When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation (住所). I suggested that they should stay at ‘bed and breakfast’ houses, because this kind of accommodation gives foreign visitors a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at ‘B&B’ (bed and breakfast) houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, their car was soon stopped.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However , to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, thank you”.
1.My Spanish friends wanted advice about ______.
A．learning English in England
B．finding places to stay in England
C．driving their car on English roads
D．going to England to have fun
2.I suggested that they stay at ‘B&B’ houses because ______.
A．it would be available for them to practice English
B．it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels
C．it would be convenient for them to have dinner
D．it would be easy to find accommodation there
3.“NO VACANCIES” in English means ______.
A．no free rooms B．with free rooms C．not away on holiday D．no holidays at all
4.If you see a road sign that says “DIVERSION”, you will ______.
A．get held by the traffic policemen
B．have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself
C．find the road is blocked by people
D．have to take another different road
5.When someone offered me more coffee and I said “Thank you” in French, I ______.
A．didn’t really want any more coffee
B．wanted the coffee pot taken away
C．really wanted some more coffee
D．wanted to express my politeness
Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” “Fill up with Pacific Gas. “Only when you have fallen asleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, can you get separated from the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
As for the ride itself, the beginning of it is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things are keeping changing out of the windows — various houses, crop fields, attractive bridges, … and sometimes even a small accident. Your bus driver may have a unique style of driving and it’s fun trying experience it the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling (惊心动魄的) as an adventurous story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know the riding will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement with that. The seat, of course, has become harder for the hours having passed. By now you may sit with your legs crossed, or with your hands in your lap, or with your hands on the arms, or even with your hands crossed behind your head. That is to say that the end comes just at no more ways to sit.
1.According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A．Buses on the road. B．Films on television.
C．Advertisements on the billboards. D．Gas stations.
2.What is the purpose of this passage?
A．To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.
B．To persuade you to take some long bus riding.
C．To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.
D．To describe the billboards along the road.
3.The writer of this passage would probably prefer ______.
A．those reckless bus drivers
B．driving with no one around
C．a television set on the bus
D．no billboards along the road
4.The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because ______.
A．the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B．they both have a beginning, a middle and an end, with commercials in between
C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D．both traveling by bus itself and watching TV programs on bus are not exciting.
5.The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are .
A．exciting B．comfortable C．tiring D．boring
One day, Raul was miles away from the small ranch (牧场)house in a large valley. Everything seemed to be all right, yet he felt strange and somewhat uneasy. The wind had picked up, and angry, dark clouds 31 across the sky. He could smell the rain coming. And it did. 32 , the lightning flashed through the clouds, nearly 33 Raul. The thunder (雷声) was so loud that he buried his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. Then he heard it — hoof beats (蹄声). He 34 . There before him stood a tall, white horse. An old man stared down at him from its back.
“Wh-wh-who are y-y-you?” asked Raul. “Oh, my name is Gray Cloud,” the old man answered 35 , “come with me.”
Raul followed on with his horse. A 36 feeling came over him. All 37 them the rain was pouring down, 38 not a drop fell on them. They seemed to be 39 back toward Raul’s home. Raul lost track of time. Then all at once, he found 40 at the ranch gate. The old man turned his horse, waved his hand, and smiled. Lightning flashed again. The old man and his horse were 41 .
Raul’s father ran out across the yard to 42 him. “We have been 43 about you. Are you okay? Hurry. Let’s get in out of the 44 .”
“Wait,” said Raul. “Have you ever heard of an old man called Gray Cloud?”
“Can’t say I … wait. I believe my great-grandfather used to tell stories about a man called Gray Cloud. He died a long time ago. They all say he was 45 by lightning during a terrible thunderstorm. Why do you ask?” At this, Raul was really more shocked than puzzled.
1. A．dropped B．fell C．rolled D．covered
2. A．Suddenly B．Strongly C．Quickly D．Hardly
3. A．beating B．blinding C．burning D．touching
4. A．looked up B．woke up C．lay down D．sat down
5. A．lazily B．angrily C．freely D．slowly
6. A．natural B．common C．strange D．sad
7. A．around B．beside C．through D．above
8. A．yet B．for C．so D．or
9. A．reaching B．leading C．heading D．returning
10. A．them B．themselves C．him D．himself
11. A．gone B．left C．followed D．lost
12. A．see B．meet C．beat D．ask
13. A．waited B．thought C．worried D．excited
14. A．yard B．wind C．grass D．rain
15. A．defeated B．caught C．damaged D．struck
— Could you take my place and go to meet Smith?
— _______.
— He is a tall man wearing short hair.
A．Why me this time? B．Are you familiar with him?
C．How can I recognize him? D．What would you like to tell me?
______ at the man, she was frightened by his facial expression.
A．To stare B．Staring C．Stared D．Being stared
The wire was found broken. And ______, there happened to be no one getting near.
A．therefore B．however C．otherwise D．fortunately
