Misadventure in English
Last week, our forum ( 论坛 )asked if you had any funny or strange stories about using English. Here are some of our favourite posts.
Sophie 
When I first visited New York, I went to a shopping centre. I asked a lady where the shoes were. She said they were on the first floor. I went upstairs. But I couldn’t find any. I thought she gave me the wrong information. Then, I realized that the first floor was the ground floor.
Yancy. 
I went to a summer school in Manchester. One day, the head master told us that our English teacher Maggie couldn’t teach that day because she had a frog in her throat. Why did she eat a frog? Then I learned that it means someone’s throat is dry or blocked. How funny!
Julien 
My British penfriend once told me that his grandfather was “wicked （邪恶的） ”. But when I met his grandfather, I liked him a lot. I found it very strange. Why did my friend use a bad word about such a nice man? Guess what? When speaking informally, “wicked” means “very nice”.
Zheng Xu 
I was part of a student exchange programme between a school in England and one in China. I knew I had done a good job writing my first English paper. But my teacher gave me “Not bad!” Not bad? There weren’t any mistakes! Actually, British people use “not bad” when things are pretty good! I got a good comment!
1 ． Who posted the story about buying shoes?
A ． Sophie. B ． Yancy. C ． Julien. D ． Zheng Xu.
2 ． What happened to Maggie?
A ． She ate a frog. B ． She had a dry throat. C ． She lost her penfriend. D ． She got a bad comment.
3 ． What does Julien think of his penfriend’s grandfather?
A ． Strange. B ． Funny. C ． Strict. D ． Nice.
答案
1 ． A
2 ． B
3 ． D
【分析】
这是一篇应用文，文章是关于使用英语的有趣或奇怪的故事的一些帖子。
1 ．
细节理解题。根据 “When I first visited New York, I went to a shopping centre. I asked a lady where the shoes were. She said they were on the first floor” 我去购物中心，我问一个女士鞋子在哪里。可知索菲发布了关于买鞋子的故事。故选 A 。
2 ．
推理判断题。根据 “One day, the head master told us that our English teacher Maggie couldn’t teach that day because she had a frog in her throat. Why did she eat a frog? Then I learned that it means someone’s throat is dry or blocked” 有一天，校长告诉我们，我们的英语老师玛吉那天不能教书，因为她喉咙里有一只青蛙。她为什么吃青蛙？后来我才知道，这意味着某人的喉咙干燥或堵塞。可知玛吉的喉咙干燥或堵塞了。故选 B 。
3 ．
推理判断题。根据 “But when I met his grandfather, I liked him a lot. I found it very strange. Why did my friend use a bad word about such a nice man? Guess what? When speaking informally, ‘wicked’ means ‘very nice'” 。 但是当我见到他的祖父时，我非常喜欢他。我觉得很奇怪。为什么我的朋友对这么好的人说脏话 ? 你猜怎么着 ? 非正式地说 ,“ 邪恶 ” 意味着 “ 非常好 ” 。可知朱利安觉得他笔友的祖父很好。故选 D 。
