Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.
It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs.
| A．teaching people how to give a speech |
| B．calling on people to protect the environment |
| C．giving a singing show in public |
| D．criticizing the US government |
| A．会唱歌的人 | B．真诚的人 | C．虚伪的人 | D．爱护环境的人 |
| A．many US people like to laugh at others |
| B．many US people are friendly and humorous |
| C．the US people get angry at others easily |
| D．the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak |
| A．The writer went to America and protect the environment. |
| B．Americans show humour in a different way from China. |
| C．It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place. |
| D．Tailor Swift is an American famous singer. |
| A．Differences between the Chinese and the US people. |
| B．In what way the US people speak in public. |
| C．How to get used to life in the US. |
| D．A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US. |
Chinese are very generous (慷慨) when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. However what most parents fail to realize is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Cooking demands (要求)patience and time. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking. so he will learn to work hard and gradually(逐渐), finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.Parents in China, according to this passage,_______.
| A．are too strict with their children |
| B．are too rich to educate their children |
| C．have some problems in educating their children correctly |
| D．are too poor to educate their children |
Generally speaking, what most parents fail to realize is_____.
| A．that their children need to take extra-course activities |
| B．that the more expensive an education is, the better it is |
| C．that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence |
| D． that their children first need to be a good cook if they want to get good marks in the exams |
The writer of the passage does not seem to be satisfied with_____.
| A．the parents' ideas of educating their children |
| B．the education system |
| C．children's skills |
| D．children's hobbies |
Doing some cooking at home helps children_____. ,
| A．learn how to serve their parents |
| B．learn how to become strong and fat |
| C．benefit (受益)from it and prepare themselves for the future |
| D．make their parents believe that they are clever |
According to the last paragraph we can conclude that____.
| A．broken radios and television sets are useful |
| B．one’s curiosity may be useful for his later life. |
| C．an engineer must fix many broken radios. |
| D．a good student should spend much time repairing radios |
Two old men lived in a room on the third floor of an old people’s home. Both men were very old and badly ill, and they spent 24 hours a day in bed in the room.
Luckily, one of the old men had his bed by the window, and every day he spent hours telling his friend far from the window what he could see through the window. He told him about the traffic going by, the children playing in the park opposite, and the birds flying in trees. The old man far from the window got a lot of pleasure from hearing about the world outside, but after a time he began to get rather unhappy. How nice it would be, he thought, if he had the bed by the window and could see everything for him, instead of just hearing about it.
One night, the man by the window called to his friend, “Quick! Pull the alarm by your bed; I don’t think I can get through the night!” But his friends, expecting an empty bed by the window, did nothing---he just closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
The next morning, the nurse found the man dead in his bed by the window.
The old man was very excited as they moved him into the empty bed by the window. He sat up in bed, pulled back the curtain, looked out --- and saw only a wall.Who do you think was kind in the story?
| A．The old man by the window. |
| B．The old man far from the window. |
| C．Both of the men. |
| D．Neither of the men. |
The old man didn’t pull the alarm by the bed because _________.
| A．he was too weak to do it. |
| B．he had fallen into a deep sleep. |
| C．he didn’t hear what the other man asked to do |
| D．he wanted to move to the bed by the window. |
The old man by the window thought _______that night when he asked his friend for help.
| A．he wouldn’t die | B．he would die | C．he couldn’t sleep | D．he could sleep |
In fact, there was ___ outside the window.
| A．a garden | B．a park | C．a wall | D．a picture |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the story?
| A．The two old men weren’t badly ill. |
| B．The living old man knew the truth. |
| C．The nurse didn’t look after the old man carefully. |
| D．The old man by the window could see a lot through the window. |
Chinatown is the name given to an area in the middle of London. It is just between Leicester Square and Shaftsbury Avenue. Gerrard Street is at the center and is the most important street in the area. There is a large Chinese community (社区) with a lot of Chinese restaurants, Chinese supermarkets and shops in this street.
In the 1950s, it was a poor area and everything was very cheap. At the same time, the world rice market changed and thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs. They began arriving in London to look for work. They found jobs in the restaurants in this area. Many British (英国的) people like Chinese food, and the restaurants were popular.
These restaurant workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time to learn English. As more Chinese arrived, more shops and businesses grew up. Wives came and joined their husbands, and children came and joined their fathers. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.
In the 1970s and 1980s, British-born Chinese started to have a better education and this brought economic (经济的) success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown, and there was more space for businesses. Gerrard Street became a street only for visitors and was soon a popular place for tourists.
Now everyone knows about London’s Chinatown. During the Chinese New Year, the streets are seen with national flags and thousands of Chinese go into the streets. For most of the year, though, Londoners and tourists go there mainly for the food in the Chinese restaurants. The best restaurants are the ones where the Chinese eat.Is this Chinatown in the middle of London?
_______________________________________________________How was the area in the 1950s?
_______________________________________________________ Why did the restaurant workers have no time to learn English?
_______________________________________________________When did British-born Chinese start to have a better education?
_______________________________________________________What is the topic of this article?
_______________________________________________________
One morning, a blind boy sat beside a building with a hat by his feet. He held a sign which said, “I am blind. Please help me.”
There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognizedhis footsteps and asked, “Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way.”
What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beautiful day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.
The first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.
The first is: Treasure (珍惜) what you have. Someone else has less. Try your best to help those who need your help.
The second is: Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way.From the article we know that________.
| A．the boy always has a hat on his head |
| B．the man is one of his neighbors |
| C．the boy is blind and needs help |
| D．the boy works for the man |
On the sign what the man wrote was, “.”
| A．Treasure what we have already had |
| B．Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it |
| C．We are so lucky that we are not blind |
| D．Try your best to help those who need your help. |
According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The hat began to fill up after the man wrote some words on the sign. |
| B．The man took away all the few coins from the hat. |
| C．The boy wanted to get enough money to go to school. |
| D．Nobody wanted to give any coins to the blind boy. |
The word “recognized” here in Chinese means _______.
| A．承认 | B．接受 | C．表扬 | D．认出 |
_______ is the best title (题目) for this story.
| A．Be careful not to be blind. |
| B．Be creative. There is always a better way! |
| C．Be kind to the blind! |
| D．Don’t always get, but offer! |
Biggie Burger, a new fast-food restaurant, will soon be opened in the town. A large group of kids and parents were holding signs shouting outside it yesterday. They were there because they didn’t want the restaurant to open. Never!
“This kind of food is really bad for us!” said Diana, “It’s high in salt, fat, and sugar. it’s unhealthy and we are going to say ‘no’ to it!”
“Our town has been a quiet place. Restaurants like these bring people and also a lot of trouble to this area,” said Barbara. “And I’m afraid they will take business away from our local restaurants.”
Other local people don’t agree. The officials（官员） believe that Biggie Burger will bring in huge amounts of money to help improve the town. And 17-year-old Sandy can’t wait for Biggie Burger to open.” I love their hamburgers and fried chicken wings! And I can get a job there.”
Sandy’s dad, a cleaner, agrees, “Biggie Burger’s prices are just right for a family like ours.”
Michael, who owns a toy shop next door to Biggie Burger, is excited, too. “Maybe people who come for a Biggie Burger will spend a few minutes in my store and pick up something.”
The town will hold a meeting on Thursday to hear sides. Everyone is welcome to take part in it. Come and give your opinion!
根据短文内容，判断下列句子正误。正确的用“A”表示，不正确的用“B”表示。Biggie Burger was opened yesterday and many people were there.
Diana thinks that the food in Biggie Burger is too expensive.
Barbara is afraid that fewer people will come to the local restaurants.
Sandy and Michael welcome the opening of Biggie Burger.
The town doesn’t care about people’s opinions when making a decision.