Howwordscameintobeingisunknown-优题课

I travel a lot, and I find out different "styles"（风格）of directions every time I ask "How can I get to the post office?"
Foreign tourists are often confused （困惑）in Japan because most streets there don't have names; in Japan, people use landmarks（地标）in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers，"Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop. "
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say，" Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile. "
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?" you ask. "Oh，" they answer，"it's about five minutes from here. " You say，" Yes, but how many miles away is it?"They don't know.
It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say，" Sorry, I have no idea. “But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don't know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know. “is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan ！
When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually __________.

A．describe the place carefully

B．show him a map of the place

C．tell him the names of the streets

D．refer to recognizable buildings and places

What is the place where people measure distance in time?

A．New York.	B．Los Angeles
C．Kansas.	D．Iowa

People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer __________.

A．in order to save time	B．as a test.
C．so as to be polite	D．for fun

What can we infer from the text?

A．It's important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

B．It's useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

C．People have similar understandings of politeness.

D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

The orange towers of the Golden Gate Bridge-probably the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed bridge in the world-are visible from almost every point of elevation in San Francisco.
The only cleft （穿过）in Northern California's 600-mile continental wall, for years this mile-wide strait was considered unbridgeable. As much an architectural as an engineering feat, the Golden Gate took only 52 months to design and build. Designed by Joseph Strauss, it was the first really massive （庞大的）suspension bridge, with a span of 4200ft, and until 1959 ranked as the world's longest. It connects the city at its northwesterly point on the peninsula to Marin County and Northern California, and was designed to with-stand （经受住）winds of up to a hundred miles an hour and to swing as much as 27ft. Handsome on a clear day, the bridge takes on an eerie （阴森森的）quality when the thick white fogs pour in and hide it almost completely.
You can either drive or walk across. The drive is the more thrilling of the two options as you race under the bridge's towers, but the half-hour walk across it really gives you time to take in its enormous size and absorb the views of the city behind you and the head-lands of Northern California straight ahead. Pause at the midway point and consider the seven or so suicides （自杀）a month who choose this spot，260ft up, as their jumping-off spot. Monitors of such events speculate that victims always face the city before they leap. In 1995，when the suicide toll from the bridge had reached almost 1000，police kept the figures quiet to avoid a rush of would-be suicides going for the dubious （令人怀疑的）distinction of being the thousandth person to leap.
Perhaps the best loved symbol of San Francisco, in 1987 the Golden Gate proved an auspicious （幸运的）place for a sunrise party when crowds gathered to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Some quarter of a million people turned up （a third of the city's entire population）；the winds were strong and the huge numbers caused the bridge to buckle, but fortunately not to break.
The underlined word "buckle" here means __________.

A．collapse	B．crash
C．bend	D．shake

The Golden Gate Bridge was completed in __________.

A．1922	B．1995
C．1937	D．1959

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The Golden Gate is the longest bridge in the world.

B．So far about 1000 people killed themselves from the Golden Gate.

C．It took the workers 52 months to build the Golden Gate.

D．San Francisco had a population of about 750，000 in 1987.

If you want to enjoy the views of San Francisco from the bridge, you'd better cross the bridge __________.

A．by train	B．on foot
C．by car	D．by ship

How often do you use your car? Can you use your car less often? Do you know the following facts in the UK?
•About 50% of all car journeys are just for fun.
•Over 80% people go to work by car.
•25% car journeys are under two miles.
•70% car journeys are under five miles.
WALKING & CYCLING
Instead of using the car for short journeys, why not walk or ride a bicycle? Walking is a most popular form of exercise-it's healthy and it can save you money. If you work nearby, try walking or cycling instead of driving. Walking your children to school gives them valuable road experience.
BUSES
Bus companies are using new buses ： some run on new fuels which produce less pollution; some have easier access for disabled and old people. There are special traffic lanes （行车道）to make bus journeys easier and more reliable. So do something to help solve the pollution problem-let the bus take you to work and your children to school.
TRAINS
All car journeys, long or short, can be hard work. For some trips it is wiser to take the train. Leave your car at home and walk, cycle or take a bus to and from the station. Train travel is fast, safe and comfortable. Train tickets are not always expensive; some are quite cheap at discount.
How many of car journeys are just for fun in the UK?

A．25%.	B．About 50%.
C．70%.	D．Over 80%.

The writer believes that __________ can give children valuable road experience.

A．walking to school	B．travelling by train
C．taking new fuel buses	D．having car journeys for fun

What is the main purpose of this passage?

A．To teach people how to use the buses.

B．To encourage people to travel by train.

C．To advise people to use cars less often.

D．To tell people to obey traffic rules.

In eighteen seventy-seven, the American government decided to move the Nez Perce Indians from their land. The government had set up a reservation for them in Idaho. Chief Joseph did not want to leave the land. It was holy ground. It contained the bones of his father and mother.
However, like his father in earlier times, Chief Joseph knew it would be hopeless to stay and defend the land. There were too few Indians to win a war against the white men.
And so in June of eighteen seventy-seven, the Nez Perce left their home in the Wallowa Valley. They left quickly. They were able to take only a small part of what they owned，and just a few cattle and Appaloosa horses.
When the Indians reached the Snake River, the water was very deep and ran very fast with melted snow from the mountains. Chief Joseph and his people made boats from sticks and dried animal skins to cross the river. While the Indians were busy, a group of white men came and stole some of the cattle waiting at the edge of the river.
The other chiefs demanded that Joseph call a meeting. Two of the chiefs, White Bird and Toohoolhoolzote，spoke for war, but Joseph held a different opinion.
Some of the young men in White Bird's group were very angry. That night, they rode into the countryside and killed eleven white persons.
During all his years as chief, Joseph had tried to keep the peace. Now he saw there was no hope. Although he and his young men had taken no part in the killings, he knew that the white men would blame all of the Indians. Chief Joseph said，“ I would have given my own life if I could have undone the killing of the white men. ”
Many Nez Perce fled. Chief Joseph remained, because his wife was about to have a baby. After she gave birth, he and his family joined the others in White Bird Canyon to the south. Joseph wanted to lead the people to safety in the flat lands of Montana. But the United States army quickly sent horse soldiers to follow them.
They were extremely tired when they reached White Bird Canyon. An Indian carrying a white flag walked forward to meet them. A soldier shot him.
With that shot, the war between the Nez Perce and the United States began.
Why didn't Chief Joseph want to leave the land?

A．He thought the reservation in Idaho wasn't satisfying.

B．He didn't want to be separated from his parents.

C．He had special feeling for the land where he was living.

D．He didn't want to live with the white men.

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Before they left their home, the Nez Perce had only a few cattle and Appaloosa horses.

B．Chief Joseph and his people were unwilling to cross the deep river.

C．When the Indians reached the Snake River, it was very hard for them to cross it.

D．While the Indians were waiting by the river, a group of white men stole some of the cattle.

From the passage we can infer that __________.

A．Chief Joseph knew it would be hopeless to defend the land

B．some Indians often killed white men

C．Chief Joseph was afraid of white men

D．conflicts often happened between the Indians and the white

After some of the young men in White Bird's group killed eleven white persons,__________.

A．Chief Joseph blamed White Bird

B．Chief Joseph tried his best to keep peace

C．all the Nez Perce fled

D．the United States army wanted to revenge(报仇)

Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．The Story of Chief Joseph

B．The American Civil War

C．Chief Joseph and His Children

D．The Nez Perce Indians

Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap. Some call it the summer learning setback. Simply speaking, it means the longer kids are out of school, the more they forget. The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar with winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation. Some schools follow a year-round calendar. They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time, with a few weeks off in between. The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than 3,000 such schools at last count. They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school. Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said, “ Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback. They simply spread it out across the year. ”
Across the country, research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students. Experts say this can be prevented. They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them “ summer school ” could be a problem. The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins, Ron Fairchild , said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term “ summer school”. In American culture, the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood. The parents welcomed other terms like “ summer camp”,“ extra time” and “hands-on learning”.
According to the first paragraph, the summer learning gap __________.

A．helps children to gain weight

B．leads children to work harder

C．improves children's memories

D．affects children's regular studies

Compared to traditional schools, students in the year-round ones __________.

A．perform better and have more learning gains

B．have much less time for relaxation every year

C．have generally the same number of class days

D．hold more classes with more free weeks off

Which of the following statements is true?

A．Students from poor families often fall behind after the vacation.

B．Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap.

C．There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar.

D．Nothing can help the students who fall behind after the vacation.

Why did almost all parents dislike the term “summer school”？

A．They cherish the children's rights of freedom very much.

B．They are worried about the quality of the “summer school".

C．They want their children to be forced to make up the gap.

D．They can't afford the further study during the vacation.

Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A．Opening Summer Camps

B．Forbidding Summer Schools

C．Spreading Year-Round Education

D．Minding the Summer Learning Cap