Once I mentioned the story of a friend getting something made for me to give my daughter as a present, and then not letting me pay her back. Writing about that made me think about the problem of communicating feelings, particularly in cross – cultural situations. Let me explain.

If I say to a fellow English – speaker, “I know how you feel,” what I am actually saying is that I can imagine myself in the same position, and therefore can imagine how I would feel. But my friend could perfectly correctly reply, “No, you don’t! You can’t.” In truth we can communicate how strongly we feel, but we cannot communicate exactly what we feel.

But if we come from the same linguistic and cultural background, the match can be close enough.

Culture and language cannot be separated, and I think that we have the feelings that are recognized in our culture and therefore represented in our language. One might say that we feel the things that our language allows us to express. So when it comes to trying to explain feelings to someone of a different mother tongue, the difficulties are huge.

I could not explain to my friend how I felt about her not letting me repay her, because Chinese culture, it seems, does not recognize the same feelings on such occasions.

She could understand the words that I was using, but could not understand what I was trying to say.

Some time ago, I was going up in the lift, and a colleague with whom I merely have a nodding acquaintance was offering round some sweetmeat. I knew that I really could not eat it, so I refused politely, only to be told that I was making her lose face.

I have no idea how serious the colleague was being. Causing someone to lose face is a serious social mistake. We have to do all we can to learn the types of situation in which it happens, and to try to avoid them. But we can only know about losing face, we can’t feel losing face, as the term is merely a literal translation of Chinese, not one that is native to English.

56. What does the author intend to express in the second paragraph?

A. The author’s friend feels insulted if other people know how she feels.

B. The author’s friend can’t understand the real meaning of the author.

C. The author and her friend can communicate feelings with each other.

D. The author’s friend does not understand English.

57. What does the author mean by saying “… the match can be close enough.”

A. They can share similar opinions and thoughts.            B. They can make a perfect couple.

C. There can be some competition between them.            D. They are even in a match.

58. According to the author, it is        to explain feelings to someone of a different language.

A. very difficult        B. a little bit difficult  C. not difficult at all       D. impossible

59. This passage is focused on           .

A. how to avoid making people lose face       B. cultural differences between the east and the west

C. the importance of one’s cultural background  D. how to be acquainted with Chinese culture

Yesterday, our teacher asked us when people could be considered old. David said that when people got wrinkles (皱纹). However, Mary didn’t   31  . She thought people might gain wrinkles at an earlier age because of their    32   work. Then Lily said that those   33    their 60s or more could be called old people. This time, Emily expressed her doubt. She said that some old people might   34   be full of energy and working on their dreams, which made them appear  35   .The class was over and the teacher asked me to continue to  36   it after class.

The question  37    me of a saying of J.Barrymore: a man isn’t old   38   he is pursuing (追求 ) something.

My grandma is such a woman who   39    her dream even when she’s 70 now. She has kept her dream of being a painter since she was a little child.  40  , because her family was poor, she had to   41   her dream. She had to work to raise money so as to   42    her family. Although she had never forgotten her dream, she could hardly find any   43    to make it come true because of the tough work. Fortunately, a(n)    44   came when she retired from her work. She    45    taking painting lessons even though she was already old. At first, I was    46   her idea of attending school at such an old age, but after seeing her paint happily and enjoyably, I began feeling it a good   47  .She looks fine and seems   48   .

So if we have our dreams and try to   49   them, we aren’t old. If we don’t know what we want and let regrets be the   50   point of our lives, then we can be considered old.

31.    A.  answer              B.  agree                   C.  move               D.  understand

32.    A.  exciting             B.  common              C.  hard                 D.  old

33.    A.  reaching            B.  avoiding               C.  repeating          D.  confirming

34.    A.  sometimes         B.  almost                 C.  hardly              D.  still

35.    A.  attractive           B.  young                  C.  smart               D.  interesting

36.    A.  think about        B.  look for               C   refer to            D.  turn to

37.    A.  prevented          B.  spotted                C.  reminded          D.  puzzled

38.    A.  even if              B.  as if                    C.  so that             D.  as long as

39.    A.  remembers        B.  follows                C.  knows             D.  finds

40.    A.  However           B.  Also                    C.  Fortunately       D.  Approximately

41.    A.  give up              B.  search for            C.  put aside          D.  return to

42.    A.  combine            B.  protect                C.  leave                D.  support

43.    A.  way                  B.  person                 C.  place                D.  service

44.    A.  success             B.  chance                C.  excuse             D.  helper

45.    A.  stopped             B.  considered           C.  liked                D.  began

46.    A.  on                    B.  for                      C.  against             D.  with

47.    A.  choice               B.  dream                  C.  task                 D.  purpose

48.    A.  gentle                B.  energetic              C.  wealthy            D.  penniless

49.    A.  satisfy               B.  express                C.  change             D.  realize

50.    A.  tip                    B.  bottom                C.  center              D.  side

The church seems cold this morning, even after all the people, friends and family, fill the benches. I sit here in silence, in shock and denial. This was not supposed to happen. What about our dreams, or our plans? We were going to raise our children, travel the world, and grow old together. I’m only 37, a typical housewife. I don’t know if I can do all this alone—two children, no father. What do I do or say?
The faces of so many people confuse me as they come to pay their last respects. Some have real sorrow; I can see it in their eyes. The others seem to just say, “I told you so.” Those famous last words: I-told-you-so. How I can’t stand them. And the pointing fingers as so-called family and so-called friends pick me out of the crowd for others to see. I want to scream and wake up but I can’t do anything but sit there. How can they be so blind? I fell in love with a man. Love knows no boundaries .
He was a good man, hardworking, caring and kind. He was retired from the Navy and a gentleman. He was sensitive to others’ needs, the kind of man that knew what to do or say, how to humor any situation and calm everyone’s fears. I remember our first child was a big surprise to both of us. I remember when I told him the news. He fell off his chair, saying over and over in disbelief, “But I’m almost sixty.” After a few months he started planning our next and even doing his famous little dance whenever he discussed the idea.
A man, thirty years older than I, lies in a coffin. Flowers, the American flag and his VFW comrades surround him, paying tribute（颂词）to him as the man he really was. And I sit alone here, with our two children, in silence, praying that this cold morning at church is only a nightmare and I will awake to his loving arms again.

1. 1.

   What can we know from the passage about the writer?
   

   1. A.
      She married a man much older than she. 
   2. B.
      She is going to give birth to their second child.
   3. C.
      She lost her husband, who was as old as she.
   4. D.
      She lost her father, whom she loved deeply.
2. 2.

   From Paragraph Two, we can see ______.
   

   1. A.
      the writer didn’t really love the man
   2. B.
      some of her family members didn’t understand her
   3. C.
      some of her family members and friends were blind
   4. D.
      she thought her marriage to the man was a mistake
3. 3.

   Which of the following can best replace the underlined words “But I’m almost sixty”?
   

   1. A.
      I can’t believe it.                  
   2. B.
      That’s a lot of trouble.
   3. C.
      That should have happened long ago.    
   4. D.
      It can’t be my child.
4. 4.

   Which of the following can’t be used to describe the writer’s feelings for the man?
   

   1. A.
      Sad.        
   2. B.
      Loving.       
   3. C.
      Inseparable       
   4. D.
      Complaining.

The church seems cold this morning, even after all the people, friends and family, fill the benches. I sit here in silence, in shock and denial. This was not supposed to happen. What about our dreams, or our plans? We were going to raise our children, travel the world, and grow old together. I’m only 37, a typical housewife. I don’t know if I can do all this alone—two children, no father. What do I do or say?

The faces of so many people confuse me as they come to pay their last respects. Some have real sorrow; I can see it in their eyes. The others seem to just say, “I told you so.” Those famous last words: I-told-you-so. How I can’t stand them. And the pointing fingers as so-called family and so-called friends pick me out of the crowd for others to see. I want to scream and wake up but I can’t do anything but sit there. How can they be so blind? I fell in love with a man. Love knows no boundaries .

He was a good man, hardworking, caring and kind. He was retired from the Navy and a gentleman. He was sensitive to others’ needs, the kind of man that knew what to do or say, how to humor any situation and calm everyone’s fears. I remember our first child was a big surprise to both of us. I remember when I told him the news. He fell off his chair, saying over and over in disbelief, “But I’m almost sixty.” After a few months he started planning our next and even doing his famous little dance whenever he discussed the idea.

A man, thirty years older than I, lies in a coffin. Flowers, the American flag and his VFW comrades surround him, paying tribute（颂词）to him as the man he really was. And I sit alone here, with our two children, in silence, praying that this cold morning at church is only a nightmare and I will awake to his loving arms again.

1.What can we know from the passage about the writer?

A. She married a man much older than she. 

B. She is going to give birth to their second child.

C. She lost her husband, who was as old as she.

D. She lost her father, whom she loved deeply.

2.From Paragraph Two, we can see ______.

A. the writer didn’t really love the man

B. some of her family members didn’t understand her

C. some of her family members and friends were blind

D. she thought her marriage to the man was a mistake

3. Which of the following can best replace the underlined words “But I’m almost sixty”?

A. I can’t believe it.

B. That’s a lot of trouble.

C. That should have happened long ago.

D. It can’t be my child.

4.Which of the following can’t be used to describe the writer’s feelings for the man?

A. Sad.         B. Loving.        C. Inseparable        D. Complaining.