The other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student in English“You speak very good English”.But the student answered,“No, no.My English is very poor.”The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer.Thinking he had not made himself understand or the student had not heard him clearly, he said,“Yes, indeed, you speak very well.”But the Chinese student still kept saying“No”.In the end the foreigner gave up and didn't know what to say.
What is wrong with the student's answer?It is because he didn't accept a compliment as the English people do.He should have said“Thank you”instead of“No”He actually understood what the American had said.But he thought he should be modest.If he said“Thank you”, that would mean he was too proud.According to the Western culture, if someone says the dishes, you have cooked are very delicious, you should say“Thank you”.If someone says to a woman“You look so beautiful with the new clothes on”, she should be very happy and answer“Thank you”.In our country we think being modest is a virtue and showing off is a bad thing.But in the West, if you are modest and say“No, I'm afraid I can't do it well”, then the others will take it for granted that you really can-not do it.If you often say“No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by others.If asking for a job, one says something like“Yes, I can certainly do it”instead of“Let me have a try on the job”, he or she will expect to get it.So in the West, one should always be confident.Without self-confidence, he cannot go anywhere.Confidence is of great importance to one in a country where competitions is quite keen.
(1)
Why was the American surprised at the Chinese student's answer?
[ ]
A.
Because he wondered whether the student could really speak good English.
B.
Because he wouldn't like others to say“No”.
C.
Because he could hardly hear what the student had said.
D.
Because the way to accept a compliment in China is not the same as that in the Western countries.
(2)
As the student kept saying“No”, the American ________.
[ ]
A.
became disappointed
B.
got angry
C.
lost interest
D.
could not continue the talk because he really didn't know what else he could say
(3)
According to the Western culture, if one is given a compliment he or she should say“________”.
[ ]
A.
Pardon
B.
Excuse me
C.
Yes, thanks a lot
D.
Thank you
(4)
Why does a man in the West who asks for a job say something like“Yes, I can certainly do it”?
[ ]
A.
Because he is not modest.
B.
Because he should give an impression that he's just fit for the job in order to get the job.
C.
Because he could do nothing but speak that way.
D.
Because he just wanted to have a try.
(5)
What does the passage tell us?
[ ]
A.
The Chinese people are modest while the Westerners are confident.
The dinosaurs once lived happily on the earth.But 65 million years ago,they suddenly died out.What happened to them?
Scientists think that a change in temperature may be to blame.They have come up with lots of ideas to explain the end of the dinosaurs.
The most famous one is the minor planet (小行星) idea.Let's go back to that day 65 million years ago to see what happened.Everything was OK before a large minor planet suddenly hit the earth.What a terrible hit! It caused big fires,storms,acid rain,and even earthquakes and volcano eruptions.The hit produced a lot of dust,which flew up into the air and blocked the sun for months.The earth became very cold without sunlight.The plants died first.Then the grass-eating animals died of hunger.Then the meat-eating animals could not find food,either.They began to eat each other,but after a while they died out,too.The dinosaurs,either plant-eaters or meat-eaters,did not live through the disaster(灾难).What a sad story!
In April,a British scientist thought of a new idea about the death of the dinosaurs.He thinks that after the minor planet hit the earth,the temperature change left more dinosaur boys than girls! Without enough female dinosaurs to hatch the eggs,the dinosaur population became smaller and smaller.
(1)
______ may be the main reason for the dinosaurs dying out according to scientists.
A.Big fires B.Earthquakes
C.Acid rain D.Temperature change
[ ]
(2)
The passage mentioned ______ ideas that the scientists came up with about
the end of the dinosaurs.
A.two B.three C.four D.five
[ ]
(3)
The underlined expression “volcano eruptions” probably is ______.
A.the name of a minor planet
B.one kind of dinosaurs
C.one kind of disaster
D.the name of an earthquake
[ ]
(4)
The earth became cold because ______.
A.the sun refused to rise
B.the dust kept the sunlight away
C.there was too much rain
D.there were too many dinosaurs
[ ]
(5)
This passage may be found in ______.
A.a science fiction B.a story book C.a dictionary D.a science magazine
[ ]
阅读理解
You will have a lot of reading to do in this grade this year.You can do more of it in less time if you learn to read rapidly.
Perhaps you have been told about some habits (习惯) which keep a person from reading fast and have been strongly asked to break those habits which you might have.
Do you still have any of these bad habits?Check yourself by answering“yes”or“no”to these questions.
(1) Do you move your lips (嘴唇) when reading silently?
(2) Do you point to words with your finger as you read?
(3)Do you move your head from side to side as you read?
(4)Do you read one word at a time?
If you answer“yes”to any of these questions,start at once to break the habit.If you move your tips,hold your fingers over them,or hold a piece of paper be-tween your lips while you are reading.Then if your lips move,your will know it and can stop them.
If you point to words,hold the two sides of your book,one side with your left hand,the other side with your right hand.Then you won't have a free finger to use in pointing while reading.If you move your head,place your chin (下巴) in one hand and hold your head still (静止不动的).
If you read no more than one or two or three words at a time,you need to work very hard in learning to take in (吸收) more words at each glance (一瞥) as your eyes travel across the lines of words.
Even if you do rather fast now,you can learn to read even faster.As you probably have been told,the secret of fast reading is to take in whole groups of words as each glance.Read in through groups and force (迫使) your eyes along the lines of words as fast as you can to make them go.Anyone who practices doing these things will he able to read faster.
(1)
You may hold your fingers over your lips while reading so as ______.
A.to tell others to be silent
B.to feel whether your lips move or not
C.to hold a piece of paper between them
D.to keep yourself from talking to others
[ ]
(2)
When you read,______.
A.don't keep your head still
B.don't hold your books with your hands
C.don't stand up near a desk
D.don't use your finger to point to words
[ ]
(3)
If you learn to read fast,______.
A.you can read more in less time
B.you can write faster
C.you can understand better
D.you can read less in more time
[ ]
(4)
You must _______ those habits that we are talking about in this reading.
A.remember B.have C.get rid of D.keep
[ ]
(5)
This reading is mainly about ______.
A.the way of reading fast
B.the importance of fast reading
C.the bad habits in reading
D.how to speak quickly
[ ]
阅读理解
Binhai No.3 Middle School Rules
Yon must
*look clean and tidy
*be quiet in the library
*stay in the playground at break time
*bring a letter from your parents if you’re ill
*stand up when a teacher comes into the classroom
*hand in your homework on time
*arrive at school by half past seven
You mustn’t
*fight
*bring radios or CD players to school
*run or shout in the school buildings
*talk loudly in the hallways
*leave school at break time or at lunch time
*Wear jeans
*cat or drink in the classroom
假如你是滨海三中的学生,请依据校规内容回答下面的问题。
(1)
What are the things you must not do when you’re in the school buildings?
(2)
Can you leave school at lunch-time?
(3)
What must you do when your teacher comes into your classroom?