Do as the Romans Do

    The customs in different countries are rather different. If I have dinner with a Chinese host, he always puts more food onto my plates as soon as I have emptied it. That often discomforts me greatly. I have to eat the food even if I don’t want to, because it is considered bad manners in the West to leave one’s food on the plate. I have already noticed that when a Chinese sits at an American’s dinner party, he very often refuses the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or thirsty. This might be good manners in China, but it is not in the West at all. In the United States, it is impolite to keep asking someone again and again or insist on his accepting something. Americans have a direct way of speaking. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “No, thanks.” When an American is fed with beer by the host, for example, he might say, “No, thanks. I’ll take some diet, Pepsy-Cola（百事可乐）if you have it. ”That is what an American will do. So when you go to the United States, you had better remember the famous saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

  1. From the passage, we can know that the Chinese are usually ________ to the guests.

    A. very hot         B. rude

    C. impolite         D. cold]

  2. When a foreigner has dinner with a Chinese host, he often feels _______.

    A. pleasant         B. uncomfortable

    C. satisfied            D. happy

  3. Why does a Chinese often refuse the offer of food or drink at a dinner party?

    A. He has had enough.

    B. He is shy.

    C. He is afraid that others will laugh at him.

    D. He thinks it’s polite to do that.

  4. When an American wants something to eat or drink at a dinner, he will _______.

    A. ask for it boldly

    B. refuse the offer

    C. ask for it directly

    D. express himself indirectly

  5. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do “means “________”.

    A. When you got to Rome, you should act as the Romans do

    B. When you stay in Rome, you should do as the Romans do

    C. When you are in a new country, you should do as the locals do

    D. Romans can be an example for you

  Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset（不安的）if your English friends don’t invite you home. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you.

    Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11. Ask your hosts（主人）what time you should arrive. It’s polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.

    Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks（小吃）. If you want to be extra polite, say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember－it’s not polite to ask how much things cost.

    In many families, the husband sits at one of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.

    You’ll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you’ll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert（甜点心）, followed by coffee. It’s polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short “thank you” letter. British and American people like to say “thank you, thank, thank you” all the time!

  1. If your English friend doesn’t invite you to dinner at home, it means he or she ______.

    A. doesn’t like you            B. likes you

    C. can’t afford to do so       D. is too busy

  2. It’s impolite ______.

    A. to ask about the price of a certain thing

    B. to say “thank you” to hosts

    C. take nothing with you when you are invited to dinner

    D. to eat up everything on your plate

  3. The meal ends with _______ usually.

    A. soup                B. coffee

    C. meat or fish         D. dessert

  4. When you are invited to a dinner party, you’d better _______.

    A. ask what time you should arrive

    B. take your wife with you

    C. drink as more as possible

    D. eat more snacks as you can

  5. Which of the following is true?

    A. The hosts like the people who sit closer to them.

    B. The hosts like the people who ask them time, price, age, etc.

    C. The husband and the wife usually sit together.

    D. You can call your host the next day or write a letter of thanks after that.

 In American schools there is something called the Home-coming Day, Many high schools and colleges（大学）with a football team have a home-coming game. This can be the most important event（事件）of the year except the graduation（毕业）day. Students plan the Home-coming Day for many weeks.

     A few days before Home-coming, students start to decorate（装饰）the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Home-coming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.

The members of school clubs build booths（摊位）and sell lemonade, apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome visitors.

     During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.

Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band（乐队）comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment（时刻） is the moment when the Home-coming Queen or King appears. All the students choose a most popular student the Home-coming Queen or King. It is a great honour（荣幸）to be chosen.

     The Home-coming Day is a happy day. Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy it. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone, it is a day they will always remember.

41. The most important event of the year in high schools and colleges is _    .

   A. the Home-coming Day                   B. the football game

   C. the graduation day                          D. winning the game

42. Which of the following in NOT talked about on the Home-coming Day?

   A. Seeing old friends.                         B. Visiting teachers they remember.

   C. Watching the football game.          D. Going home to see their family.

43. Who can become the Home-coming Queen or King?

   A. The teachers who are kind to the students.

   B. The students who are popular with the students.

   C. The visitors who once studied in the school.

   D. The players who play best in the football team.

  There is usually a good rail service （服务) between main towns in Britain. If you are under 24 or over 65 0r if you are traveling with a family, you can buy cheaper tickets on the train. In towns and cities there are usually buses. On Sundays there are fewer bus services and some smaller places may not have a Sunday bus service. In London there is also an underground. But the underground is not easy to use, so you should learn more about it before you use it.

    Hotels are very expensive in Britain. A cheaper way is a "bed and breakfast" in someone’s home. Tourist offices or information centres can help you to find these. There are also youth hotels in many places. Students may receive a discount.

    Restaurants are often expensive and you cannot be sure the food will be delicious. But Chinese and Indian restaurants usually serve pretty good meals at lower prices. Fast food shops are cheap, but the food is not always very good.

    Not all banks exchange foreign money, but you can usually find at least one bank in each town that does so.

    If you become ill or have an accident while in Britain and your country has an agreement with Britain for medical care, you can get free medical treatment.

    You can only buy stamps in post offices, but nearly every village or part of a town has a post office. Often it is inside a small shop.

44. You may see the article in       .

   A. a guidebook     B. a geography book   C. a food advertisement    D. a medical book

45. How many kinds of traffic are talked about in the passage?

   A. One.                B. Two.                     C. Three.                            D. Four.

46. Which of the following is NOT true?

   A. There’s only one bank in each town in Britain.

   B. A 30-year-old man cannot pay less money for trains in Britain.

   C. There are different restaurants from different countries in Britain.

   D. Students may pay less money than other people when they stay in a youth hotel.

A desert is a very dry land where there is hardly any rain. In the day, it can be so hot that you could fry an egg on the ground. But during the night it is sometimes so could that water would turn into ice.

Many desserts are covered in sand. But some have mountains, rocks, or lakes that have dried up in the heat. The Great American Dessert has cliffs(悬崖) that have been made into amazing and beautiful shapes by the wind. The Sahara Desert in Africa is mostly sand. The Australian Desert has red sand.

Sometimes it does not rain for a whole year in the desert. But there is water deep under the ground and some plants have roots that go very deep to find it. Other plants have roots that spread out(延伸) a long way so they can suck up the rain as soon as it falls.

One desert plant is the cactus, which has long, spreading roots. The cactus stores water inside its hard skin. This skin protects it from heat and cold.

Camels are a bit like cactus plants! They store water too—inside their bodies. They have special fur which protects them from the sun during the day and keeps them warm at night.

Some other animals live in deserts, too. They have to be very good at seeing and hearing because most of them only come out at night. This is why many desert animals have extra big eyes or ears.

A desert fox has bigger ears than a normal for. A gerbil has huge eye, so that it can see at night. It stays cool in the day by staying underground, like most desert animals.

Some people live in the desert but they always make their homes near an oasis. An oasis is where water comes from an underground river. Near an oasis, people can grow lots of plants and keep animals.

Life is hard in the desert, for people, animals and plants. But desert people like to live there.

46.A desert is very dry because__________.

A. it is sandy               B. there is so little rain

C. the wind is strong   D. there is no water deep under the ground

47.What does the underlined phrase"suck up"in paragraph 3 mean_________?

A.围堵        B.讨好      C. 释放    D.吸收

48.Some desert animals have extra big eyes or ears because__________.

A.the sunlight is too strong in the day    B.they need to see and hear well at night

C.it is very cold at nigh                           D.they store water in them.

49.Most desert animals stay cool in the day by_________.

A.storing water in side their bodies        B.drinking water as much as they can

C.staying underground                           D.growing lots of plants

50.Which of the following is true?

A.Desert people like to live in the desert though life is hard.

B.People in the desert usually fry eggs on the ground.

C.Camels have special fur to store water.

D.All the deserts are covered in sand.