Question

When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.

“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfast houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were on holiday.” I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is said “vacaciones”. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to houses where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels.

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means “fun”. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French, I meant that I would like some more, however to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, Thank you”.

1.The author’s Spanish friends wanted advice about _______.

A. some funny English stories

B. finding places to stay in England

C. driving their car on English roads

D. going to England by car

2.The author suggested that they stay at “bed and breakfast” because _______.

A. it would be convenient for them to have dinners and live

B. it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels

C. they would be able to practice their English in the house

D. there would be no problem about finding accommodation there

3.“NO VACANCIES” in English means _______.

A. no free rooms B. free rooms

C. not away on holiday D. they don’t live

4.If you see road sign that says “Diversion” in England, you will _______.

A. take the road and you will be excited

B. have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself

C. find that the road is blocked by crowds of people

D. have to take a different road

Answer 1