Traveling to a new country isn’t as simple as just buying a ticket and boarding a plane. In fact, it can be easy for an awkward situation to occur. Different customs can often cause misunderstandings and even trouble. To help prevent a serious culture pas, an article in the Daily Mail highlighted taboos in certain countries. Let’s take a look.
France
When visiting France, you’d better not be caught cutting your lettuce with a knife and fork. It’s an insult to the chef and suggests that the salad hasn’t been prepared correctly. The correct way to eat lettuce in France is to fold it with your fork to make it fit in your mouth.
Italy
It’s actually best to be a little less friendly than usual when you visit Italy. It’s considered strange to make small talk with strangers, as the locals are reserved. Too much familiarity from a stranger can be seen as threatening, so keep greetings short.
Mexico
In Mexico, bringing an expensive gift to someone’s home is a no-no, as it could be seen as a tribe. Something simple like flowers and chocolates would be accepted. But you should avoid taking along marigolds (金盏花) or red flowers, because in Mexican culture, they symbolize death and can be associated with witchcraft(巫术).
Germany
You have to be careful with gifts of flowers in Germany too. Steer clear of carnations(康乃馨)，as they are used for funerals. And an even number is considered unlucky. So if you want to give your host flowers, ask them what their favorite flowers are before your visit. And be sure to bring an odd number.
How to avoid 1.________ taboos in a new country
France | Taboo: Cutting your lettuce with a knife and fork. Reason: It’s an 2._______ to the chef, suggesting the salad has not been prepared correctly. Solution: 3.______ your lettuce with your fork to make it fit in your mouth. |
Italy | Taboo: Acting too 4._______ to strangers. Reason: Too much familiarity from a stranger can be seen as 5._______. Solution: Don’t make small talk with strangers, and keep greetings short. |
Mexico | Taboo: Bringing an6.______ gift to someone’s home. Sending people marigolds or red flowers. Reasons: An expensive gift could be considered a bribe. Marigolds and red flowers are associated with7._______ and witchcraft. Solution: Just send something 8.______ like flowers or chocolates, but avoid Marigolds or red flowers. |
Germany | Taboo: Sending people carnations or an even number of flowers. Reasons: Carnations are used for funerals. And an even number is considered 9._________. Solution: Ask your hosts what their favorite flowers are before your visit. And be sure to bring an 10._ number. |
Write the words according to the Chinese meaning or initial letter: (1× 10)
1._________ (陪伴) by an experienced instructor, twenty-year-old Betty learned skiing very quickly.
2.In fact, after an earthquake, shelter and a______ to food and clean water are big problems.
3.P_______ conditions and unexpected poverty in the promote mountainous area didn’t stop Peter staying behind, helping the children .
4.Culture difference reminds us to know about what is _______ (合适的，恰当的) behavior when in an foreign country.
5.Though Betty showed no sign of injury, the coach still followed strict p________ and sent her to the doctor.
6.One of the UN’s eight development goals by 2015 is to make sure of clean water a_______ to everyone.
7.A_______，my visits will inspire more people to participate in the work against poverty.
8.Discoveries by Philp Farnsworth in the late 1920s and early 1930s made important ________ (突破) in the development of TV.
9.The e_________ of video and sound devices allows people all over the globe to communicate more
easily and conveniently.
10.A high _______ (比例) of the female staff in the company are part-time workers.
1.In many places of the world, water is not safe _______(drink )even though boiled.
2.What a good speech he has delivered! It’s hard to imagine myself _______ (make) to make one in public.
3.Limited to _______ (purchase) ten lyres of oil a person, the locals ran to wait in lines all night.
4.----- Is your father an English teacher in our school ?
----- No. But he _______(teach) English for 8 years here.
5.----- What should I do with the passage ?
------ _______ (find out ) the main idea of each paragraph.
6.If you ________ (surrounded) with people without strong desire to study, chances are that you will end up _______ (abandon) your previous goal.
7.It’s required that everyone present ________ (not discuss) with each other about the matter.
1.After the flood, what’s of prime importance is to stop diseases spreading.
After the flood, what’s of prime importance is to stop ______ ______ of diseases.
2.The situation is very different here, and so are the problems.
The situation is very different here, _______ ________ the problems.
3.He got very hot under the collar when others asked about the accusation of lying.
He got very ______ when asked about the accusation of lying.
4.He couldn’t help smiling when he looked back on the cheerful gathering with his friends.
He couldn’t help smiling when he ______ ______ ______ the cheerful gathering with
his friends.
My heart sank when the man at the immigration counter gestured to the back room. I was born and raised in America, and this was Miami, where I live, but they weren’t quite ready to let me in yet.
“Please wait in here, Ms. Abujaber,” the immigration officer said. My husband, with his very American last name, accompanied me. He was getting used to this. The same thing had happened recently in Canada when I’d flown to Montreal to speak at a book event. That time they held me for 45 minutes. Today we were returning from a literary festival in Jamaica, and I was shocked
That I was being sent “in back” once again.
The officer behind the counter called me up and said, “Miss, your name looks like the name of someone who’s on our wanted list. We’re going to have to check you out with Washington.”
“How long will it take?”
“Hard to say…a few minutes,” he said, “We’ll call you when we’re ready for you.” After an hour, Washington still hadn’t decided anything about me.
“Isn’t this computerized?” I asked at the counter, “Can’t you just look me up?”
“Just a few more minutes,” they assured me.
After an hour and a half, I pulled my cell phone out to call the friends I was supposed to meet that evening. An officer rushed over. “No phones!” he said, “For all we know you could be calling a terrorist cell and giving them information.”
“I’m just a university professor,” I said. My voice came out in a squeak.
“Of course you are. And we take people like you out of here in leg irons every day.”
I put my phone away.
My husband and I were getting hungry and tired. Whole families had been brought into the waiting room, and the place was packed with excitable children, exhausted parents, and even a flight attendant.
I wanted to scream, to jump on a chair and shout: “I’m an American citizen; a novelist; I probably teach English literature to your children.”
After two hours in detention (扣押), I was approached by one of the officers. “You’re free to go,” he said. No explanation or apologies. For a moment, neither of us moved. We were still in shock. Then we leaped to our feet.
“Oh, one more thing,” he handed me a tattered photocopy with an address on it, “If you aren’t happy with your treatment, you can write to this agency.”
“Will they respond?” I asked.
“I don’t know—I don’t know of anyone who’s ever written to them before.” Then he added,” By the way, this will probably keep happening each time you travel internationally.”
“What can I do to keep it from happening again?”
He smiled the empty smile we’d seen all day, “Absolutely nothing.”
After telling several friends about our ordeal, probably the most frequent advice I’ve heard in response is to change my name. Twenty years ago, my own graduate school writing professor advised me to write under a pen name so that publishers wouldn’t stick me in what he called “the ethnic ghetto”—a separate, secondary shelf in the bookstore. But a name is an integral part of anyone’s personal and professional identity—just like the town you’re born in and the place where you’re raised.
Like my father, I’ll keep the name, but my airport experience has given me a whole new perspective on what diversity and tolerance are supposed to mean. I had no idea that being an American would ever be this hard.
1. The author was held at the airport because ______.
A. she had been held in Montreal
B.she had spoken at a book event
C. she and her husband returned from Jamaica
D. her name was similar to a terrorist’s
2. She was not allowed to call her friends because ______.
A. her identity hadn’t been confirmed yet
B. she had been held for only one hour and a half
C. there were other families in the waiting room
D. she couldn’t use her own cell phone
3. We learn from the passage that the author would ______ to prevent similar experience from happening again.
A. change her name B. do nothing
C. write to the agency D.avoid traveling abroad
4.Her experiences indicate that there still exists ______ in the US.
A. tolerance B. diversity
C. discrimination D.hatred
【下头5】The author sounds ______ in the last paragraph.
A.ironic (具有讽刺意味的) B. impatient
C. worried D. bitter
When a big exam is coming up, you probably feel anxious about any wasted time and want to begin school as soon as you probably can.
But tens of thousands of British high school students will soon be getting up later. They’re taking part in a new experiment by Oxford University to see if later classes can improve their exam results.
Grades 10 students in the UK have to take the nationwide General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. They have to pass these exams in order to study more advanced courses, and later apply for universities.
The Oxford University project means that GCSE students from more than 100 schools across England will start school at 10 am, more than one hour later than the current start time (8:50 am).
The project is based on scientific evidence that teenagers are “out of sync(同步)” with traditional school hours, the Telegraph reported. And what they need is more sleep in the morning.
“We know that something funny happens when you’re a teenager, in that you seem to be out of sync with the world,” said professor Colin Epsie, who is leading the study. “Your parents think it’s because you are lazy and opinionated（固执己见的）and everything will be OK if you could get to sleep earlier. But science is telling us that teenagers need to sleep more in the mornings.”
Everyone follows a natural cycle of sleep and wakefulne ss. Biology has decided that teenagers go to sleep around midnight and don’t feel fully awake until 9-10 am, according to scientists. That’s two hours later than adults. And their body clocks stay like this until the age of around 21 for males, and 19 for females.
“Society provides school for learning, but the brain provides sleep. So we are exploring the possibility that if you delay the schools start time until 10 am, that will improve learning performance,” said Epsie.
The results could be positive, based on previous studies.
An early study at the UK’s Monkseaton High School in 2009 found that starting an hour later improved grades in core subjects by 19 percent.
The Oxford project is expecting to publish the results in 2018. It’s time to wait and see whether scientists will give us an excuse to get up late.
1.According to the article, students who take part in the Oxford University project _________.
A. will start school one hour earlier
B. will no longer have to take GCSE exams
C. will perform better academically than those who don’t participate
D. will be guaranteed more sleeping time in the morning
2. The underlined phrase “out of sync”in Paragraph 5 probably means _____________ .
A. breaking the habit of doing something
B. getting used to doing something
C. having no idea of something
D. having trouble keeping up with something
3.We can infer from the article that _______________ .
A. the Oxford University project is targeted at all British high schools
B. getting up late is a sign of laziness in the eyes of most British parents
C. children and adults have different natural cycles of sleep and wakefulness
D. there is still no scientific evidence that supports a late school start time
4. What is the author’s attitude toward the Oxford University project ?
A. Critical B. Optimistic
C. Doubtful D. Uninterested
5. What’s the best title of the article ?
A. Wake up late to excel
B. It’s never too late to learn
C. The later you get up, the better you’ll learn
D. An excuse to get up late
