BELJLNG-Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.
Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.
Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.
The municipal（市政）office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English, “an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said .” Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory .“ It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.
Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent.The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi(steamed stuffed bun ) and jiaozi (dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.
“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year – old employe with a Beijing- based travel agency.
“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.
It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo. com, China’s most popular microblogging site. What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing. |
| B．Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes |
| C．Chinese dishes to have “official” English names |
| D．The effort to bridge the culture gap |
“chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show .
| A．some Chinese dishes are not well received |
| B．some Chinese dishes are hard to translate |
| C．some Chinese dishes are mistranslated |
| D．some Chinese dishes are not acceptable |
What measure has the municipal office taken?
| A．Recommending a book on Chinese dishes |
| B．Advocating using precise translation for Chinese dishes |
| C．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits |
| D．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes |
What’s the meaning of daunting in paragraph 5?
| A．confusing | B．disappointing | C．discouraging | D．worthwhile |
What’s the attitude of most people to the book according to the passage?
| A．not clear | B．excited | C．favorable | D．divided |
If you're wondering what the top things people do on their Hawaii vacations (besides enjoying the magnificent Hawaii beaches)，look on further.
Whether you're here to see an incredible Hawaii volcano or you want to laze on a beach at a top resort in Kona , Hawaii, knowing ahead of time what you want to do will help you make the most of your trip to Hawaii.
Volcanoes National Park
Most visitors to Hawaii want to see lava from an active Hawaii volcano, and the big island does not disappoint when it comes to this. Spreading out over333,000 acres, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park takes up a large portion on the southern part of the Big Island. Mauna Loa, rising at 13,677 feet, is easily the largest dormant volcano in the world. Kilauea volcano is where you can see the lava flows (溶岩流）and terrible volcanic landscapes. You can spend days hiking and camping in the Hawaii volcano park, since over half of it is set aside as wilderness. Kona Coast
The Kona coast, on the west side of the Big Island，is home to the top resorts on the big island and the popular Kona vacation rentals. The Kona ar-ea enjoys great weather all year round, in addition to other activities like deep-sea fishing and snorkeling ,making this a popular place for Hawaii beaches. You can also take a tour of the coffee farms that produce the world famous Kona coffee, which is organic and all natural. Kona vacation rentals are popular because many of these look out over the Pacific Ocean, and are close to excellent beaches. Whether your Hawaii vacation includes Hawaii beaches, staying at a resort or booking one of the Kona vacation rentals, this area is one of the best of all islands to stay. Iao Valley
Iao Valley's beauty has inspired Hawaiians to gather here to honor the agriculture god, Lono , during an annual festival called the Makahiki festival. For over a hundred years visitors have been coming to the valley to enjoy the scenic beauty of this lush (青葱的）valley. There are trails in the park, so you can see the best scenery of the cloud-covered valley. These clouds have a lot to do with the shape of the valley, since these feed the streams that carved the shape of the Lao Valley. The best title for this passage is __________.
| A．Things to do in Hawaii |
| B．Rich tourism resources in Hawaii |
| C．Hawaii's charming beauty |
| D．Wandering in Hawaii |
This passage is meant for __________
| A．American students |
| B．potential travelers |
| C．local residents |
| D．geographer |
We can guess the meaning of "organic” is __________
| A．man-made |
| B．green |
| C．chemical |
| D．animal |
We can read this passage from __________ in a newspaper.
| A．a tour edition |
| B．a sport edition |
| C．a social life edition |
| D．a science and technology edition |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of the country. If tourists create too much traffic ,the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country's economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabit-ants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country's economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism ,people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, first-class roads, and other support facilities (配套设施）needed by tourist attractions. For example，a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel will lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many other support facilities as well，including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers (下水道）to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost. Which of the following do you think has been discussed in the part before this selection?
| A．It is extremely important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is important. |
| C．Support facilities are highly necessary. |
| D．Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
The underlined word “inhabitants” (in Paragraph1) probably means “__________”
| A．citizens |
| B．passengers |
| C．population |
| D．tourists |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT __________
| A．a bad effect on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists' customs |
| C．over - crowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
It can be inferred from the text that __________.
| A．the author doesn't like tourism developing so fast |
| B．local people will benefit from tourist attractions |
| C．other parts of a country's economy won't benefit from tourism much |
| D．we can't build too many support facilities |
Host in Toronto, Canada
By ： Mabel <Show &Mail>
Date： 18 June ,2009
Hi, I have a room to share in my 3-bedroom house. 2 oriental females living in the house. The room is furnished with bed and mattress, a computer table and a closet. Cable and Internet not included in the rent but available if needed. If you are looking for a family style living in a safe environment, this is the right place. Close to subway, 15 minutes to downtown Toronto, grocery and restaurants. Available June 18 .
Host Edmonton, Alberta, Canada By ： Frank <Show E-Mail>
Date： 18 June ,2009
Hi! After having taught ESL for 12 years in Seoul, Korea ( Sangmyung University) and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ( AUSP，ILA) , we would like to invite students and business people to share our home in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Please visit our website http://www. Whitley -homestay . com.
Contact us for more information. We would do our best to make your homestay as pleasant as possible. Hope to hear from you soon.
Take care,
Frank, Uyen and Jennife
Host in Toronto, Ontario
By： Hoang〈Show E-Mail〉
Date： 15 June, 2009
$ 500 Shared Accommodation available at Keels St / Teston Rd. Includes Internet and Cable Television. Option with Room and Board for $ 800. Loca-tion great for York University Students or Seneca College in King City. Contact 416-520-9502.
Maple Ridge, BC
By ： Cindi & David Holt <Show E-Mail>
Date： 17 June, 2009
Hi! We are the Holt Family. We are currently looking for a homestay that would like to attend Maple Ridge College or Thomas Haney Secondary School. We are a large family of 6 that would like to open our doors to someone that is looking to stay. Room and board, breakfast, lunch and dinner included. $ 700 per month. We are a fun, loving family. We live on 5 acres. Have an above-ground pool and live 5 minutes from a lake. It is quiet in a country setting. I can drive to school and sometimes home but there is a community bus that my children always take as they are very independent and go with their friends. If you are interested ,contact me. Which has told the shared price?
| A．Mabel and Frank. |
| B．Frank and Cindi. |
| C．Hoang and Cindi. |
| D．Mabel and Hoang. |
Which will Betty choose if she enjoys swimming?
| A．Mabel. |
| B．Frank. |
| C．Hoang. |
| D．Cindi. |
Where can we find this information?
| A．In a magazine. |
| B．In a newspaper. |
| C．On a website. |
| D．In a house agency. |
Why Melbourne? Having long lived in the shadow of Sydney，Melbourne has become a wonderful place for fashion and design and the cultural centre of Aus-tralia, with an enjoyable program of festivals.
What to see? The city centre's grid (格子）system of streets hides a maze (迷宫）of lanes and turn -of-the -century arcades where you will find the best cafes, bars and shops. The Hidden Secrets Tour(00 613 9329 9665, hiddensecretstour. com ) guides will make sure you find what you're after, whether it's fashion, art and design or wine. From £ 34 per person.
Where to eat? Melbourne is a paradise for those who enjoy eating delicious food, and its top chefs use fresh produce and have a talent for the experimental. But for something different, enjoy yourself with an Australian Wine Tour Company trip. Departing from the city centre daily，you'll taste wines at four of the region's best vineyards (葡萄园）. It costs £ 48 per person, including all wine tasting, lunch and a visit to Domaine Chandon (00 613 9419 4444, austwine -tourco. com. au).
Where to stay? The Nunnery is an old convent (修道院）on the edge of the city. It has double rooms with breakfast from £54 per night (00 613 94198637, nunnery, com. au).
How to get there? Qantas (0845 7747 767，qantas . com. au) flies from Heathrow to Melbourne twice daily from £ 766 return, including taxes.
More information： Contact the official tourism site for Melbourne at visitmelbourne . com/uk.
Use the links below for more on.
Destination guide： Melbourne.
Click here for our Melbourne page.
48 hours in Melbourne. Why is Melbourne a popular destination for Australians?
| A．Because it's the most important city. |
| B．Because it's well-known for festivals. |
| C．Because it is a cultural centre in Australia. |
| D．Because it attracts lots of religious followers. |
To get more information about Hidden Secrets Tour, you should call __________.
| A．00 613 9329 9665 |
| B．00 613 9419 4444 |
| C．00 13 9419 8637 |
| D．0845 7747 767 |
If you are interested in tasting Australian wines ,you have to pay __________.
| A．£34 |
| B．£48 |
| C．£54 |
| D．£76 |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To tell readers how to travel in Australia. |
| B．To inform readers about what to see in Melbourne. |
| C．To introduce the history and culture about Australia. |
| D．To offer tourists some information about Melbourne. |
Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday. Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns instead of hotels. They get a room for the night and the break-fast the next morning.
Rooms for the night in private (私人的）homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five to ten years ,these bed - and - breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these America's bed-and - breakfast inns are old historic buildings. Some bed - and - breakfast inns have only a few rooms； others are much larger. Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms； others do.
Staying at a bed - and - breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much less. Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone's home. The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit. Many vacationers say they enjoy the chance to meet local families. Americans take a holiday trip __________.
| A．all the year round |
| B．for years |
| C．every year |
| D．every other year |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Some Americans like to stay at bed - and -breakfast homes instead of hotels. |
| B．The bed - and - breakfast inns are private homes opened to vacationers. |
| C．The bed - and - breakfast inns have been popular in America for a very long time. |
| D．The bed - and - breakfast inn owners provide a morning meal for their visitors and a room for the night. |
Why do American travelers prefer staying at bed - and - breakfast inns?
| A．It is like visiting someone's home. |
| B．The money they spend there is much less. |
| C．They can meet local families. |
| D．All of the above. |
Staying at the bed - and -breakfast inns, __________.
| A．the travelers needn't pay anything |
| B．the travelers don't have to pay for the telephone or television |
| C．the travelers can meet and talk with the local people |
| D．the owners will show the travelers around the area |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．European and American vacationers like staying at bed - and -breakfast inns. |
| B．All Americans enjoy traveling. |
| C．These bed -and -breakfast inns are all old historic buildings. |
| D．Staying at a bed -and -breakfast inn is just like at the traveler's home. |