The way we do things round here
Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" saddened me. I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else." Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly".
So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures（文化）．
Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate（气候），while getting on with business.
Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality（准时）．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought______．
| A．the American bank didn't think much of him |
| B．the American bank might hire another person |
| C．it's difficult to get used to American culture |
| D．it's easy to misunderstand Americans |
The word "highlights" in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．encourages | B．helps to narrow |
| C．increases | D．draws attention to |
According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?
| A．Ask the native people for help. |
| B．Understand and accept them. |
| C．Do things in our own way. |
| D．Do in-depth research. |
When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are______.
| A．Italians | B．Germans | C．Greeks | D．the British |
Jean is a bright young woman who comes from a rich and famous family. She goes to a good university and has everything that money can buy. Well, almost everything. The problem is that Jean’s family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her. In fact, Jean is quite lonely. So Jean spends a lot of time on her QQ. She likes being anonymous, talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life. She uses the name Linda on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she keeps in touch with quite often.
Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ. His name was David and lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had a common interest in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot their time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David sent a picture of himself: He was a tall , good looking young man with big , happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.
When Jean’s father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite rock singer. But when she knocked on David’s door in San Francisco, she found that her special friend was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim!Jean spends a lot of her time on QQ because she is _________.
| A．rich | B．young | C．lonely | D．a bad student |
Jean thought “David” was special because he _________.
| A．made her quite happy on QQ | B．was from San Francisco |
| C．was tall and good-looking | D．was rich |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Don’t believe those you get to know on QQ so easily |
| B．People don’t use their real names on QQ so often |
| C．Don’t go to meet those you get to know on QQ |
| D．Don’t spend much time on QQ |
If you want to be a volunteer, you have to answer the following typical questions. Do you want to work with people, animals or machines? Do you want to work indoors or outdoors, directly serve people in need or serve people behind the scenes? Every year, thousands of people in the west offer volunteer service. Volunteering greatly strengthens the community because it helps the old, the young, the weak, the sick, and the disabled and the injured to solve problems.
Volunteers usually help in many different ways. They may give people advice, offer friendship to the young, drive the elderly to church (if up to the driving age), advise kids against drugs, work as assistants in schools or nursing homes, raise funds, plant trees, help out in local libraries and do many other things. Volunteering can be a few hours a week or a few hours a month. Anybody who wants to serve people in need can become a volunteer.
In fact, the art of volunteering is a process of both giving and receiving. Volunteering allows volunteers to meet new people, make new friends and mix with people from all walks of life. Volunteering is an excellent way to experiment and try out new techniques and skills, discover your individual talents and explore career choice. Being a volunteer will take you on a wonderful journey and help you learn more than what you can get from books.As a volunteer, only when you grow old enough can you _______.
| A．plant trees on hills | B．drive the elderly to church |
| C．give advice to others | D．help out in local libraries |
How is the second paragraph mainly developed?
| A．By listing examples. | B．By comparing. |
| C．By giving explanations. | D．By discussing. |
It can be inferred from the passage that to be a volunteer, _______.
| A．you can do experiments |
| B．you must be very strong |
| C．you need to work very long |
| D．you can get something valuable |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．How to hunt for jobs |
| B．Volunteer service in the west |
| C．How to make friends |
| D．How to work with animals |
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. She decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
| A．She couldn’t get admitted to medical school |
| B．She decided to further her education in Paris |
| C．A serious eye problem stopped her |
| D．It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States |
How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?
| A．Eight years | B．Ten years |
| C．Nineteen years | D．Thirty-six years |
According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blackwell, except that she ______.
| A．became the first woman physician |
| B．was the first woman doctor |
| C．and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children |
| D．set up the first medical school for women |
The man sitting opposite Robert was the Financial Controller. Everybody called him “the FC” for short. He made all the decisions about money. Robert needed some more. That was why he had to see him. The two men did not get on very well. In fact, they had always disliked each other.
“Your request is out of the question,” the FC said. Robert had difficulty in controlling himself, but he managed somehow. He explained that he wanted the money in order to make more programmes.
“And why do you want to do that?” the FC asked sharply. Again, Robert almost lost his temper. “Because more and more people are listening to my department’s programmes. There’s great demand for them,” he answered.
The FC did not seem to believe him. But Robert had a report on the numbers of listeners to all EBC programmes. The FC became less confident. Robert threw the report down on the table and told him to read it.
The FC looked at it in silence. The figures proved that he had been wrong, but he did not want to admit it. “Well,”he finally said, “I may have made a small mistake.”Robert noticed the word “may.” He got up to leave. But he had the feeling that he would get the money after all. “Your request is out of the question.”Here “out of the question”means______.
| A．without any question | B．with some question. |
| C．impossible. | D．possible. |
Robert decided to make more programmes because________.
| A．he wanted to meet the needs of the listeners. |
| B．“the FC”disliked him |
| C．the members of his department wanted him to do so. |
| D．he wanted to show himself off. |
Why were more and more people listening to Robert’s programmes?
A. Because he always lost his temper.
B. Because he disliked “the FC.”
C. Because the programmes were rich and to the taste of the listeners.
D. It isn’t mentioned directly in the text..Who do you think won the argument in the end?
| A．The Financial Controller. | B．Robert. |
| C．Nobody. | D．The listeners. |
Baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time.
Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700’s has also become popular in the United States.
For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided , and perfume was often used to cover up body smells!
By the 1700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became common.
In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “The Great Unwashed!” In one American city , for example, a person was only allowed to take a bath every thirty days! That was a law!
Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health, Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bathe once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential to good health.A water system for baths was built by _______ over 3,000 years ago.
| A．the Romans | B．the Greeks |
| C．the Americans | D．the Europeans |
Dirty bodies can_______.
| A．ruin one’s business | B．cause disease |
| C．drive customers away | D．cause good health |
In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was_______.
| A．unimportant | B．good for health |
| C．harmful | D．important |
The underlined word perfume probably means________.
| A．a sweet smelling substance | B．good health |
| C．a strange smelling substance | D．large wealth |