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  Although gifts play an important role in business around the world, you run the risk of offending(冒犯)a colleague if you present an inappropriate gift.In many eyes, a poor gift choice is worse than not offering a gift at all.

  Every culture has specific items that are considered taboo(忌讳)or bad luck.Many of these traditions aren't followed as much these days by the younger generations or within more modem and global companies.However, it's a good idea to be careful when you're deciding on a gift, particularly if the recipient is an older person.

  Here are some gifts that you should avoid in certain parts of the world:

  Europe:Red roses symbolize a romantic relationship in many parts of Europe.An arrangement containing 13 flowers is considered bad luck in Germany and Switzerland.In addition, the preference is for flower arrangements to have an even number of flowers.

  China:Sharp objects symbolize the cutting off of the relationship.Clocks are not appropriate because the Chinese phrase to give a clock sounds the same as to attend a dying parent.Handkerchiefs imply sadness.Never give an odd(奇数)number of an item; odd numbers symbolize separation, loneliness, and death.Do not bring food when you're invited to a meal because that implies your host cannot provide enough food.

  The Middle East:Buying alcohol is forbidden in the Islamic faith, so don't present wine to your host.Pigs are banned because they're considered scavengers, so you shouldn't bring pork products, either.

  India:Cows are sacred in India, so items made from cowhide are very offensive.

  Latin America:Since some of the world's finest leather goods are made in Latin America, it would be insulting to bring leather from another country.Also, chrysanthemums(菊花), white asters, carnations(康乃馨), and yellow and purple flowers are sent only for funerals(葬礼).

  Korea and Japan:Don't give items in groups of four or nine.The words in Korean and Japanese that sound the same as the words for four and nine are related to death.In Japan, individual flowers are only for courting, death, or an illness.

  Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia:Keep your gifts simple.Large and expensive gifts are considered tasteless.

(1)

What does the author want to tell us in this passage?

[  ]

A.

Not all the people like gifts.

B.

You shouldn't send gifts to people in some countries.

C.

You should make the right choice when sending gifts to people.

D.

It's better not to send gifts when you are in a foreign country.

(2)

The choice of flowers is important in ________ while the number of flowers is important in ________.

[  ]

A.

Japan…Switzerland

B.

Korea…Europe

C.

Scandinavia…Latin America

D.

Latin America…Germany

(3)

An expensive painting would not be a good choice of gift in ________.

[  ]

A.

China

B.

Scandinavia

C.

India

D.

The Middle East

(4)

From the passage we can infer that ________.

[  ]

A.

some taboos are connected with everyday behaviors

B.

every culture has its gift taboos

C.

you needn't care about taboos when sending gifts to young people

D.

all the gift taboos are similar in western countries

Tsai Chin Chung is one of Taiwan’s most famous cartoonists, and his cartoons are enjoyed by people in many different countries in Asia. His books of cartoons have now become best sellers in Singapore, Malaysia, and even Japan.

   As soon as he could hold a pencil, Tsai Chin Chung lived only for drawing. Every day he practised drawing people and things around him and from his favorite stories.

   When he was only 15 years old, he left home to work for a publisher in Taipei. He worked hard to draw pictures for books. Two years later, he left his job and started to work on drawing cartoon series, which he liked better. He made up his mind to succeed as a cartoonist.

   Now Tsai Chin Chung has achieved something unusual for a modern cartoonist. He has become extremely successful at changing Chinese literature (文学) and philosophy (哲学) into humorous comic stories. In this way, he has made the Chinese classics (古典文学) known to thousands of people.

    Because of his great achievement, several years ago Tsai Chin Chung was given a prize as one of the 10 Outstanding Young People of Taiwan. Since then, he has won many prizes, and his cartoons have become popular throughout Asia, America and Europe. So far, he has published more than 20 comic books. Ten of these are about ancient Chinese philosophers based on Chinese historical and literary classics.  

   Many of Tsai Chin Chung’s books of cartoons and comics have now been published in English in countries like Singapore. His books have also been translated into several other languages, including Japanese, Korean and Thai. Even publishers in France and Indonesia have recently signed agreements for permission to publish his cartoon series.

Tsai Chin Chung first worked as ________.

A. a book seller                    B. a cartoonist    

C. a writer of Chinese stories          D. an artist drawing pictures for books

Tsai Chin Chung left his first job because he ________.

A. preferred drawing cartoons           B. wanted to go back to school

C. enjoyed drawing pictures for books  D. wanted to be famous

Tsai Chin Chung first became interested in drawing when he _______.

A. left school      B. was a very small child  C. was 15  D. started to be a cartoonist

Half of the books he has published are related to _______.

A. Chinese and foreign comics       B. countries in Asia, America and Europe

C. foreign languages learning           D. Chinese history and literature

Because of his great achievements, Tsai Chin Chung _______.

A. travelled a lot in Asia and Europe           B. went to live in Singapore C. won an important prize in Taiwan           D. has become famous in Africa.

Tsai Chin-chung is one of Taiwan’s most famous cartoonists, and his cartoons are enjoyed by people in many different countries in Asia. His books of cartoons have now become best sellers in Singapore, Malaysia, and even Japan.

As soon as he could hold a pencil or a brush, Tsai Chin-chung lived only for drawing. Every day he practised drawing people and things around him as well as characters and scenes from his favorite stories.

When he was only 15 years old, he left home to work for a publisher in  Taibei.  At first he was only 15 years old and he worked hard to draw pictures for books. So two years later he decided to leave his job as an artist who draws pictures for books and to work on drawing cartoon series. He made up his mind to succeed as a cartoonist even if it meant “living on instant noodles” in order to make himself famous.

Now nearly 50 years old, Tsai Chin-chung has achieved something unusual for a modern cartoonist. He has become extraordinarily successful at changing Chinese literature and philosophy  into humorous comic stories. In this way, he had made the Chinese classics known to thousands of people.

In recognition of his great achievement, several years ago Tsai Chin-chung was given a prize as one of the 10 Outstanding Young People of Taiwan. Since then, he has won many prizes and his cartoons have become popular in countries and areas throughout Asia, America and Europe. So far, he has published more than 20 comic books. Ten of these are about ancient Chinese philosophers, and the remainder are based on Chinese historical and literary classics.

Many of Tsai Chin-chung’s books of cartoons and comics have now been published in English in countries and areas like Singapore. His books have also been translated into several other languages, including Japanese, Korean and Thai. Even publishers in countries like France and Indonesia have recently signed agreements for permission to publish his cartoon series.

What job did Tsai Chin-chung do when he was fifteen years old?(No more than 5 words) (2 marks)

What does “living on instant noodles” mean in this passage? (No more than 4 words) (3 marks)

How does he make the Chinese classics known to thousands of people? (No more than 10 words) (2 marks)

. Why was Tsai Chin-chung nominated one of the ten outstanding young people of Taiwan? (No more than 5 words) (3 marks)

People often hear each others' voices without ever seeing the faces they belong to. "Nowadays we are talking away on the phone without meeting people," says Seung-Jae Moon. And from business conference calls to chat lines, people often imagine they would recognize the speaker if they saw him or her. Seung-Jae Moon, a linguist of Korea found that, under certain conditions, they're actually right.
Moon decided to see just how close those mental pictures match up with reality and if there was any relation to how people speak rather than what they are saying. He recorded 16 Koreans, half men and half women, reading the same passage, and took a full-body photo and head shot of each speaker. Then he played the tapes for 361 Koreans and 173 Americans who did not speak Korean and asked his subjects to match up voice and picture. The Korean participants viewing full-body photos were quite perceptive. A majority linked 6 of the 8 women to the correct voice and did so for 5 of the 8 men. With the Korean group shown only faces, accuracy plummeted, but more than 20 percent of the subjects selected the same incorrect picture. The Americans showed no accuracy in matching the foreign voices to photos, but they too were consistent in their errors. That disconnection reveals conflicting ideas of physical and vocal beauty. Moon asked people to pick a favorite face and voice. Seventy percent of the Koreans picked one voice, but there was no agreement on a face. Americans didn' t agree on either count. And over 65 percent of both Koreans and Americans did not match their favorite face with their favorite voice.
Moon hopes to use software to break voices into components like pitch and hoarseness to narrow down which elements trigger certain mental pictures. "If we can map which characteristics of the voice triggers what kind of linage, and it doesn't matter whether that image is the right or wrong one of the actual speaker, then we can create an image through voice,' he says. That capacity could help to create computer-synthesized voices tailored to conjure up specific associations — audio books for children that inspire motherly visages, or warning alerts that bring to mind a stern police officer.
【小题1】People often think that they would ______ the speaker when they saw the speaker.

A.understandB.recognizeC.likeD.surprise
【小题2】Moon decided to do the experiment to ______.
A.see how close mental pictures match up with reality
B.how people speak
C.see if there was any relation to how people speak rather than what they are saying
D.both A and C
【小题3】He asked ______ Korean women to speak and recorded their voices.
A.12B.16 C.8D.10
【小题4】______ were more perceptive in recognizing full-body photos.
A.The KoreansB.The American women
C.The Korean womenD.The Americans
【小题5】______ percent of Koreans and Americans matched their favorite face with their favorite voice.
A.Less than 65B.Less than 35C.Over 65D.About 20

 

Do people in your country hug in the street? In some countries, it is common for people to show affection(亲密) in public places. In the United States, for example, we often see couples hold hands, hug and kiss on the street, in the park, in the restaurant and even on trains and buses. But in some other countries, people never show affection in public places because their customs don’t permit this, for example, in Korea and China. So, when Korean and Chinese people visit the United States, they sometimes feel very surprised when they see Americans hug and kiss on the street.

In some countries, friends show physical affection to each other. In some South American countries, female friends walk arm in arm when they walk along the street together. In Italy and Russia, male friends often kiss each other on both cheeks when they greet. In most countries, men don’t kiss or hug when they greet each other. They usually shake hands or pat each other on the back. People around the world are different in the amount, manner and situation in which they touch each other.

67. The main idea of this passage is ____.

A. the custom in Korea and China are exactly the same.

B. Koreans and Americans can never understand each other.

C. South Americans are more friendly than North Americans

D. Different countries permit different amounts of touching in public

68. Chinese and Korean feel surprised to see Americans hug and kiss on the street because ____.

A. they never hug or kiss

B. they themselves are polite

C. their own customs don’t permit such conduct

D. kissing each other is not allowed on the street

69. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Chinese people often kiss on the street. 

B. In all countries public affection is permitted.

C. In many countries, men shake hands when they greet each other.

D. The Americans are not as polite as people in other countries.

70. From the passage we can guess____.

A. Korean people often kiss and hug on American streets

B. People all over the world like to kiss their friends

C. Americans like to kiss and hug Korean people on the street

D. It may be strange to Americans to see two men kiss on both cheeks.

 

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