Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in "small talk", usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries, like the UK or France, people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafe rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion, instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values, however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
1.What’s the probable meaning of the underlined word “emphasize”?
A. To draw special attention to. B. To ignore.
C. To laugh at. D. To get close to.
2.The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _____.
A. the English prefer to make long speeches
B. too many words are of no use
C. people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature
D. even talk and silence can be culturally
different
3.According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
A. By sharing different ways of life. B. By accepting different habits.
C. By recognizing different values. D. By speaking each other's languages.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Multicultural Environment. B. Cross-Cultural Differences.
C. How to Understand Each Other. D. How to Build Up a Relationship.
Today, the world’s diversity (多样性) of food crops is quickly decreasing. But scientists around the world are taking action. They are building seed banks. At seed banks, scientists store the seeds of many different crops.
There are now 1,400 seed banks around the world. However, some banks are in warm countries. If the electricity fails, the seeds will get too hot and die. Other seed banks are in countries troubled by war. Sometimes people damage the seed banks. If this happens, valuable seeds can be lost forever!
The organization Global Crop Diversity Trust decided they wanted to deal with this problem. So, they decided to build a global seed bank. This seed bank would contain a back-up, or extra copy, of all the world’s seeds. Smaller seed banks would still collect and keep local seeds. But they would also send copies of their seeds to the global bank.
Scientists from the Global Crop Diversity Trust chose the cold, snowy mountains of Svalbard, Norway to build the global seed bank — the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (斯瓦尔巴全球种子库). Organizations, farmers, or local seed banks store their extra seeds there. And the people who place their seeds in the vault are the only people who can take them out. They pay to ship their seeds to Norway, but it does not cost them any money to store their seeds. The Global Crop Diversity Trust pays for this.
Cary Fowler is a scientist who heads the Global Crop Diversity Trust. He said, “If the Seed Vault simply supplies seed banks with copies of seeds that those banks lost by accident, the Seed Vault will be worth more than it cost.”
1.Seed banks are built to ______.
A. research on seeds B. produce new seeds
C. protect crop diversity D. increase the number of seeds
2.Compared with other seed banks, the global seed bank ______.
A. was built by the government
B. is more welcomed by farmers
C. is mainly used by great scientists
D. can provide a good environment for seeds
3.What can we learn about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault?
A. It helps to pay the shipping cost.
B. No one can take seeds out of there.
C. There are no fees to store seeds there.
D. It mainly receives seeds from farmers.
4.What is Cary Fowler’s attitude towards the Seed Vault?
A. He feels it is very important. B. He is surprised at it.
C. He thinks it costs too much. D. He is uncertain about it.
At thirteen,I was diagnosed with kind of attention disorder.It made school difficult for me.When people else in the class was focusing on tasks,I could not.
In my first literature class,Mrs.Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it,all within 45 minutes.I raised my hard right away and said,“Mrs.Smith,you see,the doctor said I have attention problems.I might not be able to do it.”
She glanced down at me through her glasses,“you are no different from your classmates,young man.”
I tried,but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang.I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom,the story suddenly all became clear to me.It was about a blind person,Louis Braille.He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education.But Louis didn’t give up.Instead,he invented a reading system of raised dots（点）,which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class,being made to learn like the “sighted” students?My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance.I completed the task within 40 minutes.Indeed,I was no different from others;I just needed a quieter place.If Louis could find his way out of his problems,why should I ever give up?
I didn’t expect anything when I handled in my paper to Mrs.Smith,so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day-with an “A” on it.At the bottom of the paper were these words:“See what you can do when you keep trying?”
1.The author didn’t finish the reading in class because_______.
A. He was new to the class B. He was tried of literature
C. He had an attention disorder D. He wanted to take the task home
2.What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?
A. He had good sight. B. He made a great invention.
C. He gave up reading. D. He learned a lot from school.
3.What was Mrs.Smith’s attitude to the author at the end of the story?
A. Angry. B. Impatient.
C. Sympathetic. D. Encouraging.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The disabled should be treated with respect.
B. A teacher can open up a new world to students.
C. One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts.
D. Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges.
A factory tour this summer! Here are some great ones to consider. | |
The Jelly Belly Bean Company Fairfield, CA At this working factory, guests can watch the process of making this famous candy. Have lunch at the Visitor Center Café, where you can order a jelly bean-shaped pizza or hamburger! It is located an hour north of San Francisco. There’s no admission charge for the 40-minute walking tour. Tours are given most days from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, but come during a weekday to see the candy making in process. | Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum Louisville, KY See how each bat is carefully carved out at this family-favorite factory tour. Tour visitors leave with a miniature bat souvenir and personalized bats can be ordered when you arrive and picked up before you leave. Adult tickets are $9. Child tickets are $4. Ages five and under are free. It opens at 9:00 am Mondays through Saturdays. Check the website for specific days and times. |
E-One Fire Truck Factory Ocala, FL Take this walking tour of a plant in Florida and see for yourself the technology and skill required to build these emergency vehicles. Tours are offered Monday to Friday, at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Prices are $8 for adults and $6 for children. Kids under 6 are not permitted on the tour for safety reasons. Reservations are required for all tours. Please call 352-861-3524 to schedule a tour. Firefighters can tour for free! | Crayola Crayon Company Easton, PA No, this isn’t the actual place where the waxy rainbows are made. But it’s an even-better visitor center where families can not only see how crayons are made, but can explore and use various Crayola art tools and products. Kids can use the latest Crayola products to create masterpieces on site. The visitor center is open most days from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. The online calendar shows special hours, themes, and daily activities. Tickets are $9.50 each. |
1.Which of the following is true about the Jelly Belly Bean Company?
A. Three meals are prepared for you. B. It is open every day.
C. You have to spend some money visiting it. D. It lies north of San Francisco.
2.If a five-year-old boy and his parents visit Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Museum, they have to pay ______.
A. $22 B. $17
C. $18 D. $13
3.The factory tour this summer involves ______.
A. politics, economics, science and culture
B. diet, sports, traffic and art
C. history, literature, education and custom
D. health, invention, astronomy and car
假设你是李华，两周前你从网上订购了一套英语书虫系列读物（Bookworm Series），昨天才收到货，且包装破损、数量不足。请就此向网点客服写邮件投诉。要点如下：
1．介绍购物情况；
2．反映存在问题；
3．提出解决方案。
注意：1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．开头语已为你写好，不计入总次数。
To whom it may concern,
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Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同学们交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear fellows,
Not only adults but also we students often feel stressing because we have too much homework to do, and we are very busy study every day, we don’t have our own time to do that we are interested in. We are very tried and asleep all day, because we should learn to deal with it. What should we do next relax?
From the result of the survey, I think doing sports with classmate is a good way to relax. Because it’s good for our health and it can make us relaxed. I also have three ways to relax us. First, we can listen to music. Second, we can go to the movies with our parents in weekends. Don’t study at home all the weekend. Third we feel tired, we can think about something interested.
