Introduction: Speaking English is not only about using proper grammar. To use English effectively， you need to understand the culture in which it is spoken. Here are a number of important tips to remember when speaking English in the United States. | |
General Points to Remember Most Americans only speak English. While it is true that more and more Americans speak Spanish， most Americans only speak English. Don't expect them to understand your native language. Americans have difficulty understanding foreign accents (口音). Many Americans are not used to foreign accents. This requires patience from both of you! | Public Behavior Always shake hands. Look your partner in the eye. Don't hold hands: Same sex friends do not usually hold hands or put their arms around each other in public in the United States. Smoking is out! Smoking， even in public places， is strongly disagreed by most modern Americans. |
Addressing People Use last names with people you do not know. Always use “Ms.” when addressing women. Many Americans prefer first names. Americans prefer informal greetings and using first names or nicknames when speaking with friends and workmates. | Conversation Tips Talk about work. Americans commonly ask "What do you do?"It is a popular topic of discussion between strangers. Talk about sports: Americans love sports! However， they love American sports. Speak about location. |
1. What is necessary to know when we speak English besides using grammar?
A. The culture.B. Introduction. C. Grammar. D. Topics.
2. If you are introduced to a woman called Pearl S. Buck， how should you address her usually?
A. What are you doing， Madam Buck?
B. How do you do， Ms. Buck?
C. How are you doing， Mrs. Pearl?
D. How are you， Miss Pearl S.?
3.What can we can learn from the table?
A. Smoking is allowed in the modern United States.
B. Americans shake hands when greeting same sex friends.
C. Different friends should hold hands when first meeting.
D. When you speak to others， it's polite to look into their eyes.
4. “When speaking to a stranger， ask them where they are from and then make a connection with that place” can be used as a supporting sentence to ________.
A. talk about sports
B. address people
C. speak about location
D. talk about work
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A. American English Tips
D. American Customs
C. Language Differences
B. The Different Language Culture
Long， long ago there were a lot of donkeys. The donkeys worked hard every day. They had no time to play or to relax， but they never felt appreciated(赏识)for the work they did.
One day two donkeys got bored. They wanted to live a comfortable life， so the donkeys went to see a wise old man. They told him their problem. The wise old man agreed that they worked too hard， and he wanted to help the donkeys. “I have an idea，” he said.
“What is your idea?” asked the donkeys.
“I will paint you and no one will know you are donkeys，” said the man.
The man went off to find some paint and he returned in just a few minutes. He had two pots of paints. One pot was filled with white paint， and the other black paint.
The old man first painted them white， and then painted black stripes over the white paint. When he finished， the donkeys did not look like donkeys at all. “You no longer look like donkeys，” the old man said. “Everyone will be fooled. I will call you something else， Zebras.”
The zebras went to a field to eat grass. Now they did not have to work.
Soon， other donkeys saw the zebras. They asked the zebras where they came from. When the zebras told the donkeys their secret， the donkeys all rushed to see the old man.
“Please make us into zebras， too.” They pleaded. So the wise old man painted more donkeys. As he did， more and more donkeys came.
The old man could not paint fast enough. Soon the donkeys became impatient. They began to kick about， and they knocked over the paint pots.
There was no more paint. The painted donkeys ran off to become zebras. The unpainted donkeys， because of their impatience， had to return to work.
1.Why did the two donkeys go to see a wise old man?
A. To become patient.
B. To ask him for help.
C. To change into zebras.
D. To have a rest.
2.When the two donkeys returned， why did they no longer have to work?
A. They didn’t eat enough grass.
B. They didn’t want to work.
C. No one knew they were donkeys.
D. They were no longer donkeys.
3.What finally happened to the impatient donkeys?
A. They won praise for the work they did.
B. They hated the zebras and fought with them.
C. They looked for another wise man to paint them.
D. They were still donkeys working hard all the time.
4. According to the passage， which of the following is TRUE?
A. The donkeys worked very hard and got much appreciated.
B. The wise old man decided to help the donkeys because he liked them.
C. The old man became impatient because he had to paint so many donkeys.
D. The old man helped the donkeys by painting them with white and black stripes.
5.What can we infer (推断) from the passage?
A. Being patient is very important.
B. Both donkeys and zebras had to work hard.
C. There is always a good way not to work hard.
D. The wise old man was killed by these impatient donkeys.
完形填空
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
Once again， I was at a new school. was a girl in my class named Paris. That was where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. I was one of the in the class while she was the youngest. My hair was thick， short and ugly while hers was long and beautiful. I couldn’t stand her， considering her my . But she wanted to be friends.
One day， she invited me over and I said yes – I was too to say no. Actually， no one had invited me over to before. But this girl， who wore the latest fashions， wanted to see me.
When we got to the she shared with her sister， she took out a big case of Barbies – which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. But we sat on the floor of a walk-in cupboard as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies. That’s when we that we both wanted to be writers when we were older. We both had wild .
We had a great time that afternoon. Our jaws (下巴) ached from smiling so much. She me her outfits， which had mostly come from a designer clothing store. The woman who owned it sometimes used her a model for her newspaper ads and gave her clothes in exchange.
Paris charmed the whole neighborhood. The owners lent her fashion magazines down the block， the movie theater gave her free passes and the pizza place let her free pieces. Soon I was included in her world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Paris， my first real friend since childhood， helped me get through my tough teenage and taught me an amazing thing about making friends: Your “worst enemy” can turn out to be your best friend.
1.A. So B. NeitherC. Either D. Or
2.A. oldest B. strongestC. tallestD. smartest
3.A. leader B. angle C. hero D. enemy
4.A. surprised B. satisfied C. stressedD. worried
5.A. study B. play C. chat D. sing
6.A. kitchen B. balcony C. bedroomD. garden
7.A. talking B. thinking C. shouting D. laughing
8.A. broke out B. worked outC. took outD. found out
9.A. instructionB. imagination C. information D. interest
10.A. sentB. showedC. provided D. passed
11.A. for B. with C. as D. by
12.A. supermarketB. museum C. bookshop D. community
13.A. sell B. have C. borrowD. make
14.A. magic B. naturalC. simpleD. funny
15.A. weeks B. monthsC. seasonsD. years
—In my opinion， buying books online can save us a lot of money.
—________
A.That’s all right.
B. I’m sorry to hear that.
C. I think so， too.
D. It’s my pleasure.
Bob is taking the desks away because they__________ too much room.
A. take up B. pick up C. stand up D. put up
To an engineer， a miss is __________ a mile. They can’t afford to make any mistakes.
A. as much as
B. as well as
C. as many as
D. as good as
