1 . The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in conversation may also show stubbornness, uneasiness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap（间隙）with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.
Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied（暗示）is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.
Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with different conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.
Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient's silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing（治愈）value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.
1. What does the author say about silence in conversations?| A．It is content-based. | B．It develops friendship. |
| C．It implies anger. | D．It is culture-specific. |
| A．The French. | B．The Mexicans. |
| C．The Russians. | D．The Chinese. |
| A．Make use of its healing effects. |
| B．Let it continue as the patient pleases. |
| C．Break it while treating patients. |
| D．Evaluate（评估）its harm to patients. |
| A．Sound and Silence. |
| B．What It Means to Be Silent. |
| C．Silence to Native Americans. |
| D．Speech Is Silver, Silence Is Gold. |
2 . If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and
philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks(缺陷)of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to______________.| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers' interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
| A．a personal biography | B．a history paper |
| C．a cultural newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
3 . The Torch Festival (火把节) is a traditional festival which is celebrated among some ethnic groups in southwestern China, such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, Lisu, and Lahu, etc. It usually falls on the 24th or 25th of June, with three days of celebrations. The festival came from worship (崇拜) of fire by ancestors (祖先). For some ethnic groups, it’s a tradition in the festival for elders to share farming experience with young people and educate them about taking care of crops.
During the festival, big torches are made to stand in all villages, with small torches placed in front of the door of each house. When night falls, the torches are lit and the villages are bright. At the same time, people walk around the fields and houses, holding small torches and placing the torches in the field corners. Inside the villages, young people are singing and dancing around the big torches that keep burning throughout the night. Other activities like horse races are also held during the festival.
In a horse race of the Yi people in Yunnan, torches are used to form hurdles for riders to get through. The Hani people in Yunnan traditionally tie fruits to torches with strings. When the strings are broken after the torches are lit, people struggle for the fruits for good luck.
For the Lisu people in Sichuan, the festival is an occasion for holding torch parades. Big torches are carried by teams of people, which is like a fire dragon. If different teams meet, it’s a tradition to exchange the big torches with one another.
1. What can we know about the Torch Festival from the first paragraph?| A．It has nothing to do with farming. |
| B．Its celebrations usually last two days. |
| C．It is a traditional festival of all China. |
| D．It is a festival to show worship of fire. |
| A．ancestors. | B．young people. |
| C．elders. | D．ethnic groups. |
| A．Why the festival is enjoyed. | B．Where the festival is celebrated. |
| C．How the festival is celebrated. | D．What torches are used for the festival. |
| A．Holding torch parades. | B．Tying fruits to torches with strings. |
| C．Struggling for fruits for good luck. | D．Using torches as hurdles for a horse race. |
4 . Many Westerners have the idea that everyone in China knows how to do kung fu. This is, of course, a silly belief. But it is true that kung fu is a big part of Chinese culture.
Like most people from the West, I was first introduced to kung fu through Hong Kong action films. Stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan made kung fu popular in the Western world. The flashy and impressive performances they gave in films like Rumble in the Bronx and Enter the Dragon made them household names in the U.S. and elsewhere.
However, my own personal interest in kung fu was actually inspired by a hip hop group. Wu-Tang Clan, founded in the early 1990s in New York City, is one of the most influential hip hop groups in history.
In their songs, they sometimes mention philosophical concepts that come from Wudang quan—a classic Chinese martial art from which they take their name—and Shaolin Temple. I was just a teenager when I first started listening to Wu-Tang Clan—little did I know that I would actually end up living in China later in my life!
I myself do not practice kung fu. However, the concepts behind it are quite interesting to me. There is a Bruce Lee quote that I often think of when I'm struggling with challenges in life. “Be formless, shapeless, like water,” he once said. By this, he meant that you should be ready to adapt to and change your attitudes or beliefs when you face difficulties. I think this is a good way to deal with life.
1. What does “a silly belief” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．All Chinese people can do kung fu. |
| B．China is most famous for its kung fu. |
| C．Kung fu is a big part of Chinese culture. |
| D．Many Westerners admire kung fu. |
| A．Hong Kong action movies. | B．A TV program about kung fu. |
| C．Kung fu stars in Hollywood. | D．A US hip hop group. |
| A．They have Chinese culture in their songs. |
| B．They taught the author how to do Wudang quan. |
| C．They performed Chinese martial arts in the U.S. |
| D．They showed the author the way to live in China. |
| A．The author was sorry that he couldn't do kung fu. |
| B．The concepts of kung fu change over time. |
| C．The spirit of kung fu helps the author overcome difficulties. |
| D．Bruce Lee was the most popular martial arts master. |
5 . Table Manners
We all like to think we have good table manners, but what you consider proper table manners may actually be considered rude in another country! Lets explore some strange table manners around the world.
Most people believe that it is bad manners to slurp（出声地吃或喝） or hold your soup bowl up to your mouth
Don’t cut your salad with a knife in France. Proper etiquette(礼节) in France when eating a salad to fold the salad leaves onto your fork if they are too big to put in your mouth. You should never cut your salad with a knife.
Pay attention to forks. Have you ever been to a fancy western restaurant, not sure which fork to use?
| A．That isn’t true in Japan |
| B．It's the one furthest from your plate. |
| C．You must finish the food on your plate |
| D．Should you finish all the food on your plate? |
| E．You may use your fork to eat something like fruit. |
| F．Never leave your chopsticks sticking in a bowl of rice |
| G．This rule is taught to many French children from an early age. |
6 . Small talk is a good way to make friends. If you travel to other countries or have friends from abroad, do you know how to use small talk to make conversation?
In Britain, the best topic is the weather. British weather is changing all the time.
Besides weather, it's good to talk about gardens with British. You could say "Those roses look really beautiful, don't they?'*
In America, people like to talk about sports news, such as American football and basketball.
| A．English people love their pets. |
| B．Americans also talk about clothes. |
| C．Politics or religion is not a good topic. |
| D．Only a few topics are not used for small talk. |
| E．There are also a lot of topics to avoid during small talk. |
| F．You can start chatting by saying "It's a lovely day today, isn't it?" |
| G．Friends are important to us all, but how to make friends is a problem. |
7 . Imagine this: You’re at the movies seeing the latest box-office hit. The leading actor chases down the film’s bad guy before winning over the beautiful leading lady. What does he do next? He sucks on a cigarette.
What’s wrong with this picture? Doesn’t the beautiful woman see her hero’s yellow teeth? Doesn’t she smell his smoky breath? And wouldn’t the good guy have trouble chasing, since smoking causes a person to cough?
But you don’t see any of that when someone smokes cigarettes in the movies. And there is a lot of smoking in movies. Actors light up in more than 50 percent of youth-rated (G, PG, PG-13) movies, according to the American Legacy Foundation, which aims to put an end to smoking among young people. That means that Hollywood is showing 14 billion images of smoking to young people every year.
All that exposure to on-screen smoking can influence teens to smoke. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) argues that 44 percent of teens who begin smoking do so because they’ve seen smoking in movies. The CDC reports that teens are two to three times more likely to start smoking after seeing repeated smoking scenes in movies than teens who are lightly exposed to smoking in movies.
Several organizations are working to remove smoking in youth-rated movies. And adults are not the only ones who care about this issue. Many teens are actively involved. Livia Clandorf, 16, of Chatham, New York, is a member of Reality Check, an organization that educates teens about what it considers to be the manipulative(巧妙处理的) practices of tobacco companies. Livia participated in an event called a “movie stomp(跺脚)”. Reality Check rents out a movie theater and screens a youth-rated film that shows smoking, they stomp their feet and show disapproval by shouting “boo”.
1. What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the passage?| A．To provide background information of a movie. |
| B．To attract readers’ attention to the topic. |
| C．To describe a plot in a movie. |
| D．To offer some basic knowledge of cigarette. |
| A．It’s touching. | B．It’s beautiful. |
| C．It’s frightening. | D．It’s unreasonable. |
| A．Over 50 percent of teens smoke. | B．Teens should watch more movies. |
| C．Many movies cause teens to smoke. | D．Teens are less likely to smoke than adults. |
| A．When they are active. | B．When they are excited. |
| C．When they feel like smoking. | D．When they see smoking scenes. |
8 . Tokyo is one of those places that you can love and hate at the same time.
In Tokyo there are always too many people in the places where I want to be. Of course there are too many cars. The Japanese drive very fast，but in Tokyo they often spend a long time in traffic jams. Tokyo is not different from London，Paris and New York in that. It is different when one wants to walk.
At certain times of the day there are a lot of people on foot in London’s Oxford Street. But the streets near the Ginze in Tokyo always have a lot of people on foot， and sometimes it is really difficult to walk. People are very polite; there are just too many of them.
The worst time to be in the street is at 11:30 at night. That is when the nightclubs are closing and everybody wants to go home. There are 35,000 nightclubs in Tokyo, and you do not often see one that is empty.
During the day，most people travel to and from work by train. Tokyo people buy six million train tickets every day. At most stations, trains arrive every two or three minutes, but at certain hours there do not seem to be enough trains. Although they are usually crowded, Japanese trains are very good. They always leave and arrive on time. On a London train you would see everybody reading a newspaper. In Tokyo trains everybody in a seat seems to be asleep, whether his journey is long or short.
In Tokyo, I stood outside the station for five minutes. Three fire-engines raced past on the way to one of the many fires that Tokyo has every day. Tokyo has so many surprises that none of them can really surprise me now.
1. Tokyo is different from London in that ________.| A．there are many traffic jams |
| B．nightclubs are sometimes empty |
| C．wherever I want to be, it’s too crowded |
| D．it is more difficult to go somewhere on foot |
| A．are always punctual |
| B．often delay at most situations |
| C．are crowded because they are often late |
| D．are the last means people use to travel to and from work |
| A．The writer’s impression of Tokyo. |
| B．The reasons why the writer loves Tokyo. |
| C．Different means of transportation in Tokyo. |
| D．Many surprises that Tokyo has brought to the writer. |
| A．very seldom | B．quite frequently |
| C．three times a day | D．the most often in the world |
9 . Ready to take a gap year？ A "Gap Year" is a period of time when a student takes a break before going to university. It is often spent travelling or working．
Gap years are popular with European and Australian students, but remain less popular in America. However, in recent years, more and more American students are preparing for college by taking a gap year. The advantages of taking a gap year are as follows：
Although you don't have to go abroad to experience gap years, most gap year students catch the chance to travel abroad. You are able to work out who you are and what you are for. The experiences of different cultures offer you interesting lessons. You can learn more about the world and get to know yourself better．
Face challenges and have fun
A gap year is not only a time to take a vacation, but also a time to face challenges. Gap year students usually work, volunteer or take service projects. You have to learn how to get along in the real world. This process isn't always easy, but it is an important part of growing up．
Save money and improve your college admission chances
There's a common thought that gap years are only for rich students, but it's not true. Actually, taking a gap year can save your money. Gap year students often take a part-time job. Besides, at the end of a gap year, students are much more likely to know what to study in college.
| A．Learn about the world and yourself |
| B．Only in this way can you enjoy life and have fun． |
| C．Check out your gap year choices before making the right decision． |
| D．It can give young people useful learning experiences and new skills． |
| E．Imagine an admission officer trying to admit only one between two students． |
| F．More students than ever before are taking a gap year before going to university． |
| G．Clear learning goals can keep the students working hard instead of wasting time and money playing． |
10 . Many young people these days adore the advertised magazine body and become too focused on attaining this image instead of worrying more about what lasts and even grows over time. But could you imagine being considered beautiful for years, and suddenly being ugly after moving to another continent? It is a sad reality that people don’t realize how vacillating the idea of beauty can be from one country to another.
Think of the most typical American girl you know. Is she blonde-haired with white skin and light blue eyes, and does she love shopping or sports? Now place this girl in the heart of Africa, where beauty is placed on what you can control. The Maasai tribe in Kenya focuses on how clean people are, and how stylish their piercings (穿孔) are. This tribe’s culture is to be a brave fighter, so they will cut their skin with patterns in it to show that they are strong. If you don’t look fierce, you are not beautiful.
Other countries like North Korea and South Korea have their own unique views on beauty. In an interview, a woman who has lived in both North Korea and South Korea claims that beauty in North Korea is based more on your ability to be a good woman and wife. She says that women in North Korea are less concerned about fashion and beauty in the physical sense. She says they did have a time when big eyes were a big deal and everyone wanted to get double eyelid surgery. This is something extreme and could perhaps be influenced by Western culture. But don’t you think the idea of getting surgery done to look more attractive is crazy?
1. What does the underlined word “vacillating” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Inconsistent. | B．Reasonable. |
| C．Unusual. | D．Similar. |
| A．getting dirty is stylish | B．looking fierce is beautiful |
| C．strong people cut their skin | D．American girls love shopping |
| A．care a lot about their appearance | B．put the beauty of eyes in the first place |
| C．pay great attention to their ability | D．are crazy about double eyelid surgery |
| A．Inner beauty is of great importance. |
| B．Ideas of beauty vary among culture groups. |
| C．Different ways are needed to admire true beauty. |
| D．Fashion magazines easily influence young people. |
