BELJLNG-Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.

Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.

Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.

The municipal（市政）office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English, “an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said .” Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory .“ It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.

Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent.The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi(steamed stuffed bun ) and jiaozi (dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.

“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year – old employe with a Beijing- based travel agency.

“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.

It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo. com, China’s most popular microblogging site.

1.          What’s the best title of the passage?

A．An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing.

B．Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes

C．Chinese dishes to have “official” English names

D．The effort to bridge the culture gap

2.          “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show     .

A．some Chinese dishes are not well received

B．some Chinese dishes are hard to translate

C．some Chinese dishes are mistranslated

D．some Chinese dishes are not acceptable

3.          What measure has the municipal office taken?

A．Recommending a book on Chinese dishes

B．Advocating using precise translation for Chinese dishes

C．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits

D．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes

4.          What’s the meaning of daunting in paragraph 5?

A．confusing

B．disappointing

C．discouraging

D．worthwhile

5.          What’s the attitude of most people to the book according to the passage?

A．not clear

B．excited

C．favorable

D．divided

 

BEIJING—Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.

Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid(有效), but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.

Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.

The municipal(市政) office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. “It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English,” an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said. “Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory.” It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.

Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary(烹饪) techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent. The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi(steamed stuffed bun) and jiaozi(dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.

“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31-year-old employee with a Beijing-based travel agency.

“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.

It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo.com, China’s most popular microblogging site.

1.What’s the best title of the passage?

A．An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing.

B．Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes.

C．Chinese dishes to have “official” English names.

D．The effort to bridge the culture gap.

2. “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show              .

A．some Chinese dishes are not well received

B．some Chinese dishes are hard to translate

C．some Chinese dishes are mistranslated

D．some Chinese dishes are not acceptable

3.What measure has the municipal office taken?

A．Recommending a book on Chinese dishes.

B．Advocating(提倡) using precise translation for Chinese dishes.

C．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits.

D．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes.

4.What’s the meaning of daunting in paragraph 5?

A．confusing         B．disappointing       C．discouraging       D．Worthwhile

 

Imagine being the only person in the Forbidden City. You could stay there all day without swarms of people crowding around. You'd be able to look at the ancient treasures without worrying about other visitors pushing you for a better view. Well, in two years time you'll be able to have such an experience, just like the former emperors used to. The only difference is that your Forbidden City fun will be online.

Thanks to new technology, a virtual tour of the Forbidden City will be available online by 2008. The project － jointly driven by the Palace Museum and computer company IBM － aims to help teenagers around the world become more interested in Chinese culture. The project will offer an interactive, three-dimensional view of the palace. The virtual tour will provide images from all over the 780,000-square-metre palace.

"The Palace Museum is a big book; there are always places you haven't read about," said Hu Chui from the museum. There are many rooms closed for protection. But the virtual platform breaks the boundaries of time and space, meaning visitors can see whatever they want. "The interaction and games content in the virtual tour will attract more young people to understand and love our cultural heritage," added Hu.

In the virtual tour, historical figures will actually talk to visitors and answer their questions. The stories behind the buildings and treasures will also be told. "The online environment, presented in both Chinese and English, enables visitors to experience the culture and stories of the museum," said James Yeh, an IBM official.

If you visit the Forbidden City now, which of the following won’t be the case you’ll have?

A. It is crowed with a lot of visitors.   B. Visitors are pushing you for a better view.

C. You are the only person in it.           D. You can see some ancient treasures in it.

Which of the following is not the advantage of the virtual tour of the Forbidden City?

A. Visitors can see whatever they want.

B. Visitor can ask and talk to historical figures.

C. Visitors can get to know the cultural heritage by playing games.

D. Visitors can walk around the Forbidden City with your family.

The “project” underlined in paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A. a virtual tour of the Forbidden City

B. a new “Forbidden City” to be built by the Palace Museum and IBM computer company

C. an Internet cafe to be built in the Palace Museum

D. a big book to be published to introduce Chinese culture

What attracts teenagers most to the virtual tour is _____.

A. the visible pictures in the place

B. the interaction and game playing

C. the online environment presented in English

D. the platform without the boundaries of time and space

BELJLNG-Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.
Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.
Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.
The municipal（市政）office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English, “an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said .” Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory .“ It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.
Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent.The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi(steamed stuffed bun ) and jiaozi (dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.
“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year – old employe with a Beijing- based travel agency.
“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.
It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo. com, China’s most popular microblogging site.
【小题1】          What’s the best title of the passage?

A．An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing.

B．Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes

C．Chinese dishes to have “official” English names

D．The effort to bridge the culture gap

【小题2】          “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show     .

A．some Chinese dishes are not well received

B．some Chinese dishes are hard to translate

C．some Chinese dishes are mistranslated

D．some Chinese dishes are not acceptable

【小题3】          What measure has the municipal office taken?

A．Recommending a book on Chinese dishes

B．Advocating using precise translation for Chinese dishes

C．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits

D．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes

【小题4】          What’s the meaning of daunting in paragraph 5?

A．confusing

B．disappointing

C．discouraging

D．worthwhile

【小题5】          What’s the attitude of most people to the book according to the passage?

A．not clear

B．excited

C．favorable

D．divided

A new report says only about half of all students in the main school systems of America’s largest cities finish high school. The report notes higher rates of graduation — over 70% —in areas surrounding the cities. Researchers studied high school graduation rates from the 2003, 2004 school year. They also identified the nation’s fifty largest cities. The largest, New York City, had a population of more than eight million. The smallest city was Wichita, Kansas. It had about three hundred and sixty thousand people.

Researchers used a system of measurement called the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates. School officials in many of the cities studied said the resulting numbers were too low. That is because different areas use different methods to find graduation rates. Critics say many methods do not give a true picture of the number of students who leave high school before finishing.

Other studies have put the national graduation rate at about 70%. But experts agree that too many students are not completing high school. They estimate the number at more than one million each year. The report was prepared for America’s Promise Alliance. The private group aims to help children receive services they need to succeed.

General Colin Powell was chairman of America’s Promise Alliance when it was formed in 1997. He attended the press conference Tuesday where the report was released. He said studies have shown that the US must do more to educate the leaders and work force of the future.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings also spoke. She said the government will propose that states use the same methods when reporting graduation rates. Alliance officials also announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates. It is to include a series of meetings to be held in every state over the next two years. The meetings will bring together elected leaders, business owners, students, parents and education officials. They will develop plans to increase the number of Americans who finish high school.

1.The author wants to tell us ___________.

  A. too many Americans do not finish high school

B. different methods to find graduation rates

C. services American children need to receive

D. the increase of the number of Americans who finish their high school

2.From Paragraph 1 we can infer that __________.

  A. there are 8,360,000 people in the US’ fifty largest cities

B. Wichita in Kansas is the smallest city in the US

C. 50% of the people in the US don’t finish their high school education

D. high school graduation rates in or near the biggest cities are higher

3. The underlined word “picture” probably can be replaced by “_______”.

  A. situation        B. scene         C. image         D. mood

4.From the last paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that _______-.

  A. secretary of Education Margaret Spellings didn’t believe that number from the report

B. the government will stop using the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates

C. secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates

D. the low graduation rates should be paid attention to by the government and the society