Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize (强调) the importance of relationship building to a greater or less degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”,usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countires--- like the UK or France--- people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected may speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realised that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural diffeerences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment (多元文化环境)will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
1.In some countires, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to ___________.
A．develop closer relations B．share the same culture
C．get to know each other D．keep each other company
2.The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that ______.
A．the English prefer to make long speeches
B．too many words are of no use
C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature
D．even talk and silence can be culturally different
3.According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
A．By sharing different ways of life
B．By accepting different habits.
C．By recognizing different values
D．By speaking each other’s language.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A．Multicultural Environment
B．Cross-Cultural Differences
C．How to Understand Each Other
D．How to Build Up a Relationship
Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?
The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures. In China, children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils（灾祸）.People’s choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies’ reactions （反应）toward them. Green is said to be the most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. People who work in green environment have been found to have fewer stomach aches.
Red can cause a person’s blood pressure to rise and increase people’s appetites（食欲）. Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. Similarly, many commercial websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a color that easily catches a person’s eye.
Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue can cause people to lose appetite. So if you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.
The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room, think about the color carefully.
1.Muslims regard green as a symbol of heaven mainly because of their .
A．cultural values B．commercial purposes
C．personal experiences D．physical reactions to the color
2.Why will many commercial websites have a red “Buy Now” button?
A．To relax people physically.
B．To increase people’s appetites.
C．To encourage people to buy their products.
D．To cause a person’s blood pressure to rise.
3.What color might help lose weight according to the text?
A．Red B．Green. C．Blue. D．Purple.
4.Which of the following would be the most proper title for the text?
A．Colors and Human Beings
B．The Cultural Meaning of Color
C．Colors and Personal Experiences
D．The Meaning and Function of Color
Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it. It is not the amazing complexity of television, nor the impressive technology of transport. The universal wonder we share and experience is our ability to make noise with our mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other’s minds. This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle it is.
Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animal. Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing, Birds can fly thousands miles by observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year. In Nature’s talent show, humans are a species of animal that have developed their own special act. If we reduce it to basic terms, it’s an ability for communicating information to others, by varying sounds we make as we breathe out.
Not that we don’t have other powers of communication. Our facial expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or joy, or disappointment. The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad. This is so-called “body language”. Bristling(直立的) fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals. Similarly, the bowed head or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering.
Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display. Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skill? Biologist can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn’t tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history.
1.According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted(认为理所当然) is________.
A．our ability to use language
B．the miracle of technology
C．the amazing power of nature
D．our ability to make noises with mouth
2.What feature of “body language” mentioned in the passage is common to both human and animals?
A．Lifting heads when sad.
B．Keeping long faces when angry.
C．Bristling hair when ready to attack.
D．Bowing heads when willing to obey.
3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
A．Body language is unique to humans.
B．Animals express emotions just as humans do.
C．Humans have other powers of communication.
D．Humans are no different from animals to some degree.
4.This passage is mainly about _______.
A．the development of body language.
B．the special role humans play in nature
C．the power to convey information to others
D．the difference between humans and animals in language use
Elderly adults who regularly drink green tea may stay more agile (敏捷的) and independent than their peers over time, according to a Japanese study that covered thousands of people.
Green tea contains antioxidant chemicals (抗氧化物) that may help stop the cell damage that can lead to disease. Researchers have been studying green tea’s effect on everything from cholesterol (胆固醇) to the risk of certain cancers, with mixed results so far.
They found those who drank the most green tea were the least likely to develop “functional disability”, or problems with daily activities or basic needs, such as dressing or bathing.
Specifically, almost 13 percent of adults who drank less than a cup of green tea per day became functionally disabled, compared with just over 7 percent of people who drank at least five cups a day.
The study did not prove that green tea alone kept people agile as they grew older. Green-tea lovers generally had healthier diets, including more fish, vegetables and fruit, as well as more education, lower smoking rates, fewer heart attacks and strokes, and greater mental sharpness. They also tended to be more socially active and have more friends and family to rely on. But even with those factors accounted for, green tea itself was tied to a lower disability risk, the researchers said.
People who drank at least five cups a day were one-third less likely to develop disabilities than those who had less than a cup per day. Those people who averaged three or four cups a day had a 25 percent lower risk.
Although it’s not clear how green tea might offer a buffer (缓冲) against disability, Tomata’s team did note that one recent study found green tea extracts (提取物) seem to increase leg muscle strength in older women.
While green tea and its extracts are considered safe in small amounts, they do contain caffeine and small amounts of vitamin K, which means it could affect drugs that prevent blood clotting (凝固).
1.What can be learned from the passage?
A．Antioxidant chemicals can lead to disease.
B．Those who often drank green tea can’t develop “functional disability”.
C．“Functional disability” is related to problems with daily activities or basic needs.
D．People who drank at least five cups a day are not likely to become functionally disabled.
2.What does the fifth paragraph mainly tell us?
A．How the study was proved. B．Why green tea-lovers can keep agile.
C．What healthier diets include. D．How to lower disability risk.
3.What have the Researchers discovered?
A．Those who drank green tea can't develop “functional disability”.
B．Green tea alone kept people agile as they grew older.
C．How green tea might offer a buffer against disability.
D．Green tea extracts (提取物) seem to increase leg muscle strength in older women.
Dear son,
The day that you see me old and I am already not in good health, have patience and try to understand me.
If I get dirty when eating, if I can not dress, have patience and remember the hours I 36 teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I 37 the same things thousand and one times, do not 38 me, listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story 39 you got to sleep. When I do not want to have a 40 , neither shame me nor scold me. Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I 41 , in order that you wanted to bathe. When you see my 42 little about new technologies, give me the necessary time and do not look at me with your mocking(嘲弄) smile. I taught you 43 to do so many things: to eat good, to dress well, to confront life…. When at some moment I lose the memory or the 44 of our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember, and if I cannot do it, do not become nervous, as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you 45 to me.
If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well 46 I need to and when not. When my 47 legs do not allow me to walk, give me your 48 , the same way I did when you gave your first 49 . And when someday I say to you that I do not want to 50 any more ---- that I want to rest forever, do not get ___51__. Someday you will understand.
Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived. Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted the 52 thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you. You must not feel sad, angry or impotent(无可奈何) for seeing me 53 you. You must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when you 54 living. Help me to walk, help me to end my way with love and 55 . I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.
I love you, Son
Your father
1. A．paid B．spent C．cost D．took
2. A．praise B．think C．repeat D．criticize
3. A．interrupt B．disturb C．look D．avoid
4. A．when B．after C．since D．until
5. A．rest B．word C．shower D．sleep
6. A．discovered B．invented C．noticed D．assumed
7. A．knowing B．fearing C．enjoying D．consulting
8. A．what B．when C．how D．why
9. A．news B．attitude C．material D．thread
10. A．talking B．listening C．responding D．appealing
11. A．where B．how C．that D．when
12. A．tired B．short C．long D．strong
13. A．leg B．ear C．hand D．mind
14. A．step B．pace C．laugh D．cry
15. A．talk B．live C．write D．sleep
16. A．careful B．interested C．calm D．angry
17. A．last B．first C．best D．most
18. A．near B．behind C．below D．against
19. A．made B．started C．earned D．found
20. A．mercy B．care C．excuse D．patience
She is also 25 and a native of Beijing, but the ______ between us ends there.
A．difference B．advantage C．disadvantage D．similarity
