-sized man．He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same．However，in the same amount of time，his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large．

The reason for the exaggerated word is clear：we are bored with our lives. We want the next

—next thing now．Immediately!

　 And we also want others to think that we still care，that we can still be delighted，that we know that everything is just great．Even when deep inside we know it can’t be．Everything can’t be great．

I’m not a scientist，so many methods of proof leave little to be desired，or a lot to be desired，or an immensity(無(wú)限)．　

Listen to the voices around you．Listen to your own voices．There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad，weather is either beautiful or horrible．

Listen，the next time when someone asks you something and you agree，because when you

could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely’’ or “without doubt ” or “Oh，yeah，unquestionably ---- absolutely without doubt."

Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are? If everything is outstanding，if everything is the most amazing thing ever，is anything ever amazing at all?

1．By telling his experience in the restaurant，the author intends to ________．

　 A. show his interest in exaggerated words

　 B. prove that exaggerated words are widely used

　 C. blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words

　 D. tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good

2．What do we know about the author’s father?

　 A. He has gained height and is now a tall man．

B. He likes following the fashion in clothing．

C. His weight is getting greater and greater．

D.The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words．

3．So many people like using exaggerated words because_________．

　 A. they are not satisfied with being normal

　 B. they don’t want to be looked down upon by others

　 C. they want to be different from others

　 D. they are brave in telling their true feelings

4．According to the passage，if you approve of something，you’d better say “________”．

　 A. fantastic　 B. perfect　 C. OK　　　　 D. absolutely