At a psychology conference in England years ago, a woman said to me: “I’ll knock you up in the morning.” I was taken aback by her strange suggestion, but it occurred to me that I might not have understood what she really meant. As it turned out, what she had meant was, “I’ll knock on your door in the morning so that we can meet for breakfast to discuss the panel we’re on.”
This example of the difference in the meaning of “knock you up” in British and American English shows the complicated situations that can result from cultural misunderstandings. A cultural misunderstanding occurs when something — a word, gesture, object, social context, or almost anything you can think of — has a different meaning in two cultures. Sometimes the misunderstandings get resolved, sometimes they lead nowhere, and sometimes they can become the starting point of something much more extreme, from love to war.
Race is one area where cultural misunderstandings are common. We Americans tend to assume that racial categories are biological rather than social, so it may not occur to us that people from other cultures have a different set of racial concepts and classify themselves and us differently. Some African Americans complain that certain immigrants from other countries, such as Haiti or Jamaica, “act as if they aren’t black.” The cultural misunderstanding is that, in the immigrants’ countries of origin, they would never describe themselves as “black”. This doesn’t mean that they think they are white. It just means that their cultures have more categories, like marabou or grimaud in Haiti, or fair or brown in Jamaica, than are used in the United States. Meanwhile, white people in America, unaware of this cultural diversity, sometimes refer to all darker-skinned people as “black” without realizing that an issue exists.
Resolving cultural misunderstandings can clear the air or even lead to laughter. Sometimes, though, when it comes to race, unidentified cultural misunderstandings can create tension, unhappiness and distrust.The main purpose of the first paragraph is to .
| A．show that language misunderstandings would cause big problems |
| B．show the differences between British and American English |
| C．explain in general what cultural misunderstandings are |
| D．introduce the idea of cultural misunderstandings with a story |
The underlined word “resolved” probably means .
| A．complicated | B．settled | C．accepted | D．noticed |
We can learn from the passage that cultural misunderstandings .
| A．mostly come from body language |
| B．are the most serious social problem in the US |
| C．can cause negative feelings among people |
| D．can be cleared up with laughter |
What is the author’s opinion about cultural misunderstandings?
| A．There’s no need to notice racial differences. |
| B．Haitians prefer to be described as fair or brown. |
| C．Cultural misunderstandings based on racial categories may be difficult to spot. |
| D．Americans are especially likely to misunderstand people from other cultures. |
FDA proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more cautious in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe (瓜），and leafy greens.
The long-overdue regulations are aimed at reducing the estimated 3,000 deaths a year from foodbome illness. Just since last summer, outbreaks of listeria (李氏杆菌）in cheese and salmonella(沙门氏菌）in peanut butter, cantaloupe and mangoes have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The actual number of those sickened is likely much higher.
The FDA’s proposed rules would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination (污染）,to include making sure workers5 hands are washed, irrigation (灌溉） water is clean, and that animals stay out of fields. Food manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean.
Many responsible food companies and farmers are already following the steps that the FDA would now require them to take. But officials say the requirements could have saved lives and prevented illnesses in some of the large-scale outbreaks that have hit the country in recent years.
In a 2011 outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe that claimed 33 lives ，for example, FDA inspectors found pools of dirty water on the floor and old, dirty processing equipment at the Colorado farm where the cantaloupes were grown. In a peanut butter outbreak this year linked to 42 salmonella illnesses ，inspectors found samples of salmonella throughout a New Mexico peanut processing plant and multiple obvious safety problems ，such as birds flying over uncovered trucks of peanuts and employees not washing their hands.
Under the new rules, companies would have to lay out plans for preventing those sorts of problems and how they would correct them.
“The rules go very directly to preventing the types of outbreaks we have seen/，said Michael Taylor, FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods.The main task of FDA is probably______
| A．to protect and promote the public health |
| B．to help those sickened recover |
| C．to research on food safety measures |
| D．to deal with water pollution |
According to the passage, the new rules focus on_____.
| A．inspecting the whole process of food production |
| B．improving food processing equipment on farms |
| C．preventing water pollution in food production |
| D．urging food companies to lay out plans |
What does the word “they” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Inspectors. | B．Farmers |
| C．Manufacturers. | D．Workers. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The new regulations should have come into practice earlier. |
| B．The 2011 outbreak of listeria is the most serious ever. |
| C．Farmers and food companies are strongly against the new rules. |
| D．Colorado and New Mexico are worst hit by food pollution. |
DEARAUNTYf
My husband’s niece is 13 and what I would call “a handful”. She wants to stay with us for while, and her mother and grandmother have told me what a great influence I would be on her. Her visit ，no doubt, would bring about a long list of demands’ and she’d want to bring a friend too. I don t feel comfortable hosting her, but I don 3r know how to tell my husband’s family members without hurting their feelings.
-Reluctant Aunt
Dear Reluctant,
Let’s get you out of this mess. Your husband’s family is making a request that borders on a demand and sugarcoating it with self-serving flattery (恭维）• Put your foot down, and tell the truth. Say you don’t feel equipped or comfortable hosting the little darling, and regretfully decline (拒绝).Under no circumstances should you take part in any discussion that attempts to change your mind through flattery.
DEAR AUNTY
have two stepdaughters, 21 and 24. On holidays, the older one always buys me gift but adds her sister’s name on the card. I feel insincere thanking the younger daughter -Vd rather get no gift than be a part of this pretence. Is it tacky (俗气)to ask the 24-year-old to stop giving her sister credit while it isn t deserved? Will the younger one ever learn to be thoughtful?
-Mindful Mum
Dear Mindful,
Lighten up! Your older stepdaughter is a considerate and generous sister who covers for and protects her younger sister. Good for her! The girls’ relationship is between them. As for your role, you can’t punish anyone into being thoughtful. You can, however, model thoughtful behavior. Spend some time with her, and get to know her better.The underlined word “a handful” would probably mean a person who______
| A．is difficult to deal with | B．enjoys making friends |
| C．is easy to get along with | D．gets easily influenced |
AUNTY suggested that Reluctant Aunt______
| A．kindly host the guest |
| B．discuss with her husband |
| C．politely turn down the request |
| D．try to meet all the demands |
Which of the following is TRUE about the second case?
| A．Mindful Mum is very proud of her two step daughters. |
| B．The two stepdaughters always buy Mindful Mum gifts. |
| C．AUNTY thinks the older sister should be punished. |
| D．The older stepdaughter cares for her sister. |
In which section does the passage most probably appear in a magazine?
| A．Entertainment. | B．Advice. | C．Health. | D．Food &Recipes. |
There is no doubt that Apple is well aware of the increased competition in the market and could be in a hurry to put another device out there, said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC Mobile Devices Technology and Trends. Given its history with product launches and business policy, though, Apple probably isn’t going to rush an iPhone release simply to put it on shelves, he said.
“If you’re Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), you’re thinking if you want to pay more attention to how to keep growing that bottom line and keep investors happy, or continue with the same approach from Apple, which is do what we can do and manage products and releases in the best way they can work for us. Apple usually does things in their own time ，and I’m having a hard time buying this May or June timeline.” Llamas told Mac News World.
While it，s probable that Apple is definitely in a testing stage for its next smartphone , consumers likely have a standard wait for the finished product, said Colin Gibbs, analyst at GigaOm Pro.
“It typically takes a year or longer to create a state-of-the-art smartphone, so no one should be surprised Apple is in the testing stages with the next iPhone. And while it’s possible that Apple could launch the next iPhone this spring or summer, I’m not expecting to see it until a little later in the year,” he told Mac News World.
When it does launch, though, it could be in a variety of colors, said Gibbs. “Apple has already tested the waters with releasing colored devices when it revamped(更新，翻新）its iPod line last fall, so it’s not too much of a stretch to believe it would want the new twist with its smartphone, as well”.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the new iPhone becomes available in some new colors，’’ he said. “That could be done pretty cheaply ，and it would give Apple a new marketing angle.”According to Ramon Llamas, Apple always______.
| A．tries to pleases its investors |
| B．does things as planned |
| C．ignores the fierce market competition |
| D．rushes to put new products to market |
As for the next iPhone, Colin Gibbs didn’t mention______
| A．the stage of its being tested |
| B．the rough time of its being released |
| C．the wide variety of its color |
| D．the function to be improved |
What’s Colin Gibbs ，attitude towards the next iPhone?
| A．Disapproving. | B．Casual |
| C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
This passage is presented in the form of______.
| A．stories | B．comments | C．advertisements | D．debates |
Tre’S mom，Christina Thompson, cannot believe how much her son already learned this year in his full-day, free pre-school class in Oklahoma City. “Since he’s been in school his vocabulary has increased surprisingly,” Thompson says. “The other day he came home and said, ‘You know what ，mom? You are being ridiculous，” Thompson laughs quietly. “And then he asked, ‘Do you know what ‘ridiculous’ means, mom?’” Tre knows the entire alphabet, his numbers to 100，and he’s starting to read. And letters and numbers aside, Thompson is most struck by how fast Tre is absorbing vocabulary and language.
Of course, not all pre-school is created equal. High quality pre-schools have well-trained, well-educated teachers in the classroom (much like Tre Thompson’s teacher Mrs. Wallace, who uses play-based learning to teach both academics and social skills and can rattle off (飞快说出） a battery of data on how well her students are progressing towards their year-end goals). Texas can also offer a model for educator development: its Texas School Ready! Campaign has proven to increase the quality of participating pre-schools by providing early childhood teachers with coaching, professional development, research-based curriculum (课程)，and progress monitoring. States and districts should also combine pre-school with the K-12 system, as Oklahoma does ，so that children enter kindergarten smoothly.
Oklahoma is one of the leading states in providing students like Tre with free ，full-day pre-school. And the results are already paying off: According to a 2012 study, Oklahoma kids that went through pre-school showed vocabulary gains 28% higher than those of children without pre-school, and math gains 44% higher than non-pre-school kids. And we know that high-quality pre-school doesn’t just mean higher scores in elementary school. They were more likely to have graduated from high school and less likely to have committed a violent crime. They also earned more money and were more likely to be employed.
We know pre-school works, so let’s stop talking and start building a system where all children have access to excellent early childhood education. As any well-educated four year old could tell us, not doing so would be ridiculous.The case of Tre in the first paragraph serves as the evidence of______.
| A．children’s disrespect towards parents |
| B．the bad performance of students at school |
| C．the positive effect of pre-school on children |
| D．Thompson’s doubt about her son’s education |
At high quality pre-schools, children may learn by______
| A．playing | B．modelling | C．researching | D．monitoring |
It can be inferred that______.
| A．children can not enter kindergarten without pre-school |
| B．Oklahoma is the best state offering full-day pre-school |
| C．all pre-schools have well-trained, well-educated teachers |
| D．kids with pre-school may be better equipped for their future |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Not all pre-school works |
| B．All pre-school is created equal |
| C．We owe our kids universal pre-school |
| D．Pre-school goes well with K-12 system |
Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving(铺砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages. Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts(干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs .
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there’s a lot we can do to lower the number.
You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?
| A．Using river water. | B．Throwing batteries away. |
| C．Paving parking lots. | D．Throwing rubbish into lakes. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．All water shortages are due to human behavior. |
| B．It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs |
| C．There is much we can do to reduce family size. |
| D．The average family in America makes proper use of water. |
The last paragraph is intended to .
| A．show us how to fix leaks at home |
| B．tell us how to run a dishwasher |
| C．prove what drinking glass is best for us |
| D．suggest what we do to save water at home |
The text is mainly about .
| A．how human activity affects our water supply |
| B．how much we depend on water to live |
| C．why droughts occur more in dry climates |
| D．Why paving roads reduces our water |