When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously , did not give her good service , pretended not to understand her , or even acted as if they did not hear her .
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan..”
And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week lone.”
And then, in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.From Paragorph 2, we know that the author was .
| A.good at pretending | B.rude to the stockbroker |
| C.unwilling to phone for her mother | D.ready to help her mother |
After the author made the phone call, .
| A.they forgave the stockbroker | B.they went to New York immediately |
| C.they failed to get the check | D.they spoke to their boss at once |
What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
| A.It confuses her. | B.It embarrasses her. |
| C.It helps her tolerate rude people. | D.It helps her understand the world. |
We can inter from the passage that Chinese English .


| A.is clear and natural to non-native speakers |
| B.is vivid and direct to non-native speakers |
| C.may bring inconvenience in America |
| D.has a very bad reputation in America |
We’re always looking for well-written reviews of books, music, movies, television shows, websites, video games and other products. When writing a review, concentrate on exactly what you liked or didn’t like. Give examples of strengths and weaknesses, be descriptive and provide background information on an author, director, actor or musician, if possible. Find professional reviews in magazines or newspapers and see how reviewers deal with their topic, but be sure to express your own voice in your review.
Grammar Hint for Reviews: When describing a book, movie, album or anything else, use the present tense.
Book Reviews
Discuss an author’s technique, strengths and weaknesses instead of focusing on the plot. Does the story flow? Is there a strong sense of character and place? Did you stay up until dawn to finish it? Is it good reading for teenagers? What influence did it have on you and why? If you’ve read other books by the same author, discuss how this book compares.
Movie Reviews
Think of the major Oscar categories and consider the performances, music, lighting and setting, etc. Do these work together? Did some hold up while others didn’t? If the movie is based on a book, discuss whether one is better than the other and why. If the movie is a remake, compare the film to its original.
Remember that a well-written movie review should discuss strengths and weaknesses. Some readers may not have seen a movie yet, so don’t give away an exciting scene or the ending!
College Reviews
Begin by providing an overview of the college, including location, size and a description of the campus and/or dorm life. Think about all aspects of your college visit. What academic, athletic and after-class programs are available? What are the students like? What makes the college different from others? Every school has strengths and weaknesses. Be objective. Consider what the school has to offer and who might enjoy or benefit the most from attending there.When writing a review, you ________.
| A.cannot refer to any previous review |
| B.must express your own views and opinions |
| C.must provide some information about the author |
| D.needn’t give any examples to support your views |
Which aspects should be included in all three reviews?
| A.Strengths and weaknesses. | B.Plot and character. |
| C.Programs and scenes. | D.Location and description. |
Where can you probably find the passage?
| A.In a personal diary. |
| B.In an official report. |
| C.In a tourist guidebook. |
| D.In a popular magazine. |
One morning when I was 11, I explored the town’s abandoned round grain barn(谷仓). I found a chained sliding door that was wide enough for me to pass through.
Inside, there was a heavy smell of dead mice in the dark. After my eyes adjusted, I noticed a shaft (升降机井) that rose all the way to the top of the barn. On one side was a one-man elevator with a long rope and roller.
I stepped onto the platform and gave the rope a drag and the elevator began sliding up the shaft, but stopped halfway. After a brief panic attack, I noticed holes in the wall at regular intervals, forming a ladder. For reasons known only to an 11-year-old, I decided it would be better to go up than down. So, with shaking hands, I began climbing the wall.
After what seemed like forever, I reached the top of the shaft. I stood up, dusted myself off and found…absolutely nothing of interest. It was just an empty room with a ladder leading up to the roof. I climbed all the way up here for this? Then I noticed a fire extinguisher(灭火器),which I’d always wanted to shoot off. So this was the chance of a lifetime. I tried it, and, much to my surprise, the thing worked! It shot out a thick cloud of powder that instantly filled the room. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to choke to death, and they’d probably never even find my body.
Luckily, I remembered the ladder to the roof. I climbed up, popped the straw roof and saw a bright blue sky.
I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw attention. So when the dust had settled, I climbed down and slipped out of the chained door. I’m not sure if I was more excited about being alive or about not being caught, but I ran all the way back home.When the author got inside the barn, he _______.
| A.noticed a man on the elevator |
| B.opened the chained sliding door |
| C.saw many dead mice in the dark |
| D.found a shaft leading to the top |
Which of the following is the right order of the author’s adventure?
a. The elevator stopped halfway.
b. He entered the round grain barn.
c. He climbed to the top of the shaft.
d. He found a fire extinguisher and shot it off.
| A.b-a-c-d | B.b-c-a-d |
| C.b-a-d-c | D.b-c-a-d |
After getting out of the chained door, the author might feel _______.
| A.inspired | B.relieved |
| C.surprised | D.disappointed |
From the passage, we can learn that the author was probably a boy full of _______.
| A.passions | B.dreams |
| C.curiosity | D.imagination |
A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual(体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _________.
| A.people feel painful to mention their fathers as laborers |
| B.people can always rise to the top through their won efforts |
| C.college professors win great respect from common workers |
| D.people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man |
According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _________.
| A.servants in American are hard to get |
| B.she takes pride in what she can do herself |
| C.she can hardly afford servants |
| D.It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food |
The expression “wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_________”.
| A.wait to lay the table |
| B.keep accounts for a bar |
| C.serve customers in a restaurant |
| D.work in a furniture shop |
Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?
| A.American Attitude toward Manual Labor |
| B.A Respectable Self-made Family |
| C.Characteristics of American Culture |
| D.The Development of Manual Labor |
For a long time the packaging industry has been attacked for using what is thought as large amounts of packaging, choosing materials which are felt to have high impacts on the environment, and for being responsible for littering and overflowing land fills. In a study performed by WRAP, one of the first to study food waste in the UK in 2012, the most frequent responses when consumers were asked about packaging were “uses too much material” and “bad for the environment”. The conclusions of these reports highlighted that the degree of the problem has been largely underestimated:at least 30% of food produced in the world is wasted. These figures are similar no matter if you are in the developed or developing world.
However, two publications from cross—industry work groups were published recently, and have managed to reset the discussion to take into account the benefits of packaging for sustainability(可持续性).The first publication, “The Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability”, describes an agreed common approach towards measuring packaging sustainability metrics(指标), so that the industry is not competing based on the definition of a metric, but rather competing based on performance. The second was, “'Packaging in the Sustainability Agenda, A Guide for Corporate Decision Makers”, which highlighted the contributions of packaging to the three aspects of sustainability: packaging protects products and prevents waste(environmental aspect); packaging enables efficient business conduct(economic aspect); and packaging provides consumers with the benefits of the products it contains(social aspect).
Packaging performs indeed a wide variety of functions throughout the value chain and contributes to reducing food waste by protecting ingredients(佐料)and products during transportation and by delivering family—sized packages. Food waste could be avoided for single households if they are provided with the choice of pack sizes meeting their consumption patterns and are not forced to buy larger packs that they may not be able to finish before the use—by date. Despite the fact that smaller sized packs use more packaging, the fact that food waste is reduced would nevertheless decrease overall environmental impacts of the packed product.It has long been thought that _______.
| A.larger quantities of food are wasted in developed countries |
| B.WRAP is the first authority to study food waste in UK |
| C.packaging does great harm to the environment |
| D.packaging offers a powerful means to reduce food waste |
According to the two publications in Paragraph 2,_______.
| A.an agreement should be reached on measuring packaging sustainability |
| B.the industry should compete based on the definition of sustainability metrics |
| C.smaller sized packs promotes less packaging and purchase among consumers |
| D.sustainable packaging is eco-friendly,economically practical and socially beneficial |
The author’s attitude towards packaging is ___________.
| A.approving | B.negative |
| C.casual | D.doubtful |
If you’re travelling in the following cities, these exciting events may drag you out of the house.
CONCERTS
Mayday Noah’s Ark World Tour
Info: Jul 13, Xiamen; Jul 19/20, Shanghai; Aug 3, Shenzhen; Aug 17, Beijing
The rock band Mayday is about to bring their attractive tour to an end — and, as usual, it's going to happen in a grand way. On Aug 17, they will rock the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest Stadium, and hold their last Noah’s(诺亚方舟) Ark concert in China, before heading to Europe in September.
Tanya Chua 2013 Concert Tour
Info: Aug 10, Shanghai; Aug 31, Beijing
In her music career of more than 15 years, the 38-year-old Singaporean singer-songwriter has never been short of popular songs that astonish the heart. Now, for the first time since 2008, when she played a small Christmas concert in Shanghai, Chua is visiting China as part of a concert tour.
THEATER
What is Success?
Director: Edward Lam
Performers: Chu Hung-chang, Ethan Wei, Shi Yi-hsiu
Info: Aug 9-10, Guangzhou; Aug 16-17, Chongqing; Aug 29-Sept 1, Beijing
In Part Three of Edward Lam’s Four Great Classics Series, which looks back at Luo Guanzhong’s novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is sure to give you a surprise. Will it be true? Find out for yourself!
To Live
Director: Meng Jinghui
Performers: Huang Bo, Yuan Quan
Info: Jul 30-Aug 4, Beijing; Aug 6-7, Tianjin; Aug 9-11, Hangzhou; Aug 13-18, Shanghai
After their world show in September, theater director Meng Jinghui and his team are back for another tour around China. While audiences can renew their memories of Yu Hua’s new realism works, film stars Huang Bo and Yuan Quan will also impress audiences with their excellent performance.
EXHIBITIONS
Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal(永恒)
Info: Apr 29-Jul 28, Shanghai
Launched in 2012 — the 25th anniversary of the pop artist Andy Warhol's death — the exhibition brings the largest ever collection of Warhol’s work to Asia. It includes more than 300 paintings, photographs, drawings and 3-D art, including his works such as Marilyn Monroe, Mao, Campbell’s Soup and Self-Portrait.You may find the above advertisements ____.
| A.in a store window | B.in a school magazine |
| C.in a newspaper | D.on a company notice-board |
The rock band Mayday is going to give concerts in ____ after they perform in Beijing.
| A.Australia | B.Japan |
| C.Europe | D.the USA |
Tanya Chua 2013 Concert Tour is her ____ concert in China.
| A.first | B.second | C.third | D.fourth |
The main purpose of the advertisements is to tell you ____ when you are in these cities.
| A.how to enjoy these activities |
| B.how to improve your artistic level |
| C.how to amuse yourselves |
| D.what to enjoy |