父亲的一次购物经历
While my dad was in Africa, he woke up early one morning and decided to take a walk. Then Dad entered 1.1. small shop. He saw a 2. brass(黄铜)butterfly, but the price was too high.
He3. (leave) and continued his walk through the town. Suddenly, he saw the man4. the market. “Hey Mister，” said the man, “I would REALLY like to sell this toy to you. What price would you pay for it？”
But Dad was not interested,5. he politely refused. Soon he was on another street and to his surprise, the man was6. too. Finally, the man said, “It is my country's custom that I must make a sale to the 7.(one) person who enters my shop today. So I must sell this toy to you. Or it will mean bad luck for 8.(I)．”
My father realized how9.(importance)this was. He decided to buy it. He gladly gave the man two10.(dollar), for he had learned something of the country's culture that day.
At first, o________ a few people could afford the computer. But now it's widely used in every field.
西红柿——水果还是蔬菜？
Tomatoes are one of the world's oldest foods. They were discovered by the Indians of South America thousands of years ago. The first tomatoes were very small. By the time the Europeans brought them to Europe in the 1500s, they were larger. They looked more like the tomatoes we eat today.
When tomatoes first arrived in Italy, they were known as “love apples”. Italians believed that if you ate a tomato, you would easily fall in love.
In the United States, people believed that tomatoes were poisonous(有毒的), and that you would die immediately upon eating one. It wasn't easy to persuade(劝说) people otherwise.
That is, until 1820, when Robert Johnson decided to prove people wrong. He announced that he would publicly eat one bushel(蒲式耳) of tomatoes—about 50. A huge crowd showed up to watch. They were sure that Mr. Johnson was going to die. Of course, he survived. And the tomato went on to gain a big place in the American diet.
In the beginning, people argued whether tomatoes were a fruit or a vegetable. From a purely scientific point of view they are a fruit. A fruit is the ripened ovary(子房) of any plant that makes seeds. However, this didn't stop most people from calling tomatoes a vegetable. They reasoned that tomatoes are eaten with the main meal—just like vegetables. They are not eaten as dessert, like other fruits such as apples or bananas. Therefore,__they__thought__the__tomato__must__surely__be__a__vegetable.
Fruit or vegetable, tomatoes have survived a long time. They are not likely to disappear any time soon. They are just too good to eat.
1~2题完成句子；3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下第五段的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。
1.By the time the Europeans brought tomatoes to Europe ____________， they were larger.
2.Italians believed that you would easily ____________ if you ate a tomato.
3.What happened to Robert Johnson after eating one bushel of tomatoes?
________________________________________________________________________
4.________________________________________________________________________
5.________________________________________________________________________
English is becoming more and more popular in China. It can be used in every field, such as on some signs and restaurant menus. But there are some problems when people use it. Perhaps you've seen the English letters “WC” in your city. They show public toilets. But do you know it is far from native(地道的) English? In fact, foreigners from Englishspeaking countries seldom use the letters.
Workers in our city are changing “WC” signs all over the city. The government is spending much money changing all the bad English on signs and restaurant menus. Many other places in China are following our pace．
“WC, or water closet, is oldfashioned English. It sounds dirty to me.” says Nancy, a young woman from the US. The old sign will become “Gents/Men”and “Ladies/Women”．“I see much poor English in everyday life, and not only on signs，” she says, “I know what they mean, but they are Chinglish, not real English. For example, when someone says to me ‘My hometown is Guizhou Province', I know he or she should say ‘My hometown is in Guizhou Province'. Hometown is a smaller place in a province.” The common mistakes that Nancy picked up include “Not Entry”， which should be “No Entry”， “Direction of Airport” should be changed to “To the Airport”. And it is “Room Rate”， not “Room Price”. And remember to “Keep off the Grass” rather than “Care of the Green”．
The next time you walk on the street or eat in the restaurant, you can go and see if the expressions are right.
1.Who seldom uses letters of “WC” according to the passage?
A.Chinese students.
B.Foreigners from other countries.
C.Teachers in China.
D.Englishspeaking foreigners.
2.What's the attitude(态度) of the government towards the bad English on signs?
A.It's native.
B.It should be changed.
C.It doesn't matter.
D.It can be used on signs.
3.What does the underlined word “pace” mean in this passage?
A.steps B.habits C.chances D.dreams
4.Which of the following signs is Right?
A.Not Entry B.Room Price
C.To the Airport D.Care of the Green
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Chinglish on menus.
B.Money spent on Chinglish.
C.Usages of native English.
D.Letters of “WC”．
It's said that the coming math exam ________ difficult. We should spend more time preparing for it.
A.is B.was
C.has been D.had been
Anyone who stops learning is ________， whether in his twenties or eighties. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
A.shy B.old C.sweet D.stupid
