Misunderstanding means East-West cultural clash. A failure to understand different customs lead to misunderstanding.
A common example of this clash occurs in China when Westerners complain that the Chinese are noisy and impolite, and feel uneasy with the questions: "Where are you from?" "Where do you work?" "How much do you earn?" "Are you married?" One Westerner has described this question and answer process as a "Laowai (foreigner) Litany." It's not surprising that foreigners in China who are not familiar with Chinese culture would be shocked by the questions and might feel that Chinese were meddling in their affairs.
Why do Chinese and Westerners have opposite behaviour in public and in society? Cultural differences partly explain this. Chinese culture is founded on collectivism. Instead of considering themselves individuals, Chinese are, above all, members of a community. They identify more with employees of the company, citizens of the country, husbands or wives, or fathers. They are used to thinking of groups. With this community spirit, it's not uncommon to approach others with questions. So, "Where are you from?" could mean "I'm interested in you and ready to be your friend;" "How much money do you earn?" could mean "If you don't earn enough to feed yourself, I'm happy to invite you to share my rice porridge;" and "Are you married?" could mean "If you're still single, I'll help you find a girlfriend."
For Chinese, asking a stranger questions is a normal way to show sympathy and to invite someone to have a friendly conversation. Chinese on a 10-hour train ride would be considered impolite or even arrogant if they refused to ask or answer questions. That is why a Chinese train ride is always happy and animated for Chinese, but can be noisy for a European.
Western culture is based on individualism. A Westerner sees himself or herself both as an individual and member of a community. Thus any insistence on communicating through questions might be considered annoying. In Europe, a person on a 10-hour train ride, will be considered polite if he or she wants to keep silent for the whole journey. This is also why train rides in Europe are agreeably quiet for Europeans, but possible painful for Chinese.
There seems to be fundamentally nothing wrong with being interested in strangers, depending on the circumstances, but either asking questions or not asking questions could prove indelicate. Whoever you are, be relaxed and polite no matter whether you get intrusive questions or a perfunctory hello.
66. Which is wrong about the above four questions in paragraph 2 ?
The Chinese use them to show their sympathy.
The Westerners will be shocked at these questions
They are often asked to open a conversation by Chinese people.
They imply the spirit of individualism.
67. According to the passage, all the following shows the culture differences between we Chinese and the Westerns except_________________.
the Chinese consider themselves to be members of a community while the Westerns don’t
western culture is founded on individualism
your questions will annoy a Westerner if he/she doesn’t want to communicate
train journey in Western countries are often quiet but noisy in China
68. On a ten-hour train ride___________________________.
the Chinese will probably talk with strangers happily
the Westerners are certain to talk with strangers
it is impolite for both the Chinese and the Westerners to keep silent
it is often painful for the Westerners to be in silence
69. The underlined word “animated”(in paragraph 4) possibly means_______________.
A. causing shameful feelings B. filled with noise
C. full of life and spirit D. important and agreeable
70. The main idea of the passage is probably_____________________.
A.we shouldn’t ask the Westerners the four questions
B.culture differences may lead to misunderstanding
C.it’s wrong to be interested in strangers
D.asking a stranger questions is a normal way to show sympathy
The laptop is a machine which can be a mobile office；it can be used to entertain us and people can play computer games on them. One machine can perform many tasks at the same time. As technology grows，the size of the new laptop machines is decreasing. Now laptops are lighter，have smaller screen sizes，and perform better. Smaller screen laptops，which are more convenient to take along with，have been specially designed for professionals. Huge display screen laptops are still used by graphic(绘画的)designers and those who like playing computer games.
Laptops are advanced machines，and they can be very expensive. When we spend much money on something，we should take good care of it. I know some people who buy a new laptop every year. The reason they do this is that the old one either is broken or has some problems which cannot be fixed. Common problems are the breaking of the screen，the breaking of joints of the laptop，display problems，and keyboard problems.
Different problems will always come up with machines，and they cannot be avoided(避免)．Old machines will always have to be replaced by new ones. However，if we are more careful and handle our laptops with care，they will last for a longer period of time，and they will perform better. This is not a hard thing to do，but it will greatly increase the life and performance of laptops.According to the first paragraph，the laptop is a machine which________.
| A．is being used by more and more people in the office |
| B．will take the place of desktops sooner or later |
| C．is specially designed for people who like playing computer games |
| D．can be used for both work and entertainment purposes |
The underlined word in the first paragraph means “________”．
| A．becoming smaller |
| B．becoming more important |
| C．becoming more popular |
| D．becoming better |
We infer that graphic designers still use huge display screen laptops most probably because________.
| A．huge display screen laptops are very cheap |
| B．small display screen laptops are not on sale yet |
| C．they can see their drawings more clearly |
| D．they also want to play computer games |
What can we learn from the second paragraph?
| A．That laptops can only be used for one year. |
| B．That laptops are not as good as desktops. |
| C．That the prices for laptops are too high. |
| D．That laptops may have problems which cannot be fixed. |
Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when she went to pick up her daughter’s car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson saw the nickelgray Toyota Camry and used her daughter’s key to unlock the car，start the engine and drive home.
When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later，he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed，but when the police couldn’t find a record of it，they took a theft report.
The morning after Anderson took back the car，her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn’t hers. She found Vansant’s name on paperwork in the glove compartment and looked up his phone number on the Website for the university.
When she told Vansant the car was in her driveway，“It sounded real fishy at first，like maybe she wanted to hold the thing for ransom，”Vansant said!
He eventually went to the house with a police officer，where he was reunited with his car. According to a police report，the case was closed “because of the mistaken car identity.”Anderson wasn’t charged.
Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the “thief”．“Her key fit not only my lock，but my ignition as well—so high-five for Toyota，I guess，”he said.
Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong said key technology wasn’t as sophisticated as two decades ago，and there were so many ways to cut a key，making it possible for such a mix-up to occur. He said the company now has a microchip embedded(嵌入)in the keys for 90 percent of its vehicles that allows them to start only with the correct key.We can learn from the story that Kate Anderson ____.
| A．was an experienced but unlucky thief |
| B．took Vansant’s car away by chance |
| C．could unlock any car with her special key |
| D．was accused of theft and put into prison |
When Charlie Vansant received the phone call，he ____.
| A．ran as fast as he could to the police station |
| B．felt someone was playing a joke on him |
| C．suspected he would be forced to pay for the car |
| D．went directly to Anderson and collected his car |
Who should be responsible for the accident?
| A．Toyota Camry. |
| B．Charlie Vansant. |
| C．Toyota Company. |
| D．The police. |
According to the passage，it can be learned that ____.
| A．the daughter is more honest than her mother |
| B．many thefts occurred because the same keys were used |
| C．Toyota Camry is a kind of car，which is easier to unlock |
| D．the car producers should pay more attention to car identity |
“Children who eat less salt and drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks may significantly lower their risks of obesity,” researchers recently reported in the journal Hypertension.
“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in children,” said Feng J. He, a researcher at St George’s University of London, England. “It has been shown that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people.” They wanted to know whether there is a link between salt intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption.
Dr He and colleagues analyzed data from a 1997 national survey of more than 2,000 people between 4 and 18 in Britain. “We found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank less fluid,” said He. “From our research, we estimated that 1 gram of salt cut from their daily diet would reduce fluid intake by 100 grams per day.”
The researchers also found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. From their research, they predicted that reducing salt intake by 1 gram each day would reduce sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption by 27 grams per day, after. “If children aged 4 to 18 cut their salt intake by half, there would be a decrease of about two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week per child, so each child would decrease calorie intake by almost 250 kilocalories per week,” Dr He said.
In previous studies, researchers found that a low-salt diet lowers blood pressure in children, and prevents the development of high blood pressure later in life. “Both high blood pressure and obesity increase the risk of having strokes and heart attacks,” Dr He said.
Dr He recommends that parents check labels and choose low-salt food products. “Small reductions in the salt content of 10 to 20 percent cannot be detected by the human salt taste receptors (感受器) and do not cause any technological or safety problems,” Dr He said.According to the passage, obesity is directly linked to ______.
| A．high-salt foods |
| B．sugar-sweetened soft drinks |
| C．high blood pressure |
| D．strokes and heart attacks |
Compared with previous studies, the recent one found that ______.
| A．a lower-salt diet may mean less sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption |
| B．a low-salt diet keeps children out of high blood pressure |
| C．children face the risk of having strokes and heart attacks |
| D．low-salt food products do not do harm to people’s health |
Which of the following statements would Dr He agree to?
| A．The less salt people eat, the healthier people become. |
| B．Children should reduce fluid intake in their daily life. |
| C．No high-salt food products will be available in shops. |
| D．A low-salt diet may prevent both high blood pressure and obesity. |
After reading the passage, who should take effective action?
| A．Children. | B．Parents. | C．Doctors. | D．Researchers. |
A baby ape born in the UK is settling into a new life in a German zoo after flying from Birmingham to Frankfurt – taking a seat in the business class.
The three-month-old male bonobo（倭黑猩猩）, who is going to live with a family of German apes, was considered too young and too weak to travel cargo(货物) class, a spokeswoman for the UK's Twycross Zoo told CNN.
Instead, the tiny ape named Bili checked in for the Lufthansa flight with special travel documents, including a fake passport in the name of "Bili the Bonobo" -- before taking a seat in the plane with a trainer from Frankfurt Zoo, who had flown over to be with him on his unusual journey.
"He was with his keeper all the way to make him feel more comfortable and relaxed, rather than being in a cage," said spokeswoman Kim Riley. "I just wish I'd been there to see the other passengers' faces.They muse have been amazed"
Bonobos are considered particularly intelligent primates(灵长类动物).Sharing 99.6 percent of our DNA, they are the human species' closest relation in the animal world.
Bili was rejected by his mother after falling ill shortly after his birth and has required extensive nursing and medical care.
Zookeepers in Frankfurt hope he can get along with an adult female bonobo which has been trained to raise babies with hands. The zoo's bonobo community will also play with Bili, helping him to master social skills. Bili will spend 30 days alone at the zoo before being introduced to his new family,” Riley said. What is this passage mainly about?
| A．A baby ape takes a flight to his new home in Germany |
| B．A baby ape needs much nursing and medical care |
| C．A baby ape left his mother shortly after his birth |
| D．A baby ape became ill shortly after his birth |
Why was the ape arranged to take a seat in the business class?
| A．Because he didn’t need a plane ticket in the business class |
| B．Because he needed nursing and care all the time |
| C．Because there was no seat left in the cargo class |
| D．Because he was too young and too weak to travel cargo class |
The underlined word “rejected”in paragraph 6 probably means“___”.
| A．looked after |
| B．given up |
| C．locked up |
| D．stared at |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The ape will not be alone in his new home |
| B．The ape doesn’t want to get along well with others |
| C．The ape will be taught to raise babies with his hands |
| D．The ape will be sent to live with his new family immediately he arrives |
Surfing the Internet for fun will make you a better employee, according to an Australian study.
The University of Melbourne study shows that people who use the Internet for their own reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive than those who do not. Study author Brent Coker said, "Surfing the Internet at times helps increase an employee's attention."
"People need to relax for a bit to get back their attention," Coker said on the university's website."Having a short break, such as a quick surfing of the Internet, helps the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total Internet attention for a day's work, and as a result, increases productivity (生产效率)," he said.
According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work surf the Interne t for their own reasons during office hours. Among the most popular surfing activities are searching for information about products, reading online news, playing online games and watching videos. "Firms spend a lot of money on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online," said Coker. "That's not always a good idea."
However, Coker said the study looked at people who surfed the Internet in moderation (适度), orwere on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office. "Those who spend too muchtime surfing the Internet will have a lower productivity than those without." he said. What does the University of Melbourne study mainly show?
| A．People who surf the Internet are good employees. |
| B．Not everyone surfs the Internet for fun during office hours. |
| C．Surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity. |
| D．The Internet is becoming more and more important in people's life. |
According to Paragraph 3, Brent Coker would most probably agree that ______.
| A．the longer a person's mind rests, the better attention he will have |
| B．surfing the Internet is the best way to increase productivity |
| C．workers should have a long break during office hours |
| D．workers should let their minds rest now and then |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as one of the most popular surfing activities?
| A．Watching videos. |
| B．Reading online news. |
| C．Reading online novels. |
| D．Playing online games. |
The underlined word "block" in Paragraph 4 means "______".
| A．prevent |
| B．organize |
| C．keep |
| D．separate |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．Spending too much time surfing the Internet reduces productivity. |
| B．Those who never surf the Internet have the lowest productivity. |
| C．Most people don't surf the Internet in moderation during office hours. |
| D．People should spend as little time as possible surfing the Internet. |