The fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan was the subject of popular books and movies for many decades. In recent years, however, the character has been criticized as an ill image of Asian-Americans.
Yunte Huang, an English professor at the University of California, says that’s not the case. He has been exploring the character and real-life policeman who inspired him.
Charlie Chan has been a familiar character to readers and film-goers, beginning in the 1920s. The detective solved crimes around the world in more than 40 films through the 1940s, and with the invention of television, found a new audience in the 1950s and 1960s.
Huang discovered Charlie Chan through books by American author Earl Derr Biggers, who created the character.
“One day, I happened to find two Charlie Chan novels. At that point I thought I knew that he was a negative character against Asians, but when I read the book,” he says, “I was immediately attracted. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan of Charlie Chan.”
As a fan of the books and films, Huang was surprised to learn that Charlie Chan was based on a real detective named Chang Apana, who was born to Chinese parents in Hawaii around 1871. Apana worked as a cowboy, and joined the Honolulu police force in 1898.
“He almost immediately became a local legend because as a former cowboy,” says Huang, “he would walk the most dangerous areas in Chinatown carrying a bullwhip（皮鞭）instead of a gun. He didn’t need that.”
Although some say the image of Charlie Chan, with his broken English, is embarrassing for Asian-Americans, Huang believes Chan’s broken English and unusual ancient sayings were part of his charm（魅力）.
“Let me just quote（引用）a few – ‘Actions speak louder than French,’ or ‘Mind like parachute (降落伞). Only function when open.’ Charlie Chan always owes these instructive sayings to Confucius’ eastern wisdom.
For Huang, the fictional Charlie Chan is highly entertaining, while the real-life policeman, Chang Apana, is a Chinese-American success, whose story is worth telling.
1.The passage mainly talks about ______________.
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A．how Yunte Huang discovered Charlie Chan |
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B．how Charlie Chan became famous in the US |
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C．what Yunte Huang thought of Charlie Chan |
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D．how a cowboy became a famous detective |
2.According to the passage, we know that Charlie Chan __________.
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A．was a character in books and movies based on a real detective |
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B．was a famous actor starring in movies beginning from the 1920s |
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C．was a famous detective solving crimes all over the world |
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D．was a Chinese immigrant who became a local legend |
3.Chang Apana didn’t need a gun as a weapon because__________.
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A．he had his personal charm |
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B．he liked being a cowboy |
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C．he was not a true policeman |
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D．a bullwhip was more useful |
4.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
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A．American author Earl Derr Biggers gave an ill picture of Asian-Americans |
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B．Yunte Huang believes Charlie Chan represents Asian wisdom in some way |
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C．Chan’s story was more popular with TV audience than readers and film-goers |
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D．Charlie Chan became an ill image of Asian-Americans when it first appeared. |
Here below we will talk about the American expressions using the word “Dutch”． Many of the “Dutch” expressions heard in American English were first used in England in the seventeenth century． Britain used to be called “empire on which the sun never sets”，which gained its supreme（至高无上的） power mostly by its naval(海军的 )military forces． The period of the Anglo-Dutch Wars was a time of fierce naval competition between England and the Netherlands． At that time, the British used “Dutch” as a word for something bad, or false, or mistaken．
A “Dutch agreement” was one made between men who had drunk too much alcohol. “Dutch courage” was the false courage produced by the effects of drinking alcohol. And “Dutch leave” was what a solider took when he left his base（基地）without permission．
Some of these old expressions are still used today with a little different meaning． “Dutch treat” is one example． Long ago, a Dutch treat was a dinner at which the invited guests were expected to pay for their own share of the food and drink. Now, Dutch treat means that when friends go out to have fun, each person pays his own share．
Another common expression heard a few years ago was “in Dutch”, which simply referred to the country then． Nowadays, if someone says to you, you are in Dutch, they are telling you that you were in trouble． An important person, a parent or teacher perhaps, is angry with you．
Some of the Dutch expressions heard in American English have nothing to do with the Dutch people at all． In the 1700s, Germans who moved to the United States often were called Dutch． This happened because of mistakes in understanding and saying the word “Deutsch”, the German word for German. Families of these German people still live in the eastern United States, many in the state of Pennsylvania. They are known as the Pennsylvania Dutch．
During the American Civil War, supporters of the northern side in the central state of Missouri were called Dutch, because many of them were German settlers. In California, during the Gold Rush, the term Dutch was used to describe Germans, Swedes, and Norwegians as well as people from the Netherlands．
President Theodore Roosevelt once noted that anything foreign and non-English was called Dutch．One expression still in use, “to talk to someone like a Dutch uncle”, did come from the Dutch．The Dutch were known for the firm way they raise their children. So if someone speaks to you like a Dutch uncle, he is speaking in a very severe way． And you should listen to him carefully．
1.According to paragraph 1, the British used “Dutch” as a word for something bad and mistaken because ___________．
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A．it was the long-lasting habit of the British language. |
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B．the Netherlands was the closest rival（竞争对手） for naval supremacy then. |
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C．there was a close connection between “Dutch” and “Deutsch”. |
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D．anything foreign and non-English was called “Dutch”. |
2.Most probably, a man with Dutch courage would _________.
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A．invite his friends to dinner. |
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B．beat a strange passer-by without any reason. |
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C．speak to a Dutch uncle. |
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D．become angry with the teacher. |
3.Which one of the following has nothing to do with the Dutch?
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A．The expression “to talk to someone like a Dutch uncle”. |
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B．When friends go out to have fun, they choose Dutch treat. |
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C．Germans who moved to the United States were called Dutch. |
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D．A solider took “Dutch leave” during wars. |
4.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
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A．Language causes of the Anglo-Dutch Wars |
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B．Language of the Netherlands |
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C．Deutsch VS Dutch |
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D．Dutch expressions in American English |
Dear Teresa Silva,
The official of the university has reported to us that you are an English major who meets the high standards for membership in Sigma Tau Delta. As is known, Sigma Tau Delta was founded in 1924 at Dakota Wesleyan University. It is an international collegiate honor society for students of English. It presently has over 850 chapters in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Over 9,000 new members are admitted into the organization annually.
Sigma Tau Delta’s purpose is to promote literature and writing and to advance the study of the written word. Members gather annually in the spring at the international meeting to present papers and share experiences and ideas within the English subject. The Society offers tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, awards, as well as publication chances in its journals The Rectangle and The Sigma Tau Delta Review.
It is our pleasure if you can complete the application for Sigma Tau Delta membership. If you would like to be included in this spring’s induction (入会) ceremony, please complete the application form, and include amount to cover both local and international fees. Your completed form must be received by date to be considered for the upcoming induction ceremony.
We congratulate you on your outstanding academic record and hope you will join us as a Sigma Tau Delta member. If you want to get more information, please visit our website www.sigmataudelta.org, or give us a call. The phone number is 583-2864.
Sincerely,
Emily Lister
1.According to the passage, Sigma Tau Delta ______.
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A．deals with language learning |
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B．opens its door to all the students of English |
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C．changes its members every year |
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D．mainly takes charge of scientific publications |
2.At the annual meeting, members of Sigma Tau Delta have the chance to ______.
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A．meet all the chapter leaders |
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B．receive tens of thousands of dollars |
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C．share experiences and views |
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D．choose a particular subject as a major |
3.This passage is basically a letter of _____.
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A．introduction |
B．congratulation |
C．thanks |
D．invitation |
In the kitchen of my mother's houses there has always been a wooden stand with a small notepad and a hole for a pencil.
I'm looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can't be the same pencil. The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.
"I'm just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years." I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. "You still use a pencil. Can't you afford a pen?"
My mother replies a little sharply. "It works perfectly well; I've always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days. "
Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, "One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on."
This story, which happened before I was born, reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible exhibits at every meal.
1.Why has the author's mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?
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A．To leave messages. |
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B．To list her everyday tasks. |
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C．To note down math problems. |
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D．To write down a flash of inspiration. |
2.What is the author's original opinion about the wooden stand?
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A．It has great value for the family. |
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B．It needs to be replaced. |
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C．It brings her back to her lonely childhood. |
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D．It should be passed on to the next generation. |
3.The author feels embarrassed for____________.
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A．blaming her mother wrongly |
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B．giving her mother a lot of trouble |
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C．not making good use of time as her mother did |
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D．not making any breakthrough in her field |
4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
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A．The mother is successful in her career. |
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B．The family members like traveling. |
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C．The author had little time to play when young. |
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D．The marks on the breadboard have disappeared. |
One cold night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco．There I was walking home around one o’clock in the morning after a 31 practice at the theatre. With the opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines by heart. I was having 32 handling my part-time job at the bank in the daytime and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about 33 both acting and San Francisco. I had 34 too much of city life.
As I walked down the 35 streets under the tall buildings, I felt very small and cold, so I began 36 both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers. Very few people were still out 37 a few homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my 38 , I heard a sound behind me. I 39 quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me 40 so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I 41 what the noise had been. It had been my wallet 42 to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk 43 for 15 minutes, my wallet was 44 to be found.
Just as I was about to quit the 45 , I heard the garbage truck stop to the sidewalk next to 46 . When a voice came from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened and out jumped a small blonde(金发碧眼的) man with an 47 look in his eyes. “Is this 48 you’re looking for?” He asked, holding up something like a wallet.
It was already 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I couldn’t get much sleep, but I had got my wallet back. I also had got back some 49 of city life. I realized the city couldn’t be a bad place 50 people were willing to help each other.
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She told her husband that she couldn’t _______ the rest of the housework without his help.
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A．get over |
B．get through |
C．get into |
D．get off |
