In 1993, I had my first opportunity to visit Russia as a representative of the University of California. I was there to provide some technical assistance in the area of agricultural labor management. “Russians are a very polite people,” I had been tutored before my arrival. One of my interpreters, once I was there, explained that a gentleman will pour the limonad (type of juice) for the ladies and show politeness.

Toward the end of my three week trip I was invited by my young Russian host and friend Nicolai Vasilevich and his lovely wife Yulya out to dinner. At the end of a wonderful meal, Yulya asked if I would like a banana. I politely declined and thanked her, and explained I was most satisfied with the meal. But the whole while my mind was racing: “What do I do? Do I offer her a banana even though they are as close to her as they are to me? What is the polite thing to do?”

“Would you like a banana?” I asked Yulya.

“Yes,” she smiled, but made no attempt to take any of the three bananas in the fruit basket. “What now?” I thought.

“Which one would you like?” I asked awkwardly.

“That one,” she pointed at one of the bananas. Thinking about Russian politeness, I picked the banana Yulya had pointed at and peeled(去皮) it half way and handed it to her. Smiles in Yulya’s and Nicolai’s faces told me I had done the right thing. After this experience I spent much time letting the world know that in Russia, the polite thing is to peel the bananas for the ladies.

Sometime during my third trip I was politely corrected by a Russian friend. “Oh, no, in Russia, when a man peels a banana for a lady it means he has a romantic interest in her.” How embarrassed I felt! And I had been proudly telling everyone about my findings.

Certain lessons have to be learned the hard way. Some well meaning articles and presentations on cultural differences have a potential to do more harm than good and may not be as amusing. They present, like my bananas, too many generalizations or quite an inaccurate view.

65. The author went to Russia in 1993 to ________.

       A. visit a famous university                        B. work as an interpreter

       C. offer some professional help                   D. do some agricultural work

66. The author decided to offer Yulya a banana because ________.

       A. he sat closer to bananas                         B. he wanted to show politeness

       C. she gave him one first                                   D. he wanted to win her heart

67. How did the author probably feel after he saw the smiles in Yulya’s and Nicolai’s faces?

A. Awkward.         B. Embarrassed.            C. Surprised.         D. Relieved.

68. The author told this story mainly to express that _________.

       A. Russian politeness is rather difficult to understand

       B. man should never peel a banana for a lady in Russia

       C. what people say about other culture may not be true

       D. funny things may happen anywhere at any time

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科目：高中英語 來源：09-10年廣東省廣州六中高一上學(xué)期期末考試 題型：完型填空


第三節(jié)：完形填空：（共10小題，每小題2分，滿分20分）
閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從21～30各題所給的A、B、C和D項中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices go up, up, and up. “How high can they go ?” is the common question that    46    in the city is asking. But right now, few people seem to have the answer.  “    47    interest rates（利率） stay at about 5 percent, there’s  no way of knowing,”, said a local Guangzhou economist.
“It’s crazy,” said Li Hua, who is    48    a house near the river. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom apartment in Haizhu district, for 100,000 yuan. My friends thought that I was overpaying and said it just wasn’t worth it. Five years later , I had to move to Shenzhen. I   49    it for 160,000 yuan, which was nice profit. Last year, while    50    friends here, I saw in the local paper that exact same    51    was for sale for 450,000 yuan!”
It is a seller’s    52    . Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price just to have a chance. Li Hua says the situation is really diffcult. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the    53    decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great    54    .”
Everyone says prices must fall, but everyone hopes it will happen the day after they sell their house.   55    government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that these things change,” said the state director of housing.  “What goes up must come down.”
46.  A. everybody     B. somebody       C. nobody       D. anybody
47.  A. When         B. As long as       C. Before       D. As soon as
48.  A. looking at      B looking out      C. looking after   D. looking for
49.  A. bought         B. sold           C. got           D. gave
50.  A. visiting        B. watching       C. making        D. having
51.  A. friend         B. apartment      C. house         D. bedroom
52.  A. shop          B. home          C. house         D. market
53.  A. right          B. wrong         C. strong         D. weak
54.  A. opportunity     B. time         C. happening      D. pity
55.  A. Even           B. When        C. As            D. Though

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科目：高中英語 來源：安徽省合肥市2010年高三第二次教學(xué)質(zhì)量檢測英語試題 題型：閱讀理解

    Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up. “How high can they go?” is the question on everyone’s lips? “As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, there’s no telling,” remarked one realtor in Santa Monica, California.
“It’s crazy,” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom condominium in Venice, for $70,000. My friends thought then that I was overpaying. Five years later, I had to move. I sold it for $230,000, which was a nice profit. Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in the local paper that the exact same condo was for sale for $510,000!”
It is a seller’s market. Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price. Donna, a new owner of a one-bedroom condo in Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did. I told the owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you $20,000 more, under the table, so you don’t have to pay your realtor any of it. I was tired of looking.”
Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the wrong decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great opportunity.”
Everyone says the bubble(泡沫) has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after they sell their house. Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that, inevitably, these things go in cycles,” said the state director of housing. “What goes up must come down. But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down. So you can’t lose over the long run. Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid for it.”
60．If Tim had sold his flat last year, he could have earned          .
A．$ 510,000                B．$ 440,000                C．$ 280,000                D．$ 160,000
61．Donna paid another $ 20,000 to the owner secretly because          .
A．she felt like offering 10% more                    B．secret money made low price
C．the owner asked for the money                  D．she was bored with bargaining
62．We can infer from Tim’s words in paragraph 4 that           .
A．homebuyers feel hesitate facing rising house prices
B．buying a house is always a great opportunity
C．homebuyers never make the right decision
D．both sellers and buyers become desperate
63．What is the author’s opinion about the housing bubble?          
A．It is something everyone hates to see
B．Only experts know when it will burst
C．It is unavoidable in the regular circles
D．It usually stays for about twenty years

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科目：高中英語 來源：安徽省合肥市2010年高三第二次教學(xué)質(zhì)量檢測英語試題 題型：閱讀理解

    Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up. “How high can they go?” is the question on everyone’s lips? “As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, there’s no telling,” remarked one realtor in Santa Monica, California.

“It’s crazy,” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom condominium in Venice, for $70,000. My friends thought then that I was overpaying. Five years later, I had to move. I sold it for $230,000, which was a nice profit. Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in the local paper that the exact same condo was for sale for $510,000!”

It is a seller’s market. Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price. Donna, a new owner of a one-bedroom condo in Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did. I told the owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you $20,000 more, under the table, so you don’t have to pay your realtor any of it. I was tired of looking.”

Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the wrong decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great opportunity.”

Everyone says the bubble(泡沫) has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after they sell their house. Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that, inevitably, these things go in cycles,” said the state director of housing. “What goes up must come down. But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down. So you can’t lose over the long run. Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid for it.”

60．If Tim had sold his flat last year, he could have earned          .

A．$ 510,000                B．$ 440,000                C．$ 280,000                D．$ 160,000

61．Donna paid another $ 20,000 to the owner secretly because          .

A．she felt like offering 10% more                    B．secret money made low price

C．the owner asked for the money                  D．she was bored with bargaining

62．We can infer from Tim’s words in paragraph 4 that           .

A．homebuyers feel hesitate facing rising house prices

B．buying a house is always a great opportunity

C．homebuyers never make the right decision

D．both sellers and buyers become desperate

63．What is the author’s opinion about the housing bubble?          

A．It is something everyone hates to see

B．Only experts know when it will burst

C．It is unavoidable in the regular circles

D．It usually stays for about twenty years

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：0910年廣東省高一上學(xué)期期末考試 題型：完形填空

 

第三節(jié)：完形填空：（共10小題，每小題2分，滿分20分）

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從21～30各題所給的A、B、C和D項中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices go up, up, and up. “How high can they go ?” is the common question that    46    in the city is asking. But right now, few people seem to have the answer.  “    47    interest rates（利率） stay at about 5 percent, there’s  no way of knowing,”, said a local Guangzhou economist.

“It’s crazy,” said Li Hua, who is    48    a house near the river. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom apartment in Haizhu district, for 100,000 yuan. My friends thought that I was overpaying and said it just wasn’t worth it. Five years later , I had to move to Shenzhen. I    49    it for 160,000 yuan, which was nice profit. Last year, while    50    friends here, I saw in the local paper that exact same    51    was for sale for 450,000 yuan!”

It is a seller’s    52    . Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price just to have a chance. Li Hua says the situation is really diffcult. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the    53    decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great    54    .”

Everyone says prices must fall, but everyone hopes it will happen the day after they sell their house.    55    government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that these things change,” said the state director of housing.  “What goes up must come down.”

46.  A. everybody     B. somebody       C. nobody       D. anybody

47.  A. When         B. As long as       C. Before       D. As soon as

48.  A. looking at      B looking out      C. looking after   D. looking for

49.  A. bought         B. sold           C. got           D. gave

50.  A. visiting        B. watching       C. making        D. having

51.  A. friend         B. apartment      C. house         D. bedroom

52.  A. shop          B. home          C. house         D. market

53.  A. right          B. wrong         C. strong         D. weak

54.  A. opportunity     B. time          C. happening      D. pity

55.  A. Even           B. When        C. As            D. Though

 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

第三節(jié)：完形填空：（共10小題，每小題2分，滿分20分）

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從21～30各題所給的A、B、C和D項中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices go up, up, and up. “How high can they go ?” is the common question that    46    in the city is asking. But right now, few people seem to have the answer.  “    47    interest rates（利率） stay at about 5 percent, there’s  no way of knowing,”, said a local Guangzhou economist.

“It’s crazy,” said Li Hua, who is    48    a house near the river. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom apartment in Haizhu district, for 100,000 yuan. My friends thought that I was overpaying and said it just wasn’t worth it. Five years later , I had to move to Shenzhen. I    49    it for 160,000 yuan, which was nice profit. Last year, while    50    friends here, I saw in the local paper that exact same    51    was for sale for 450,000 yuan!”

It is a seller’s    52    . Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price just to have a chance. Li Hua says the situation is really diffcult. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the    53    decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great    54    .”

Everyone says prices must fall, but everyone hopes it will happen the day after they sell their house.    55    government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that these things change,” said the state director of housing.  “What goes up must come down.”

46.  A. everybody     B. somebody       C. nobody       D. anybody

47.  A. When         B. As long as       C. Before       D. As soon as

48.  A. looking at      B looking out      C. looking after   D. looking for

49.  A. bought         B. sold           C. got           D. gave

50.  A. visiting        B. watching       C. making        D. having

51.  A. friend         B. apartment      C. house         D. bedroom

52.  A. shop          B. home          C. house         D. market

53.  A. right          B. wrong         C. strong         D. weak

54.  A. opportunity     B. time          C. happening      D. pity

55.  A. Even           B. When        C. As            D. Though

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