I came across quite a few language problems while on holiday with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants, not trousers as it does back home.

Katie — From America

When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet!

Tom — From America

Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle and there turned out to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot(汽车行李箱) was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.

Mary — From Britain

Last summer, I went to stay with a friend on the west coast. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.

David — From Britain

1.Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in amazement because ____________.

A．they mistook “pants” in American for underpants

B．Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty

C．Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans

D．they didn’t know any English

2.David went out to find a phone box to ____________.

A．phone the police for help                 B．apologize for his being late

C．tell his friends he couldn’t go to visit her    D．phone his friend for help

3. When Tom asked for the “restroom”, the people around him thought _____________.

A．he wanted a chair                       B．he wanted to have a rest

C．he wanted the toilet                     D．He wanted to go to a department store

4.The underlined word “garage” is probably _____________.

A．a parking place     B．a car             C．a place to repair cars D．a gas station

5.Which of the following words is from British English？

A．Pants             B． Restroom         C．Ground floor       D．Trunk

Tom asked me        .

1. A.
   if he can use my computer
2. B.
   whether he can use my computer
3. C.
   that he could use my computer
4. D.
   if he could use my computer

Tom asked the candy makers if they could make the chocolate easier      into small pieces.

A. break                      B. breaking                 C. broken                  D. to break

I spent two months with an American family last year when I studied in America.

It is said, “The best house is in America, the best wife is in Japan, and the best food is in China.” So I took pride （自豪）and __21__ to __22__ “the best food” for my American family. Each day, regardless of my poor skill of cooking, I would do something in __23__ way: changing the dishes’ colour, the meat’s type or the soup’s style. （风味）Thus, my American friends could discover the __24__ of eating Chinese food. Because of my “__25__” job, I was often rewarded （奖励） by their __26__ of appreciation （感激）such as “very delicious”, “excellent”, etc.

But the joke was here: Yesterday, I cooked Sichuan style __27__ for dinner. I was __28__ at my achievement.（成就）

When all the family members arrived at the table, they first looked __29__ at the fish, then looked at me. “Why do all the fish have their __30__?” they asked, “It’s terrible!”

Terrible or beautiful? I don’t know. But I __31_ know that fish heads are delicious. The __32__ is the best part of fish; in __33__ only the respectable （受敬重的）guest can have the special honour of __34__ it.

Another __35__ thing is: The American friends often said to me “__36__” as they __37__ fruits or other things. According to Chinese tradition I would simply smile in answer to their kindness __38__ actually helping myself to any of the food. __39__, I said “help yourself” to them whenever I brought home fruits. Dear me, no matter how much or how often I brought home food, as long as it was nice to their taste, they __40__ hesitated （犹豫）to use their hands to “help themselves” until all was finished

A. worry                    B. attention            C. delight                         D. pleasure

A. buy                       B. fetch                 C. cook                     D. leave

A. their                      B. a new                C. the same                D. a simple

A. way                      B. joy                   C. trouble                         D. importance

A. hard                      B. daily                 C. good                        D. new

A. expressions            B. flowers             C. talk                          D. smile

A. meat                            B. fish                   C. soup                        D. egg

A. praised                  B. pleased              C. good                        D. surprised

A. happily                  B. excitedly           C. surprisedly            D. worriedly

A. bones                  B. skins                 C. tails                         D. heads

A. do                       B. will                  C. want to                    D. should

A. tail                      B. head                 C. soup                        D. flesh

A. fact                            B. China                C. USA                        D. the West

A. enjoying                     B. looking at          C. playing with             D. cooking

A. real                            B. exciting             C. interesting             D. easy

A. please help us       B. excuse me         C. help yourself            D. eat them please

A. brought home       B. wanted              C. were buying             D. were eating

A. not                      B. but not                     C. without                    D. nor

A. At last                 B. Above all          C. After all                   D. In return

A. usual                   B. often                 C. never                       D. had

I spent two months with an American family last year when I studied in America.

It is said, “The best house is in America, the best wife is in Japan, and the best food is in China.” So I took pride （自豪）and __21__ to __22__ “the best food” for my American family. Each day, regardless of my poor skill of cooking, I would do something in __23__ way: changing the dishes’ colour, the meat’s type or the soup’s style. （风味）Thus, my American friends could discover the __24__ of eating Chinese food. Because of my “__25__” job, I was often rewarded （奖励） by their __26__ of appreciation （感激）such as “very delicious”, “excellent”, etc.

But the joke was here: Yesterday, I cooked Sichuan style __27__ for dinner. I was __28__ at my achievement.（成就）

When all the family members arrived at the table, they first looked __29__ at the fish, then looked at me. “Why do all the fish have their __30__?” they asked, “It’s terrible!”

Terrible or beautiful? I don’t know. But I __31_ know that fish heads are delicious. The __32__ is the best part of fish; in __33__ only the respectable （受敬重的）guest can have the special honour of __34__ it.

Another __35__ thing is: The American friends often said to me “__36__” as they __37__ fruits or other things. According to Chinese tradition I would simply smile in answer to their kindness __38__ actually helping myself to any of the food. __39__, I said “help yourself” to them whenever I brought home fruits. Dear me, no matter how much or how often I brought home food, as long as it was nice to their taste, they __40__ hesitated （犹豫）to use their hands to “help themselves” until all was finished