Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a second thought． Actually, the ancient Greeks wrote this way． The lack of punctuation marks probably didn’t bother good readers, though． As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best． Also at this time, sentences switched directions． A sentence read from left to right． The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc． The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They put something that can separate words in a sentence． The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a dot.
When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points． The spaces separated words while the points showed pauses in reading． Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation． He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence． He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause． Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma (逗号).
Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family． The exclamation mark (感叹号) comes from the Latin word io． It means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word questio, meaning question． Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question.
Punctuation even keeps changing nowadays． New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways． Take for example the “interrobang”． This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both． For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized yet, but its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.
From the first paragraph, we can know that _______.
| A．good readers had trouble reading without punctuation marks |
| B．a sentence always read from left to right in ancient Greece |
| C．ancient Greeks switched the direction of punctuation marks |
| D．the use of punctuation marks can date back to ancient times |
The passage is developed _______.
| A．by time | B．by space |
| C．by comparison | D．by importance |
We can learn from the passage that _______.
| A．ancient Romans didn’t use any punctuation marks |
| B．exclamation and question marks came from Latin |
| C．spaces and slashes were already used before the 5thcentury |
| D．Aldus Manutius first started to use commas |
What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
| A．The combination of two marks will not work. |
| B．It takes time for people to accept new punctuation marks. |
| C．Old punctuation marks need to be standardized. |
| D．Punctuation marks are still changing today. |
It is reported that six Chinese ships have entered waters near islands claimed by both China and Japan. China said the ships were carrying out “law enforcement” to demonstrate its jurisdiction(管辖权) over the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. At least two of the ships left after the Japanese coast guard issued a warning, Japanese officials say.
The action came after Japan sealed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner. Japan controls the uninhabited but resource-rich East China Sea islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan.
The Japanese Coast Guard said the first two Chinese boats entered Japan’s territorial waters at 06:18 local time, followed by another fleet of four other ships just after 07:00. The first two ships then left the area. A third ship left later on Friday morning, one report said. No force was used, Japanese officials added. “Our patrol(巡逻) ships are currently telling them to leave our country’s territorial waters,” the coastguard said in a statement.
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed that its ships were there. “These law enforcement and patrol activities are aimed to demonstrate China’s jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands and ensure the country’s maritime interests,” a statement said.
The US has called for “cooler heads to be accepted” as tension worsens between China and Japan over the islands. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is going to visit both Japan and China from this weekend as part of a tour of the region.
The dispute(争端) has seriously damaged diplomatic relations between China and Japan and threatens to damage the strong trading relationship, says the BBC’s John Sudworth in Beijing. The dispute has also caused strong nationalist emotions on both sides that makes it very difficult to be seen to be backing down, says our reporter.
The Japanese government says it is buying the islands to promote their stable and peaceful management. China on the other hand, says the islands have historically been its territory and fishing grounds. Meanwhile Japan’s newly-appointed ambassador to China, Shinichi Nishimiya, remains in hospital in Tokyo. He was appointed on Tuesday to replace Uichiro Niwa, who has been criticized for his dealing with the worst diplomatic dispute between Japan and China in recent years.The Diaoyu Islands are actually inhabited(居住) by .
| A．Japan | B．China | C．Taiwan | D．Nobody |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Japan fired at the 6 Chinese ships to warn them to leave the waters. |
| B．China admitted that the 6 ships had been forced to leave the waters. |
| C．The US called on both sides to calm down. |
| D．Shinichi Nishimiya was unconscious(昏迷的) in the hospital because somebody attacked him. |
Why was Uichiro Niwa replaced?
| A．He isn’t iron(强硬) enough in dealing with the diplomatic disputes between Japan and China. |
| B．His health condition is not good enough to work there. |
| C．He didn’t do well in dealing with the diplomatic dispute about the Diaoyu Islands. |
| D．He criticized the Chinese government publicly in an improper way. |
This news report is most likely to be selected from the newspaper.
| A．British | B．Chinese | C．Japanese | D．American |
BEIJING—Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.
Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid(有效), but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.
Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.
The municipal(市政) office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. “It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English,” an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said. “Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory.” It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.
Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary(烹饪) techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent. The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi(steamed stuffed bun) and jiaozi(dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.
“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31-year-old employee with a Beijing-based travel agency.
“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.
It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo.com, China’s most popular microblogging site.What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing. |
| B．Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes. |
| C．Chinese dishes to have “official” English names. |
| D．The effort to bridge the culture gap. |
“chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show .
| A．some Chinese dishes are not well received |
| B．some Chinese dishes are hard to translate |
| C．some Chinese dishes are mistranslated |
| D．some Chinese dishes are not acceptable |
What measure has the municipal office taken?
| A．Recommending a book on Chinese dishes. |
| B．Advocating(提倡) using precise translation for Chinese dishes. |
| C．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits. |
| D．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes. |
What’s the meaning of daunting in paragraph 5?
| A．confusing | B．disappointing | C．discouraging | D．Worthwhile |
This advertisement is designed especially for those who .
| A．like eating in restaurants | B．have little time |
| C．prefer home-cooked meals | D．want to save money |
What information CAN’T we get from the advertisement about Quickeats?
| A．Different kinds. | B．High quality. | C．Exact prices. | D．Good taste. |
Which of the following can be cooled in a refrigerator before eating according to the ads?
| A．Pasta Salad. | B．Dried Fruit. | C．Noodles. | D．Nuts. |
What can we learn from the advertisement?
| A．Get one Quickeats container and you’ll have four Quickeats to eat. |
| B．Take one coupon and you can eat freely in a participating store. |
| C．Buy one coupon and you’ll get a free Quickeats. |
| D．Buy one Quickeats and you’ll get a container. |
The round-the-clock availability that cell phones have brought to people’s lives may be taking a toll on family life, a new study suggests. The study, which followed more than 1300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone through out the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life—and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.
Spillover(影响，后果) actually means that the line between work and home began to become unclear. Work life may invade home life—when a parent is taking job-related calls at home, for instance—or family issues may start to take up work time. For example, a child may call Mom at work, telling her “the microwave exploded”, explained Noelle Chesley, an assistant professor of society at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be they are allowing for ever more spillover between work and home.
This may be especially true for working women, the study found. Among men, consistent use of mobile phones seemed not to allow more work issues to creep(潜入) into family time. But for women, the spillover tended to go in both directions—being “connected” means that work cuts into home time, and family issues come into work life.
Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchange among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover, according to Chesley. Employers, she said, should look at their policies on contacting employees after working hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”. For their part, employees can decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said.Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “taking a toll on” in Paragraph l?
| A．Explaining | B．Protecting | C．Extending | D．Damaging |
The example “the microwave exploded” in Paragraph 2 is used to .
| A．show the microwave is of poor quality |
| B．indicate how dependent the child is |
| C．indicate family issues affect work hours |
| D．show work time creeps into family life |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Cell phones offer 24-hour availability. |
| B．Cell phones get life and work mixed. |
| C．Women don’t use cell phones in an effective way. |
| D．Men are better at dealing with family problems. |
What is the author’s attitude towards round-the-clock availability of the cell phone?
| A．Curious | B．Positive | C．Subjective | D．Objective |
Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.
With the rapper(说唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.
His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌词) and funny dance movies.
Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首尔). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.
He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.
“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.What is the first paragraph mainly about?
| A．The success of “Gangnam Style”. |
| B．The origin of “Gangnam Style”. |
| C．The result of the Music Award. |
| D．The childhood of PSY. |
According to the text, PSY .
| A．is already in his forties now |
| B．made his first album in 2003 |
| C．danced only in his “Gangnam Style” |
| D．has developed his special comedic style |
Which of the following about Gangnam is TRUE?
| A．It is the capital of South Korea. |
| B．It is rich and better developed. |
| C．Seoul University lies in it. |
| D．It covers about 90 square miles. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．“Gangnarn Style” isn’t popular in English-speaking countries. |
| B．PSY will be given another big prize for music in the future. |
| C．iTunes is the No.1 music company on the internet. |
| D．“Gangnam Style” has won the most worldwide popularity. |
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