Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony:
My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry:
The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger（陌生人）!Tony arrived at school late that morning because .
| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
The students began laughing when they saw Tony .
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
Henry and his wife held hands .
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop | C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
What does the underlined word “scream” mean in Chinese?
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
Henry was embarrassed because he .
| A．slapped the woman in the face |
| B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard hid wife screaming in the street |
| D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
The designer of the Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, was not quite successful in his early years. He was not among the best students at school, and from time to time he got into trouble with either his schoolmates or his teachers. But he was full of new ideas, which few people saw the value of. Things remained the same when he went up to college and he dropped out halfway.
Steve Jobs worked first as a video game designer at Atari. He worked there for only a few months and then he set out to tour India. He hoped that the trip would give him more ideas and give him a change in life for the better.
After he returned from India, he begin to live on a farm in California. And then, in 1975, Steve Jobs set about making a new type of computer. Along with his friend Stephen Wozniak, he designed the Apple Computer in his bedroom and built it in his garage(车库). He gave the name “Apple” because it reminded him of a happy summer he once on an orchard(果园) in Oregon.
His Apple Computer was so successful that Steve Jobs soon became worldwide famous. But unluckily, he died of illness in 2011. Steve Jobs when he was in school.
| A．was an outstanding(杰出的) student | B．didn’t do very well |
| C．was always praised by others | D．didn’t learn anything |
. The underlined（划线的） word “value” means .
| A．beauty | B．chance | C．importance | D．hope |
. Steve Jobs .
| A．received excellent college education |
| B．didn’t go to college at all |
| C．studied in college for 4 years |
| D．didn’t finish his college education |
. Steve Jobs named his computer company “Apple” because .
| A．apple was his favorite fruit |
| B．he designed the computer under an apple tree |
| C．he wanted to remember the happy time on the orchard |
| D．the computer was designed on the orchard |
Steve Jobs' would be the most important thing for his lifetime success.
| A．“failure” in school | B．stay on the orchard |
| C．travel on India | D．new ideas |
The six-year-old Billy was seriously ill.
“Billy, what do you wish to do in the future?”
“Mom, I always want to be a fireman.”
His mom went to a fire station. She told a fireman about her son. She asked if it might be possible to give him a ride in a fire engine（消防车）. The fireman said, “We can do better. We’ll make him an honorary（名誉的）fireman for the whole day. He can come to the fire station, eat with us and go out on all the fire calls. If you give us his sizes, we’ll get a real fire uniform for him.”
Three days later, that fireman dressed Billy in his fire uniform and drove him to the fire station. Billy was so excited. There were three fire calls that day. Billy rode in different fire engines and went out all the three calls.
Billy’s dream came true. He lived three months longer. Did Billy want to be a policeman?
Who dressed Billy in his fire uniform?
. How many fire calls were there that day?
English words don’t stay the same. People need new words for new ideas and new inventions. Different words come into use, or old words are used in a new way.
English can be changed by borrowing words from other languages. The word “tomato” was borrowed from Mexico and“tea”came from China and so on. Now new space and science words are being borrowed from other countries, too. New words are formed by adding two words together. “Countryside” and “earthquake” are made up of two parts. Sometimes new words are shorter forms of old words. The word “photo” was made from “photograph” by cutting off the end of the longer word. “Plane” was made by cutting off the front part of “airplane”. The names of people and products can become new words, too. Our “sandwich” was named after a man called Sandwich and “sello tape”(透明胶带) was a name given by the company that first made the product.New English words are needed because _____.
| A．people use old words in a new way |
| B．the population is bigger now |
| C．the old words are not enough |
| D．new ideas and new inventions appear all the time |
.Which of the following words came from China?
| A．Tea. | B．Earthquake. | C．Airplane. | D．Sello tape. |
How many ways of developing English words does the passage tell us?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
.The main idea of this passage is _____.
| A．that the English language is always changing |
| B．that there are new ideas in England today |
| C．how people name new products and inventions |
| D．how people use old words in a new way |
Being shy keeps many Chinese people from getting to know westerners. You may feel nervous about making language mistakes in front of a native English speaker.
But remember, westerners living in Asia know how it feels to try to communicate in a foreign language. They have made many mistakes when speaking Chinese!
So don’t worry about speaking imperfect English. The important thing is just to communicate. Start talking, and make some foreign friends!
Many westerners value(注重) their privacy(隐私). Don’t be surprised if your new friend doesn’t want to include you in everything he does. This may seem strange to Chinese who worry about that their friends will get lonely.
Chinese people often expect their good friends to give advice and take care of them in many ways. If you expect this kind of care from westerners, you may be disappointed. Why? Because most westerners value independence. They feel insulted(侮辱的) if others think they can’t take care of themselves. They will assume(假设) you feel the same way.
Of course, these tips(小提示) are just rules of thumb(经验之谈) and may not apply(适用) to all westerners. Each person you meet will have his or her own ideas about friendship. When you get confused(不明白), don’t be shy and worry to ask questions. Your new western friends may also have many questions about Chinese culture, and they may be hesitant(犹豫) to ask. So encourage them to ask questions, too.
Be honest and open to your friends. Respect each other’s differences. The friendships you make can be lifelong treasure both for you and your new friends..Why do many Chinese people feel worried to speak to the foreigners?
| A．Being shy. | B．Making a lot of language mistakes. |
| C．Nothing to say. | D．Can’t speak a foreign language. |
.What do you think the foreigners may not be insulted with?
| A．Giving advice. | B．Taking care of themselves. |
| C．Getting care from good friends. | D．Getting help. |
.What does the underlined word “independence” mean?
| A．独立自主 | B．依靠 | C．失落感 | D．伤心 |
.What may help you to make lifelong friends?
| A．Be honest. | B．Open to your friends. | C．Respect each other. | D．All of the above. |
When I was 16 years old, I made my first visit to the United States. It wasn’t the first time I had been abroad. Like most English children, I learnt French at school and I had often been to France, so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn’t understand English. But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language problems.
How wrong I was! The misunderstanding began at the airport. I was looking for a public telephone to give my American friend Danny a ring and tell her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking like being lost and asked if he could help me.
“Yes,”I said.“I want to give my friend a ring.”
“Well, that’s nice,”he exclaimed (惊呼).“Are you getting married? But aren’t you a bit young？”
“Who is talking about marriage?” I replied. “I just want to give my friend a ring to tell her I’ve arrived. Can you tell me where there’s a phone box?”
“Oh!”he said.“There’s a phone downstairs.”
When at last we did meet up, Danny explained the misunderstanding to me.“Don’t worry,” she said to me.“I had many difficulties at first. There are lots of words which the Americans use differently in meaning from us British. You’ll soon get used to all the funny things they say. But most of the time British and American people can understand each other!”When the writer arrived at the airport, he wanted to _____.
| A．buy a ring for his friend | B．ask the way to his friend’s |
| C．telephone his friend | D．call a taxi |
The old man thought _____.
| A．the writer wanted to find a phone box |
| B．the writer was old enough to get married |
| C．the writer didn’t know the way |
| D．the writer wanted to find his girlfriend |
.At last, the old man _____.
| A．understood what the writer wanted to do |
| B．couldn’t understand the writer |
| C．bought a ring for the writer |
| D．took the writer to the phone box by himself |
Which sentence is wrong according to the passage?
A.The writer’s friend, Danny had a lot of difficulties in the U.S.A. at first.
B.There are some differences between American and British English.
C.British people can’t understand the Americans most of the time.
D.British and American people can understand each other most of the time.
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