1 . I came across quite a few language problems while spending holiday with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in surprise, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers (内裤;衬裤), not trousers as it does back home.
Katie — From America
I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.
David — From Britain
When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to (使...明白)someone that I only wanted the toilet!
Tom — From America
1. Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in surprise because ________.A.Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans | B.Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty |
C.they mistook pants for underpants | D.they didn’t understand British English |
A.phone the police for help | B.phone his friend for help |
C.tell his friend he couldn’t visit her | D.apologize for his being late |
A.he wanted to have a rest | B.he wanted to go to the toilet |
C.he wanted to go to bed | D.He wanted to go to a department store |
Whether you will be a doctor or a police officer in the future, there are teachers in your life right now.
Teachers’ Day is the perfect chance for students around the world to thank their teachers.
In China, Teachers’ Day is on Sept 10. But in the US, teachers have a whole week to celebrate. Teacher Appreciation Week is in the first full week of May every year.
South Korea’s Teachers’ Day is on May 15. Many students offer carnations (康乃馨)to their teachers.
Although different countries have different Teachers’ Days, there’s one day for the whole world to honor teachers. On Oct 5 of every year, over 100 countries, such as Canada and the Philippines, express their thanks by celebrating World Teachers’ Day. UNESCO (联合国教科文组织) started the day in 1994.
A.Cards are also a traditional gift. |
B.The festival falls on different days in different countries. |
C.It wants to remind people of the importance of the teachers. |
D.They teach you and help you to know who you are. |
E.Kids used to bring apples for their teachers because apples are healthy. |
3 . Chinese New Year has been welcomed in Britain with its biggest ever program of events and celebrations.
From London's Trafalgar Square to major cities across Britain,tens of thousands of British people have joined Chinese communities to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. In Manchester there was a Dragon Parade(舞龙表演),led by a very impressive 54-meter long dragon,ending in Chinatown where there was traditional Chinese entertainment, more than 6, 000 lanterns,street food villages and a fireworks show. Celebrations also took place in Liverpool, Birmingham, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.
Academic Dr Wu Kegang said that the Chinese New Year event in Britain “is now bigger than ever and it is growing every year”. When Wu arrived in Britain 26 years ago from Guangdong,the first thing he noticed was that Chinese New Year was celebrated mainly in towns and cities with big Chinese communities. “You would go to London Chinatown and join your countrymen to celebrate, or to Chinatowns in places like Liverpool and Manchester for events almost only held for Chinese people, ”Wu recalled.
“Now it is so different, and we are seeing local communities all over the country taking part alongside their own Chinese populations, ” he said. “It is clear to me that the celebrations will continue to grow in Britain. Chinese New Year has earned its place in the calendar of events in Britain,and is here to stay. ”
1. Where did the Dragon Parade take place?A.In London. | B.In Liverpool. |
C.In Manchester. | D.In Birmingham. |
A.celebrated mainly by Chinese communities |
B.celebrated by local communities all over the country |
C.only celebrated in London, Liverpool and Manchester |
D.celebrated by tens of thousands of British people with Chinese people |
A.It will lose its attraction. |
B.It will become a British official holiday. |
C.More and more British people will join in the celebrations. |
D.It will become the most important one in the calendar of events in Britain. |
A.How Chinese New Year is celebrated in Britain. |
B.Where Chinese New Year is celebrated in Britain. |
C.Chinese culture is more attractive than British culture. |
D.Chinese New Year has become more and more popular in Britain. |
David was one of
After his
When he returned to Britain two months ago, he brought back from China many
5 . Canada Hosts Blooms Exhibition in Toronto
As Canada's largest flower and garden festival, the 10-day event opening on March14th is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors.(Xinhua/Zou Zheng)
1. On which day does this event end?A.March 14th. | B.March 23rd. | C.March 24th. |
A.planting more trees and flowers | B.making the world green and clean |
C.flower and garden festival |
Festivals and celebrations of all kinds have been held everywhere since ancient times. Most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of cold weather, planting in spring and
The most
People love to get together to eat, drink and have fun
7 . It may seem as if Mother's Day was invented by a company named Hallmark, but people have been taking time on the calendar to give a shout-out to Mom for a long time. The Greeks and Romans had mother goddess festivals — although their celebrations didn't involve the menfolk taking their underappreciated mothers out to dinner. A more recent tradition was Mothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.
Mother's Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers' Work Days” to promote health and hygiene(卫生 ) at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, furthering the cause by bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate soldiers and promoting a Mother's Day holiday.
Jarvis's work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe published her “Mother's Day Proclamation”, which envisioned(设想) the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother's Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade she stopped footing the bill and the tradition faded away.
It was Jarvis's daughter Anna who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died, in May 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on the anniversary and conducting a tireless PR campaign to have the day made a holiday. In 1908 she succeeded in enlisting the support of John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department store magnate and advertising pioneer, and by 1912 West Virginia and a few other states had adopted Mother's Day. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution declaring the second Sunday in May a national holiday.
It wasn't long, though, before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had been instrumental in creating. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.
1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that .A.mothers didn't get enough appreciation in the past |
B.Mother's Day was invented by Hallmark |
C.young people all returned to their mothers' houses |
D.Greeks and Romans were the first to celebrate Mother's Day |
A.Ann Jarvis. | B.Julia Ward Howe. |
C.Woodrow Wilson. | D.Anna Jarvis. |
A.Because it was extremely emotional. |
B.Because the festival was not profitable. |
C.Because the celebrations went against the original spirit. |
D.Because the day was celebrated in the form of exchanging greeting cards and candy. |
A.The Definition of Mother’s Day |
B.The Argument on Celebrating Mother's Day |
C.The Story Behind the Creation of Mother's Day |
D.Different Forms of Celebration on Mother's Day |
8 . In moving to another country it is not uncommon to experience culture shock. As a Chinese person in Britain, I am no different.
Basically, there are five stages of culture shock.
Stage one can be called the Tourist stage". If you travel a lot, you'll agree with me. Everything in a new place is very exciting to a tourist.
The second stage is the "shock stage”.
The last stage is called the re-entry shock stage". This is the shock you feel when returning home. Everybody is happy to see you again, but you've changed.
A.Your own culture may feel foreign. |
B.Then comes the stage of acceptance. |
C.In the next stage, you begin to adjust. |
D.Problems and anxiety appear at this time. |
E.You start to identify with the new culture. |
F.This stage can last for months or just a couple of days. |
G.Find the courage to move forward during this difficult stage. |
注意:1.词数100左右(开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数);
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
10 . 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 |