A strong wind can be a dangerous thing — sometimes it is powerful enough to knock you off your feet. But to plants, the wind is a source of new life, carrying them or their spores (孢子) thousands of miles.
A NASA satellite called QuikSCAT has discovered highways of wind over the Earth's oceans. Scientists believe these invisible roads may explain why many nonflowering plants, such as mosses (苔) and lichens (地衣), grow where they do.
The satellite is able to send microwaves (微波) from space to the surface of the ocean. The pattern of signals that come back shows which way the winds are blowing.
Using this data, the scientists studied a group of islands in the southern hemisphere (半球), near Antarctica.Winds tend to blow anticlockwise (逆时针) in this region, but there are lots of local differences.
When the researchers compared these local patterns to botanical (植物学) data, they found that the wind had an important effect on where species of mosses, lichens, and other nonflowering plants grow.
For example, Bouvet Island and Heard Island, share 30 per cent of their moss species, 29 per cent of liverworts (叶苔), and 32 per cent of lichens — even though they are 4,430 kilometers apart. In contrast, Gough Island and Bouvet Island, separated by just 1,860 kilometers of sea, share only 16 per cent of mosses and 17 per cent of liverworts. They have no lichens in common.
Ferns (蕨类植物) and flowering plants don't travel as well in the wind, so they don't show the same kinds of distribution (分布) patterns.This story is about _____.
A.the discovery of wind highways | B.how wind travels |
C.how wind affects different plants | D.one function of the wind |
The underlined word "data" in the fourth paragraph means _____.
A.signal | B.pattern | C.information | D.research |
Which of the following is wrong?
A.Bouvet Island, Heard Island and Gough Island are all in the southern hemisphere. |
B.Winds in the researched area blow anti-clockwise. |
C.The scientists shouldn't base this research on how winds affect where ferns grow. |
D.Without the discovery of QuikSCAT, the research wouldn't have made sense. |
Which of the following diagrams shows the correct position of the islands?
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset (不安的) if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!Dinner parties usually start between 7p.m.and 8p.m., and end at about 11p.m. Ask your host (主人) what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks (小吃). Do you want to be extra (特别地) polite? Say how much you like the room,
or the pictures on the wall. But remember — it's not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other side. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert (甜点心) followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “Thank you” letter. British and American people like to say “thank you” all the time!An English friend doesn't invite you to his or her dinner, which ____.
A.means he or she doesn't like you | B.means he or she likes you |
C.doesn't mean he or she likes you | D.doesn't mean ![]() |
You are going to attend a dinner party and ____.
A.you'd better bring a certain present with you |
B.you must leave home for it at 7 p.m. |
C.you should ask your host when you should leave |
D.you must arrive before 8 p.m. |
It's impolite _____.
A.to say that you like the host's room very much |
B.for a guest to ask the host the price of the things in the room |
C.for a guest to have drinks and sn![]() |
D.for the host and the hostess (女主人) to sit and eat with their guests |
In which order will you eat or drink the following things at a meal?
A.Snacks, vegetables, meat, coffee. |
B.Coffee, drinks, soup, fish, vegetables, dessert. |
C.Soup, meat with vegetables, dessert and coffee. |
D.Drinks, soup, something small, fish and vegetables. |
What is the proper way to express your enjoyment of the evening?
A.Before leaving for home, you should say, “Thank you for inviting me.” |
B.When you shake hands with your host, you should say, “I did enjoy the evening.” |
C.You can write a “Thank you” letter to your host after that. |
D.You should finish everything on your plate and take more if you want it. |
Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five, he gave £ 12,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s playground.
As a result of his kindness, many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy—five.
Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection (注射) in my neck each evening.” he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.Johnson became a rich man through _________.
A.doing business. |
B.making whisky. |
C.cheating. |
D.buying and selling land. |
The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson __________.
A.had no children. |
B.was a strange man. |
C.was very fond of children. |
D.wanted people to know how rich he was. |
Many people wrote to Johnson to find out __________.
A.what kind of whisky he had. |
B.how to live longer. |
C.how to become wealthy. |
D.in which part of the neck to have an injection. |
The newspaperman ____________.
A.should have reported what Johnson had told him. |
B.shouldn’t have asked Johnson what injection he had. |
C.was eager to live a long life. |
D.should have found out what Johnson really meant. |
When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening, he really meant that ______.
A.he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening. |
B.he needed an injection in the neck. |
C.a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well. |
D.there was something wrong with his neck. |
Culture is one of the most challenging elements of the international marketplace. This system of learned behavior patterns characteristic of the members of a given society is constantly shaped by a set of dynamic variables(变量): language, religion, values and attitudes, manners and customs, aesthetics, technology, education, and social institutions. To deal with this system, an international manager needs both factual and interpretive knowledge of culture. To some extent, the factual knowledge can be learned; its interpretation comes only through experience.
The most complicated problems in dealing with the cultural environment lie in the fact that one cannot learn culture—one has to live it. Two schools of thought exist in the business world on how to deal with cultural differences. One is that business is business the world around, following the model of Pepsi and McDonald’s. In some cases, globalization is a fact of life; however, cultural differences are still far from disappearing.
The other school suggests that companies must adjust business approaches to individual cultures. Setting up policies and procedures in each country has been compared to an organ transplant; the critical question centers around acceptance or rejection. The major challenge to the international manager is to make sure that rejection is not a result of cultural myopia(近视) or even blindness.
Fortune examined the international performance of a dozen large companies that earn 20 percent or more of their revenue overseas. The internationally successful companies all share an important quality: patience. They have not rushed into situations but rather built their operations carefully by following the most basic business principles. These principles are to know your rivals, know your audience, and know your customer.According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A.Business diversity is not necessary. |
B.All international managers can learn culture. |
C.Most people do not know foreign culture well. |
D.Views differ on how to treat culture in business world. |
According to the author, the model of Pepsi.
A.is different from the model of McDonald’s . |
B.reflect the idea that business is business. |
C.has converged cultural differences . |
D.shows the reverse of globalization . |
The two schools of thought.
A.both think dealing with cultural environment is the most complicated problem in business |
B.both admit the existence of cultural diversity in business world. |
C.both advocate that different policies be set up in different countries. |
D.both propose that companies should tailor business approaches to individual cultures. |
This article is supposed to be most useful for those.
A.who have connections to more than one type of culture |
B.who are interested in researching the topic of cultural diversity |
C.who want to run business in other countries |
D.who want to travel abroad |
Sri Lanka is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, and it is easy to see why. This little country never fails to please visitors.
Arrive
The national airline is Sri Lankan Airlines, which flies from Colombo to London and a couple of other European cities. The country’s main airport is Colombo Bandaranaike, located 29km north of the capital city.
Why now?
The best time to visit Sri Lanka’s southern beaches is from November to April. So by going early in the season, you’ll get the best weather. Also in November, Deepavali, known as “Diwali” or the “Festival of Lights”, is Sri Lanka’s main religious festival, celebrated throughout the country.
See
There is plenty to see in Sri Lanka. The ancient capital cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura are worth seeing, and so are many outstanding ruins. Other mustsees are the rock fortress (要塞) of Sigiriya, towering over the jungle as far as the eye can see, and Dambulla’s cave temple, the country’s largest and best preserved. Both are UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) Sites. Kandy is a picture-like town, which was the last stronghold of the Kandyan Kings. Today it is a cultural relic centre where age-old customs, arts, and crafts remain.
Do
Sri Lanka owns about 1,600km of beautiful palm-shaded beaches as well as warm, pure seas and colourful coral reefs. You can explore the underwater world, and surfing and diving are available too. Away from the shore, wildlife is a big draw for Sri Lanka, and Yala National Park is one of the best places in the world to see wild animals including leopards (豹) and elephants.
Taste
Sri Lanka is celebrated for its excellent food, with a particular emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables on menus everywhere. Fish and seafood are a big part of the local diet.
Did you know?
Sri Lanka is known for its tea, but it is also the world’s largest producer and exporter of cinnamon(肉桂).Which of the following is a cultural relic centre of Sri Lanka?
A.Anuradhapura. | B.Kandy. | C.Colombo. | D.Polonnaruwa. |
If you want to know something about “Diwali”, you’d better go there in.
A.November. | B.May. | C.September. | D.October. |
We can learn from the passage that Sri Lanka.
A.is in the Pacific Ocean | B.is famous for its excellent food |
C.is the world’s largest producer of tea | D.has only flights to London |
The author wrote the article in order to.
A.let readers know what is famous in Sri Lanka |
B.introduce the picturesque landscape of Sri Lanka |
C.let people get more travel information about Sri Lanka |
D.make Sri Lanka well known throughout the world |
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions--and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly(均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said.“Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth.”
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed.As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral.They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did.“The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said.“Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and the mouth less.”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion.From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion.Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.The discovery shows that Westerners ________.
A.consider facial expressions universally reliable |
B.pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth |
C.have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions |
D.observe the eyes and ![]() |
What were the people asked to do in the study?
A.To get their faces impressive. | B.To make a face at each other. |
C.To observe the researchers' faces. | D.To classify some face pictures. |
What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 6 refer to?
A.The researchers of the study. | B.The participants in the study. |
C.The data collected from the study. | D.The errors made during the study. |
In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to ______.
A.read facial expressions more correctly | B.examine the eyes more attentively |
C.study the mouth more frequently | D.do translation more successfully |