America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
1. The writer of this passage must be ______.
A. an American B. a Chinese C. a professor D. a student
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.
B. Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.
C. Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.
D. Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.
3.From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
A. warmly welcomed at the airport B. offered a ride to his home
C. treated hospitably at his home D. treated to dinner in a restaurant
4.The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
A. strict with time B. serious with time
C. careful with time D. willing to spend time
5.A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
A. Friendships between Chinese
B. Friendships between Americans
C. Americans’ hospitality
D. Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships
Teaching materials for learning Chinese are provided here. There are sites where you may find interesting instructions suitable for you. Here are some sites to begin your surfing.
You may start with these pages from this website — just to get a little taste of it without working too hard.
● A Is For Love
Flash cards for learning a few Chinese words
● Listening to the sound of Chinese
Play a few words of Chinese on your computer.
● A few Chinese words
Each word is enlarged for easy study.
If you are studying Chinese, these tools can help.
● Zhongwen site
More than a dictionary!
● Clavis Sinica Zxxk
Excellent program by Professor David Porter. It displays a whole document in Chinese [GB] or [BIG5], and gives individual word’s definition, pronunciation as well as much more information when you click on that word. If you are studying Chinese, this is a very useful tool.
● Chinese Character Visual Dictionary
If you like to know more, go to the following sites on the Internet.
● The Chinese Outpost
Pronunciation, Character and Grammar By Mark Andrew Baker. The best. A must-visit site.
● Learn Cantonese / Mandarin Online
● Internet Based Chinese Teaching and Learning
● Rainland Kids discover Chinese — Site is in Germany
If you want to have a better understanding of China, go to this one.
● Wanfang Data
As an affiliate (分支) of Chinese Ministry of Science && Technology, Wanfang Data has been the leading information provider in China since 1950s. With a wide range of database resources and value-added services, Wanfang Data has become a gateway to understanding Chinese culture, medicine, business, science, etc.
1.The underlined lines are probably some ______.
A. books B. websites
C. tips for learning Chinese D. dictionaries for learning Chinese
2.This passage is most probably from ______.
A. a TV programme B. a teacher’s lecture
C. a newspaper D. the Internet
3. If you want to know each Chinese character’s definition, pronunciation and much more information, you’d better surf ______.
A. Zhongwen site B. A Is For Love
C. Clavis Sinica D. A few Chinese words
4.If you want to know China about its culture, medicine, business, science, you’d better surf ______.
A. Learn Mandarin online B. Wanfang Data
C. Rainland kids discover Chinese D. The Chinese Outpost
5.The underlined word “gateway” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.
A. an opening in a wall that can be closed by a gate
B. a place through which you can go to another place
C. the space when a door is open
D. a means of getting or achieving something
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.
1.This passage is most likely to be found in _____.
A. a travel guide B. a newspaper
C. a textbook D. a novel
2.The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.
A. swimming in the river B. standing on the river bank
C. watching the crocodile D. fishing in the water
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ms Pethrick?
A. Her eyes were badly poked.
B. She had eight wounds altogether.
C. One of her fingers also got hurt.
D. One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg.
4.According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT ______.
A. brave B. diligent
C. quick D. humorous
5. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. The husband should save the wife
B. A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws
C. A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine
D. Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes
There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school (寄宿学校). ____ being sent away, this boy was the ____ student in his class. He was at the top in every ____ always with high marks.
But the boy changed after ____ home and attending the boarding school. His grades started ___. He hated being in a ____. He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he ____ committing suicide (自杀). All of this was because he felt ____ and no one loved him.
His parents started ___about the boy. But they even did not know what was __50with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and ____ him.
They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some casual questions about his classes, teachers and ____. After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son, why I am here today?”
The boy answered back, “To ___- my grades?”
“No, no,” his dad replied. “I am here to tell you that you are the most ___ person for me. I want to see you ____. I don’t care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE.”
These words ____ the boy’s eyes to be filled with tears. He ____ his dad. They didn’t say anything to each other for a long time.
Now the boy had ____ he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He ___ the world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him ____!
1.A. After B. Before C. When D. While
2.A. hardest B. naughtiest C. brightest D. dullest
3.A. exam B. activity C. game D. class
4.A. coming B. returning C. leaving D. reaching
5.A. rising B. increasing C. reducing D. dropping
6.A. group B. term C. company D. party
7.A. led to B. felt like C. thought back D. looked for
8.A. worthless B. careless C. concerned D. annoyed
9.A. caring B. turning C. worrying D. speaking
10.A. crazy B. true C. possible D. wrong
11.A. talk with B. listen to C. tell to D. care about
12.A. family B. friends C. study D. grades
13.A. realize B. analyze C. check D. test
14.A. outstanding B. important C. famous D. familiar
15.A. happy B. excellent C. interested D. satisfied
16.A. caused B. wanted C. encouraged D. forced
17.A. answered B. ignored C. hated D. hugged
18.A. nothing B. something C. everything D. anything
19.A. showed B. meant C. intended D. expressed
20.A. sad B. angry C. pleasant D. joyful
—Do you think it’s a good idea to make friends with your students ?
-- ________,I do .I think it’s a great idea .
A. Really B. Obviously C .Actually D. Generally
The leader of the factory told us that very little ___ was made of the waste material in the past.
A. cost B. value C. use D. matter
