Courtesy in English
Courtesy (礼貌) is an art form that shows our moral character. China's history is one of a civilization (文明) with a highly developed sense of etiquette (礼仪) ; therefore, we should speak English as politely as possible when we go abroad.
Ordering meals
1. Beginning your request with “May I...?” “Could I...?” is considered polite. For example, “May I have a latte?” It is also politer to say, “I’ll have...” or “I’d like...” instead of “I want...” because it will be considered as less direct.
Asking for help
If we need to ask someone for help, we should say, “Excuse me, or Do you mind if I ask you something?”2. Instead, for example, we should say, “Could you tell me where the rest rooms are?”
3.
Local people in other countries sometimes speak really fast, so it can be hard for us to catch all the words. In such a situation, we can say, “Pardon me?” to ask them to repeat what they said. In my opinion, saying “Can you please repeat that? I didn't follow.” is the politest way.
Refusing an invitation
4.If we really can't make it, we can first say, “I’d like to ...” and then say, “but I have to work late”, for example. Or “I’m afraid I can't...”, or even, “That sounds great, but ...”
Expressing disagreement
We can use sentences like “I see what you're saying, but I think...”,or “You could be right, but don't forget that...” or even, “Yes, that's true, but I'm not sure that...”5.
A. Can't catch what's been said?
B. We should not ask our questions directly.
C. Being polite when you order something is very important.
D. Do you know some basic rules of answering the telephone?
E. It is also important to know how to refuse someone’s invitation.
F. “Please” and “thank you” go a long way when we speak to each other.
G. These are great ways to express disagreement politely by being less direct.
Culture shock occurs when people have been suddenly thrown into a new culture. Newcomers may be anxious because they don’t speak the language. Neither do they know the customs or understand the people’s behavior in daily life.
Quite often the visitor find that “yes” may not always mean “yes”, that friendliness does not necessarily mean friendship, or that statements that appear to be serious are really intended as jokes. The foreigners may be unsure as when to shake hands, when to start conversations, or how to approach a stranger. The idea of culture shock helps explain feeling of puzzlement and confusion.
Language problems do not lead to all the setbacks that people feel. When one has lost everything that was once familiar, such as understanding a transportation system, knowing how to register(注册，登记) for university classes, or knowing how to make friends, difficulties in coping with the new society may arise.
When an individual enters a strange culture, he or she feels like a fish out of water. Newcomers feel at times that they do not belong to the culture and feel deserted by the native members of the culture. When this happens, visitors may want to refuse everything about the new environment and may glorify and sing their own praises of the positive aspects of their own culture. On the other side, more visitors may sneeze at their native country by rejecting its value and instead choosing to approve of the value of the new country. This may occur as an attempt to accept the new culture in order to be taken in by the people in it.
1.What do people feel when they are suddenly in a new culture?
A.Excited. B.Delighted. C.Upset. D.Hopeless.
2.We can infer from the second paragraph that _______.
A.it’s impossible to get used to a new culture
B.people feel confused due to culture shock
C.foreigners often don’t mean what they say
D.most foreigners are usually quite humorous
3.The underlined expression “he or she feels like a fish out of water” in the last paragraph suggests ______.
A.people away from their cultures can hardly survive in a new culture
B.a fish can not survive without water
C.people away from their culture experience mental loneliness.
D.people away from their culture have many difficulties in new environment
4.The biggest barrier(障碍) people often meet with in a new country is _____.
A.the language B.the transportation C.the environment D.the puzzlement
Parents do not owe （欠） their children a college education. If they can afford it, they can certainly send them to a good university. But they needn’t feel guilty if they can’t. When children grow up and want to get married, their parents do not owe them an apartment. They do not have the duty to look after their grandchildren, either. If they want to do it, it must be considered a favor, not an obligation.
Do parents owe their children anything? Yes, they owe them a great deal.
One of their obligations is to give their children a personal worth. Children who are always made to feel stupid and unworthy, constantly compared with brighter brothers, sisters, or cousins will become so unsure, so afraid of failing that they won’t try at all. Of course they should be properly corrected when they do wrong, but it’s often better to let children learn their mistakes by themselves in time. All their parents should do is to trust them, respect them, understand them and give them chances to try and fail. They must learn to stand failure. When criticisms （批评） are really needed, they should be balanced with a smile and a kiss. That is the way children learn.
Parents owe their children a set of solid values around which to build their lives. This means teaching them to respect the rights and opinions of others; it means being respectful to elders, to teachers, and to the law. The best way to teach such values is by deed. A child who is lied to will lie. A child who sees no laughter and no love in the home will have difficulty laughing and loving.
No child asks to be born. If you bring a life into the world, you owe the child something.
1.The author thinks parents ________.
A.should send their children to college
B.should support their children after they get married
C.need to buy an apartment for their children
D.needn’t feel guilty if they can’t send their children to universities
2.What does the underlined word “obligation” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A.Right. B.Promise.
C.Duty. D.Excuse.
3.According to the passage, what should parents do when children make mistakes?
A.Understand them and tell them not to do that again.
B.Let them learn the mistakes by themselves in time.
C.Compare them with brighter brothers or sisters.
D.Correct their mistakes immediately.
4.What does the author mainly talk about in this passage?
A.The duties of parents.
B.The best way to teach children.
C.The reason why children feel stupid and unworthy.
D.The reason why parents owe their children something.
It is a long time since I took up teaching. During my teaching career, I often ask my students to read the text until they can recite them, and I tell them that recitation is an important part of their homework. However, some of my students are tired of doing so, thinking that it is both hard and useless. They argue that it takes a long time to recite a text from memory and text itself never appears in a test paper.
In my opinion, it does take time to recite a text, but it is worth doing so. When you are able to recite a text, you are sure to be familiar with the words and expressions. When you need them in reading or writing or doing exercises, they will come to your mind quickly, and so you will give quick response to all kinds of language situation. How can we say that it is useless?
Besides, many students complain that they soon forget what they were once able to recite. This is true, but you don't need to worry. While you are reading and forgetting the texts, your language level is being raised. Sure you don't remember your Chinese texts that you once read in the primary school, but now you are able to read novels and newspaper. So , recitation of the texts will help you improve your language ability．
1.What do the students think about the teacher's advice? ______
A.The English teacher asks them to do something useless．
B.The English teacher is very kind to them．
C.The English teacher should let them study on their own．
D.The English teacher tries his best to help them with English．
2.According to the text，which of the following is correct? ______
A.The teacher thinks the students are too naughty to learn English well．
B.The students think they spend a lot of time in reciting the texts and get nothing．
C.The students say that they often forget the words．
D.The students take no interest in English．
3.When the students are against his suggestion, the writer ______ ．
A.often criticizes them
B.wants to give up his idea
C.patiently explains to them why they should recite the texts
D.is afraid that he is criticized by the headmaster．
4.Why does the writer suggest that the students recite the text? ______
A.Reciting the texts can greatly improve the classroom teaching．
B.Reciting the texts is the best way of learning English．
C.The students should remember all the texts that the teacher has taught them．
D.Reciting the texts can improve the ability of applying (应用)English．
New movies set holiday eve record
Chinese moviegoers set a box office （票房） record for the eve of the week—long National Day holiday. By 9:30 p.m. September 30, new movies had brought in 630 million yuan.
The major movies contributing to the box office record were My People, My Country, The Captain and The Climbers.
My People, My Country ranked first by bringing in around 270 million yuan. It was made up of seven short stories which were set in historic moments to look back at New China’s 70 years of existence. The movie was co-directed by Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao and Wen Muye.
Another well-received film, The Captain, earned 194 million yuan to occupy second place. Starring actor Zhang Hanyu, the film is based on heroic Sichuan Airlines pilot Liu Chuanjian, who completed one of the most miraculous （奇迹的） emergency landings in China’s civil aviation （民航） history.
Also adapted from real events, The Climbers earned 157 million yuan. With an excellent cast including Zhang Ziyi and Wu Jing, the film is about Chinese mountaineers’ climbing to the top of Mount Qomolangma.
Wu Jing said the film filled a gap in the market, with sports-themed titles quite rare in the world’s second-largest movie market.
Besides the three movies, eight other films will be on during the holiday ending on Oct 7.
1.My people, My country was directed by the following directors except ________.
A.Zhang Yibai B.Zhang Yimou
C.Chen Kaige D.Xu Zheng
2.The film The Captain has earned ________ yuan according to the passage.
A.194 million B.157 million
C.270 million D.630 million
3.Why did Wu Jing say The Climbers filled a gap in the movie market?
A.Because it is about climbing Mount Qomolangma.
B.Because it is a very successful movie.
C.Because its theme is about sports.
D.Because it is adapted from a real event.
One day, a well-known speaker was invited to give a lecture to an audience of 200. He started his lecture by ______ a $ 20 bill. He looked around the room, and asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” ______ started going up.
He said, “I am going to ______ this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He crumpled up (揉皱) the 20-dollar bill. He then asked, “who ______ wants it?” Still the hands were ______ in the air.
“Well”, he ______, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ______ and started to step on it with his shoes. He picked it up. Now it was crumpled and ______.“Now, who wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.
“My friends, we have all learned a very ______ lesson. No matter what I did to the _____ , you still want it because it doesn’t decrease in ____. It is still worth $20, with ______ we can buy what we need.
Many times in our lives, we are_____ , and trampled (踩) underfoot by the decision we _____and the troubles that come our way. We feel _____ we were worthless. But no matter what has happened or what may happen to us, you will never _____ your value. Dirty or clean, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives is determined not by _____ we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are _____ . Don’t ever forget it.”
If you _______ this lesson in mind, it will help you to stand up again when you fall. Each time it makes you grow much ______ .
1.A.keeping up B.picking up C.holding up D.bringing up
2.A.Hands B.Voices C.Chats D.Talks
3.A.pass B.give C.show D.lend
4.A.ever B.even C.also D.still
5.A.up B.off C.on D.out
6.A.waited B.shouted C.continued D.cried
7.A.shelf B.desk C.floor D.dustbin
8.A.dirty B.small C.usable D.old
9.A.meaningless B.amazing C.rare D.valuable
10.A.book B.paper C.money D.card
11.A.shape B.value C.quality D.size
12.A.that B.what C.which D.whose
13.A.dropped B.pushed C.warned D.reminded
14.A.prefer B.receive C.face D.make
15.A.as if B.even if C.if only D.only if
16.A.take B.lose C.miss D.win
17.A.how B.what C.where D.who
18.A.honest B.wise C.young D.special
19.A.impress B.forget C.keep D.leave
20.A.stronger B.warmer C.worse D.brighter
