Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony:
My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry:
The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger（陌生人）!Tony arrived at school late that morning because .
| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
The students began laughing when they saw Tony .
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
Henry and his wife held hands .
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop | C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
What does the underlined word “scream” mean in Chinese?
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
Henry was embarrassed because he .
| A．slapped the woman in the face |
| B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard hid wife screaming in the street |
| D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
Speaking English is not only about using proper grammar, but also about understanding the culture. Here is some important advice to remember when speaking English in the United States.
◆Americans have difficulties understanding foreign accents. Many Americans are not used to foreign accents. This requires patience from both of you.
◆Talk about places: Americans love to talk about places. When speaking to a stranger, ask them where they come from and then say something about that place. For example: “Oh, I have a friend who worked in Los Angeles. He says it’s a beautiful place to live in.” Most Americans will then willingly talk about their experiences of living in or visiting that city or place.
◆Talk about work: It is common for Americans to ask “What do you do?” It’s not considered impolite as in some countries and is a popular topic of discussion between strangers.
◆Talk about sports: Americans love sports! However, they love American sports. When speaking about football, most Americans understand “American football”, not soccer.
◆Be careful when expressing ideas about race, religion or other sensitive（敏感的）topics:The United States is a society with different cultures. Americans are very sensitive to other cultures and ideas.For Americans, the question “what do you do?” is ________.
| A．common | B．impolite | C．boring | D．surprising |
What can we learn about Americans?
| A．They like to learn foreign accents. |
| B．They are willing to talk about places. |
| C．They prefer soccer to American football. |
| D．They accept other ideas and cultures easily. |
The writer gives some advice mainly on ________.
| A．talking with Americans |
| B．working with Americans |
| C．speaking American English |
| D．understanding American society |
INTERNATIONAL RADIO — WHAT’S ON?
| 18:00 |
World News Program The latest news from around the world. |
| 18:10 |
What Do You Think? Phone in with your opinion about today’s hot topics: Why is the world getting fatter? How can we look after our world better to save the planet? Should we all get free healthcare or should we pay ourselves? |
| 19:00 |
World Business Business news of the day, with up-to-date information about the world business in Europe, Asia and America. |
| 19:20 |
Teen Dreams Listen to 10 teenagers from different places in Asia talking about their dreams for the future. What is more important for them—money, education or love? |
| 20:00 |
World News Program The latest news from around the world. |
| 21:10 |
Aunt Vera－What should you do? Phone in to ask for Aunt Vera’s advice if you have a problem with your parents, friends, or love. She will tell you what she thinks. |
How many times will the World News Program be on?
| A．Once. | B．Twice. |
| C．Three times. | D．Four times. |
When can you phone in if you have a problem with your friend?
| A．At 18:10. | B．At 19:00. |
| C．At 19:20. | D．At 21:10. |
In which program can you hear people’s opinions about hot topics?
| A．Teen Dreams | B．What Do You Think? |
| C．World Business | D．What Should You Do? |
As space science develops, man has learned more and more about space. Space is not only amazing but also dangerous. While working in space, spacemen are facing danger as well as success.
Scientists have found out that the radiation（辐射）is the greatest danger to spacemen in space. When spacemen are working in space, they are in danger of the radiation from the sun and other stars, which is bad for their health. The harm of the radiation won’t be found until their children even grandchildren are born. Some special medicine may work a little, but no really effective medicine has been found so far.
Space rubbish is also thought to be a great danger to spacemen. It’s reported that there were 9,000 man-made things flying in space. About 30% of these are satellites, 10% are spaceships, and the rest are space rubbish. An explosion（爆炸）in space in 1999 made a cloud of 300,000 fragments, each at least 4mm in size. A small piece of these even knocked a spaceship window and caused some damage(损坏).
Scientists are watching and reporting any possible danger all the time. They are working to deal with space rubbish. Although space is really dangerous, it interests many people on the earth. In the near future, it may become possible for people to spend a few days in a space hotel. We may even choose to leave the earth and live in space in a few years. So we should do something to help improve the space environment.. The writer mainly wants to tell his readers that the space is full of _____.
| A．rubbish | B．danger |
| C．satellites | D．radiation |
. How much does space rubbish take up of all the man-made flying objects?
| A．30% | B．40% | C．50% | D．60% |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Some children have been born in space. |
| B．People are not supposed to live in space. |
| C．Some people are eager to have a space trip. |
| D．No one is dealing with space rubbish now. |
. The underlined word “fragments” in the third paragraph probably means _____.
| A．broken pieces | B．flying dust |
| C．dangerous gases | D．space radiation |
. What is the main purpose（目的）for writing the passage?
| A．To ask people not to pollute the space environment. |
| B．To develop people’s interests in space travel in the future. |
| C．To tell readers what scientists are doing about space rubbish. |
| D．To tell people that space is dangerous and what the dangers are. |
This is a true story in Guyuna. One day, a child took some silver（银的）paper from a cigarette box. He rolled it into a tiny（极小的）ball and pushed it up his nose. He couldn’t get it out again. He ran crying to his mother. His mother couldn’t get the paper out, either. A week later the paper was still in his nose. His nose began to have a bad smell.
So his mother took her child to the hospital. The doctor looked up his nose. She put a tiny steel rod（钢棒）into his nose and felt the paper. She said she would have to cut his nose to get the paper out.
The child’s mother came home looking sad. She didn’t want her child to have his nose cut. He was a handsome boy and the cut would make him ugly.
Next day, the child’s mother took him to her friend Sidney. Sidney lived in a house with an old woman called May. She asked to see the child, so the child let her look up his nose. He closed his eyes.
“Yes, I can see it,” May said, “It will be out soon!”
As she spoke, she shook black pepper（胡椒粉） on the child’s nose. He gave a mightly（有力的）sneeze and the paper flew out. His mother was surprised. May told her to take the boy to the sea for a swim. She said the salt water would go up his nose and stop the bad smell.
So the child didn’t have to go to the hospital and gave his nose out. How did the silver ball go into the boy’s nose?
| A．His mother put it into his nose. |
| B．The boy himself pushed the ball up his nose. |
| C．The silver ball rolled into his nose itself. |
| D．The passage didn’t tell us. |
. Why did the boy’s nose have a bad smell?
| A．The ball stayed in his nose for too long. |
| B．The boy didn’t like to wash his nose. |
| C．His nose is cut and gave a bad smell. |
| D．Because he had a running nose. |
. What can help to stop the bad smell?
| A．Some medicine | B．Some black pepper |
| C．Fresh air | D．The salt water |
. Who helped to take the silver ball out?
| A．The boy himself | B．The doctor |
| C．Sidney | D．May |
. What is the best title of the story?
| A．Old medicine | B．Some good doctors |
| C．A poor boy | D．A silver ball |
Wang Nan is a world-famous ping-pong player. She has won (已获得) many gold medals(金牌) in international(国际的) table tennis games. She was born in Liaoning Province in October 1978. She is 1.62 meters tall and weighs (重) 54 kilograms. In her spare (空余的) time, she likes making friends, surfing the Internet and chatting with her friends on line.
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