What do I like best about Britain? The fact is that people here very rarely smoke. I never smoke myself, I think it’s a disgusting habit. But my friends in Spain smoke nearly all the time. It’s so nice to breathe “clean” air in cinemas, on buses and so on. And the few people who do smoke, almost always ask “Do you mind if I smoke?” before they light up.

The old people are so friendly, and they’ve nearly always got time to help you. When you don’t know where you are, they come up to you and say, “Can I help you, love?” or “What are you looking for, dear?” I love the way they call everybody “love” and “dear” like that even completely strangers.

Why does everybody say the weather here’s so bad? I love these cool, grey, cloudy days. They’re a bit sad---perhaps that’s why I like them. I come from Turkey. It’s sunny most of the time there. But here the weather’s so hard to tell. You hardly even know what to expect when you looked out of the window in the morning and it often changes five or six times during the day! It’s raining now, for example, but I’ve got no idea what it’s going to be like this afternoon.

I’m staying an English family. Family life here seems to be much more relaxed than in my country. People eat whatever they like, come in and go out whenever they want to, there aren’t so many rules. When I go out in the evening, nobody asks me “Where are you going? Whom are you going with? What time are you coming home?” You’ve got much more, the chance to live your own life, and do whatever you want.

41. The old men call everybody “love” and “dear” because they want to show that ______.

A. they’re friendly                                      B. they’re old

C. they’re your family members                   D. they’re the owners

42. Which country isn’t mentioned in the passage?

A. Britain                               B. Spain  

C. Canada                                 D. Turkey 

43. What does the under­lined word rarely mean in Chinese?

A. 很少地                                                        B. 批评

C. 赞扬                                                   D. 鼓励

44. The writer the weather in England is _______.

A. bad               B. terrible                     C. sunny            D. hard to tell

45. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?

A. The weather in Britain is cool, grey, cloudy.

B. Family life in Britain is much more relaxed than that in Turkey.

C. The air in Britain isn’t clean enough.

D. The old people in Britain are very helpful.

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse” have negative(消极的) meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的) actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(残酷的)。
The rose is regarded as a symbol (象征) of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose means love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.
The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.
【小题1】“Every dog has its day.” Means “__________”

There are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese is about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative(消极) meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的) actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog—tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(冷酷的). There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.

The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1.The word “dog” in Chinese usually ______.

A. stands for friendship                         B. has a negative meaning          C. has a positive meaning

2.“Every dog has its day.” means “______”

A. Everybody in the world is lucky.      B. Each person lives his own way of life.

C. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.

3. Western people usually use “cat” to refer to “______”.

A. a tired person                                     B. a brave man                                C. an unkind woman

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Words show differences in cultures.                                                        

B. Western people think cats to be good friends.

C. Rose is the national flower of all western countries.

5. This passage mainly tells us ______.

A. negative or positive things              B. different countries have different cultures

C. what dog and cat mean in English and Chinese

We each have a memory(记忆力). That’s why we can still remember things after a long time. Some people have very good memories and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again and again. Many of the great men of the world have got unusual memories.

       A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everybody learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two languages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too.

       But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises.

1.Some people can easily learn many things by heart because_________________.

           A. they always sleep very well                B. they often eat good food

           C. they read a lot of books                             D. they have very good memories

2.Everybody learns his mother language____________________.

           A. at the age of six                                          B. when he is a small child

           C. after he goes to school                                     D. when he can read and write

3.Before a child can speak, he must_________________.

           A. read and write                                            B. make sentences

           C. hear and remember the sounds                     D. think hard

4.In school the pupils can’t learn a foreign language well because_______________.

           A. they have no good memories               B. they have no recorders

           C. they have too much time for it                D. they are busy with other subjects

5.Your memory will become better and better_______________________.

           A. if you have plenty of good food                       B. if you do more and more exercises

           C. if you do morning exercises every day D. if you get up early