题目内容
Reportedly yesterday a group of American soldiers were walking along the road in Iraq when a bomb was ________ , three of whom were killed.
A．set about B．set out C．set up D．set off
D
Spanish men will have to learn to change diapers and do dishwashing under the terms of a new law designed to strike a blow.
The law, due to be passed this month, is likely to cause a revolution in family affairs in a country where 40% of men reportedly don’t do housework at all. It will oblige men to “share domestic responsibilities and the care and attention” of children and elderly family members, according to the draft approved by the Spanish parliament’s justice commission.
“This will be a good way of reminding people what their duties are. It is something feminists (女权主义者) have been wanting for a long time,” said Margarita Uria, of the Basque Nationalist Party, who was behind what is an amendment to a new divorce law.
Failure to meet the obligations will be taken into consideration by judges when determining the terms of divorces. Men who refuse to do their part may be given less frequent contact with their children.
Spanish women spend five times longer on housework than husbands. Even when both have jobs outside the home, Spanish women still do three times as much work in the house.
“It is not just about housework, though,” said Ms. Uria.
A study five years ago by Spain’s Center for Sociological Investigation concluded that fathers spent an average of 13 minutes each day looking after their children.
Only 19 % of Spanish men thought it was right for mothers of school-age children to have a full-time job. More than a third thought mothers should not work outside the home at all.
The Change to the Spanish legal code will see domestic obligations added to a list of marital(婚姻的) duties that currently includes fidelity, living together and helping one another.
That should guarantee that, when the law—which will also make divorce proceedings faster and easier—is voted on in parliament in the next few weeks, the obligation to share domestic chores will be added to the statute books.
【小题1】 What is the percentage of Spanish men who don’t do any housework?
| A．19% | B．40% | C．60% | D．80% |
| A．Men are obliged to do housework. |
| B．Men will have to take care of children. |
| C．Women have to have full-time jobs. |
| D．Men will have to take care of the elderly. |
| A．If a man fails to fulfill the obligation, he will get a divorce. |
| B．If a man fails to fulfill the obligation, he will be thrown to the jail. |
| C．If a man fails to fulfill the obligation, he will be in an unfavorable condition in a divorce. |
| D．If a man fails to fulfill the obligation, he will not be allowed to see the child any more. |
| A．Spain will pass a new law to oblige men to share domestic responsibilities. |
| B．Men have to share more domestic responsibilities. |
| C．There will be a revolution by provoked (被激怒的) feminists. |
| D．Marital laws in Spain are not enough yet. |
When Chinese student Du Juan brought her American boyfriend home two years ago to use the toilet, her Japanese roommate became so upset that she shouted in English: "I hate you."
Du, then 21 and an undergraduate at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, was shocked. So was her boyfriend.
"Later I realized that she didn't literally mean what she said and that she was not aware of the full meaning of the word 'hate' in English," said Du. "It was more a problem with translation," she added.
Cultural differences can cause confusion about what words or even actions mean, an issue that has come to the forefront recently following the arrest of a Chinese doctoral degree student in New Jersey.
Zhai Tiantian, who studied at the Stevens Institute of Technology, has been accused of trying to set fire to a campus building and of making threats to a professor who gave him a low mark. No physical altercation took place but Zhai reportedly said something along the lines of "at worst, I will risk anything on the line." The professor called the campus police.
According to the indictment sheet（起诉书）, Zhai is facing the serious charge of making a terroristic threat.
For a few days, Chinese media mistranslated, or misunderstood, the charges and reported that Zhai was being charged with terrorism.
Some language experts have speculated（推测） that the disagreement between Zhai and the professor can also be chalked up to cultural and linguistic differences. "What Chinese people regard as acceptable speech may be regarded by Americans as threats," said Luo Gang, the Chinese Consulate's Overseas Chinese Affairs consul. "This is an unfortunate incident. Even though Zhai intended no harm, he has done himself a great deal of harm."
Du, now 23, said she supports Zhai's actions in fighting to save his academic career, but added he needs to learn more about communication in a foreign language.
"Chinese students in a foreign country must prepare more in terms of languages and conversation skills to avoid misunderstandings," she said.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “altercation” mean？
| A．fight | B．check | C．education | D．experiment |
| A．Translation was not the real problem, as Du Juan and her roommate can both speak English. |
| B．Du Juan can not understand what her roommate meant at all. |
| C．Her roommate didn’t know what “hate” really meant in daily conservation. |
| D．Her roommate spoke such poor English that she felt angry. |
| A．He set fire to a campus building. |
| B．He argued with a professor because he received a low mark. |
| C．He has received a doctor’s degree at the Stevens Institute of Technology. |
| D．He is facing a serious charge because he murdered the professor. |
| A．Du Juan’s unpleasant experience abroad. |
| B．Confusion caused by translation. |
| C．Conservational skills in a foreign country. |
| D．Cultural differences between China and America. |
The 16-year-old girl Jessica Watson is said to be the youngest person to sail non-stop alone around the world. But her record has been questioned because someone thought that she has not sailed far enough. She will also not be recognized by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, as it was too dangerous for someone under 18 years old.
Ms Watson sailed into Sydney port on Saturday, seven months after leaving on a hard voyage. Family, friends and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have gathered to greet her. Thousands of well-wishers waited at the port and watched from boats as Ms Watson sailed her pink, 10m boat over the finishing line. Many more Australians watched the event broadcast live on television. Watson said she was just an “ordinary girl who believed in her dream”.
Ms Watson left Sydney on 18 October, despite that some people disagreed her plan. Watson traveled northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator (赤道), south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia. The route took her through some of the world’s most changeful waters, and she battled through huge storms and suffered seven accidents of her boat.
People around the world have followed Ms Watson’s adventures on her blog, which she has daily updated (更新). On her blog, she wrote down beautiful sunrise over seas, the excitement of meeting a blue whale and the bright, terrible sight of a shooting star flying across the night sky above her boat. Ms Watson has reportedly sold her story to a news company for $700,000. She is planning to write a book on her experience.
【小题1】 Which of the following oceans didn’t Ms Watson cross through in her voyage?
| A．The Pacific Ocean | B．The Atlantic Ocean |
| C．The Indian Ocean | D．The Arctic Ocean. |
| A．no one can prove that her route was dangerous enough |
| B．she hasn’t applied for the record |
| C．girls are not allowed to take part in the dangerous sports |
| D．teenagers re not encouraged to take such a dangerous adventure |
| A．would make another voyage for money |
| B．made the world round voyage for money |
| C．had no way to communicate with others during the voyage. |
| D．is so confident and brave that she could overcome troubles on her own |
| A．her book about her voyage is a best seller |
| B．people in Australia had much interest in her voyage |
| C．she spent more than 200 days alone at sea |
| D．people have different attitudes towards her voyage |