At a psychology conference in England years ago, a woman said to me: “I’ll knock you up in the morning.” I was taken aback by her strange suggestion, but it occurred to me that I might not have understood what she really meant. As it turned out, what she had meant was, “I’ll knock on your door in the morning so that we can meet for breakfast to discuss the panel we’re on.”
This example of the difference in the meaning of “knock you up” in British and American English shows the complicated situations that can result from cultural misunderstandings. A cultural misunderstanding occurs when something — a word, gesture, object, social context, or almost anything you can think of — has a different meaning in two cultures. Sometimes the misunderstandings get resolved, sometimes they lead nowhere, and sometimes they can become the starting point of something much more extreme, from love to war.
Race is one area where cultural misunderstandings are common. We Americans tend to assume that racial categories are biological rather than social, so it may not occur to us that people from other cultures have a different set of racial concepts and classify themselves and us differently. Some African Americans complain that certain immigrants from other countries, such as Haiti or Jamaica, “act as if they aren’t black.” The cultural misunderstanding is that, in the immigrants’ countries of origin, they would never describe themselves as “black”. This doesn’t mean that they think they are white. It just means that their cultures have more categories, like marabou or grimaud in Haiti, or fair or brown in Jamaica, than are used in the United States. Meanwhile, white people in America, unaware of this cultural diversity, sometimes refer to all darker-skinned people as “black” without realizing that an issue exists.
Resolving cultural misunderstandings can clear the air or even lead to laughter. Sometimes, though, when it comes to race, unidentified cultural misunderstandings can create tension, unhappiness and distrust.
小題1:The main purpose of the first paragraph is to       .
A．show that language misunderstandings would cause big problems
B．show the differences between British and American English
C．explain in general what cultural misunderstandings are
D．introduce the idea of cultural misunderstandings with a story
小題2:The underlined word “resolved” probably means       .
A．complicatedB．settled C．a(chǎn)cceptedD．noticed
小題3:We can learn from the passage that cultural misunderstandings      .
A．mostly come from body language
B．a(chǎn)re the most serious social problem in the US
C．can cause negative feelings among people
D．can be cleared up with laughter
小題4:What is the author’s opinion about cultural misunderstandings?
A．There’s no need to notice racial differences.
B．Haitians prefer to be described as fair or brown.
C．Cultural misunderstandings based on racial categories may be difficult to spot.
D．Americans are especially likely to misunderstand people from other cultures.

小題1:D
小題2:B
小題3:C
小題4:C

試題分析：這篇文章介紹了文化的誤解有時候會鬧笑話，有時候在種族間會造成不開心和緊張的氣氛。
小題1:根據(jù)As it turned out, what she had meant was, “I’ll knock on your door in the morning so that we can meet for breakfast to discuss the panel we’re on.”故選D。
小題2:根據(jù)sometimes they lead nowhere, and sometimes they can become the starting point of something much more extreme, from love to war.可猜出“resolved”意思是堅決的，故選B。
小題3:根據(jù)Sometimes, though, when it comes to race, unidentified cultural misunderstandings can create tension, unhappiness and distrust.所以答案為C。
小題4:根據(jù)Resolving cultural misunderstandings can clear the air or even lead to laughter. Sometimes, though, when it comes to race, unidentified cultural misunderstandings can create tension, unhappiness and distrust.因此選C。
點評：要想答好題目，重在理解全文意思。這篇文章比較難，先看問題，再帶著問題讀短文，找出各段落的主旨句，理解全文內(nèi)容，總結(jié)全文中心，然后再回到問題上來，很容易選出正確答案。多了解一些常識性知識有利于閱讀理解。如果對文章的相關(guān)背景有所了解，讀起文章一定既省時又省力。因此，在學(xué)習(xí)過程中，了解各方面的背景知識是十分重要的。
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A．last a long time
B．be hard to copy
C．be interesting to look at
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C．a(chǎn)re longer than the width of the bills
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A．FourB．FiveC．Six D．Seven
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A．Because no one wants them．
B．Because their material is a bit more expensive．
C．Because they aren't used in America any more．
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

(The Guardian)More UK universities should be profiting from ideas
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A．It masks the fatal weaknesses of government policy.
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D．It does not reflect the differences among universities.
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A．Fully use their research to benefit all sectors of society.
B．Generously share their facilities with those short of funds.
C．Advertise their research to win international recognition.
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D．They exchange clothes for fun.
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B．To attract foreign students to study in Brighton.
C．To show his admiration for the city of Brighton.
D．To list entertainments in Brighton.
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D．The distance between Brighton and London.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Every culture has a recognized point when a child becomes an adult, when rules must be followed and tests passed.
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A．How well off the family is.
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D．Whether it’s practically needed.
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A．a(chǎn)n American culture
B．a(chǎn) cultural difference between America and China
C．a(chǎn) change in the Chinese culture
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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Each character represents a different type of student, ranging from the most mischievous(調(diào)皮的)to the most motivated. Like most teenagers, they enjoy carefree moments and like to talk about their schoolmates. But the tension of the approaching exam, probably their first life-changing event, is common—they must memorize seemingly endless English words and Chinese poems, work through piles of practice test papers, and improve their scores despite the increasing pressure.
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“The film really reflects senior 3students’life.” Zhang Ping, a teacher from a senior high school in Qingdao, commented.
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A．To tell us what the word “youth” means.
B．To introduce what will be mainly talked about.
C．To tell youth is a time of determination and willpower.
D．To introduce some famous actors.
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A．They want to enjoy carefree moments.
B．They want to gossip about their schoolmates.
C．They want to work through piles of practice test papers.
D．They want to improve their scores.
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A．Mark of Youth tells a story that happened on Feb 5.
B．The characters in the film have to face the pressure from both study and their families.
C．The film tells a story that really happened in Hubei Huanggang Middle School.
D．Most characters in the film are played by actors from HongKong.
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A．Youth is a wonderful thing.
B．We youth should face challenge with smile.
C．Entrance examination is very important in our life.
D．The entrance examination isn’t so terrible.
小題5:Which of the person can we see in the film?
A．Alex FongB．Yao LingqianC．Gao JingD．Zhang ping

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Most schools are named after famous people. Other schools are named after the streets on which they are located. Some school names are most unusual. How they were chosen is anyone’s guess.
There are schools with names that would make a person think twice before opening the door. The school named Lookout at least warns pupils in advance. You would need the most courage of all to enter the school in Oregon named Tenkiller!
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Other schools have names neither pleasant nor fearful. Their names are simply funny. There are schools with names such as Telephone, and Ducktown. For names to make us smile, what can match Bushyhead in the state of Georgia?
Do you think you can find the Nonesuch School? If you look carefully at the word, you will see that its name says there is no such school, but there is. The Nonesuch School is found in Kentucky. 
小題1:One pleasant school name in the passage is _______.
A．TelephoneB．TenkillerC．LookoutD．Allgood
小題2:When you hear of the school name Bushyhead, you will find it _______.
A．terribleB．fearfulC．funnyD．familiar
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