The 115-year-old prestigious (有名望的)Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like“shanzhai” “youtiao” and “fangnu”, as part of the modern Chinese language.
As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever developing, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet lively language.
For instance, the word “shanzhai” is used to describe the countless knockoffs(名牌仿制品)of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos.
Another new term in the new edition is the word “fangnu”, or a “mortgage slave”—a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities where well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage.
All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English –Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled(公布于众的)in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week.
The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month.This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation.Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China—the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press—worked together on the project.According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary’s chief editor, most of the firm’s editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers.
“We don’t want to make it florid(绚丽的), we want it to be modern and conversational...many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use,” said Kleeman.“The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago...Precise, native and practical—that is our main advantage,” she said.
Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace.The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide.The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready “as soon as possible”, Kleeman said.According to the above passage, we learn that ________
A.knockoffs can be found in China but not very often. |
B.the Oxford University Press made the dictionary without outside aid. |
C.most Chinese editors are also native speakers of English. |
D.well-educated youth in China’s big cities have difficulty buying houses. |
The possible reason why newer publications updates are not available for book versions is that ________.
A.book versions can’t keep up with the changes of language. |
B.the computer network is available everywhere. |
C.book versions can’t offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide. |
D.computer technology like the PC and the iPad keeps pace with language. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.New Chinese terms like “shanzhai” and “fangnu” have got into Oxford Dictionary. |
B.The latest Oxford English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary is on the market. |
C.Oxford Dictionary has become more fashionable due to the Chinese language. |
D.Beijing International Book Fair was where the new Oxford Dictionary was published. |
Mr. Smith is well known in Washington because of his many social blunders. He always likes to attend the various social functions because he wants to expand his circle of friends. Whenever he is invited, he goes, unless he is ill.
Recently he received an invitation to a fashionable banquet. Although he did not know the hostess, he accepted the invitation. He was secretly very pleased, because he felt that his reputation as a desirable guest was growing.
When he arrived at the banquet hall, he found that about one hundred people had been invited. He began to move a-round the hall. He spoke to other guests whether he knew them or not. He soon realized that he had never met any of the other people present, although they seemed to know each other.
At dinner he was seated beside a very dignified woman. The woman tried to be friendly even though she had never met Mr. Smith before. She spoke politely whenever he spoke to her. Between the first and the second course of the meal, she, turned to Mr. Smith and said, “Do you see that gray-haired man at the end of the table? The one with glasses.”
“Ah, yes. Who is he?”
“He’s the Secretary of the Interior!” she replied.
Mr. Smith said, “So that’s the secretary of the Interior! I’ m afraid that I find very little to admire about him, although he is the Secretary.”
The woman stiffened and did not reply. Mr. Smith continued in spite of her coldness. “I really can’t see how he received his appointment unless he is perhaps a relative of the President.”
“It hardly matters whether you like the Secretary or not,” she said. “He was chosen because the President thought he was the man for the job. If he does the job well, you should have no complaint.”
“That’s just it,” persisted Mr. Smith. “No one does the things he does, unless he is a complete fool!”
“Sir!” said the woman in all her dignity. “Do you know who I am?” “No,” replied Mr. Smith.
“I am the Secretary’s wife,” she said coldly. Mr. Smith was shocked, but he went on in spite of his embarrassment. “Madam, do you know who I am?”
“No, I don’t,” the woman replied.
“Thank goodness!” exclaimed Mr. Smith, as he quickly left the table.Why is Mr. Smith well known in Washington?
A.He’s the Secretary of the Interior. |
B.He has more friends than other people. |
C.He always makes foolish mistakes on social occasions. |
D.He likes to go to all kinds of parties. |
At dinner he was seated beside a very dignified woman. The underlined part means ________.
A.beautiful | B.serious | C.noble | D.kind-hearted |
When Mr. Smith learned that the woman didn’t know who he was, he felt ________.
A.shocked | B.worried | C.embarrassed | D.relieved |
"I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back." Lucien Lawence’s letter to Father Christmas written after his father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched every heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those whom we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.
But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father is there too, in your mind and in your heart. I find that my parents, long dead now, still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself, that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all mother said was, "I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children.” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.
It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors (挑衅者),and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, one to give me pause.
I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet "Deliver my soul from the sword, and my darling from the power of the dog." Yet I know the death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live forever, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today. according to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ________.
A.puts forward the subject of the text |
B.shows the author’s pity on the kid |
C.acts as an introduction to the discussion |
D.makes a clear statement of the author’s views |
In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us ________.
A.how much he misses his parents now |
B.why his parents often appear in his dreams |
C.when Lucien will get over all his sadness |
D.how proud he was when he succeeded in life |
What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?
A.Proud. | B.Happy. | C.Disappointed. | D.Worried. |
In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is ________.
A.to leave behind a precious memory to the people related |
B.to have a high sense of duty to the whole society |
C.to care what others will remember and treasure |
D.to share happiness and sadness with his family |
What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?
A.Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns. |
B.Advise parents stay with their children safely at home. |
C.Spend every day meaningfully in memory of the death. |
D.Try to keep violence and murder far away from society. |
We often use the words “growth” and “development” as if they meant basically the same thing. But this may not always be the case. One can easily imagine instances in which a country has achieved higher levels of income (growth) with little or no benefit coming to most of its citizens (development).
In the past, most development policies were aimed at increasing the growth rate of income per capita (人均所得). Many are still based on the theory that benefit of economic growth will come to all members of society. If this theory is correct, growth should encourage development.
By the early 1970s, however, the relationship between growth and development was being questioned. A major study by the World Bank in 1974 concluded that it is now clear that more than decades of rapid growth in developing countries has been of little benefit to & third of their population.
The World Bank study showed that increase in GNP per capita did not promise important improvements in such development indicators as nutrition (营养), health, and education. Although GNP per capita did indeed rise, its benefit came down to only a small part of the population. This realization gives rise to a call for new development policies. These new policies favor agriculture over industry, call for national redistribution (资源分配) of income and wealth, and encourage programs to satisfy such basic needs as food and shelter.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s the international macroeconomic crises (大规模的经济危机) of high oil prices, worldwide recession (衰退) and the third world debt, forced attention away from programs designed to get rid of poverty. however, the lesson remains: economic growth does not promise economic development. Efforts may be required to change growing output capacity (能力) into economic benefit that reach most of a nation’s people. What do we learn from the first paragraph about the relationship between growth and development?
A.Growth and development refer to the same thing. |
B.Growth always brings about development. |
C.Development is not a necessary result of growth. |
D.Development is a reliable measure of growth. |
Before the 1970s, most development policies were based on theory that economic growth would benefit ________.
A.most people in society | B.some people in society |
C.few people in society | D.everyone in society |
according to the study by the World Bank in 1974, economic growth in some backward countries brought ________.
A. benefit to a third of their population
B. benefit to two thirds of their population
C little benefit to their people
D. no benefit at all to their peopleIf the passage continues, what would the author most likely discuss in the next paragraph?
A.How to turn growth into development. |
B.How to remove poverty from society. |
C.How to decrease the third world debt. |
D.How to cope with economic crises. |
Having one of those days or weeks — when everything seems to annoy you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster — often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster. A person who’s in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we’ve had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what’s on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you’ve been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. ("I still don’t have a job. "vs" I have two interviews next week.")
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren’t. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to against distress is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options(选择权) By taking control over certain areas, you realize you’re not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won’t improve your mood
TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate your mind something — that the TV show "Neighbors" won’t do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them. We learn from the text that it might help rid us of a bad mood ________.
A.to do nothing about it |
B.to take a long walk on the beach |
C.to do some exercises with light music |
D.to talk it to neighbours |
Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?
A.It is not complicated to do so. |
B.It is an area to be easily controlled. |
C.It helps beat a bad mood. |
D.It brings us a new technique. |
TV may not improve your mood because ________.
A.it sometimes shows what happens around you |
B.it keeps you stay unmoved |
C.it reminds you of eating and drinking |
D.it produces a calming effect |
This text most probably appears in ________.
A.a book on physical exercises | B.a doctor’s handbook |
C.a notice | D.a magazine |
In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches.
In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates (应试者) for the doctor’s degree.
Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.
One type of test is sometimes called an “objective” test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series (一系列)of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly.
4. The main idea of Paragraph Three is that ________.
A. workers now take examinations B. the population has grown
C. there are only written exams today D. examinations are now written and timed
5. The kind of exams where students must select answers are
A. objective B. personal
C. spoken D. written
6. Modem industry must have developed ________.
A. around the 19th century B. before the Middle Ages
C. in Greece or Rome D. machines to take tests
7. It may be concluded that testing ________.
A. should test only opinions B. should always be written
C. is given only in factories D. has changed since the Middle Ages