Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.
The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means “Yes” or “No”. This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society(社會(huì)), Which make it difficult for a Japanese to say “No” directly.
In the USA, it is easy to say “No” to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say “No”. To refuse an invitation or a request(請(qǐng)求) with “No” is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying “No” directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid(避免) saying “No”. These can help them avoid hurting other people’s feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.
【小題1】What often makes foreigners feel difficult to do business in Japan?

If you open today’s newspaper, what do you see? Ads! Look through a magazine. More ads! Turn on the TV. Still more ads! Everywhere you look, someone has something to sell.
Here are some ways ads get us to buy. Some ads use famous people. Stars are paid to sell a product. Think about it. Do they really know about medicine? Do they know about soft drinks? There people may be famous, but they may not know about what they are selling.
Some ads make you think you’re getting the word of an expert. They say, “Doctor said.” A man in a white coat comes on TV. He looks nice. “I use Bright and White,” he says. This man looks like a doctor. But he is an actor. He has been paid to sell this product.
Does soap have anything to do with a pretty child? But ads may show their product with something nice, such as the sun, the flowers and so on. Such an ad is about feelings rather than facts. Ads are full of strong words. Words like “new” and “improved” have strong influence. They can help a product sell. The soap may be called “Spring Rain”. A car may be called “Tiger”. Strong words work on our feelings.
Some ads make promises（承諾）. But can they keep them? No. Some ads use our fear of being too late. “Buy now!” they say. “Selling ends soon.” Check to see if this is true. Don’t hurry. Take time to think. All ads hope we will buy something, do something, or think in a certain way. Know what ads are doing. Ask questions to yourself. Don’t let their words and pictures fool you.
【小題1】Why do famous people appear in ads?
A. Because they know every product well.
B. Because they want to serve the people.
C. Because they can make money from the ads.
【小題2】The underlined word “expert” in Paragraph Three probably means _____.
A.主持人                   B.專家                      C.演員
【小題3】According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The famous people may not know about what they are selling.
B. Some ads make promises to people and they can keep them.
C. Ads are full of strong words, such as “new” and “improved”.
【小題4】According to the passage, we know that “Tiger” might be the name of _____.
A. a kind of car            B. a kind of computer   C. a kind of soap
【小題5】What does the writer want to tell us?
A. We should not always believe the ads.
B. We should buy things that ads ask us to buy.
C. We should think about ads before buying things.

In the US, the most popular way to welcome the new year is with a big party. Some parties are at private homes. But in recent years, it has become more and more common for Americans to go to a hotel or eating-place on the night of December 31st. There, they can eat a big dinner, drink champagne, and dance to orchestra music.
Most New Year’s parties are usually noisy. People shout and sing. And often, guests blow on small noisemakers when the new year arrives at midnight. This tradition of noise making is believed to start centuries ago. People thought that loud sounds would drive away the bad spirits of the old year.
The biggest, noisiest New Year’s party in the US takes place in Times Square in New York. Thousands of people gather(聚集) there. Some of them ring bells and set fireworks. Others blow whistles of car horns(喇叭). And at twelve o’clock, they begin to cheer as an electric sign in the shape of a red apple lights up on top of a tall building.
The Times Square celebration includes another well-known American tradition. Since 1929, the band of musician Guy Lombardo has given a concert on New Year’s Eve. Guy Lombardo died in 1977. But, Bill Lombardo, has kept the tradition alive with a band concert at a New York city hotel. When the crowds in Times Square start cheering the arrival of the new year, television cameras show the band playing the song Auld Lang Syne.
【小題1】 The most usual way to welcome the new year in the US is ________.

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (賄賂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.
Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner - that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府職員) who can’t be given presents.
You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, "It’s so nice. Thanks…" when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.
You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re
never asked to.  Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.
At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year- doormen, babysitters, housecleaners, newspaper senders— anyone who has often helped us.
【小題1】   What does "close friends" mean in the passage?

Most people in Britain live in small family groups. More than a quarter of houses in Britain have only got one person in them. Some of these are old people but some are people of twenty to thir­ty who choose to live alone. 35% of houses have two people in them, and another 17% have three people. 15% have four people in them, and the other homes have five or more.
The families in Britain are small. It is unusual for parents to have more than two children. When children are about eighteen or nineteen, they leave their parents’ home, and they often go to a different city. Sometimes they only visit their parents two or three times a year.
【小題1】  How many houses in Britain have 3 people living in them?

Chinese people call the Spring Festival“Nian”. But do you know that Nian
was once the name of a monster(妖怪)?
　　A long time ago, the monster Nian lived in the mountains. It ate
animals. But in winter, it could not find food. So it came to villages and
ate a lot of people. People were so afraid of Nian that they locked their
doors before evening came during the winter. One day, an old man came to a
village. He told people there that Nian was afraid of three things——the
color red, fire and noise. He told people to play drums and gongs, make
big fires and set off fireworks(放鞭炮)to make Nian go away.
　　On a moonless, cold night, Nian went to the village again. As soon as it
opened its big mouth, people made loud noises and made fires. Nian was
really afraid and ran away. wherever it went, there was noise and fire.
When Nian was tired and could not run anymore, people killed the monster.
　　After that, on the coldest day of winter, people beat drums and gongs,
and set off fireworks to celebrate the death of the monster of Nian. They
put up red lanterns and have a big dinner without sleeping during the
night.
　　In the morning people greet each other happily. So now we have the
Spring Festival.
【小題1】 From the story, Nian seemed to be       long, long ago.
A exciting    B  interesting    C boring   D terrible
【小題2】 The monster Nian ate people in winter because it          .
A  wanted to make people afraid    B  had no food to eat
C  celebrated the Spring Festival    D liked to eat people in a village
【小題3】Nian was afraid of          .
A red    B fire   C noise    D  A, B and C
【小題4】 The monster Nian wasn’t killed until          .
A it had eaten all the animals  B  the old man came to a village
C it was too tired to run away  D people knew what it was afraid of
【小題5】 What is the best title for the passage?
A How the Spring Festival Came  B What People did During Nian
C How People Celebrated Nian  D What the Spring Festival was 

Paris is the capital of France. Its subway is also very special. You can enjoy its culture when you are in this city. First you can see many people reading books in the subway. Whenever they are in the subway or at the station, there is always a book in the hand.
The subway station in Paris is not big, but each of them has its special facts. Some stations look like ships. Some stations have clothes, caps and shoes. And every station has a big advertisement picture. But many of them are for selling clothes and cosmetics(化妝品).
You can meet some beggars(乞丐) in the subway. But the beggars in the Paris subway are also very special. They often play the violin or guitar in the train. They don’t feel shy at all. Instead they think it is natural. After playing, they will go around the train and ask you to give them some money.
If you want to learn more about Paris, go to the subway and enjoy its culture by yourself.
【小題1】 What do many people usually do when they are in the subway?
?