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
阅读理解
In the Caucasus(高加索)region of the Soviet Union, nearly 50 out of every 100, 000 people live to celebrate their 100 birthday, and many don't stop at 100!By comparison, in America, only 3 people out of 10, 000 reach 100．But these Soviet old people are not alone．The Pakistani Hunzas, who live in the Himalaya Mountains and the Uilcabambans of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, seem to share the secret of long life, too．These peoples remain healthy in body and spirit despite of the passage of time．While many elder persons in industrial societies become weak and ill in their 60s and 70s, some Georgians, aged 110 to 140, work in the fields beside their great grand children．Even the idea of aging is foreign to them, when asked, “at what age does youth end?”most of these old people had no answer．Several replied, “well, perhaps at 80”, the very youngest estimate was age 60．
What accounts for this ability to survive to such old age, and to survive so well?First of all, hard physical work is a way of life for all these long-lived people．They begin their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop．
All these people get healthful rewards from the environment in which they work．They all come from mountain regions．This reduced oxygen environment makes the heart and blood vessel system stronger．
Another factor that may contribute to the good health of these people is their isolation．To a great extent, they are separated from the pressures and worries of industrial society．Inherited factors also play some role．
(1)
Why does the writer mention some long-lived people in the first paragraph?
[ ]
A．
To surprise his readers．
B．
To introduce the subject of the article．
C．
To tell you the difference between people in the Soviet Union and America．
D．
To tell you why Americans don't live as long as other people．
(2)
How many factors that contribute to long life of the people are mentioned in the article?
[ ]
A．
One．
B．
Two．
C．
Three．
D．
Four．
(3)
Whom does the underlined word“they”refer to in Paragraph 2?
[ ]
A．
Old people in the Soviet Union．
B．
The Parkistani Hunzas．
C．
All of the long-lived people．
D．
Some Georgians．
(4)
From the writer's viewpoint, industrial society ________．
[ ]
A．
is highly developed and beneficial to people
B．
is a great advance in human history
C．
is full of pressures and therefore bad for people's health
D．
should be replaced by isolated environment because it is bad for people's health
(5)
Which of the following is true according to the article?
[ ]
A．
It is beneficial for people to be isolated．
B．
People should learn to relax themselves from high pressures of life in industrial society．
C．
The more hard physical work you do, the more healthy you will be．
D．
The more remote areas you live in, the more healthy you will be．
阅读理解
More surprising, perhaps, than the current diffculties of traditional marriages is the fact that marriage itself is alive and thriving(旺盛的)．As Skolnick notes, Americans are a marrying people：relative to Europeans, more of us marry and we marry at a younger age．Moreover, after a decline(衰退)in the early 1970s, the rate of marriage in the United States is now increasing．Even the divorce(离婚)rate needs to be taken in this pro-marriage context：some 80 percent of divorced individuals remarry．Thus, marriage remains by far the preferred way of life for the vast majority of the people in our society．
What has changed more than marriage is the nuclear family．Twenty-five years ago, the typical American family consisted of the husband, the wife, and two or three children．Now, there are many marriages in which couples have decided not to have any children, and there are many marriages where at least some of the children are from the wife's previous marriage, or husband's, or both．Sometimes these children spend all of their time with one parent from the former marriage; Sometimes they are shared between the two former spouses(配偶)．
Thus, one can find every type of family arrangement．There are marriages without children; marriages with children from only the present marriages; marriages with“full-time”children from both the present and former marriage; marriages with“full-time”children from the present marriage and“part-time”children from former marriages．There are stepfathers, stepmothers, half-brothers and half-sisters．It is not all that unusual for a child to have four parents and eight grandparents!These are enormous changes from the traditional nuclear family．But even so, even in the midst of all this．there remains one constant：most Americans spend most of their adult lives married．
(1)
By calling Americans a marrying people the writer means that ________．
[ ]
A．
Americans are more traditional than Europeans
B．
Americans expect more out of marriage than Europeans
C．
there are more married couples in the U. S. A. than in Europe
D．
more of Americans, as compared with Europeans, prefer marriage and they accept it at a younger age
(2)
Divorced Americans ________．
[ ]
A．
prefer the way they live
B．
will most likely remarry
C．
have lost interest in marriage
D．
are the majority of people in the society
(3)
Which of the following can be presented as the picture of today's American families?
[ ]
A．
Many types of family arrangements have become socially acceptable．
B．
A typical American family consists of only a husband and a wife．
C．
Americans prefer to have more kids than before．
D．
There are no nuclear families any more．
(4)
Though great changes have taken place in the structure of American families, ________．
[ ]
A．
the majority of Americans still have faith in marriage
B．
the functions of marriage remain unchanged
C．
most Americans prefer a second marriage
D．
most Americans prefer to be single
阅读理解
Snow Leopard
The Snow Leopard lives in the Himalayan mountain area．It is strange and not common, but because of its nice coat, it has been hunted and is now endangered(濒临绝种的危险)．
Asiatic Elephant
The Asiatic Elephant, found in various parts of South East Asia, has smaller ears and is generally smaller in size than its African cousin．Its trunk, with around 40, 000 tiny muscles(肌肉), is very strong and is a perfect tool for eating．The Asiatic Elephant spends most of its time searching for food, pulling up small trees and bamboo with roots．Some elephants have been known to live as long as sixty years．The Asiatic Elephant is endangered because its natural place of growth is destroyed．
Malayan Tapir
The Tapir is found in Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra．It is an excellent swimmer, usually living near a permanent supply of water where it feeds on the green shoots and young leaves of rainforest trees．One of its natural enemy is the tiger, but logging(砍伐)of its forest and catching without permission are the main danger to its states of continuing to live．
Sun Bear
Why is this bear called the Sun Bear?It has yellow marking on its chest which looks like the sun．The bears also spend much of their time sunbathing．Sun Bears, the smallest of the bears, are excellent climbers and live only in the rainforests and coconut(椰子)plantations of Southeast Asia．
(1)
Which of the following rightly points out the danger to the Malayan Tapir?
[ ]
A．
Lack of food, coconut plantations and elephants．
B．
Hunters, a lack of fresh water and logging．
C．
Logging, tigers and hunters．
D．
Elephants, coconut plantations and tigers．
(2)
The most likely place to find a Sun Bear is ________．
[ ]
A．
close to mountain
B．
near a freshwater stream
C．
in an African forest
D．
in a rainforest
(3)
The best word to replace“permanent”as it is used in“Malayan Tapir”of the passage is ________．
[ ]
A．
constant
B．
natural
C．
unusual
D．
great
(4)
What do the Sun Bear and the Malayan Tapir have in common?They both ________．
[ ]
A．
climb trees
B．
live in rainforests
C．
feed on bamboo
D．
enjoy swimming
(5)
The main purpose of this information is to ________．
[ ]
A．
explain how long animals can live
B．
show how humans care for animals
C．
list the most popular animals in Asia
D．
provide details about endangered animals
阅读理解
The following is a true story．It happened in the northern end of Queensland, Australia, where all kinds of animals live in the forest．
Lisa, a 33-year-old woman, went to prepare lunch in the kitchen, leaving Barney, her three-year-old son, playing by himself in the back garden．
Suddenly, a sharp cry of Barney came in to them other's ears, and Lisa rushed in to the backyard in a hurry and found a big snake entwining(缠绕)the little child with its terrible body and trying to eat the boy as its delicious dish!It was a boa(蟒)!Lisa was terrified and quite angry．She made up her mind to save her son from the snake's mouth．It was fearless(not afraid)mother love that made Lisa forget what she faced．She took up an old hoe(锄)from the ground and beat the boa with all her might．
One…two…With the hoe, Lisa beat the snake repeatedly, but useless．The little boy's voice and breath were getting weaker and weaker．Lisa's heart was broken and she got nearly mad．
Suddenly Lisa put away the hoe and threw herself to the boa, opened her mouth and bit(咬)into the boa's back as if trying to eat a rare steak(牛排)．Lisa was really mad!
Blood was spurting(喷射)out of the boa's body and covered most of Lisa's body．The boa was so badly wounded that it let go of Barney and moved back into the forest hurriedly．It had never known how a woman had such terrible sharp teeth!On halfway home, the boa died．
It was fearless mother's love that saved the little boy．
(1)
When she came into the back garden, Lisa found ________．
[ ]
A．
a boa eating her son
B．
her son was playing with a big snake
C．
her son in danger of losing his life
D．
Barney was fighting with a boa
(2)
The best title(标题)of this passage is ________
[ ]
A．
Mother and Boa
B．
Fearless Mother Love
C．
A Boe and A Boy
D．
Saving A Boy from A Boa
(3)
Liza failed in fighting against the boa at first just because ________．
[ ]
A．
she was worried
B．
the boa was so strong
C．
the hoe was not sharp enough and the boa's body was too hard
D．
she was afraid that what she did would hurt her son
(4)
Lisa bit the snake because ________．
[ ]
A．
she was mad
B．
she thought her teeth much sharper than the hoe
C．
her son was entwined by the boa
D．
she hadn't got any other way to deal with the snake
阅读理解
“Bad luck always comes in three”and last Saturday seemed to prove it．After trouble with the car and the television, we spent the evening waiting for the next trouble．Shortly after dinner we both smelled smoke．My wife, who was often careless when cooking, ran to the kitchen but returned looking puzzled．I rushed up the stairs to see smoke coming from under our bedroom door．I went to the bathroom and tied a wet cloth over my face．Then I returned to the bedroom, opened the door and crawled(爬)in——there would be less smoke at floor level．With one hand reaching out in front of me I advanced carefully feeling for the switch to turn off the electric blanket．At that moment I heard the bell of a coming fire engine．Thank goodness my wife had not been wasting her time．
(1)
The wife rushed into the kitchen because ________．
[ ]
A．
the smoke came out of the kitchen
B．
she left something in the kitchen
C．
she was afraid the smoke was caused by her carelessness
D．
things in the kitchen were easy to cause fire
(2)
The cause of the fire might be ________．
[ ]
A．
the fire
B．
the kitchen
C．
electricity
D．
bad luck
(3)
When the husband was upstairs trying to stop the smoke ________．
[ ]
A．
the wife telephoned the firemen
B．
the firemen saw the smoke and came
C．
the wife was downstairs doing nothing
D．
they were in great danger
(4)
The passage wants to express that ________．
[ ]
A．
an unlucky person will have trouble one after another
B．
an unlucky person will only have trouble three times
C．
“THREE”is an unlucky number
D．
“THREE”always comes with a bad luck
阅读理解
HOW TO BOOK
Booking opens for Beckett Shorts on 8 September．
BY TELEPHONE
For credit card(信用卡)bookings．Calls are answered．
BOX OFFICE
01789 295623 9a. m.-8p. m.(Mon.-Sat．)
0541 541051(24hours, 7days, no booking charge)．
BYFAX
For credit card bookings：Please allow at least 48 hours for reply, if required．
BOX OFFICE
01789 261974 or 01862 387765
BYPOST
Please enclose(附上)a cheque or credit card details together with an SAE or add 50p to the total amount(总额)to cover postage．Please send to the Box Office, RST, Stratford－upon－Avon, CV376BB．
Booking opens for all other plays on 19 September．
IN PERSON
BOX OFFICE
RST hall, 9∶30a. m.-8p. m.(Mon．-Sat．)
(6p. m. when theatres are closed)．
OVERSEAS BOOKING
The easiest method of payment is by credit card．
You can also pay by：Eurocheque(up to￡500)you're your card number written on the back．
PAYING FOR YOUR TICKETS
CREDIT CARDS
We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express and Diners Club．Please give the card number, name and address of card holder．
CHEQUES Cheques and postal orders should be payable to：Royal Shakespeare Theatre．
(1)
In which of the following ways of booking does one probably have to pay extra money?
[ ]
A．
In person．
B．
By telephone．
C．
By fax．
D．
By post．
(2)
One has to wait for 2 days or longer for a reply if he/she pays ________．
[ ]
A．
in person
B．
by telephone
C．
by fax
D．
by post
(3)
What is a useful number to call at 11a. m. Sunday?
[ ]
A．
01789 295623．
B．
0541 541051．
C．
01789 261174．
D．
01862 387665．
阅读理解
The making of glass is a very old industry at least 4, 500 years old．Glass has many extraordinary qualities and it is frequently being used in new ways．One of the most interesting new uses for glass is in telephone communication．Scientists have developed glass fibres as thin as human hair which are designed to carry light signals．When the light reaches the other end, it is first changed into electrical signals, which are in turn converted(转变)into sound messages．Called lightwave communication, the new system was used successfully in an experiment in Chicago in 1977．During the experiment two glass fibres were able to carry 672 conversations at the same time．The light wave cable, containing 144 glass fibres, has the capacity(容量)to carry 50, 000 conversations at the same time．The lightwave communication system has two important advantages．First the glass fibre cables are smaller and weigh less than copper(铜)cables; second, they cost less．
(1)
One of the extraordinary qualities of glass is that it can carry ________．
[ ]
A．
any signal
B．
light signals
C．
sound signals
D．
electrical signals
(2)
Before you can hear a message on the telephone using the new system ________．
[ ]
A．
the light signals have to be changed into electrical sound
B．
neither the light nor the electrical signals have to be changed in any way
C．
light must first be changed into electrical signals and then into sound
D．
electrical signals must first be changed into light signals and then into sound
(3)
According to the passage the new telephone communication system ________．
[ ]
A．
was put on experiment in 1977
B．
had been put into actual use by 1977
C．
had been repeatedly experimented before 1977
D．
was first put into actual use in 1977
(4)
From the passage, you can tell that people prefer glass fibre cables to copper cables because ________．
[ ]
A．
glass fibre is easier to make
B．
glass fibre is less expensive
C．
glass fibre is more up to date
D．
glass fibre delivers messages directly
(5)
Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Light signals have changed the use of glass in industry．
B．
Glass fibres have reduced the cost of telephone communication．
C．
Glass is very useful because it has many unusual qualities．
D．
The use of glass fibres to carry telephone messages is an interesting new development．
阅读理解
Standley is one of the oldest villages in Hong Kong．Even a hundred and fifty years ago it was a large fishing village．People called it Chik Chu．The village has changed a lot since the arrival of the British in 1841．When the British sailors came in that year, they began to call the village Standley．Lord Standley was a famous Englishman at that time．English people have called it Standley since then．Chik Chu was a good place for fishing boats．Many fishermen kept their junks(大帆船)at Chik Chu and others made homes there．Because there were many caves near Chik Chu, pirates(海盗)lived there, too．The name of the most famous of all the pirates was Cheung Pao Tsai．He lived in Chik Chu nearly two hundred years ago and he had over six hundred ships and eighty thousand men．Cheung Pao Tsai was brave, but he was also very cruel．He captured many rich people．He wanted their friends to pay him a lot of money．If they did not do so, he took his prisoners to a high rock in Standley Bay．He made them jump into the sea from this rock．Today you can see the Hwai Jen Shih rock at Standley．
(1)
British sailors first came to Standley over ________．
[ ]
A．
40 years ago
B．
1841 years ago
C．
162 years ago
D．
200 years ago
(2)
Standley was named after ________．
[ ]
A．
a great fisherman
B．
a brave Chinese pirate
C．
a famous Englishman
D．
a high rock
(3)
Pirates lived in Standley because there were ________．
[ ]
A．
lots of caves
B．
many junks
C．
British sailors
D．
high rocks
(4)
Cheung Pao Tsai was ________．
[ ]
A．
a brave and cruel chief pirate
B．
cruel but not a very brave chief pirate
C．
the old name of the Hwai Jen Shih rock
D．
a rich man
阅读理解
Twenty years ago I worked in a middle school．There I taught my students physics．I had studied well and learned a lot by then．I explained the lessons clearly, so they liked my classes．
Soon the school years was over．I couldn't decide where to spend my summer holiday．Just at that moment I heard from my father．In his letter he said he had a cousin in Tennessee and it would be his fiftieth birthday the next month．He told me to take part in his birthday party instead of him．I hadn't been to the place before and hoped to see the uncle．And I set out at once．
I got off the train at a small station．A carriage(马车)took me right to his farm．His manor(庄园)lay in the middle of the large and wide farm, between a river and a forest and I decided to take my holiday there．My uncle and aunt received me at the gate．He looked strong and introduced his children to me．They were all friendly to me．After a nice dinner he showed me around his manor．It was built two hundred years ago and there were a lot of rooms in it．Most were locked and I couldn't see inside．I had a good sleep that night．
The following day a lot of guests(客人)came and my uncle was happy and busy．I heard someone said there was a ghost(鬼)in my room, while I was reading in it that evening．I looked around and seemed to find something strange．I rushed out at once and met a servant(仆人)outside．
“Did anything happen in my room?”
“Nothing happened ten years ago, madam．”
“And what about these ten years?”
“Sorry, I don't know．Nobody lived there by yesterday!”