中美中学生交流项目安排一批美国中学生来华一周体验中国文化,在网上挑选适合住宿的家庭(homestay family)。假如你是湖州中学的学生李华,愿意接受一位美国学生入住你家,请用英语给项目美方负责人写一封邮件,说明你的家庭和住宿条件,你本人的优势以及你帮助美国中学生体验中国文化的打算。

注意:

1.可适当增加细节;

2.词数:100左右;开头和结尾已给出不计入总词数;

Dear sir,

I am writing to request the valuable chance to be one of the homestay families for the American students.___________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________       

    Looking forward to your reply.   

                                                                             Li Hua

Time to stop excuses for lateness

There are always a couple of people in every office who are habitually late for work. How should a manager handle the problem in a multicultural environment? Should he be patient because different cultures have their own concepts of time? Or should he take disciplinary action?

Scholars tell us that Westerners and Asians approach time differently. Culturally, Westerners live more in the present and the near future. Asians live more in the ancient past or in the distant future.

Asians try to avoid a neurotic(神经过敏的) slavery to time, viewing life as a passing moment in eternity(来世). They enjoy the sense of “zero gravity” that comes from traveling without an immediate goal or an urgent objective.

  To many Asians, life is a long journey and happiness is simply not a matter of time. Instead of rushing, they prefer to maintain a steady pace. Quietly watching the seasons change or children grow is certainly not considered a waste of time.

  Westerners believe that happiness is just over the next hill. A little more time, money or struggle will get them there. Americans, in particular, live by time-pressing schedules and deadlines.

  But how does this insight relate to the need for punctuality(守时) in the office? Should we infer from this difference in cultural outlook that it’s justified for some employees to be late in today’s office life? Does it mean that a manager should disregard punctuality as an office discipline?

On the surface, it might seem that a manager may have to be more tolerant about punctuality with some cultural groups than others. But this is unwarranted in an urban civilization. It would have belief in the academic literature that implies the time orientation(定向) in such a culture is inferior to that in the west.

  This confuses two entirely different things: observance of punctuality and the philosophical opinions of time.

A person’s belief that time is measured in centuries rather than in seconds has nothing to do with his ability to show up on time at the office every day. No Asian employee would ever use a cultural excuse for being late. He may certainly employ more modern excuses such as a traffic jam, a slow watch, or a parking problem. These excuses are the same as those used by the office worker in the West. Why is it considered acceptable to be consistently late for these reasons in Asia, while in the West such a person would be considered undependable and untrustworthy?

The problem is, perhaps, is that in our social life in Asia we tend to be more tolerant of friends and relatives who makes us wait for an hour at the downtown area. We don’t think they are taking our friendship and affection for granted. We don’t consider them guilty of disrespect. What is worse, we let them exonerate(免受责备) themselves with doubtful excuses.

But how we react to latecomers in our social lives is a matter of individual choice. In the world of modern business we can’t afford that flexibility.

No body minds if a person is late to work once in a blue moon. Punctuality should not be allowed to become a fashion. But in the office environment, there has to be a climate of discipline in which a people respect the keeping of time.

Even in those companies which maintain flexible time, there are set hours when employees must be present in the office. Some companies may choose to stagger the opening and closing of their offices to enable employees to avoid the rush hour. But that doesn’t mean there is no longer a need for punctuality.

Being late is, generally, a problem relating to a small number of employees. A manager should try to break their bad habits through suggestions, repeatedly if required. It’s not an easy task and in some cases, it requires a fair amount of patience.

72. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Cultural conceptions can not become excuses for being late.

B. It is high time that Asians get rid of the bad habit of being late.

C. Managers should do more to stop employees from being late.

D. Suggestions have been given to help Asians avoid being late.

73. Which of the following is true according to the author?

A. Asians lay more emphasis on punctuality than Americans do.

B. Americans lay more emphasis on punctuality than Asians do.

C. The author thinks highly of Asians’ patience and tolerance.

D. Americans are more patient and more tolerant than Asians.

74. What does the word “stagger ”in the last paragraph but one mean in this passage ?

A. cause to hesitate or doubt                          B. arrange for different reasons and purposes  

C. walk in an unsteady way                  D. arrange not to come at the same time

75. What is the author’s attitude towards the habitual lateness for work?

A. Neutral                 B. Positive         C. Negative                D. indifferent

Small discoveries in Indonesia are causing a stir in the science world. Researchers have excavated tiny bones that they believe belong to an entirely new human species. If that’s true, it will change how we think about our ancestors.

Clues that the little people may have lived long ago were first issued last year in the scientific journal Nature. Scientists said that they had found the bones of a three-foot-tall female on the island of Flores in Indonesia. When they looked more closely, they saw that the nearly complete skeleton(骨架) belonged to a full-grown adult. Researchers named her Hobbit after the tiny heroes of the Lord of the Rings books.

Now the team is saying it has excavated even more pieces of the puzzle, including a jawbone and parts of arms, legs and hands from several individuals, as well as stone tools. They reported their find in Nature this month. “The new evidence makes it very clear that these people are a new species, distinct from modern humans.” Peter Brown, a scientist on the team, said. They named these ancient humans Homo floresiensis.

Brown says that these little people lived as recently as 12,000 years ago. If Homo floresiensis was a different species from modern humans, that would make our family tree bigger than we knew, It means, says Brown, that “until recently a relative shared the planet with us.”

Many scientists think a new species is unlikely. Some argue that the bones must have belonged to modern humans whose small size was the result of a genetic problem.

Daniel E. Lieberman, a scientist at Harvard University, thinks that the debate over the discovery is healthy. He believes that the questions and arguments raised by critics will help us learn more about these unusual skeletons. “Disagreement is an important part of the scientific process,” Lieberman said, “As far as I’m concerned, the story’s only just begun.”

68. Researchers name the skeleton Hobbit because________.

A.it is a figure described in the Lord of the Rings

B.it resembles the tiny heroes in a set of books

C.it proves to be a full-grown adult

D.it belongs to an ancient human species

69. Small discoveries in Indonesia are important because_______.

A. they are issued in the scientific journal Nature

B. they are made by Peter Brown, a famous scientist

C. they are about ancestors of modern humans

D. they might provide new evidence for human study

70. According to Daniel E. Lieberman_________.

A. Homo floresiensis doesn’t exist        B. disagreement leads to further research

C. the research hasn’t begun yet          D. our family tree is bigger than we know

71. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A. Comparison Between Different Peoples       B. Arguments Over Human Origin

C. Discovery of a Possible New Human Species   D. History of Indonesian People

TODAY, Friday, November 12

JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen.

DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8a. m. to 8p. m. Tel: 682—1158.

SATURDAY, November 13

JAZZ Lysis at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission 60p.

MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789—6749.

FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond.

JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission 80p.

THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion.

Tel: 789—4536

SUNDAY, November 14

DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-remembers 70p. Tel: 688—4626.

HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen.

THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion.

65. Where and when can you hear the Norman Chop Trio?

A. At the Bull’s Head on Sunday.                              B. At the Derby Arms on Sunday.

C. At the Bull on Saturday.                                  D. At the Black Horse on Saturday.

66. Where and when can you hear the Mike Thomas Jazz Band?

A. At the Derby Arms on Friday.                           B. At the Black Horse on Friday.

C. At the Star and Garter on Saturday.                      D. At the Derby Arms on Sunday.

67. You want to enjoy the electric accordion on Saturday. Which telephone number do you have to ring to find out what time it starts?

A. 789—6749.                    B. 789—4536.             C. 682—1158.             D. 688—4626.

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