“Long time no see” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s email, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish.
Obviously, it is a word-by-word literal translation of the Chinese greetings with a ruled English grammar and structure! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too thrilled to believe her. Her words could not convince me at all. So I did a research on google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages containing “Long time no see.” This sentence has been widely used in emails, letters, newspapers, movies, books, or any other possible places. Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. Ironically, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the software will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.
Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a world wide famous Chinese detective named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens. Detective Chan likes to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius. “Long time no see” was his trademark. Soon after Charlie Chan, “Long time no see” became a popular phrase in the real world with thanks to the popularity of these movies.
Some scholars refer to America as a huge pot of stew. All kinds of culture are mixed in the stew together, and they change the color and taste of each other. American Chinese, though a minority ethnic(少数民族的成员) group in the United States, is also contributing some changes to the stew! Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed stew.
You can have some other examples than adoptions from Chinese, such as pizza from Italian, susi from Japanese, and déjà vu from French etc. There is a long list! Americans do not just simply borrow something from others. They will modify it and make it their own, so you would not be surprised to find a tofu and peanut butter hamburger in a restaurant, or to buy a bottle of iced Chinese green tea with honey in a grocery store. Since Americans appreciate Chinese culture more and more nowadays, I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future. In this way the American stew keeps adding richness and flavor.The writer himself felt surprised at ______.
| A．the Chinglish expression “Long time no see” |
| B．“Long time no see” used as standard American English |
| C．so many literal translation of the expressions used in America |
| D．finding out Americans use the expression every day |
The word “stew” in the 4th paragraph probably means ______.
| A．mixed culture |
| B．Confucius’ words |
| C．a kind of cooked dish |
| D．American changing literature |
According to the passage, it can be inferred that ______.
| A．detectives translate the phrase “Long time no see” |
| B．Hollywood made “Long time no see” popular |
| C．the huge pot of stew greatly affects all kinds of languages |
| D．cultures can be changed in the huge pot of stew |
The main idea of the passage is that ______.
| A．some Chinese expressions are introduced into English |
| B．you’ll not be surprised at a tofu in a restaurant in America |
| C．some American expressions can be used in China |
| D．American English keep being enriched from different cultures |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Informal language sometimes doesn’t go with grammar and structure. |
| B．Languages are always ruled by grammar and structure. |
| C．“Long time no see” has been used in at least four media mentioned in the passage. |
| D．There are four languages mentioned to be adopted in the American stew. |
Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.
Place friendship in the first place. Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn go unmowed or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can’t get together, use the phone to keep in touch.
Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of “heartfelt” intimacy (亲密).Don’t be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems，but offer advice only when it’s wanted. Help raise friends’ selfesteem when they are sad about a job loss, or other such events.
Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies，singing in a choir，and joining in a bowling league.
Don’t wait for a friend to ask for helps. When a friend has the flu，offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their afterschool activities.
Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage，friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests.
Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms，or bookstores can lead to firm friendship.
Enroll in an adulteducation course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.People with close friends have aability to fight disease than people who are alone.
| A．less | B．greater | C．poorer | D．little |
According to the passage，you’d better offer advice to your friends.
| A．at any moment |
| B．only when they are happy |
| C．only when they want it |
| D．only when you are glad |
What we should do to have friends according to the author?
| A．Make friendship a priority. |
| B．Open up to close friends. |
| C．Never take a friendship for granted. |
| D．All the above. |
Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．You should have different friends for the same activities. |
| B．You should wait for a friend to ask a favor. |
| C．You should avoid talking with strangers in museums, laundry rooms, or bookstores. |
| D．You should never take a friendship for granted. |
The underlined word “enroll” in the last paragraph means .
| A．give | B．join | C．get | D．catch |
In order to know a foreign language completely, four things are necessary. First, we must understand the language when we hear it spoken. Secondly, we must be able to speak it ourselves, correctly with confidence and without hesitation (犹豫). Thirdly, we must be able to write it. We must be able to make sentences that are correct in grammar. There is no short way to succeed in language learning. A good memory is a great help, but it is not enough only to memorize the rules from a grammar book. It is no much use learning by heart long lists of words and their meanings, studying the dictionary and so on. We must learn by using the language. If we are pleased with a few rules we have memorized, we are not really learning the language. We must “Learn through use”. Practice is important. We must practise speaking and writing the language whenever we can.The most important things to learn a foreign language are .
| A．understanding and speaking |
| B．hearing, speaking, reading and writing |
| C．writing and understanding |
| D．memorizing and listening |
Someone hears and writes English very well, but he speaks it very badly. This is because.
| A．he doesn’t understand the language when he hears it spoken |
| B．he doesn’t have a good memory |
| C．he always remember lists of words and their meanings |
| D．he often hesitates to practise speaking it |
One can never learn a foreign language well only by .
| A．much practice | B．studying the dictionary |
| C．learning through use | D．using the language |
Which of the following is the most important in learning a foreign language?
| A．A good memory. | B．Speaking. |
| C．Practice. | D．Writing. |
“Learn through use” means.
| A．we use a language in order to learn it |
| B．we learn foreign language in order to use it |
| C．we can learn a language well while we are using it |
| D．both B and C |
It may be one of Britain’s most successful exports – Miss World. This 53-year-old event took place in China last week and attracted over 120 women worldwide with knockout looks in a mad struggle for the crown.
Traditional values have long kept the Chinese, especially women, from displaying beauty. But Chinese people have now changed their attitude toward beauty contest, although some men will still be shouting that the winner is no more beautiful than his wife or his former girl friend or even his mother in a sour tone. But such men are not shouting for the right reason. The question to be asked is : Why isn’t there a Mr. World Beauty Contest?
And a further question to be asked is: Does taking part in a beauty contest show a woman’s courage, wisdom and liberation or rather the opposite – a forced choice and a revolting act made under conditions of long-term discrimination?
Organizers of such beauty contests claim that the contestants are judged on qualities other than just their physical appearance. But still no answer is given to why there isn’t a Mr. Beauty or a Mr. World Contest? Or at least, why isn’t that kind of contest popular? Why is it that only women’s “qualities” need to be recognized but not men’s?
Think about who is always standing beside a fancy car on show? Is it a boy or a girl? And this is how “qualities” are judged: if the girl looks good, there is little reason why the car beside her is not of high quality.
The beauty contests go on year after year, with winners enjoying fame which quickly disappears. While such events go on and on, what never changes is the routine practice that in every fancy car show, a girl stands beside a fancy car. What never changes is the need to hold a women’s conference every year to appeal for the promotion of respect for and improvement of women. What never changes is the fate of women as a class. So let’s put more time and resources into trying to change all this rather than holding beauty contests.Miss World Beauty Contest in Britain has a history of ______.
| A．120 years | B．about half a century |
| C．100 years | D．about half a year |
Which of the following is TRUE to the passage?
| A．Miss World Beauty Contest first began in China. |
| B．Women were not allowed to show their beauty in China. |
| C．120 women took part in Beauty Contest last week. |
| D．Miss World was 54 years old. |
According to the writer, .
| A．Chinese women are not allowed to display beauty |
| B．the winner of Miss World is not as beautiful as his wife |
| C．some men are not shouting for the right person |
| D．people can accept a beauty contest in China now |
From the passage we can know the writer thinks that _____________.
| A．contestants’ qualities are more important than their physical appearance |
| B．a Mr. World Contest should be held instead of a Miss World Contest |
| C．a boy should stand by a fancy car |
| D．women’s social status is still low |
The best title for this passage is ____________.
| A．What about a Mr. World Contest? |
| B．History of Miss World Contest. |
| C．Quality or Appearance? |
| D．A Boy Standing beside a Fancy Car. |
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere wall away from your college.
King’s Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint – free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
the Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron’s Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron’s time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I’m not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron’s Pool. A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don’t trust me, then perhaps you’ll take it from Virginia Woolf – over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool. As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for ____.
| A．attending the masters’ class | B．working with local artists |
| C．learning life drawing | D．seeing an exhibition |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ____.
| A．common insects | B．impressive plants |
| C．rarely-seen snakes | D．wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ____.
| A．to fear pet bears | B．to like walking |
| C．to be a heavy drinker | D．to finish university in 1805 |
In the passage Byron’s Pool is described as a lake ____.
| A．surrounded by fields | B．owned by Lord Byron |
| C．located in Grantchester | D．discovered by Virginia Woolf |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some places for weekend break. |
| B．A way to become creative in art. |
| C．The colorful life in the countryside. |
| D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University. |
One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of : a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill of the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoes out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday.
My wife and I heard none of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.
I found in my baby's behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read and they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: “Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight about it? Let them watch it all they want! Why did the author bring a TV set into his son's room?
| A．To make his son keep quiet. |
| B．To spend the night by watching TV programs. |
| C．In order not to let his son feel lonely. |
| D．To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible. |
The baby's reaction to the TV program was _______ .
| A．unexpected | B．encouraging | C．exciting | D．nervous |
From this passage we know that the author is probably.
| A．a doctor | B．a reporter | C．an editor | D．a teacher |
According to the passage, which is true of the school children?
| A．They prefer reading to watching TV. |
| B．They like watching TV after school. |
| C．They would rather watch TV than read books. |
| D．They like their teachers who teach them reading. |
What does the underlined phrase in the last paragraph mean according to the passage?
| A．talk about | B．think about | C．quallel about | D．care about |