Britain's most popular lie has been disclosed, with one in four people admitting using “sorry I had no signal" when returning a missed mobile phone call, a survey found.
Researchers found the average Briton tells on average four lies every day or almost 1500 every year. Almost one in six men admitted they were most likely to lie to their wife or girlfriend, on average at least twice a day. The most popular lie was saying you had no mobile phone signal, with one in four people admitting regularly using the little white lie. It usually came after they hit the “ignore" button when their mobile rang.
Three quarters of people think women are better liars. The research found 46 per cent of girls have been caught lying, compared to 58 of men.
The second most common fib（无关紧要的谎言） is “I haven't got any cash on me” when asked for money by tramps (流浪者), beggars and Big Issue sellers. “Nothing's wrong – I'm fine” came third followed by “You look lovely” and “Nice to see you”.
Modern technology turned out to have contributed to many lies with “I didn't get your text” in 18th, “Our server was down” in 20th and “My battery died” in 26th place.
Other lies to make the top ten included “I'll give you a ring”, “We're just good friends” and “We'll have to meet up soon”. “I'm on my way” and “No, your bum doesn't look big in that” completed the top ten.
Men tell the most fibs, coming out with five every day compared to women who lie just three times.
In many cases perhaps it is better to flatter with a fib than destroy someone with the truth, according to a spokesman for OnePoll, which carried out the research of 4,300 adults.
1.Whether the person being called has pushed the “ignore” button or ______, the caller at the other end hears the same tone.
A. really has no signal B. can’t get the text
C. has a battery failure D. answers the call
2.Most people think women are better liars because ______.
A. there’re more women liars B. fewer women liars are found out
C. women tell less harmful lies D. women are harder to convince
3.“Our server was down” is perhaps a lie told as an excuse for not ______.
A. inviting a friend to dinner B. responding to an e-mail
C. coming to a party on time D. cleaning one’s room
4.“You look lovely” and “I’m on my way” rank _____ on the popular-lie list.
A. 3rd and 8th B. 5th and 10th C. 4th and 9th D. 5th and 12th
5.The OnePoll spokesman seems to think it’s ______ for the British to lie so much.
A. puzzling B. disgusting C. impossible D. reasonable
It looks exactly like other handicraft (手工艺品) shops in a traditional Chinese hutong, or alley, except that each item has a story. The city's first-of-its-kind charity shop, owned by Nathan Zhang, sells Chinese handicrafts along with used books, clothes and other items. The concept is that money from what is sold is donated to help rural (农村的) women in China.
“Many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) produce their own things but don't have a place to sell it,” said Zhang, who returned to Beijing in 2008 after working in Canada for nearly a decade in the telecommunications world. “A rural women's group tried to open a little shop but only sold two things. When they put their products in my shop, everything sold out.”
Located in Wudaoying Hutong in Dongcheng district, Brand Nu's walls are lined with handicrafts from a number of different NGO supported projects aimed at benefiting women across the country. The other half of the space is filled with almost brand-new clothes that have been donated from Beijing citizens. The jackets, dresses, tops and pants sell for around 30 yuan ($4.40) each.
Most of the money Brand Nu gets goes directly to the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women. The NGO offers a number of programs for poor women, including literacy classes (识字班), support networks and mental health education.
Zhang is also working with a local Scottish designer to create a clothing line made from the fabric (织物) of second-hand garments. And he is collecting books and raising money to help the NGO build a library near Beijing. He plans on expanding his product line soon as well, engaging more disadvantaged women to make sweaters, soaps and other items that he can sell in Beijing to help raise their socioeconomic status in the countryside.
Yet with ambitions come worries. Right now Zhang is operating on a shoestring budget and looking for work on the side to support both his business and his family. “I wanted to do something meaningful,” said Zhang. “If you can help one woman, you can help an entire family.”
1.The name of the charity shop is ______.
A. Nathan Zhang B. NGO C. Wudaoyin Hutong D. Brand Nu
2.The owner of the charity shop ______.
A. is a returned overseas Chinese
B. has long been working for the charity cause
C. is professionally engaged in telecommunication
D. is also the head of an NGO
3.The charity shop ______.
A. sells goods to poor women at low prices
B. sends donated clothes to poor rural women
C. opens literacy classes for illiterate women
D. gives money to poor women through an NGO
4.The last paragraph but one tells us that Zhang tries to ______.
A. open more charity shops
B. donate more money to the rural women
C. help the women live better through their own efforts
D. find jobs in Beijing for the rural women
5.The article is mainly about ______.
A. the charity cause in Beijing B. Beijing’s first charity shop and its owner
C. the living condition of rural women D. the difficult situation a charity worker faces
Anchors on China Central Television (CCTV) will need to do some fast talking to replace the popular English acronyms(首字母缩略词) they’re now banned from using. Shanghai Daily reports that “anchors at China Central Television [CCTV] have been banned from saying the English acronyms NBA, CBA, GDP, and the like in their programs.”
The replacement for those handy acronyms? Chinese presenters must use the full Chinese name, standardized by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Although CCTV (oops, we mean China Central Television) presenters must already have a score of at least 94 in their government-rated oral Mandarin proficiency exam, saying the full name of organizations like the CBA or WTO ― 10 and 6 character’s long separately ― is sure to challenge even the most skillful anchors. CCTV sports anchor Sun Zhengping tells Shanghai Daily, “A full Chinese explanation of the English initials must be followed if my tongue slips. It is a little trouble but a necessary one because not every audience member can understand the initials.”
Although the government isn’t giving any official explanation for the shift, it is believed to have to do with a proposal by Huang Youyi, director of the China International Publishing Group, at March’s NPC meeting. In his speech, Huang said, “With more and more publications mixing Chinese with English, measures and regulations should be adopted to avoid English invading Chinese. If we don’t pay attention and don’t take measures to stop the expansion of mixing Chinese with English, Chinese won’t be a pure language in a couple of years.”
Although China is far from the first country to take measures to protect local languages (the French and Québécois beat them to it by a long way), acronyms are more about saving time than they are about corrupting a language, we would think. Good luck to the CCTV anchors.
1.CCTV anchors have to “do some fast talking” because they can no longer ______.
A. speak as slowly as they like B. mix English into Chinese
C. use shortened Chinese expressions D. have so much time for their program
2.According the writer, “CBA” is supposed to be replaced with “______” by CCTV anchors.
A. 中国男子篮球甲级联赛 B. 中国篮球协会全国男女篮球职业联赛
C. 中国篮球联赛 D. The Chinese Basketball Association
3.When Sun Zhengping said “if my tongue slips”, he meant “if I _____”.
A. habitually use an English acronym B. speak a little bit too fast
C. make a mistake in pronunciation D. say something impolite or improper
4.What’s Huang Youyi’s proposal?
A. Using full English names instead of short forms.
B. Translating Chinese terms into proper English.
C. Avoiding Chinese words mixing into English.
D. Keeping our mother tongue as a pure language.
5.What’s the main idea of the last paragraph？
A. China has fallen behind in the matter. B. The ban is not necessary.
C. Chinese shouldn’t be corrupted. D. CCTV anchors will have a hard time.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Today I felt very uncomfortable studying English as usual．My eyes were 1and my mind was confused．I buried my head deep in the great pile of books．Many vocabulary words 2
my mind．As more and more entered，I 3focus，and my 4became crazy．The clock hands were pointing at twelve. I always 5the time when I study．Without any fruitful results，I felt more 6and tired．I 7up and walked to the living room just to take a little break． 8that would make me feel better．The street lamps looked like stars outside the window．A few scattered(分散的)branches 9shadows on the French window．Something seemed more 10and quiet than before．I walked to the 11slowly，and let my face press against it， 12very carefully…oh my God!!…It’s snow! It was very bright and covered up the whole 13while I was studying English painfully, so white and so quiet．At this moment, I was so 14that I felt like I might burst into tears．The snow was like a spring 15into my heart，and my eyes were shining with it．All my pain and tiredness 16at this moment，as the snow dropped into my heart．
I quickly became calm again，as the excitement went away．I sat on the bed silently，and drew the 17to one side to let the white house and white tree stay just beside my bed．I thought this must be a(n) 18from God，because I liked snow so much． 19I was weakest and most helpless in this world，nothing could inspire me but 20．I should inspire myself from such a beautiful scene．
1.A. closed B. tired C. shining D. weeping
2.A. left B. confused C. filled D. impressed
3.A. lost B. got C. realized D. changed
4.A. thoughts B. feeling C. words D. concept
5.A. waste B. limit C. remember D. forget
6.A. flexible B. guilty C. unhappy D. curious
7.A. stood B. turned C. checked D. hurried
8.A. Sure B. Maybe C. Immediately D. Always
9.A. shook B. cast C. resembled D. printed
10.A. disappointing B. frightening C. bright D. light
11.A. shadow B. lamp C. branch D. window
12.A. looking B. thinking C. moving D. cleaning
13.A. night B. house C. world D. mind
14.A. disturbed B. excited C. surprised D. bored
15.A. pouring B. delivering C. drilling D. rising
16.A. occurred B. arose C. escaped D. disappeared
17.A. bed B. curtain C. desk D. book
18.A. anger B. smile C. gift D. punishment
19.A. As usual B. As a result C. At last D. At a time
20.A. snow B. God C. white D. beauty
– Oh my god, I left my laptop in the taxi!
– _____; let’s call the taxi company first.
A. Pray for it B. Cheer up C. Have fun D. Calm down
– Do you think Linda will be fired this week?
– The question is not worth discussing. I think the manager has _____.
A. made an impression on her B. made contact with her
C. made up his mind about it D. made his fortune from it
