【推荐1】In Canada and the United States，people enjoy entertaining at home: they often invite friend：over for a meal，a party，or just for coffee and conversation.

Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their home.

“Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night？"

“Hey，we're having a party on Friday. Can you come？"

To reply to an invitation，either say thank you and accept，or say you're sorry and give an excuse.

“Thanks，I'd love to. What time would you like me to come？”or "Oh，sorry. I've tickets for a movie. ”

Sometimes，however，people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example：

"Please come over for a drink sometime. "

“Why not get together for a party sometime？

“Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon？”

They are really just polite ways of ending a conversation.

They are not real invitations because they don't mention（提到）a clear time or date. They just show that he person is trying to be friendly. To reply to expressions like these，people just say “Sure，that would be great”or "Ok. Yes，thanks. ”

So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly？

1. Which of the following is a real invitation?

A．If you' re free, let's go for a drink sometime.

B．Please go to the cinema with me someday soon.

C．would you like to have a cup tea with us sometime?

D．I've two tickets here. Can you go to the concert, with me？

2. IT people say "Let's get together for lunch someday”, you just say"____________”

A．That would be nice.	B．How about this weekend?
C．Oh, sorry. I'm very busy.	D．That's great. I' ll be there on time.

3. Why do people in Canada and the United States use an unreal invitation?

A．Because they want to show that they're trying to be friendly.

B．Because they want to show that they're trying to be helpful.

C．Because they want to show that they haven’t got ready for a party yet.

D．Because they want to show that they're trying to make friends with others.

4. What's the passage mainly about?

A．Expressions of starting a conversation.	B．Ways of ending a conversation.
C．Real invitations or not.	D．Entertaining at home.

【推荐2】What are the cultural differences between China and the West? You might be able to find the answer in Cao Siyu’s comics (漫画).

Cao, 32, was born in Beijing, but left home at 20 and has studied and lived in the US, the UK, and France for 12 years.Having seen so many cultures, Cao wanted to use her drawing skills to show the differences she has experienced. So she created the cartoon series Tiny Eyes Comics.

“My experience shows that although travel is much easier and faster today, the distance（距离）between cultures hasn’t shortened,” Cao said. She hopes to build bridges and break down misunderstandings between different cultures. One of her cartoons shows water forms in different countries. Three glasses of water are shown. The glass of water from the US has ice; the one from France is full of sparkling water(气泡水); the one from China is steaming(冒热气的).

Cao also uses her cartoons to show different ways of thinking and social customs.During the COVID-l9 pandemic, she used her comics to explain why Chinese people prefer to wear masks while western people don’t. “Her simple pictures have played a big part in reflecting Chinese culture,” Italian magazine Grazia reported.

Many foreign readers say that Cao’s comics help them understand China, while Chinese living abroad have felt that they are seen and understood.

She said that this voice has been the biggest motivation(动力)for her to keep creating.

1. Cao Siyu shows people the cultural differences by ________.

A．living abroad	B．creating comics
C．writing for an I talian magazine	D．talking about her experience

2. Cao’s comic ideas come from her studies and life in _________ foreign countries.

A．3

B．12

C．20

D．32

3. The underlined word “misunderstandings” means ________.

A．融合

B．交流

C．差异

D．误解

4. We can infer from the passage that ________is more popular in China.

A．cold water

B．ice water

C．sparkling water

D．hot water

5. The best title of the passage is ________.

A．Travel is much easier and faster today	B．Comics show us how we are different
C．School life abroad is busy and lonely	D．Different ways of thinking and behaving

【推荐3】As we know，there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture.    1    Let's look at some words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog，for example，“a homeless dog” “a mad dog”“a running dog”and“a dog catching a mouse”, have bad meanings.     2    In English, people use the dog to describe good actions. For example，“You are a lucky dog”means you are a lucky person. And“Every dog has its day”means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person's serious illness，they say“sick as a dog”. The word“dog-tired”means very tired.     3    But in Western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is unkind. There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.

    4    People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of Britain，America and many other countries.

    5    We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

根据短文内容，从下列选项中选出能填入文中空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。

A．However，Chinese love cats very much.

B．The words about plants and animals are used in good or bad ways in different cultures.

C．We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used.

D．However, westerners love cats very much.

E．But in Western countries, dogs are considered to be honest and good friends of humans.

F．The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries.