Meeting people from another culture can be difficult．From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal （信号）．Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship．
Different cultures emphasize （强调）the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree．For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust．Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”, usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job．In many European countries — like the UK or France —people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafés rather than at the office．
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures．I once made a speech in Thailand．I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead, there was an uncomfortable silence．The people present just stared at me and smiled．After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much．In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary．
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems．Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly．We think that they are rude．In fact, this is just because the culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly．
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other．However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment （多元文化环境）will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other．In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to ______ ．
| A．develop closer relations | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．keep each other company |
The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _____ ．
| A．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| B．too many words are of no use |
| C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature |
| D．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
| A．By sharing different ways of life． |
| B．By accepting different habits． |
| C．By recognizing different values． |
| D．By speaking each other’s languages． |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Multicultural Environment |
| B．Cross-Cultural Differences |
| C．How to Understand Each Other |
| D．How to Build Up a Relationship |
There was once an old wise man living on the top of a mountain. Whenever the villagers had a problem, they would climb up the mountain and ask the old man for advice.
One day a young man arrived. “Wise man,” he asked, “What makes a man truly great?”
The old man said, “Do you sincerely want to know?”
“Yes, yes!” the young man replied.
“Well,” the wise old man said to him, “Let me tell you in the form of a story.”
There was once a Greek man who suffered from a deadly disease. Knowing that he would die soon, he was the first to join the army when his country was in a battle with the enemy. Hoping to die in battle, he would fight in the front line, risking himself without any worry for his life. Finally they won the battle and he was still alive. His general (将军) was so impressed with his bravery which contributed much to the victory.
The general decided to promote him and award him with medals of bravery and honor. On the day of presentation (授予仪式), he was looking very down and sad. Curiously, the general asked him why he was so sad on a day he should be so proud. The soldier told him of his deadly disease. “How could I let such a brave soldier die?” the general thought. So the general hired the best physician and finally cured the soldier. But from that day on, the once valiant soldier was no longer seen at the front. He would always avoid danger and tried his best to protect his life.
“Young man,” the wise man said, “if you want to be truly great, you must not be afraid of dying, you must be daring.”The reason why the young man went to see the old man was that .
| A．he enjoyed the scenery of the great mountain |
| B．the old man was very good at telling stories |
| C．there was a difficult problem troubling him |
| D．he was not sure who the greatest man was |
The general decided to award the Greek man .
| A．after he realized the man’s serious illness |
| B．because the man fought bravely in battle |
| C．though he knew the man would die soon |
| D．so that he could find the man a good doctor |
The underlined word “valiant” is closest in meaning to .
| A．brave | B．polite | C．curious | D．proud |
What the old man really wanted the young man to do was .
| A．trying to be kind to the people in trouble |
| B．mastering the skills of telling |
| C．joining the army to fight for his country |
| D．learning a lesson from the Greek man |
I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz (爵士音乐) concert last Friday. The advertisement (广告) in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 and 4:00. Since I work from 9:00 to 5:30, the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unluckily, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round (往返的) trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for fifteen minutes waiting for the bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip. So I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again the next day. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the office. I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back (奔回) across the town. By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth it to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, however, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets.The man learned that there would be a concert last Friday ________.
| A．from his friends | B．from one of his workmates |
| C．over the radio | D．from the newspaper |
One day the man took ________ to get to the theatre by bus.
| A．forty-five minutes | B．fifteen minutes |
| C．just twenty minutes | D．over an hour |
The underlined word “relieved” may best be replaced by “________”.
| A．worried | B．pleased | C．puzzled | D．sorry |
The writer mainly shows us his _____________.
| A．enjoyment of the concert |
| B．anger for buying the ticket |
| C．efforts to buy the ticket |
| D．disappointment at the concert |
California sea lions are the fastest of all the sea lions, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometers an hour when swimming. Males are much larger than females, measuring 2 to 2.5 meters and weighing 200 to 453 kilograms. Females only measure 1.5 to 2 meters and weigh 50 to 113 kilograms. They can also move fairly well while on land.
California sea lions can be found living along the Pacific coast of North America. They prefer to live in waters near rocky and sandy shores. On land, they often gather in large groups as many as 1,000 of them. While at sea, they travel in much smaller groups of around 10 or more. They communicate with one another through a series of sounds.
Their diet consists of a wide variety of fish and other sea animals. They are able to hold their breath for up to 10 minutes by slowing down their heart rate, allowing them to hunt for their prey for a longer period of time. They have been known to continuously hunt for up to 30 hours at a time, with their eyesight and hearing playing an important part in finding their food. Being so large, they do not have that many natural predators (天敌) that they need to be on the lookout for.
Eleven months after getting pregnant, the female will give birth to one baby on land. If the baby can survive long enough, they can live to be 20 to 25 years old.
California sea lions are not listed as an endangered species. This is largely because of laws such as the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Hopefully such acts will continue to show results.What do we know about California sea lions?
| A．They weigh at least 113 kilograms. |
| B．They swim faster than any other sea animal. |
| C．Males are much larger than females. |
| D．They usually move very slowly after leaving the sea. |
Which of the following descriptions about California sea lions might NOT be true?
| A．About 1,000 of them are often seen together on a shore. |
| B．Hundreds of them hunt together at sea. |
| C．They are often seen near rocky shores along the Pacific coast. |
| D．They make a series of sounds to communicate with each other. |
California sea lions slow down their heart rate in order to .
| A．swim faster at sea |
| B．have a rest while hunting |
| C．hunt for over 30 hours at a time |
| D．stay in water for a longer time |
What is the main reason why California sea lions aren’t endangered?
| A．That they are not worth much money. | B．That they have no natural enemies. |
| C．That they are protected well by laws. | D．That they are good at raising the young. |
You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts. The person on the other end has a depressing (令人沮丧的) tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to. You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communicating with negative (消极的) people can wash out your happiness. It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time.
Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer. They only feel glad when they make others feel bad. No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect.
When you communicate with positive (积极的) people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted. When the dagger (匕首) of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that, all in all, brings you down.
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people. This could be a co-worker, or relative. In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to a negative person, but all this is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that.
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized. The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to (附着) you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness. Life is too short to feel negative. Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible.How can negative people have effect on us?
| A．By telling US the nature of life. |
| B．By influencing our emotion. |
| C．By comparing their attitude to life with ours. |
| D．By changing our way of thinking. |
Some negative people base their happiness on ____________.
| A．other people’s pity for them |
| B．building up a positive attitude |
| C．making other people unhappy |
| D．other people’s respect for them |
According to the passage, to reduce negative people’s influence on us, we are advised __________.
| A．to change negative people’s attitude to life |
| B．to show our dissatisfaction to negative people |
| C．to communicate with negative people as little as possible |
| D．to make negative people feel ashamed of themselves |
What can we learn about negativity?
| A．Its effect can be completely avoided. |
| B．Its effect can last. |
| C．It hardly happens among family members. |
| D．Its effect is smaller than the effect created by a positive person. |
English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.
However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.
And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.According to the passage _____________.
| A．boxing rings should be round |
| B．pineapples are the apples on the pine tree |
| C．there should be an egg in an eggplant |
| D．sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things |
Which of the following is the correct plural form (复数形式)?
| A．Beeth. | B．Meese. | C．Geese. | D．Tooth. |
Which of the following has the similar meaning?
| A．Quite a lot and quite a few. | B．Overlook and oversee. |
| C．A wise man and a wise guy. | D．Hot as hell and cold as hell. |
Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.
| A．lazy | B．crazy |
| C．clever | D．stupid |
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