“Long time no see” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s email, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish.
Obviously, it is a word-by-word literal translation of the Chinese greetings with a ruled English grammar and structure! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too thrilled to believe her. Her words could not convince me at all. So I did a research on google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages containing “Long time no see.” This sentence has been widely used in emails, letters, newspapers, movies, books, or any other possible places. Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. Ironically, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the software will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.
Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a world wide famous Chinese detective named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens. Detective Chan likes to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius. “Long time no see” was his trademark. Soon after Charlie Chan, “Long time no see” became a popular phrase in the real world with thanks to the popularity of these movies.
Some scholars refer to America as a huge pot of stew. All kinds of culture are mixed in the stew together, and they change the color and taste of each other. American Chinese, though a minority ethnic(少数民族的成员) group in the United States, is also contributing some changes to the stew! Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed stew.
You can have some other examples than adoptions from Chinese, such as pizza from Italian, susi from Japanese, and déjà vu from French etc. There is a long list! Americans do not just simply borrow something from others. They will modify it and make it their own, so you would not be surprised to find a tofu and peanut butter hamburger in a restaurant, or to buy a bottle of iced Chinese green tea with honey in a grocery store. Since Americans appreciate Chinese culture more and more nowadays, I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future. In this way the American stew keeps adding richness and flavor.
1.The writer himself felt surprised at ______.
A. the Chinglish expression “Long time no see”
B. “Long time no see” used as standard American English
C. so many literal translation of the expressions used in America
D. finding out Americans use the expression every day
2.The word “stew” in the 4th paragraph probably means ______.
A. mixed culture
B. Confucius’ words
C. a kind of cooked dish
D. American changing literature
3.According to the passage, it can be inferred that ______.
A. detectives translate the phrase “Long time no see”
B. Hollywood made “Long time no see” popular
C. the huge pot of stew greatly affects all kinds of languages
D. cultures can be changed in the huge pot of stew
4.The main idea of the passage is that ______.
A. some Chinese expressions are introduced into English
B. you’ll not be surprised at a tofu in a restaurant in America
C. some American expressions can be used in China
D. American English keep being enriched from different cultures
5.According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true?
A. Informal language sometimes doesn’t go with grammar and structure.
B. Languages are always ruled by grammar and structure.
C. “Long time no see” has been used in at least four media mentioned in the passage.
D. There are four languages mentioned to be adopted in the American stew.
When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on." Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "The very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.
The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.
Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says." I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease."
But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up again and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.
Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be."
1.Why did Mary feel regretful?
A. She didn't achieve her ambition.
B. She didn't follow her mother's advice.
C. She didn't complete her high school.
D. She didn't take care of her mother.
2.We can know that before 1995 Mary
A. had two books published
B. received many career awards
C. knew how to use a computer
D. supported the JDRF by writing
3.Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her .
A. living with diabetes
B. successful show business
C. service for an organization
D. remembrance of her mother
4.When Mary received the life-changing news, she .
A. lost control of herself B. began a balanced diet
C. tried to get a treatment D. behaved in an adult way
5.What can we know from the last paragraph?
A. Mary feels pity for herself.
B. Mary has recovered from her disease.
C. Mary wants to help others as much as possible.
D. Mary determines to go back to the dance floor.
I was going to die in Antarctica, I was certain．An image of my frost-covered body, pale and lifeless, filled my mind as I glanced around．In all directions the empty wilderness of Antarctica stretched away from me, the only feature on the landscape was the division between snow and sky．I gazed sadly at my team．They were rapidly disappearing over the horizon．
I was leading an expedition （探险） attempting to reach the south pole．The team was made up of ordinary women from all around the world, from Jamaica, India, Singapore and Cyprus, many of whom had never seen snow, or spent a night in a tent before we set off．Our aim was to be the most international all-female team to reach the South Pole．
As I watched, the rest of the team marched on, unaware that I was not with them．By the time I realized that my sledge was firmly trapped, the team were already a long way ahead of me．I called out to Era, my teammate, " Era! Stop !"
Getting no response I called again, but my shouts were carried away in the opposite direction by the wind．Seconds passed．Nothing．I was gradually being left alone, completely defenseless against the low temperatures of Antarctica．
My strength increased when I thought of a cold lonely death．I pulled again my sledge, which moved a little. I removed the ice with my ski-pole and boot, desperately trying to break the sledge free．The sledge shot forward, knocking me off balance．I struggled to my feet and set off after the team．
I caught up just as Reena, my teammate from India, looked behind her and noticed there was one person missing．She swung around on her skis in shock and spotted me in the near distance．
As we continued, my panic slowly faded．For the rest of the day, each of the team was glancing over their shoulder every few minutes．They were not going to risk losing me again．
1.From the first paragraph we can safely infer that the author ．
A．disliked her team B．got seriously ill
C．was in panic D．lost her way
2.What is special about the expedition team?
A．They were all female．
B. They were all professional．
C．They made the longest expedition．
D．They had been strictly trained．
3.What made the author get her sledge out of the ice was ．
A. the shouts from her teammates
B. her strong desire to live
C. the sudden change in wind direction
D. the natural beauty ahead
4.At last, each of the team members kept looking back ．
A．to avoid being attacked from behind
B．to make sure that none fell behind
C．to check the distance they had covered
D．to keep a record of the route they took
5.Which may be the best title of the passage?
A．How to survive in Antarctic．
B．A mysterious trip to the South Pole．
C．A female expedition team．
D．Being left behind in the snow．
Have you ever wished you could fly like a bird? If so, you have to think again. I learned how to fly when I was six years old, and it was not a experience at all!
It happened on the in Belgium. I was happily building a sandcastle when a lady and began to talk with my parents. I that they wouldn’t talk long, because she had a huge horrible dog on a leash! It was its owner by her feet, trying to get her to go. It seemed that even the owner was growing with her dog’s movements, as to my , she turned to me and said, “Would you like to walk my dog?”
ME? I was sure the dog would eat me whole in one bite. I looked at my parents to see if they would rescue me, but they were paying no to me.
A second later it was firmly tied to my wrist and I had no choice but to the dog. At first, it wasn’t so . The “monster” took its time, walking here and there. Then it took off like a rocket. My arm was nearly injured as I found myself being sent into the air.
In a few seconds, everyone on the beach was at me as if I had become some kind of local attraction. I tried hard to the sand with my feet.
Then the dog . And I fell onto the sand. The creature must have been , because it was walking slowly back to my parents and its owner were. When we finally got back, I noticed the looks of on their faces. My parents said, “What took you so ? Little boys shouldn’t wander away that far!” And then I began to loudly.
Is it strange that I have grown up to be a person who likes cats more than dog?
1.A. secret B. fun C. suitable D. creative
2.A. road B. radio C. beach D. platform
3.A. came up B. gave up C. came out D. gave out
4.A. planned B. pretended C. wished D. guessed
5.A. carrying B. watching C. cheering D. bothering
6.A. impatient B. impolite C. unnatural D. unclear
7.A. horror B. delight C. honor D. regret
8.A. exactly B. fortunately C. specially D. anxiously
9.A. money B. debt C. time D. attention
10.A. beat B. borrow C. follow D. forget
11.A. boring B. bad C. exciting D. good
12.A. all of a sudden B. not any more C. in other words D. on the whole
13.A. working B. staring C. attacking D. shouting
14.A. find B. move C. reach D. collect
15.A. appeared B. screamed C. stopped D. escaped
16.A. tired B. frightened C. interested D. shocked
17.A. when B. what C. how D. where
18.A. pride B. anger C. sadness D. hope
19.A. fast B. long C. high D. hard
20.A. rest B. play C. walk D. cry
--- Does Mike always go on holiday together with his sister?
---- _________. If he has his holiday the same as she, then they go together.
A. It’s his guess B. It’s up to you
C. That’s settled D. That depends
Children like to _____ what they have but others don’t have, which makes them proud.
A. cheer up B. give up
C. show off D. put off
