It tastes just like chicken
Away from home, eating is more than just a way to keep your stomach full．It is a language all its own, and no words can say, "Glad to meet you ．．．glad to be doing business with you ．．．" quite like sharing a meal offered by your host．
Clearly, mealtime is not the time for you to say, "Thanks, but no thanks．" Acceptance of the food on your plate means acceptance of host, country, and company．So, no matter how difficult it may be to swallow, swallow it．Or, as one experienced traveler says, "Travel with a cast-iron stomach and eat everything everywhere．"
Often, the food offered represents proudly your host country's eating culture．What would Ataiericans think of a French person who refused to take a bite of homemade apple pie ? Our discomfort comes not so much from the thing itself; it comes from our umamiliarity with it．After all, an oyster has remarkably the same look as a sheep's eye; and a first look at a lobster would remind almost anybody of a creature from a science fiction movie, not something you dip in butter and eat．By the way, in Saudi Arabia sheep's eyes are a famous dish and in parts of China it's bear's paw soup．
Can you refuse such food without being rude? Most experienced business travelers say no, at least not before taking at least a few bites．It helps, though, to cut any item very thin．This way, you minimize the taste and the reminder of where it came from．Or, " Swallow it quickly, " as one traveler recommends．"I still can't tell you what sheep's eyeballs taste like．" As for dealing with taste, the old line that "it tastes just like chicken" is often thankfully true．Even when the "it" is really rat or snake．
Another useful piece of advice is not knowing what you are eating．What's for dinner? Don't ask． Avoid glancing into the kitchen or looking at English-language menus．Your host will be pleased that you are eating the food he offers, and who knows? Maybe it really is chicken in that soup．
1.The purpose of the article is to ____．
A．introduce unfamiliar food
B．share the writer's personal experiences
C．suggest ways to overcome a cultural barrier
D．advise on how to politely refuse to eat foreign food
2.According to the writer, people hesitate at strange food mainly due to ____．
A．the way it looks
B．safety worries
C．lack of information about it
D．the unfamiliar atmosphere
3.From the article we can infer that ____．
A．an American may feel comfortable with sirloin
B．one should refuse strange food after a few bites
C．English-language menus are not always dependable
D．one needs a cast-iron stomach to travel in other cultures
4.One may say "It tastes just like chicken．" when ____．
A．showing respect for chicken-loving nations
B．greeting people with different dieting habits
C．evaluating chefs at an international food festival
D．getting someone to try a visually unpleasant meal
Once Dr.Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr.Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man's shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient's appearance couldn't have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn't getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn't carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won't be easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let's get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he'll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later, Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．
1.The patient had no desire to eat because .
A．he was not hungry B．he was seriously ill
C．he was given special meals D．he was not satisfied with the food
2.According to the passage, we can conclude that .
A．the patient’s native language was Spanish
B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger
C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient
D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient
3.Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?
A．Cold. B．Considerate.C．Curious. D．Careless.
4.What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages.
B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems.
C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills.
D．Doctors should have a good relationship with their patients.
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Night after night, as was often the case, she’d lean down and push my long hair out of the 36 ,then kiss my forehead.
I don’t remember when it first started 37 me. But it did. Finally one night, I shouted out as her, “Don’t do that any more – your hands are too 38 ！” She didn’t say anything in reply. But never again did my mother 39 my day with that familiar 40 of her love.
With the years passing, my thoughts 41 to that night, when I missed my mother’s hands, missed her goodnight 42 on my forehead. Sometimes the incident seemed very 43 , while sometimes far away. But always it was hidden in the back of my 44 . Now Mom is in her seventies, and those hands that I 45 thought to be so rough are still doing things for me and my 46 . And now my own children are grown and gone. One Thanksgiving Eve, 47 I slept in the bedroom of my youth, a 48 hand hesitantly run across my face to 49 the hair from my forehead. Then a kiss, ever so 50 , touched my brow.
In my memory, for the thousandth time, I recalled the night and my young voice 51 . “Don’t do that any more – your hands are too rough!” 52 , I caught Mom’s hand in hand, saying how 53 I was for that night. I thought she’d remember, as I did. But Mom didn’t know 54 I was talking about. She had forgotten, and forgiven long ago.
That night, I fell asleep with a new 55 for my gentle mother and her caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.
1.A．place B．way C．order D．shape
2.A．pleasing B．frightening C．satisfying D．annoying
3.A．sweet B．tough C．ugly D．rough
4.A．take up B．give up C．end up D．break up
5.A．expressionB．symbol C．promise D．experience
6.A．remained B．returned C．occurred D．missed
7.A．story B．greeting C．kiss D．song
8.A．close B．serious C．different D．unusual
9.A．brain B．mind C．spirit D．heart
10.A．once B．even C．still D．always
11.A．husband B．children C．family D．father
12.A．as B．before C．although D．since
13.A．rough B．reliable C．thin D．familiar
14.A．tidy B．touch C．brush D．wiped
15.A．gently B．friendly C．closely D．weakly
16.A．wept B．whispered C．complained D．struggled
17.A．On time B．All at once C．Once again D．As usual
18.A．grateful B．anxious C．sorry D．excited
19.A．where B．why C．what D．whom
20.A．memory B．sense C．pleasure D．appreciation
The officer insisted the young girl______a thief and ordered she______free.
A.was not；be set B.should not be；be set
C.was not；was to be set D.was not；set
I have to see the doctor because I a lot lately.
A.have been coughing B.had coughed C. coughed D. cough
Many people have been ill with a strange disease these days,____ we’d never heard of before.
A.one B.that C.it D.this
