It can be hard to meet people from another culture. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal (信号). Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize（强调）the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”, usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries—like the UK or France—people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people just looked at me all the time and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are not needed.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share almost the same values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural (多元文化) environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
| A．develop closer relationship | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．make a successful speech |
| A．too many words are of no use |
| B．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| C．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
| D．people from Thailand are quiet and shy |
| A．Multicultural Environment | B．Cross-Cultural Differences |
| C．How to Understand Each Other | D．How to Build Up a Relationship |
Do you often talk with your parents? Here is some advice on how to talk with them.
★Try to start your talk with something fun. This will make talking easier. For example, ask them questions about their day. How is work? They love this.
★Make it clear what you want to tell your parents. If they have an opinion, let them finish and don’t stop their talking. Ask them to do the same for you.
★Show them respect by listening to them carefully. Look at them in the eye.
★Be honest. Honesty builds trust. Life is good when your parents trust you.
★If your parents don’t understand, that’s OK. It doesn’t mean that they don’t love you. Sometimes you have to explain the things to them again.
★When you finish the talk, thank them for listening. Say something like “Thanks, that helps.” It will let them know that is important to you and make them want to do it more often.If you want to start the talk easily, you should say something ____ at the beginning.
| A．interesting | B．dishonest |
| C．serious | D．unhappy |
While talking to your parents, you should look at them in the eye to show you_____ them.
| A．hate | B．understand |
| C．respect | D．like |
When the parents don’t understand you, you can_____.
| A．ask them to stop |
| B．argue with them |
| C．look at them in the eye |
| D．explain your ideas to them again |
When you finish the talk, you should ____ your parents for listening.
| A．say goodbye to | B．thank |
| C．say sorry to | D．ask |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．We should respect our parents. |
| B．It’s important to trust our parents. |
| C．We should love our parents. |
| D．Some ways to communicate with our parents. |
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, America. He is best known as a scientist and politician(政治家) today. One of his most famous inventions is the lightning rod(避雷针).And he is also regarded as “the Founder of the United States” because of his success in politics. However, he is not just an inventor and politician.
Franklin is a great chess player. He started playing chess in 1733 and this made him the first chess player in the American history. He wrote a book about his story of playing chess in December,1786. In this book, he hoped to find connections between chess and life. He and his friend even used chess to learn Italian. It was a very interesting experience in his early life.
Not only a great chess player, Franklin is also known to play the violin ,the harp (竖琴), and the guitar. He used some glasses to produce a clear and sweet sound just like birds’ singing.
Benjamin Franklin died at his home in the USA at the age of 84. There were about 20,000 people who were present at his funeral(葬礼). People respect him, love him and believe he is one of the four greatest men in the world.Benjamin Franklin was born in_________.
| A．Britain | B．Italy | C．America | D．Germany |
In December 1786, Franklin wrote a book about ______.
| A．his story of playing chess |
| B．the way of learning Italian |
| C．the history of America |
| D．his success in politics |
Franklin couldn’t be seen as a _____in his life.
| A．scientist | B．politician |
| C．dancer | D．writer |
According to the passage, Franklin died in_____.
| A．1706 | B．1733 | C．1786 | D．1790 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Benjamin Franklin was not good at writing. |
| B．Very few people appeared in Franklin’s funeral. |
| C．Learning Italian by chess was interesting for Franklin. |
| D．Benjamin Franklin can play both the piano and the guitar. |
A rich man was riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. On the ground lay a young tree, ready to be planted. The rich man called out to the old man. “What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?”
“This is a fig（无花果） tree, sir.” He said. “A fig tree?” The rich man was very surprised. “Why, how old are you, may I ask?” “I am ninety years old this year.” “What ?” cried the man. “You are ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it will take years to give fruit. You certainly don’t hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree.” The old man looked around the garden. Then he said with a smile, “Tell me , sir. Did you eat figs when you were a boy?” “Sure , why do you ask this question?” the man asked. “Then tell me this，”he said. “Who planted the fig tree?” “Why-why? I don’t know.” “You see, sir. Our forefather planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me.”
The rich man was quiet and said, “You are right, my good man. We should do something for the people after us. Thank you very much.” The rich man rode away.What was the old man doing when the rich man saw him?
| A．He was ready to plant a fig tree. |
| B．He was exercising in his garden. |
| C．He was riding along the road. |
| D．He was watering the plants in his garden. |
How old was the old man then ?
| A．He was over ninety years old. |
| B．He was ninety years old. |
| C．He was less than ninety years old. |
| D．He was about to be eighty years old. |
Who was he planting the trees for?
| A．For himself | B．For the rich man |
| C．For his friends | D．For the people after him. |
The rich man didn’t eat figs when he was a boy, did he ?
| A．No, he did. | B．No, he didn’t. |
| C．Yes, he did. | D．We don’t know. |
What can we learn from the article?
| A．We should plant more trees for the people after us. |
| B．It’s never too old to plant trees . |
| C．We should do something useful for the people after us. |
| D．We should be friendly to others. |
Very often, newly-born babies are not beautiful. They are wrinkled(多皱的) or hairless, or they have an angry look on their face. They seem to say, “Get away! I hate everybody.” But to a parent, that hairless, wrinkled, angry-faced baby is the most beautiful and perfect child in the world. When that proud father or mother asks you, “Well, what do you think…isn’t she beautiful?” What are you going to say? Is this the time for the truth? Of course not!
You look at that proud father or mother in the eye and say, “Yes, she is! She is really a beauty. She’s one in a million. She’s going to be a movie star! I can tell! She’s as beautiful as a picture.”
In English, this is a white lie. White lies don’t hurt people. They are not cruel or angry words. People use them to make a difficult thing a little easier. When people don’t want to meet someone, or eat something new that they really don’t like at a friend’s house, they tell a white lie. They are trying to be kind. They feel that being kind is sometimes more important than telling the truth.Parents are usually ____ when their new babies are born.
| A．angry | B．proud | C．sad | D．surprised |
When a parent asks what you think of their new baby, they want you to ___.
| A．tell the truth | B．say what you like |
| C．tell lies | D．say good words |
The underlined word “white” in this passage means “ ______”.
| A．kind or harmless | B．unkind |
| C．the white colour | D．angry |
From the passage we can know that ______.
| A．a newly-born baby hates everyone around her |
| B．a newly-born baby is the most beautiful one |
| C．people who tell white lies are not kind |
| D．people who tell white lies want to be kind |
Which of the following is a white lie?
| A．You broke the window but you say you didn’t. |
| B．You know Jack was late but you say you don’t. |
| C．Your friend’s bag isn’t beautiful but you say it is. |
| D．you tell a parent that the newly-born baby isn’t beautiful. |
One day at a school, an old teacher was trying to explain the word “miracle(奇迹)” in class.
“Boys and girls,” said the teacher, “imagine I stood on the roof of a ten-floor building, lost my balance and fell off. Then suddenly, in the air, a wind blew me up and brought me safely to the ground. Now what word would you use to describe this?”
The students thought for a long time. Then a boy raised his hand and said, “Luck?”
“True, true,” answered the teacher, “…but that’s not the word I wanted. I’ll repeat the story. I am on top of the ten-floor building again, and I fall. A wind catches me in the air and places me safely on the ground. Think now…What word would you use to describe it?’
“Accident!” cried out a girl.
“No, no” he answered, “True, true. Listen for the third time. I’m on that same building, I fall and am saved by a wind. What word could describe it?”
The boys and girls shouted together, “Practice!”When could this story most probably happen?
| A．During a holiday | B．At lunch time |
| C．During a class | D．On a weekend |
52.How many times did the teacher try to explain the word?
| A．Once | B．Twice |
| C．Three times | D．Four times |
The students shouted “Practice!” because they thought _______.
| A．the old teacher was practising falling off the building |
| B．the old teacher told them to do more sports |
| C．the old teacher wanted them to practise with |
| D．the old teacher didn’t mean anything at all |
Which of the following is TRUE about the story?
| A．The teacher told a true story in class |
| B．The students understand what the teacher said. |
| C．The students gave the answer that the teacher wanted. |
| D．The teacher didn’t get what he wanted at last. |
We can infer(推断)from the passage that_______.
| A．one of the students had an accident in class |
| B．the students were not listening to the teacher carefully |
| C．the teacher would explain it again in another way |
| D．the teacher was very happy with the students’ answers |