The playwright George Bernard Shaw once said humorously, “England and America are two nations divided by a common language. If he were writing today, he might add ‘divided by a common technology--- e-mail’”.

  Two completely different styles of e-mail have formed on either side of the Atlantic-Euromail and Amerimail. Americail is informal and chatty. It’s likely to begin with a “Hi” and end with a “Bye”. The chances of Amerimail containing a smiley face or an “xoxo” are disturbingly high. We Americans are unwilling to dive into the meat of an e-mail. We feel we have to first inform recipients (收信人) about our vacation on the island which was really excellent except the jellyfish were biting and the kids caught a cold, so we had to skip the whale watching trip, but about that investors’ meeting in New York. Amerimail is a bundle of contradictions, casual and yet direct, respectful yet over proud. In other words, Amerimail is America.

  Euromail is stiff and cold often beginning with a formal “Dear Mr. X” and ending with a simple “Sincerely”. You won’t find any mention of kids or the weather or jellyfish in Euromail. It’s all business. It’s also slow. Your correspondent might take days even weeks to answer a message. Euromail is exactly like the Europeans themselves.

  Recently about 100 managers were asked on both sides of the Atlantic whether they noticed differences in e-mail styles. Most said yes. Here are a few of their observations:

  “Americans tend to write (e-mail) exactly as they speak.”

  “Why don’t you just call me instead of writing five e-mails back and forth?”

  “Europeans are less interested in checking e-mail”.

  “In general, Americans are much more responsive to e-mail—they respond faster and provide more information.”

  So which is better, Euromail or Amerimail? I realized it’s not popular these days to suggest we have anything to learn from Europeans, but I’m fed up with an inbox filled with casual, barely meaningful e-mails from friends and colleagues. If the alternative is a few earnestly written, carefully worded bits of Euromail, then I say, “Bring it on.”

What did George Bernard Shaw mean by saying “England and America are two nations divided by a common language”?

A. There is not much difference between British English and American English.

B. Both England and America speak the common language, so they are much the same.

C. Either England or America is a divided nation, though they share a common language.

D. There is sharp difference between England and America despite their common language.

Which of the following is most likely to be the “meat” of an Amerimail?

A. The jellyfish were biting.

B. We had an excellent vacation on the island.

C. We had to skip the whale watching trip.

D. We were to attend the investors’ meeting in New York.

On receiving an e-mail, Europeans tend to __________.

A. respond to it immediately and earnestly

B. take more time than Americans to respond to it

C. respond by calling up their correspondent

D. never respond to it all

What are characteristics of Amerimail?

A. Informal and chatty                                          B. Casual and indirect

C. Stiff and cold                                                       D. Formal and direc60

We can conclude from the passage that __________.

A. the different e-mail styles do much harm to the relationship between the two sides on Atlantic

B. Amerimail is more appreciated by the writer for being informative and casually written

C. Euromail always impresses the writer as something more pleasant to read

D. the writer doesn’t favor either e-mail style as both have their own shortcomings

Believe it or not, there is always something nice to do on weekends. If you take some time to think about your weekends and plan them carefully, they may become more exciting, refreshing and as a result more rewarding.

Throughout weekends, you can join in endless activities. You may attend a weekend course to increase your knowledge, for example, listen to a lecture on ancient Egypt. You may also try various activities, such as short countryside trip, or you may want to go skiing on a cold winter weekend.

You may invite your best friend to a picnic, tell each other jokes and enjoy each other’s company or you may invite more friends to your weekend party and have one another give a talent show.

You can help out in a local library or nursing home and do some voluntary (义务的) jobs.

You can go to a sports ground or amusement centre to play various ball games and others. You may do weekend shopping alone or with somebody. Whatever you do, I hope you have a good weekend.

1.The passage mainly tells us ______.

A. why to plan weekends well

B. how to have a nice weekend

C. when to attend weekend activities

D. where to have a picnic with friends

2.The author suggests doing all the activities EXCEPT ______.

A. going skiing         B. doing some shopping

C. holding a party       D. going over lessons

3.According to the passage one can go to ______ as a volunteer.

A. a nursing home         B. a sports ground

C. a big company          D. a shopping centre

 

阅读下列应用文及相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

首先请阅读关于不同月份天气特征的信息。

A. February – it’s one of the most pleasant months of the year. Most days have clear, sunny skies and the average temperature is a very cool 14°C. With an average monthly rainfall of only 20mm it is also one of the driest months.

B. April – it’s a warm spring month with moderate temperatures averaging around 21°C, and it is very wet, with 200mm rainfall on average for the month.

C. June – although it is the start of summer with average temperatures reaching a hot 28°C, you will not see much sun as it is usually very cloudy. It is also one of the wettest months of the year with frequent rain and average monthly rainfall of 240mm.

D. August – it is the hottest month of the year with average temperatures of 30°C. Generally very sunny during the day, but with frequent heavy rain showers in the evening that make it the wettest month of the year with an average monthly rainfall of 280mm.

E. October – this mid-autumn month is still pleasantly warm with average temperatures of 20°C. Days are mostly cloudy and overcast although rainfall levels are relatively low, averaging 70mm for rain for the month.

F. December – it is one of the coldest months of the year with average temperatures of 13°C. Night can be very cold. Mostly sunny, with a moderate average monthly rainfall of 60mm.

以下是五种蔬菜的种植指引,请把蔬菜与适宜种植的月份匹配起来。

1.Corn – it requires a warm weather for strong and rapid growth. As it needs very wet soil, choose a time when there will be plenty of rain. High temperatures will cause corn to lose its sweet flavour.

2.Tomatoes – these popular plants are easy to grow as they can resist most pests and diseases. They require low temperatures, plenty of direct sunlight and dry conditions for best results.

3.Onions – these are a cold-season crop, easy to grow in the right conditions. They need a moderate amount of rain to keep the soil damp, but too much will cause them to rot. They should be planted during sunny period, as they grow best with plenty of direct sunlight.

4.Eggplants – these are tropical or subtropical, hot-season vegetables that need lots of direct sunlight. They grow best when the weather is very hot and there is plenty of water in the soil.

5.Potatoes – the taste of home-grown potatoes is far superior to store bought ones. They need a mild to warm conditions and relatively dry soil for best growth. They also require cloudy, overcast conditions for most of the time to prevent sunburn.

 

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