The way we do things round here
Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, “Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us.” That “quite” saddened me. I thought he was saying “We’re kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else.” Then I discovered that in American English “quite” sometimes means “very”, while in British English it means “fairly”.
So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don’t just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures.
Some of these differences may be only on the surface--- dress, food and hours of work--- while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate (气候), while getting on with business.
Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality (准时). If you invite people to a party at 7 o’clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word “late” because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought _____.
| A．the American bank didn’t think much of him |
| B．the American bank might hire another person |
| C．it’s difficult to get used to American culture |
| D．it’s easy to misunderstand Americans |
The word “highlights” in Paragraph 2 probably means _______.
| A．encourages | B．helps to narrow | C．increases | D．draws attention to |
According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?
| A．Ask the native people for help. | B．Understand and accept them. |
| C．Do things in our own way. | D．Do in-depth research. |
When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual（准时的）are ______.
| A．Italians | B．Germans | C．Greeks | D．the British |
Ⅳ．阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
The holiday season can be a very stressful time for many people．Sometimes，we ale too busy to shop for the right gifts for our friends and family．
Besides that，you may hurry，not only to find the right present，but also a parking place for your car．
The people you give gifts to have different interests，and it is hard to go everywhere to fend suitable gifts．Some of the best gifts I have found have been online．This saves me a lot of trouble．I can find the best sports tickets and best event tickets all from my own chair．
There are different types of tickets for sale online．You can buy anything nowadays from concerts to the best sporting events available．You may even find tickets for nearly everyone．
The tickets are colorful，such as the circus，shows for children，or The Sound of Music．These events are fun for the whole family and interesting gifts．
Wherever you live, you can get tickets for just about any city in North America．You won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for the best sports tickets or for superior seats for shows．Sometimes，the tickets can turn out to be cheapen
Tickets make truly nice presents．First of all, you don’t have to walk up and down the store．Secondly, you can usually spend less money．Thirdly, you have a vast of selections when you look for tickets on the Internet．There is always a clever choice online for everyone on your gift list．Want to know more? Crick here!
56．The underlined part “to pay all arm and a leg”means
A．to spend money in buying an arm and a leg
B．to spend time in getting an arm and a leg
C．to be busy driving up and down
D．to be busy watching sports meetings
57．The main purpose of writing the passage is ．
A．to sell the useful and colorful tickets
B．to tell you some kinds of tickets you may buy
C．to buy the tickets online or in shops
D．to introduce a new way to buy presents
58．Which one do you think is the best title of the passage?
A．Ticket—a Nice Present
B．Do No Shopping on Holidays
C．Different Colorful and Useful Tickets
D．How to Buy Tickets in Holidays
59．According to the passage，we are sure that
A．the article comes from a magazine
B．you can buy tickets for your friends in any city
C．we may buy some tickets at a low price sometimes
D．a friend in England may get your ticket-present
Thousands of people in the world are a hundred years old－or more and certain parts of the world are famous for the long lives of their inhabitants: the Vilacamba Valley in Ecuador, and the home of the Hunzas in the Himalayas．
Why do so many people live to a healthy old age in certain parts of the world? What is the secret of their long lives? Three things seem to be very important: fresh air, fresh food and a simple way of life．People work near their homes in the clean mountain air instead of travelling long distances to work by bus, car or train．They do not sit all day in busy offices or factories, but work hard outdoors in the fields．They take more exercise and eat less food than people in the cities of the West．For years the Hunzas of the Himalayas did not need policemen, lawyers or doctors．There was no crime, no divorce and not much illness in their society． They were a happy, peaceful people, famous all over India for their long, healthy lives．
Do you want to live to a hundred years old? Here are some rules for success．Firstly, choose your parents and grandparents carefully．If they lived or live to a good old age, so will you．Secondly, live in the right place．Thirdly, choose the right kind of job．Doctors, dentists and bus-drivers die young．Farmers, priests and orchestral conductors live much longer．If you are in the wrong kind of job, you can still improve your way of life．
An old man in the Caucasus was talking about his past life．"I was young then," he said, as he described his 87th year．His secret was: "Think young and stay young．" An old woman from Missouri, USA, gave this advice, "Drink a little whisky and some warm beer every day．" An English lady just said, "Take a cold bath every morning．" The shortest, simplest piece of advice came from Mr．Jim Chapman, aged 103．"Just keep breathing," he told reporters．
72．Who is most likely to live a long life?
A．A doctor． B．A bus-driver． C．A dentist． D．An orchestral conductor．
73．We can see from the passage that long-lived people avoid ____．
A．working hard B．drinking
C．eating too much D．taking cold baths
74．The passage indicates that we can change our _____to live a long life．
A．jobs B．places of living C．ways of living D．ways of thinking
75．What is mainly talked about in the last paragraph?
A．Whose advice is the best．
B．Who is the most long-lived person in the world．
C．Lifestyles of long-lived people．
D．How long-lived people think of their life．
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Private English Tutor Wanted
Private English Tutor for some basic daily dialogue is badly wanted. Several times a week. The student is going to Europe in 3 months and thus need quick improvement of English. Her home is near the Metro Line 3 Station. Concrete time and price can be negotiated. I hope you are a native English Speaker with some experience teaching Chinese people English. And it would be better if you can speak Chinese.
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CALLING—Teacher / Librarian!
We are a small Kindergarten to Grade 6 international school in Beijing. We need a teacher / librarian. The teacher we are looking for will: Be a Chinese / English speaking librarian.
Qualifications (资格)
Be self-starters, active team players.
Have an active attitude and love to work with kids.
Provide an exciting and useful library program to students.
If you meet the above qualifications, please send your CV and a current picture to rincipalinchina@yahoo.ca.
68. The advertisements is to________.
A. start a business. B. look for English teachers.
C. provide the latest jobs. D. help people find a suitable job.
69. From the first advertisement, we can learn that ______.
A..English Teacher agency charges teachers for this service.
B. you must go online to offer your basic information first.
C. you may call to get more information about the job.
D. once you join English Teacher agency, you will get a job.
70. Which is TRUE of the private English tutor in Advertisement 3 ?
A. Be an English language expert from UK. B. Speak American English.
C. Have rich teaching experience.
D. Spoken English as well as Chinese is quite good.
71. If you didn't pass the interview for Teacher / Librarian, the probable reason should be that .
A. you like working with children. B. you have a strong team spirit.
C. you lack teaching experience. D. you are poor in Chinese.
Now that the recession（经济衰退）is most likely over, it,s time to start looking at which companies, institutions, and individuals developed well during this unpleasant period. In the downturn that began in December 2007, the recession ruined the wealthiest consumer markets—the united States, Europe, Japan—there were very few safe shelters. But some countries, such as Peru, managed to grow right through the global recession. And some companies arranged their business so that they resisted the contraction and benefited from the trends affecting their industry. Some even managed to bring more business.
Chief among the Great Recession’s winners is McDonald,s. McDonald,s sales growth in 2008 was greater than in 2006 and 2007. While many restaurants reduced their business operation, it opened nearly 600 stores in 2008. And the chain has achieved same-store sales growth in each of 2009,s first seven months.
In 2008, after a decade of severely trading up to higher quality consumer goods and services, Americans began to trade down with a vengeance（报复）. McDonald,s, which has 44 percent of its 32,000 stores in the United States, was set up to profit from trading down in two ways. First, in a recession, people eat out less and at home more frequently. And when they eat out, they eat at cheaper places. McDonald,s is so cheap, efficient, and convenient that it was a practical alternative to casual restaurants like Ruby Tuesday.
In the United States, McDonald,s may be a cheap source of calories in food. In other parts of the world, McDonald,s is an appealing brand, identified with middle-class, westernized consumerism. Much of the world, such as China, India, is still not developed for the Golden Arches. Coincidentally, these are the right places where its business has continued to grow during the global recession. While it faces operational challenges in markets, McDonald,s has benefited form a weakening dollar and rising incomes in Asia.
The question now for investors（投资者）is whether McDonald,s can survive the recovery. When people feel better-off, will they still stop by? The growth in same-store sales in the United States has come down a little in recent months. And there,s a rising amount of the population that has grown accustomed to eating healthier and better. Going forward, McDonald,s may face larger cultural barriers in the United States than in China.
64．From the passage we can infer that in the recession.
A．the developing countries grew wealthier
B．the rich countries became unable to recover 
C．the Western companies suffered a great loss
D．the opportunities were brought as well as challenges
65．McDonald,s managed to remain popular in the recession mainly because of .
A．its good operation B．the American food culture
C．its low price and convenience D．the weak value of dollars
66．The underlined word “contraction” in Paragraph I means .
A．formal written agreement B．influence on industry
C．disappointing management D．process of reduced trade
67．What can be the best title for this passage?
A．Who Won the Recession
B．Who Traded down in the Recession
C．How Western Business Survived the Recession
D．How McDonald‘s Kept Growing after the Recession
Sri Lanka is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, and it is easy to see why. This little country never fails to please visitors.
Arrive
The national airline is Sri Lankan Airlines, which flies from Colombo to London and a couple of other European cities. The country,s main airport is Colombo Bandaranaike, located 29km north of the capital city.
Best visiting-time
The best time to visit Sri Lanka’s southern beaches is from November to April. So by going early in the season, you’ll get the best weather. Also in November, Deepavali, known as “Diwali” or the “Festival of Lights”, is Sri Lanka,s main religious festival, celebrated throughout the country.
See
There is plenty to see in Sri Lanka. The ancient capital cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura are worth seeing, and so are many outstanding ruins. Other mustsees are the rock fortress (要塞) of Sigiriya, towering over the jungle as far as the eye can see, and Dambulla,s cave temple, the country,s largest and best preserved. Both are UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) Sites. Kandy is a picturesque town, which was the last stronghold of the Kandyan Kings. Today it is a cultural relic centre where old customs, arts, and crafts remain.
Do Sri Lanka owns about 1,600 km of beautiful palm-shaded beaches as well as warm, pure seas and colorful coral reefs. You can explore the underwater world, and surfing and diving are available too. Away from the shore, wildlife is a big draw for Sri Lanka, and Yala National Park is one of the best places in the word to see wild animals including leopards (豹) and elephants.
Taste
Sri Lanka is celebrated for its excellent food, with a particular emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables on menus everywhere. Fish and seafood are a big part of the local diet.
Did you know? Sri Lanka is known for its tea, but it is also the world ’s largest producer and exporter of cinnamon(肉桂).
60. Which of the following is a cultural relic centre of Sri Lanka?
A. Kandy. B. Anuradhapura. C. Polonnaruwa. D. Colombo.
61.If you want to know something about “Diwali”, you’ d better go there in .
A. September. B. October. C. November. D. May.
62. We learn from the passage that Sri Lanka .
A. is in the Pacific Ocean B. is famous for its excellent food
C. is the world,s largest producer of tea D. has only flights to London
63. The author wrote the article in order to .
A. introduce the picturesque landscape of Sri Lanka
B. let readers know what is famous for in Sri Lanka
C. make Sri Lanka well known throughout the world
D. let people get more travel information about Sri Lanka
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