每日一練3

倒數第四周星期

A

A simple flower made headlines in the British press last week. How could that be?

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies(罌粟花) in their buttonholes.

What’s wrong with that?

According to the Global Times, Chinese officials apparently had asked the UK delegation （代表團）not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.

So what’s the significance of the poppy? It’s a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.

From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China’s humiliation (恥辱) at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars（鴉片戰爭）of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade – including the opium – which was made from poppies grown in India.

Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during World War I. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.

So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons. And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other’s standpoint.

Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guests from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain’s Queen – a dull person with no interest in music. Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format and impossible to play on British DVD players.

Many countries have diplomats stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook the cultural significance of a small flower.

41. British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on __________.

A. October 1

B. November 11

C. December 31

D. January 11

42. The poppy reminds the Chinese of __________.

A. the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century

B. the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War I

C. the Chinese soldiers killed during World War II

D. the suffering caused by Britain during World War I

43. The diplomatic problem in Beijing is mainly caused by __________.

A. the translation mistake

B. the language difference

C. the cultural difference

D. the different lifestyle

44. We can infer that __________.

A. Britain’s Queen is not interested in art

B. Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him

C. US President Barack Obama received a gift for music

D. Britain’s Queen may not like the iPod US President Obama presented her

45. What is the main idea of the 9th paragraph?

A. Cultural differences can also be interesting and funny

B. Cultural differences can cause a big problem

C. US President Barack Obama likes to present gifts to other leaders

D. US leaders and British leaders get along well with each other

B

46. which park is known as “Valley of ten thousand Smokes”?

A. Kings Canyon

B Petrified Forest

C. Denali

D Katmai

47. In which year was Channel Islands first authorized as a protection site for sea lions, sea birds and unique plants?

A. 1929.

B. 1938.

C. 1978.

D. 1980.

48. The USA’s highest mountain can be found in _______.

A. Mount Rainler

B. Sequola

C. Acadia

D. Isle Royale

49. In 1917, the national park Denali was named as _______.

A. Black Canyon of the Gunnison

B. Mount Desert Isl.

C. Mt. McKinley National Park

D. Rocky Mountain

C

New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It’s now a “global village” where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills.

Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts.

Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent (普遍的).

Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.

English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal

The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.

50. What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?

A. Critical.

B. Prejudiced.

C. Indifferent.

D. Positive.

51. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, businesspeople ________.

A. have to get familiar with modern technology

B. are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations

C. are attaching more importance to their overseas business

D. are eager to work overseas

52. The underlined part “out of sight and out of mind” probably means ________.

A. being unable to think properly for lack of insight

B. being totally out of touch with business at home

C. missing opportunities for promotion when abroad

D. leaving all care and worry behind

53. According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in employing people today?

A. Connections with businesses overseas.

B. Ability to speak the client’s language.

C. Technical know-how.

D. Business experience.

54. The advantage of employees having foreign language skills is that they can ________.

A. better control the whole negotiation process B. easily find new approaches to meet market needs

C. fast-forward their proposals to headquarters D. easily make friends with businesspeople abroad

D

My daughter Allie is leaving for college in a week. Her room is cluttered (塞滿) with shopping bags filled with blankets, towels, jeans, sweaters. She won’t talk about going.

I say, “I'm going to miss you,” and she gives me one of her looks and leaves the room. Another time I say, in a voice so friendly it surprises even me: “Do you think you'll take your posters and pictures with you, or will you get new ones at college?”

She answers, her voice filled with annoyance, “How should I know?”

My daughter is off with friends most of the time. Yesterday was the last day she'd have until Christmas with her friend Katharine, whom she's known since kindergarten. Soon, it will be her last day with Sarah, Claire, Heather... and then it will be her last day with me.

My friend Karen told me, “The August before I left for college, I screamed at my mother the whole month. Be prepared.”

I stand in the kitchen, watching Allie make a glass of iced tea. Her face, once so open and trusting, is closed to me. I struggle to think of something to say to her, something meaningful and warm. I want her to know I'm excited about the college she has chosen, that I know the adventure of her life is just starting and that I am proud of her. But the look on her face is so mad that I think she might slug me if I open my mouth.

One night -- after a long period of silence between us -- I asked what I might have done or said to make her angry with me. She sighed and said, “Mom, you haven't done anything. It's fine.” It is fine -- just distant.

Somehow in the past we had always found some way to connect. When Allie was a toddler（學步的小孩）, I would go to the day- care center after work. I'd find a quiet spot and she would nurse -- our eyes locked together, reconnecting with each other.

In middle school, when other mothers were already lamenting the estrangement they felt with their adolescent daughters, I hit upon a solution: rescue raids. I would show up occasionally at school, sign her out of class and take her somewhere -- out to lunch, to the movies, once for a long walk on the beach. It may sound irresponsible, but it kept us close when other mothers and daughters were floundering. We talked about everything on those outings -- outings we kept secret from family and friends.

When she started high school, I'd get up with her in the morning to make her a sandwich for lunch, and we’d silently drink a cup of tea together before the 6:40 bus came.

A couple of times during her senior year I went into her room at night, the light off, but before she went to sleep. I'd sit on the edge of her bed, and she'd tell me about problems: a teacher who lowered her grade because she was too shy to talk in class, a boy who teased her, a friend who had started smoking. Her voice, coming out of the darkness, was young and questioning.

A few days later I'd hear her on the phone, repeating some of the things I had said, things she had adopted for her own.

But now we are having two kinds of partings. I want the romanticized version, where we go to lunch and lean across the table and say how much we will miss each other. I want smiles through tears, bittersweet moments of reminiscence and the chance to offer some last bits of wisdom.

But as she prepares to depart, Allie's feelings have gone underground. When I reach to touch her arm, she pulls away. She turns down every invitation I extend. She lies on her bed, reading Emily Dickinson until I say I have always loved Emily Dickinson, and then she closes the book.

Some say the tighter your bond with your child, the greater her need to break away, to establish her own identity in the world. The more it will hurt, they say. A friend of mine who went through a difficult time with her daughter but now has become close to her again, tells me," Your daughter will be back to you.”

“I don’t know,” I say. I sometimes feel so angry that I want to go over and shake Allie. I want to say, “Talk to me -- or you're grounded!” I feel myself wanting to say that most horrible of all mother phrases: “Think of everything I've done for you.”

Late one night, as I'm getting ready for bed she comes to the bathroom door and watches me brush my teeth. For a moment, I think I must be brushing my teeth in a way she doesn't approve of. But then she says, “I want to read you something.” It's a pamphlet（小冊子）from her college. “These are tips for parents.”

I watch her face as she reads the advice aloud: “‘Don't ask your child if she is homesick,’ it says. ‘She might feel bad the first few weeks, but don't let it worry you. This is a natural time of transition. Write her letters and call her a lot. Send a package of goodies...’ ”

Her voice breaks, and she comes over to me and buries her head in my shoulder. I stroke her hair, lightly, afraid she'll bolt（跑掉）if I say a word. We stand there together for long moments, swaying. Reconnecting.

I know it will be hard again. It's likely there will be a fight about something. But I am grateful to be standing in here at midnight, both of us tried and sad, toothpaste smeared on my chin, holding tight to -- while also letting go of -- my daughter who is trying to say good-bye.

55. Why was there a period of silence between the author and Allie one night?

A. because Allie is anxious about talking about leaving

B. Because Allie is tired of the author’s suggestion

C. Because the author is angry with Allie’s rudeness

D. because there is a generation gap between them

56. How did the author deal with the possible distance with Allie when Allie was in middle school?

A. She would read novels with Allie

B. She would talk with Allie till late at night

C. She would invite Allie and her friends home

D. She would visit Allie at school and take her out

57. We can learn from the passage that _________.

A. there are different attitudes toward parting between the author and Allie.

B. there is not much communication between the author and Allie.

C. Allie is shy and has no friend except her mother

D. Allie is eager to part with the author

58. What Allie reads to the author is______.

A. the suggestion on how to ease the homesickness of children

B. the tips to parents when they depart with their children

C. the tips on parents on how to communicate with their children

D. the suggestion on how to deal with the disagreement between parents and children

59. The author doesn’t say anything to Allie when they are standing together because _______.

A. she is afraid that Allie will leave

B. she has nothing to speak Allie

C. she doesn’t prepare how to speak to her

D. Allie is crying and can’t speak a word

60. WE can infer from the underlined part in the last paragraph that _________.

A. the tie between the author and Allie in broken

B. the author decides to make Allie live a more independent life

C. the author decides not to care about Allie any more

D. the author will keep a tight relationship with Allie as before

參考答案

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