I came across quite a few language problems while on holiday with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her "pants were dirty". They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, "pants" means underpants, not trousers as it does back home. Katie -- From America When I asked for the "restroom" in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and "rest". It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet! Tom -- From America Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle and there turned out to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for "boot" was "trunk". In the end we went to a _ and just solved the problem. Mary -- From Britain Last summer, I went to stay with a friend on the west coast. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn't find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor. David -- From Britain Which of the following words is from British English? A) Pants B) Restroom C) Ground floor D) Trunk
C
(Question)
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is "What's your name?" Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct. Have you ever wondered about people's names? Where do they come from? What do they mean? People's first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones. Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means "bright"; Beatrice means "one who gives happiness"; Donald means "world ruler"; Leonard means "as brave as a lion". The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook ;someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest. Other early surnames came from people's occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter -- a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter --a person who made pots and pans. The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter's great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture. Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer. Some family names were made by adding something... Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _ . A) Beatrice Smith B) Leonard Carter C) George Longstreet D) Donald Greenwood
(Answer)
D
Ques: When a Swedish ship that sank in 1628 was recovered from the port of Stockholm, historians and scientists were overjoyed with the chance to examine the remains of the past. The ship construction showed how ships were built and operated during the seventeenth century. In this way, artifacts, objects made by human beings, provided a picture of daily life almost 400 years ago. Underwater archaeology-----the study of ships, aircrafts and human settlements that have sunk under large bodies of water-----is really a product of the last 50 years. The rapid growth of this new area of study has occurred because of the invention of better diving equipment. Besides the Swedish ship wreck ,underwater archaeologists have made more exciting discoveries such as the 5000-year-old boats in the Mediterranean Sea. Underwater archaeology can provide facts about the past. In ancient ports all over the world are ships sunken in the past 6,000 years. There are also sunken settlements in seas and lakes telling of people's way of life and their systems of trade in ancient times. Underwater archaeologists want to study these objects to add to the world's knowledge of history, but they have to fight two enemies. One enemy is treasure hunters who dive for ancient artifacts that they can sell to collectors. Once sold, these objects are lost to experts. The second enemy is dredging machines often used to repair ports. These machines destroy wrecks and artifacts or bury them deeper under sand and mud. By teaching the public about the importance of underwater "museums" of the past, archaeologists are hoping to get support for laws to protect underwater treasures. What is the main purpose of the passage? A) To introduce a young branch of learning. B) To discuss the scientists' problems. C) To explain people's way of life in the past. D) To describe the sunken ships.
Ans: A
Ques: If you have a watch, don't go to a watchmaker's unless something is wrong with the machinery. Once I had a beautiful watch. And it had kept perfect time. But one night it happened that I forgot to _ it _ . Next morning I went to a watchmaker as I wanted my perfect watch to be set by the exact time. He examined it and said, "The regulator must be pushed up as your watch is four minutes slow. I tried to stop him from doing so, but he didn't listen and pushed the regulator. My beautiful watch began to gain. It gained faster and faster day by day. By the end of the second month it had left all the clocks and watches of the town far behind. I could do nothing but take it to another watchmaker to be regulated. I expected him to regulate the watch at once, but he asked me to come in a week's time. When at last I got my watch back from him, it began to slow down. And I failed to be in time for trains, business affairs, and even missed my dinners. Now I went to a third watchmaker. When I was waiting for him to repair my poor watch, he took it to pieces and said that he would try to finish this work in three or four days. What I could do was to nod my head. After that, my watch went for half a day, and then stopped. So I kept taking my watch from one watchmaker to another. But each watchmaker disappointed me. My watch had cost me two hundred dollars, but I paid for repairs more than two hundred. At last I decided to buy another watch, which I did. The writer took his watch to the first watchmaker in order to _ . A) check it whether it kept good time B) change some parts C) have it set by the exact time D) push up the regulator
Ans:
C