When you go abroad you’re going to experience new cultures, people, food, music and probably a new language. Everything and everyone you meet is new.
Specialists say it is not easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” is the term these specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. There are three stages of culture shock, say the specialists. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers begin to adjust to their surroundings and, as a result, enjoy their life more.
There are some obvious factors in culture shock. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems—the telephones, post office, or transportation—may be difficult to work out. The simplest things seem to be big problems. The language may be difficult.
Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their own community. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same settled positions. They find themselves without any identity. They have to build a new self-image.
Culture shock leads to a feeling of disorientation (迷失方向). This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create an escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience — these are the long-term solutions to the problem of culture shock.When people move to a new country, they _______.
| A．will get used to their new surroundings with difficulty |
| B．have well prepared for the new surroundings |
| C．will get used to the culture of the country quickly |
| D．will never be familiar with the culture of the country |
According to the passage, factors that cause culture shock include all of the followings except ________.
| A．language communication | B．weather conditions and customs |
| C．public service systems | D．homesickness |
According to the passage, the more successful you are at home, _______.
| A．the fewer difficulties you may have abroad |
| B．the more difficulties you may have abroad |
| C．the more money you will earn abroad |
| D．the less homesick you may feel abroad |
When people are homesick, they tend to ______.
| A．find some people to talk to |
| B．go outside to have a walk |
| C．visit their friends far away |
| D．stay indoors all the time |
The writer tells us that the best way to overcome culture shock is to ______.
| A．protect ourselves from unfamiliar environment |
| B．develop a strange sense of self-protection |
| C．get familiar with new culture |
| D．return to our own country |
Several days ago, a Beijing-based IT company fired about 400 people overnight. No one had expected the job cuts, which broke with traditional ways of letting go of workers in China. Moreover, what was special about this case was that the day before the 400 were fired, they all received from their boss a gift—the book “Who Moved My Cheese?”
The book—a bestseller in the US—is being used by men and women to deal with changes in their lives and work. Some large organizations, including Coca-Cola, Kodak and General Motors, ask their employees to read it in order to encourage them to be active towards changes.
Cheese is something related to everyone’s livelihood-Our jobs, the industries we work in, relationships and love as well.
With China’s official entry into the WTO, the whole nation will face up to more changes and challenges. So what we should do once this “cheese” on which we are so dependent is moved?
“Whatever challenges and changes we meet, we should face up to them bravely,” Jiang Hengwei, a civil servant said after reading the book.
Professor Zhang Yang in Renmin University of China agrees. “We should change our way of thinking. The coming competitive foreign companies and products provide us with great chances to learn from them and improve our own products to meet international standards and be more competitive.”
“With hard work and wisdom, we will create a much larger and better piece of cheese.” Zhang smiled confidently. The whole passage is about_________.
| A．a bestseller in the US |
| B．what people think about China’s entry into the WTO |
| C．the change in people’s attitude towards changes and challenges |
| D．how a book influences the Chinese workers |
The company in Beijing gave each of the 400 fired workers a copy of “Who Moved My Cheese” in order to_________.
| A．be more competitive with foreign firms | B．find an excuse for their job cuts |
| C．let the workers make a living on their own | D．encourage the fired workers |
The word “cheese” in the passage can refer to_________.
| A．something we depend on | B．a most important kind of food |
| C．change or challenge | D．way of life |
From what Hengwei and Professor Zhang Yang said, we can know that____________.
| A．they have different opinions on changes and challenges |
| B．people are not afraid of competition from foreign companies |
| C．the Chinese people are ready to face any changes and challenges |
| D．they are both greatly encouraged by the book |
Talking on a mobile phone is expensive, so a lot of people send text messages. Text messages are much cheaper than talking on a mobile phone, and you can make it cheaper by making the words shorter. You can do this by taking out “unimportant” letters in the words and using numbers instead of words (2 =" to," 3 =" free," 4 =" for," 8 =" ate," so h8 =" hate," etc.). You can also keep away from using punctuation (标点). Here is an example: Do U wnt 2 g 2 th cnma tnite (Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?)
What do you think these text messages mean?
Whr hv U bn? Iv bn wtng hrs fr a cll.
Im hm nw, why nt gv me a cll.
I gt a txt mssge frm my frnd. Shes hvng a prty on Strdy.
Mobile phone users have developed a group of symbols (符号) to show how they feel. They are called emoticons, and there are some examples below. To read an emoticon, you have to look at it sideways. For example, if you say something in a text message that is a joke, you can follow it with a smiling face. Like this: Why didt u call me? I’m so sad. (
Here are some others. Can you think of text messages where you could use them?
) laughing ( sad＜ really sad
Ⅴ shouting |·| asleep：0 shocked
8·| surprised \·o boredWhy are text messages popular?
| A．Because they are expensive. | B．Because they are cheap. |
| C．Because they are hard to write. | D．Because they are not important. |
The first paragraph tells us that we can make the text messages shorter in ways.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
What does this text message “Do U wnt 2 cm?” mean? It means “?”.
| A．Do you want to come | B．Do you wear two caps |
| C．Do you want two cakes | D．Do you go home early |
Why do people use emoticons?
| A．Because they can show how users feel. | B．Because the symbols are beautiful. |
| C．Because text messages are short. | D．Because the users can’t make the words shorter. |
Our surroundings are being polluted faster than nature and man’s present efforts cannot prevent it. Time is bringing us more people, and more people will bring us more industry, more cars, larger cities, and the growing use of man-made materials.
What can explain and solve this problem? The fact is that pollution is caused by man, by his desire for a modern way of life. We make “increasing industrialization”(工业化)our chief aim. So we are often ready to offer everything: clean air, pure water, good food, our health and the future of our children. There is a constant flow of people from the countryside into the cities, eager for the benefits of our modem society. But as our technological achievements have grown in the last twenty years, pollution has become a serious problem.
Isn’t it time we stopped to ask ourselves where we are going and why? It makes one think of the story about the airline pilot (飞行员) who told his passengers over the loudspeaker, “I’ve some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we’re making rapid progress at 530 miles per hour. The bad news is that we’re lost and don’t know where we’re going.” The sad fact is that this becomes a true story when spoken of our modern society. Man cannot prevent the world from being polluted because___________.
| A．the population of the world is increasing fast |
| B．people use too many man-made materials |
| C．our technological achievements have grown in the last twenty years |
| D．we are producing more cars, trucks and buses |
People crowd into the cities for___________.
| A．they want very much to find well-paid jobs |
| B．they are anxious to enjoy the achievements of our society |
| C．they have become tired of their homeland |
| D．they have a strong wish to become industrial workers |
The story about the airline pilot tells us that___________.
| A．man knows where the society is going |
| B．people do not welcome the rapid development of modern society |
| C．man can do little about the problem of pollution |
| D．the speaker is worried about the future of our society |
What does the writer really want to say in this passage?
| A．With tile development of technology pollution has become a serious problem. |
| B．Lower the speed of development to stop pollution. |
| C．It’s time we did something to reduce pollution. |
| D．As industry is growing fast, pollution is the natural result. |
There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have ever taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities (复杂性) of spelling.
If spelling becomes the only focal (焦点的) point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is terrible.” It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child’s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation (动机) to seek improvement.Teachers are different in their opinions about _________.
| A．the difficulties in teaching spelling |
| B．the role of spelling in general language development |
| C．the complexities of the basic writing skills |
| D．the necessity of teaching spelling |
The underlined expression “play safe” probably means ________.
| A．to write carefully | B．to do as teachers say |
| C．to use dictionaries frequently | D．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ____________.
| A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| B．students will have more confidence in writing |
| C．students will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| D．students will learn to be independent of teachers |
The author seems to think that the teacher’s judgment on that sensitive piece of writing is __________.
| A．unfair | B．reasonable | C．foolish | D．careless |
The major point discussed in the passage is ___________.
| A．the importance of developing writing skills |
| B．the complexities of spelling |
| C．the correct way of marking compositions |
| D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition |
As De Witt Wallace lay in bed recovering from injuries that he unfortunately came by in World War I, he found there was a wealth of interesting information to read. Realizing few people would have the time to get through all this information, he knew exactly what to do. In 1920, this young American submitted a sample magazine containing shortened articles to publishers across America. However, all turned him down.
Undeterred, De Witt and his new bride Lila Bell Acheson published the first issue of Reader’s Digest in February 1922. Working from home, the Wallaces printed 5,000 copies, which were sold by mail to 1,500 people and priced at 25 cents. From these humble beginnings grew the world’s most widely–read magazine.
The magazine became popular and, by 1935, sales topped one million. In 1938, the first international edition was published in the United Kingdom. During World War Ⅱ, editions were published for the first time in Latin America and Sweden. After the war Reader’s Digest moved into Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. In 1950, Reader’s Digest published its shortened Books (now known as Select Editions in Australia). In 1959, music, the first non–print product line, was introduced. In 1962, Reader’s Digest revolutionized direct mail by introducing easy–to–enter Sweepstakes and a year later the first Reader’s Digest general book was published. In 1986, video was added to the Reader’s Digest product line.
In 1973, the Wallaces gave up active management of Reader’s Digest. De Witt died in 1981, aged 91; Lila in 1984, aged 94. With no heirs(继承人) to the Wallace empire to take control, Reader’s Digest became a public company in the early 1990s and is now headed by a Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board.What is the purpose of De Witt Wallace creating the earliest magazine?
| A．To become wealthy. | B．To offer people information. |
| C．To heal the wounds from the war. | D．To turn down uninteresting stories. |
When did De Will make his first trial of the magazine?
| A．Before World War I. | B．In 1920. | C．In 1922. | D．In 1935. |
What is mainly talked about in the first two paragraphs?
| A．The first issue of Reader’s Digest. |
| B．The first trial of De Witt Wallace’s dream. |
| C．De Witt Wallace’s character and marriage. |
| D．The humble beginnings of Reader’s Digest. |
Which of the following is the right order for the history of Reader’s Digest?
a．The Select Edition came out.
b．The Wallaces retired from the management of Reader’s Digest.
c．The magazine sold over million copies.
d．The product line was improved by means of videos.
e．Editions in other languages were published.
| A．c — e — a — b — d | B．e — a — c — b — d |
| C．c — e — a — d — b | D．a — c — e — d — b |
What can be known about Reader’s Digest from the passage?
| A．Reader’s Digest only published shortened or general books. |
| B．After World War ⅡReader’s Digest was published all over the world. |
| C．Reader’s Digest was first private–owned and later public–owned. |
| D．Reader’s Digest has always been headed by a Chief Executive Office |