Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar(日历).
In western countries, people usually celebrate the new year at midnight on December 31st—January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to greet the new year with the first light of the sunrise.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and that the new year can start afresh(重新). Other common traditions to keep away from bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year’s Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat oysters(牡蛎) on New Year’s Eve. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The meaning of “Happy New Year!”. |
| B．Several different New Year traditions. |
| C．What to eat on New Year’s Day. |
| D．Why people dress up nicely on New Year’s Day. |
| A．To bring good luck. |
| B．To keep away from bad luck. |
| C．To forget everything. |
| D．To plan for the next year. |
| A．friends talk to each other in special ways |
| B．families make big dolls filled with old clothes |
| C．some people get up early to watch the sunrise |
| D．Europeans eat 365 grapes on New Year’s Day |
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【推荐1】Do you like travelling to other places, cities and countries? Many people do. Tourism is a huge industry —— it’s as large as or larger than the oil, food and car industries. It creates so many jobs that one in every ten people in the world works in tourism.
However, for many people and places, tourism is not a completely positive thing. Some places receive millions of tourists a year, which leads to problems for local people. When tour buses block roads, it’s hard for local people to get to work or school. Often, international companies open up, and small shops and restaurants close down. Another problem is accommodation — in Barcelona and New York, for example, many flats and houses are used as tourist accommodation, so homes for local people have become expensive and hard to find.
Tourism can have an effect on the environment as well. Natural areas are ruined to make space to build hotels and tourist facilities, and building them consumes a lot of energy and resources. Historic buildings are damaged, such as those in Venice by large cruise ships (游轮) entering the city. These ships also do ham to animal and plant life. More tourism means more crowds, noise, rubbish and pollution.
Some governments have already taken actions. In Barcelona and New York, there are now limits on short-term rental accommodation. The number of cruise ships entering Venice is limited now too. Importantly, individual tourists can help by choosing better ways of visiting places. For example, if tourists visit Venice on a cruise ship but they sleep and eat all their meals on the ship, does the local community in Venice really benefit from their visit? If not, it could be better to choose a different form of tourism, one that benefits the city and local people more.
Despite some problems, if we can make tourism more sustainable (可持续的), everyone can benefit from it, and people can continue to enjoy visiting these places in the future.
1. Why is it hard for New Yorkers to buy cheap houses?| A．Because tourists buy local flats and houses. |
| B．Because many houses are needed for travelers. |
| C．Because the government provide little land to build houses. |
| D．Because the houses international companies sell are expensive. |
| A．To stress plants and animals die from them. |
| B．To show tourism wastes energy and resources. |
| C．To explain why tourism is not environmentally friendly. |
| D．To suggest the necessity of preventing the development of tourism. |
| A．The cruise ship is not a good choice for tourists. |
| B．Tourism should be developed in a sustainable way. |
| C．Local community in Venice shows no interest in tourism. |
| D．Governments have done extremely well in developing tourism. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Disapproving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
【推荐2】Electrical devices (电子仪器) could soon use power made by human energy. Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking, British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device.
The device connects to a person’s knee. As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down. To do this, the device helps with the slowing down movement of the leg, the movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity. Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute. Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes.
There are several possible uses for the device. Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers. The device could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers (起博器) and it could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs.
The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy, but the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version. An improved version should be ready in one year.
The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries; nearly twenty five percent of people around the world live without electric power.
A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania. He created a bag carried on a person’s back that also produces power from walking. The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag, but the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms.
1. The second paragraph mainly talks about________.| A．Who developed the device |
| B．How the device works |
| C．Several users for the devices |
| D．How much electricity the device can produce |
| A．It is too heavy for the walker to bear. |
| B．It is too complex for people to use. |
| C．It is too expensive for most people to afford. |
| D．It will slow down one’s walking speed. |
| A．produces power without adding a heavy load to the walker |
| B．can produce more power in a much shorter time |
| C．needs to be equipped with a battery |
| D．can help the walker walk faster |
| A．First device powered by walking will soon be on the market. |
| B．Advanced technology brings in a new way to operate heart pacemakers. |
| C．Device gives new meaning to the idea of power walking. |
| D．Human energy will become a main source of electricity. |
【推荐3】What's safer? Using a numeric PIN code(数字密码)to unlock your smartphone or relying on a swipe(滑动)pattern? New research suggests that, at least when someone close by could be looking over your shoulder, you might be safer with an old-fashioned PIN.
The research by the United States Naval Academy and the University of Maryland tested what could best secure smartphones from so-called "shoulder surfing attacks". So, if you are worried about someone looking over your shoulder while you unlock your phone, would you be wiser to use a PIN or a pattern? According to this research at least, the answer to that question is pretty clear.
Those who have a single observation of your screen as you unlock it with a swipe pattern will be successful in knowing it 64.2% of the time. Security can be improved somewhat by removing lines on the pattern lock (35.3% success rate for shoulder surfers).
By comparison, the use of a six-digit PIN greatly reduces the chances for an attacker to determine how to unlock your smartphone, with just 10.8% of attacks being successful. In tests, viewers were able to determine the users' lock-screen patterns from up to six feet away, from a variety of different angles, even after a single viewing.
Indeed, when it comes to safety, past research has determined that an unlock pattern is about the same as a three-digit PIN -something I hope that none of us would rely upon.
The researchers' conclusion is that a PIN of six digits or more is the most secure de fence against shoulder surfing attacks, and while both types of pattern lock are poor, patterns without lines provide greater security.
Unsurprisingly, the research confirmed that phones with larger screens were found to provide less security against shoulder surfing attacks.
1. What did the research focus on?| A．What lock-screen patterns people use. | B．When shoulder surfing attacks occur. |
| C．Why people prefer numeric PIN codes. | D．How you can unlock your phone safely. |
| A．They can increase our screen time. | B．They are a threat to our privacy. |
| C．They are a kind of physical attack. | D．They can be done through remote control. |
| A．A six-digit PIN. | B．A three-digit PIN. |
| C．A lock-screen pattern with lines. | D．A lock-screen pattern without lines. |
| A．Add some background information. | B．Provide some advice for the readers. |
| C．Offer additional topic-related information. | D．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
【推荐1】Are you planning to start your next international business presentation with a little joke to break the ice? Well, you might want to reconsider. The story is told of a businessman who gave a speech in a foreign country through an interpreter.
Without warning the interpreter, he told a joke during the presentation. The interpreter knew the joke would not translate, so she said, “This man just told a joke that he thinks is funny, but it does not translate well, and you will not find it funny at all. So, when I stop talking, everyone please just laugh.”
The audience did indeed laugh aloud, but not for the reason the speaker supposed. The businessman was so pleased with the first result that he went on to tell another joke.
Each culture has different understandings of humour. What may be funny in one culture can be far from funny in another.
For example, while living in Chile, I often tried to share great jokes from the United States, only to be met with questions like, “Oh, is that a joke? Is that funny in your country?” Similarly, Chileans shared their own popular jokes that were not always funny to me.
In September 2001, Professor Richard Wiseman and the British Association for the Advancement of Science created a project called LaughLab in order to find the world’s funniest joke. And in one year, LaughLab received more than 40,000 jokes. The following joke is considered the world’s funniest joke by LaughLab:
“Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls down. He doesn’t seem to be breathing. The other man calls the emergency services. He says, ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator says, ‘Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’ There is a silence, and then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, ‘OK, now what?’”
If you decide you must share a joke or two in another country, ask the opinion of your interpreter first. Otherwise, the joke may be on you.
1. The underlined phrase “break the ice” in Paragraph 1 can probably be replaced by ________.| A．make a difference | B．avoid misunderstanding |
| C．introduce the topic | D．liven things up |
| A．The joke was funny. | B．The interpreter made a mistake. |
| C．They were told to do so. | D．The businessman was humorous. |
| A．To show Chileans are impolite. |
| B．To show humour is related to culture. |
| C．To show Chileans have no sense of humour. |
| D．To show it’s hard to understand American humour. |
| A．His friend is in great pain. |
| B．The operator asks him to do so. |
| C．He is too worried to know what to do. |
| D．He misunderstands the meaning of “make sure”. |
【推荐2】When I was ten years old, I went to the US to visit some family friends. We travelled all the way from California to Las Vegas. I noticed something funny about the way everyone spoke English. I was thinking, “This is the way they speak in films!”
At the beginning of the holiday, one of my friends asked me if I wanted to order “French fries.” I couldn’t imagine what French fries were. What was fried and French?! Snails? Cheese? She was amazed that I had never tried them and she ordered a portion for us to share. When the waiter brought us some chips, I asked her where the French fries were. She pointed to the plate of chips! Later that week she said she was going to buy some “chips” from the supermarket. She came out with a packet of crisps!
During that holiday we were also offered “biscuits and gravy” with our lunch. This was a very strange idea to me, because in England biscuits are sweet. Gravy is a salty, meat-based sauce. I later realized that “biscuits” in America are savoury snacks. What we call “biscuits,” they call “cookies.”
One day, I saw an “eggplant” pizza on the menu in a restaurant! Eggs do not grow on plants, I thought. What on earth could an “eggplant” be? Something eggy and leafy? My dad ordered this pizza and it was covered in aubergines. I asked him where the “eggplant” was. He laughed and pointed to the aubergines. He told me, “They call this ‘eggplant’ in America!”
Although the same “language” may be spoken in different countries, there are likely to be many differences, not just in vocabulary but also in spelling, grammar and pronunciation! I think part of the excitement of learning a language is discovering the differences in how it is spoken in different places.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?| A．Holiday is a good time to relax. | B．French fries are popular worldwide. |
| C．The waiter provided poor service. | D．Chips and crisps are the same food. |
| A．America. | B．France. | C．England. | D．Italy. |
| A．Excited. | B．Regretful. | C．Anxious. | D．Confused. |
| A．Advantages of travelling. | B．High-end restaurants. |
| C．Food and tradition. | D．Cross-cultural misunderstanding. |
【推荐3】Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture.
Culture begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the period of time when we first arrive in a country where everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We may be suffering from “jet lag” but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food.
Unfortunately, after we have settled down into our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture.
The third stage is called the “adjustment stage”. This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor.
The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can cope with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them.
There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don’t know about. This is called “reverse culture shock”. Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back to your native culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle!
1. How do you feel during the first stage of culture shock?| A．Happy and excited. | B．Bored and homesick. |
| C．Lonely and depressed. | D．Angry and frustrated. |
| A．he gradually gets used to the language and culture |
| B．he has to understand jokes in a new culture |
| C．humor can help him to become stronger |
| D．he often plays jokes on others to be popular |
| A．It hardly ever happens. | B．It is extremely stressful. |
| C．It is unexpected. | D．It only happens to young people. |
