Informal conversation is an important part of any business relationship. 1.Latin Americans enjoy sharing information about their local history, art, and customs. They expect questions about their family and are sure to show pictures of their children. The French think of conversation as an art form. 2.For them, arguments can be interesting — and they can cover pretty much or any topic — as long as they occur in a respectful and intelligent manner.
In the United States, business people like to discuss a wide range of topics, including opinions about work, family, hobbies and politics. 3.They do not share much about their thoughts, feelings or emotions because they feel that doing so might take away from the harmonious business relationship they’re trying to build. Middle Easterners are also private about their personal lives and family matters. It is considered rude, for example, to ask a businessman from Saudi Arabia about his wife or children.
4.This can get you into trouble, even in the United States, where people hold different views. Sports is typically a friendly subject in most parts of the world, although be careful not to criticize a national sport. 5.
A. Instead, be friendly and praise your host’s team.
B. They enjoy the value of lively discussions as well as disagreements.
C. In Japan, China and Korea, however, people are much more private.
D. In addition, discussing one’s salary is usually considered unsuitable.
E. You may feel free to ask your Latin American friends similar questions.
F. As a general rule, it’s best not to talk about politics or religion with your business friends.
G. Before you start a discussion, however, make sure you understand which topics are suitable in a particular culture.
Michelle Yeoh also known as Yeoh Choo Kheng was born in Ipoh, Malaysia. At a very young age she dreamt of being a ballerina. Unluckily, when she was 16, she suffered a serious back injury and her professional dancing career was broken down.
Michelle would have given up her dreams and become a lawyer instead. Against her doctor’s advice, she continued going for her dream. She believed that if she can’t dance, there must be something else she can do. In 1983, at the age of 21, she won the Miss Malaysia beauty contest. Thin won the attention of Jackie Chan and the Hong Kong movie industry. In 1988 after her 5th movie, she married to retire from the silver screen. Her marriage was somehow filled with tears and loneliness. It ended in 1992 in the end.
So again, another of her life dreams was blown away. But Michelle did not think over spilled milk. Although she had been away from the movie industry for over 4 years, she had an attractive comeback. She costarred with Jackie Chan in Police Story 3 : Supercop. It was the top popular film in Asia for the year. Michelle Yeoh became the most popular and highest paid actress in Asia with a huge number of fans following throughout the world.
1.What contributed most to Michelle’s high pay in Asia?
A. Her winning the Miss Malaysia beauty contest
B. Her performance in Police Story 3: Supercop
C. Her wonderful dance on the silver screen
D. Michelle became the most popular actress in Asia
2.Which is the right time order of the following statements according to the passage?
①Jackie Chan became interested in Michelle
②Something terrible was wrong with Michelle’s back
③Michelle said goodbye to her husband
④Michelle became the most popular actress in Asia
A. ①③②④ B. ①②③④
C. ②③①④ D. ②①③④
3.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. She wasn’t interested in milk products
B. She was quite poor at doing housework
C. She recovered from the sorrow soon
D. She decided to take up something new
Scope: Recently your school board proposed moving the school start time from 7:50a.m. to 7:20 a.m. What was your reaction to this?
Jilly Dos Santos: I was getting only four to six hours of sleep a night and I was late for school a lot. With the new start time, I’d have to wake up even earlier. After we heard about the proposal, a teachers said to my class, “If you don’t like it, why don’t you do something about it?”
Scope: What did you do?
Jilly: I organized a group of students to speak to the school board.
Scope: What did you do to prepare for the meeting?
Jilly: I wanted to focus our presentation on why having an earlier start time was unhealthy. There is scientific research about teens and sleep. I learned that during your teen years, because of a change in hormones(激素), your body begins to change. You start to want to go to bed later. School starts the same time it always has, so getting enough sleep becomes difficult. I realized there wasn’t something wrong with my time management or me; the way I was feeling had a physical and biological basis.
Scope: How did it go?
Jilly: About 30 students came to support me, and the board liked that I didn’t get emotional and just provided the evidence. Two months later, an 8:55 a.m. start time became official. The board decided to make the start time later instead of earlier.
Scope: What has changed since the later start time?
Jilly: I don’t need to stay up an extra hour or two at night, because I can get work done in the morning. I’ve also been late a lot less. And this year, there are more morning clubs and more people going to them.
1.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Talking With the School Board? Cheer Up!
B. An Interview on a Proposal
C. A Dialogue between Scope and Jilly
D. Moving the Start Time Earlier? Say No!
2.Jilly’s teacher seemed to encourage the students____
A. to talk with the school board
B. to get their work done in time
C. to voice their opinions bravely
D. to take action to support the proposal
3.What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
A. Jilly body clock
B. The scientific research
C. The meeting Jilly organized
D. Jilly’s secret for time management
4.How did Jilly succeed in persuading the school board?
A. By showing scientific evidence
B. By putting forward a new proposal
C. By telling different students’ stories
D. By presenting her personal experience
Long ago, there was a rich man, who had a very big house with a lot of treasures and many servants. One day, two silver saucers were stolen from the cupboard. After a few days, another two saucers were stolen again. The rich man was very angry. He thought, “Someone must have stolen them. I must catch the thief, or another two saucers would be stolen in a few days.”
Then he had an idea. He called in all his servants and said. “Some of my silver saucers have disappeared. Someone among you must have taken them. Who has taken them?”
The servants looked at one another and kept quiet. Then the rich man said, “I shall catch the thief myself. I am giving each of you a stick. Look, all the sticks are of the same length, Keep the sticks. Bring them back tomorrow. The thief’s stick will two centimeters longer.”
That evening, Salleh, one of the servants, went home sadly. His wife asked him, “Why are you so sad this evening?”
“This stick will grow two centimeters longer tomorrow because I have taken the silver saucers,” he said.
“Oh, don’t worry. Cut off two centimeters from the stick,” his wife said. “In other words your stick will be of the same length as any of the other sticks.”
Hearing this, he was very happy. At once, he cut off two centimeters from the stick with a knife.
The next day, each of the servants brought back his stick. The rich man then measured each of the sticks. He found Salleh’s stick shorter by two centimeters. Salleh was the thief. He was caught and put in prison. The rich man got back the stolen saucers.
1.The silver saucers were kept in____
A. a cupboard B. a box
C. the kitchen D. the bedroom
2.The rich man found _____ silver saucers were stolen
A. two B. four
C. six D. three
3.The next day, the rich man knew that Salleh was the thief because Salleh’s stick _____.
A. remained the same length
B. was shorter by two centimeters
C. was longer by two centimeters
D. broke in two
4.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Salleh’s wife told him to return the stolen saucers
B. Salleh’s wife was angry with him
C. Salleh brought back the stolen saucer himself
D. Salleh did as his wife told him to.
La Tomatina, Spain
Tomato juice flows through the streets of Bunol on the last Wednesday of August as the world’s largest tomato fight happens. Festivities begin in the town square where there is a huge pole covered in soap and with a leg of ham at the top. Participants try to climb up the pole to get the ham as watchers throw buckets of water to them. After a gun is fired to signal the beginning of the fight, people catch the tomatoes and throw each other in the streets until the gun sounds again, marking the end of the event.
Holi, India
This spring festival is celebrated throughout the country in late February or early March. The two-day event celebrates the legend of Prahlad, who escaped unharmed from the fire of the evil Holika Dahan. People mark the event by lighting fires and throwing colored powder on one another. Children load colored water into toy pistols called pichkari and take aim at passers-by. Holi is known as a happy celebration of the triumph of good over evil.
Burning Man, Nevada
This infamous festival began in 1986 with the burning of a large figure to mark the summer solstice(夏至). It’s since grown into a week-long annual event that draws more than 48,000 people to the Black Rock Dessert. It is held during the week before Labor Day. Participants set up camp in the desert to celebrate art.
Songkran, Thailand
This festival marks the Thai New Year, which is celebrated in the second week of April. This is the hottest time of the year in Thailand, so it makes sense that the biggest Songkran tradition is to throw water on people. Thais of all ages join in water fights, using buckets, hoses and water guns to celebrate the event.
1.The following celebrations are related to water EXCEPT_________.
A. La Tomatina B. Burning Man
C. Holi D. Songkran
2.The underlined word “pichkari” is probably_______.
A. a kind of gun B. a bad man
C. fire D. powder
3.If you want to experience the hottest season in a country, you can choose to visit______.
A. Spain B. Nevada
C. India D. Thailand
4.The text is written mainly to ______.
A. encourage people to travel
B. introduce some interesting festivals
C. advertise the world’s biggest parties
D. show the most famous performances
假如你叫李华，你校于4月27日组织了一次校园合唱节活动。请你根据以下要点，给你的美国笔友Jack写一封电子邮件，告诉他此次活动的有关情况。
1.活动的目的； 2.活动的时间、地点和方式； 3.你对本次活动的感悟
参考词汇:校园合唱节Campus Choral Festival
Dear Jack,
I am Li Hua, ...
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Sincerely Yours,
Li Hua
