I was brought up in the British, stiff upper lip style. Strong feelings aren’t something you display in public. So, you can imagine that I was unprepared for the outpouring of public grief at a Chinese funeral.

My editorial team leader died recently after a short illness. He was 31. The news was so unexpected that it left us all shocked and upset. A female colleague burst into tears and cried piteously at her desk. Somehow we got through the day's work. The next day was the funeral.

Our big boss stepped forward to deliver a eulogy(悼词) and was soon in tears. She carried on, in Chinese of course, but at the end said in English: "There will be no more deadlines for you in heaven." Next came a long-term colleague who also dissolved in tears but carried on with her speech despite being almost overcome by emotion. Then a close friend of the dead man paid tribute, weeping openly as he spoke. Sorrow is spreading. Me and women were now sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, the man's mother, supported between two women, addressed her son in his coffin. She almost collapsed and had to be held up. We were invited to step forward to each lay a white rose on the casket. Our dead colleague looked as if he was taking a nap. At the end of the service I walked away from the funeral parlor stunned at the outpouring of emotion.

In the UK, families grieve privately and then try to hold it together and not break down at a funeral. Here in China it would seem that grieving is a public affair. It strikes me that it is more cathartic to cry your eyes out than try to keep it bottled up for fear of embarrassment, which is what many of us do in the West.

Afterwards, a Chinese colleague told me that the lamenting at the funeral had been restrained(克制) by Chinese standards. In some rural areas, she said, people used to be paid to mourn noisily. This struck me like something out of novel by Charles Dickens. But we have all seen on TV scenes of grief-stricken people in Gaza and the West Bank, in Afghanistan, Iraq and the relatives of victims of terrorist bombings around the world. Chinese grief is no different. I realized that it's the reserved British way of mourning that is out of step with the rest of the world.

1.At the funeral, ________.

A. five individuals made speeches            

B. the boss’s speech was best thought of

C. the writer was astonished by the scene   

D. everyone was crying out loudly

2.According to the writer, people in the West ________.

A. prefer to control their sadness in public   

B. cry their eyes out at the public funeral

C. are not willing to be sad for the dead     

D. have better way to express sadness

3.It is implied that ________.

A. Chinese express their sadness quite unlike other peoples

B. the English might cry noisily for the dead in Dickens’ time

C. victims of terrorist bombings should be greatly honored

D. English funeral culture is more civilized than the others

4.This passage talks mainly about_______.

A. an editor’s death                    B. funeral customs

C. cultural differences                  D. western ways of grief

Flood damage cleanup is an unforgettable experience for me. I have seen a number of news reports on television showing houses that have been     by natural flooding and how the different           there are coping and starting their flood damage cleanup. I have always felt     for the families that have become victims of flooding however I couldn’t imagine what they were     because I have never experienced flooding or flood damage cleanup at first     until two years back.

My     experience happened when I woke up early one morning because of the     of water. As I started to get out of bed to turn on the light, I felt cold muddy water at my     . I then realized that the power was     . This probably happened due to the heavy     and strong wind that were brought by a hurricane during the     .

As the rains stopped, I decided to do my flood damage cleanup     . Because I had only moved in the house and had only     a few belongings, the amount of damage was     . It involved only washing shoes and bags     soap and water.

It was a good thing that most of my things were     inside plastic buckets and most of the furniture that I bought was made of     and plastic. This made my flood damage cleanup a lot easier. My cleanup work only     the removal of mud from the apartment floors. It was also a good thing that the     had hardwood floors. Had the apartment been covered with carpet, I would have had to     a lot having the carpet cleaned if not replaced with a new one.

1.A. drownedB. washedC. affectedD. removed

2.A. citizensB. householdersC. ownersD. residents

3.A. sorryB. worriedC. excitedD. glad

4.A. feelingB. doingC. speakingD. thinking

5.A. viewB. handC. thoughtD. sight

6.A. cleanupB. floodingC. earthquakeD. landslide

7.A. smellB. shapeC. tasteD. sound

8.A. headB. neckC. feet    D. breast

9.A. outB. inC. onD. down

10.A. rainB. snowC. frost   D. fog

11.A. morningB. afternoonC.eveningD. night

12.A. slowly    B. graduallyC. quicklyD. frequently

13.A. unfoldedB. unpackedC. uncoveredD. unloaded

14.A. greatB. bigC. smallD. tiny

15.A. withB. byC. throughD. in

16.A. thrownB. dippedC. displayedD. stored

17.A. woodB. metalC. paperD. leather

18.A. undertookB. beganC. involved D. engaged

19.A. bedroomB. kitchenC. building     D. apartment

20.A. spendB. costC. pay D. take

In our international engagement, we will uphold principles, promote justice and practice equality.         , we will advance and protect the rights and interests of developing countries.

A. As a result       B. In a sense         

C. In particular      D. By choice

China's exchanges and cooperation with other developing countries reached a new level. China's relations with other major countries         grew through interaction.

A. stiffly            B. steadily            

C. virtually         D. entirely

We should place         emphasis on development and security, and develop nuclear energy on the base of security.

A. equal              B. central            

C. superior           D. maximum

President Xi Jinping appeared at Saturday's state dinner hosted by the Dutch royal family in a            traditional Chinese suit ,which displayed the leader's national pride and confidence in Chinese culture.

A. capable           B. significant       

C. formal              D. authentic

ASEAN (东盟) foreign ministers are         better engagement with the Chinese government when it comes to the various conflicts in the South Chinese Sea.

A. doing without        B. calling off         

C. putting forward    D. calling for

The study of natural history is not something to be left to biologists. In fact, their capacity __________ the time they can spend away from their offices is very limited.

A. in favour ofB. in search of

C. in terms ofD. in view of

We must help people to find houses outside the city, but __________, we must remember that some city people want to remain where they are.

A. virtually  B. equally

C. definitely  D. naturally

It is reported that as well as the inquiry in London, there is a(n) __________ investigation going on in New York into the cause of the disaster.

A. parallel  B. awesome   

C. sensible  D. genuine