1 . Social customs and ways of behaving change. Things which were considered impolite many years ago are now acceptable. Just a few years ago, it was considered impolite behavior for a man to smoke on the street. No man who thought of himself as being a gentleman would make a fool of himself by smoking when a lady was in a room.

Customs also differ from country to country. Does a man walk on the left or the right of a woman in your country? Or doesn’t it matter? What about table manners? Should you use both hands when you are eating? Should you leave one on your lap, or on the table?

The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs. For example, in both America and England people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time. Also Englishmen will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman, and so will most Americans. If a dinner invitation is for 7 o’clock, the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay.

The important thing to remember about social customs is not to do anything that might make other people feel uncomfortable, especially if they are your guests. There is an old story about a man who gave a formal dinner party. When the food was served, one of the guests started to eat his peas (豆) with a knife. The other guests were amused or shocked, but the host calmly picked up his knife and began eating in the same way. It would have been bad manners to make his guest feel foolish or uncomfortable.

1. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word?

A．礼貌的

B．可接受的

C．粗鲁的

D．拒绝的

2. If one has accepted a dinner invitation, what should he do if he is to be late for the dinner?

A．He should find an excuse.	B．He should ask for excuse.
C．He should say “sorry”.	D．He should telephone to explain his being late.

3. Which of the following do you think is the best title for this passage?

A．Social Customs and Behavior	B．Social Life.
C．American and British Customs.	D．To be on time is Important.

4. According to the text, the best host____________.

A．tries his best to make his guests feel comfortable

B．makes his guests feel excited

C．tries to avoid being naughty to his guests

D．tries to avoid being foolish

5. Which of the following do you think the author of this article may agree with?

A．The guest who ate his peas with a knife.

B．The other guests who were amused or shocked.

C．The host who picked up his knife and began eating in the same way.

D．None of the above.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Grain Rain is the     1     (six) of the Twenty-four Solar Terms in the traditional Chinese calendar, which this year starts from April 20. As the last solar term in spring, this period sees the temperature rise and rainfall increase,     2     (create) an ideal environment for plants and animals.

Grain Rain is still relevant     3     modern agriculture. It links grain with rain, reflecting an increasing amount of precipitation (降水), which is good for the     4     (grow) of crops. For farmers, it is a good time to sow.

It might not be so well-known that in Chinese tale an actual “grain rain”     5     ( record) in the story of Cang Jie,     6     invented the first Chinese characters. Prior to 2500 BC, in order to keep records more     7     (precise), Cang Jie originated a set of characters from observing the tracks of birds and mammals. After his groundbreaking invention, grains started to pour down from the sky.

The Grain Rain day has become a day     8     (honor) Cang Jie and the invention of the Chinese language, and April 20 has been designated as the annual UN Chinese Language Day since 2010. Chinese characters are a treasure of the     9     (spirit) homeland of Chinese people, the thousands of years of Chinese culture,     10     an important symbol of cultural identity.