:高三上学期期末英语测试题
本试卷分第一卷（选择题）和第二卷（非选择题）两部分。共150分。考试时间120分钟。
第一卷（三部分，共115分）
第一部分：听力(共两节，满分30分)
做题时，先将答案划在试卷上。录音内容结束后，你将有两分钟的时间将试卷上的答案转涂到答题卷上。
第一节(共5小题；每小题1.5分，满分7.5分)
听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。
1. What do we know
about the woman?
A. She missed Jane’s birthday party.
B. She hasn’t received Jane’s invitation.
C. She will attend Jane’s birthday party.
2. What is the woman
going to do?
A. To have a swim.
B. To catch a train.
C. To have a training.
3. What are they
talking about?
A. A card.
B. A birthday gift.
C. A gold fish.
4. How much time does
it take Smith to go to work in rush hours?
A. 5 minutes.
B. 15 minutes.
C. 20 minutes.
5. Why will the man go
to Edinburgh?
A. To drive the woman there.
B. To have a meeting in Glasgow.
C. To meet some important people.
第二节(共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分)
听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。
听第6段材料，回答第6～7题。
6. Where does the
conversation take place?
A. In a hotel.
B. In a hospital.
C.
At a school.
7. Which room is his uncle staying in?
A. Room 204 on the
third floor. B. Room 24 on the fourth floor. C. Room 304 on the fifth floor.
听第7段材料，回答第8～9题。
8. How will they go to the meeting?
A. They will ride
their bicycles.
B. They will walk
there.
C. They will take a
bus.
9. When will the meeting begin?
A. It’ll begin at two thirty.
B. It’ll begin in twenty-five
minutes.
C. The meeting has begun.
听第8段材料，回答第10～12题。
10. What are the woman
and her family going to do tomorrow?
A. They are going to play basketball.
B. They are going to pack books.
C. They are going to move into another house.
11. Where is the house
they are talking about?
A. It’s very far away. B. It’s
near where they are living.
C. It’s in the country.
12. What is the man
doing when the woman asks him to pack books?
A. He is beginning to pack. B. He is reading a magazine. C.
He is putting the books in the box.
听第9段材料，回答第13～16题。
13. Which bus will the
man take?
A. No. 19.
B. No. 90.
C. No. 80.
14. How long does it
take to go from Washington to New York by bus?
A. Three hours.
B. Four hours.
C. Five hours.
15. How many buses
leave Washington for New York in the afternoon?
A. Two.
B. Three.
C. Four.
16. How much does a
ticket cost?
A. 18 dollars.
B. 36 dollars.
C. 72 dollars.
听第10段材料，回答第17～20题。
17. What is the
couples nationality?
A. British.
B. French.
C. Chinese.
18. What happened to the couple’s pet dog?
A. It was well fed in the kitchen.
B. It was killed in the kitchen.
C. It had a meal with the old
couple.
.
19. How long did the
couple have to wait before their food was ready?
A. About an hour.
B. Half an hour.
C. An hour and a half.
20. How does the woman
feel about what the man said?
A. It is true.
B. It is wrong to do so. C. It is unbelievable.
第二部分：英语知识运用(共两节，满分45分)
第一节：单项填空(共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分)
从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
21. ---Make sure that
you turn off the light before you leave the room.
---Yes,____.
A. I shall
B. I am going to
C. I will
D. I am to do it
22. I seldom, _____ ,
go to the mountain for a picnic.
A. if ever B.
however
C. still
D. if never
23. He used to visit
_____ is now called Garden Villas.
A. which B.
where
C. what
D. that
24. Many months had
passed _____ I realized he was really mean and low.
A. after
B. until
C. before
D. when
25. ---Whats the mans
name, did he say?
---Oh, sorry, I _____.
A. didn’t listen
B. wasn’t listening C.
haven’t listened D. haven’t been
listening
26. ---Who left the
room unlocked?
---It _____ Mr. Smith who did it.
A. could be B.
would be
C. would have been D.
should have been
27. He kept training there at noon,
when the sun was ____ hottest on the ground, which won him ______ good success.
A. the; 不填 B. 不填; 不填 C. the; the D. 不填; a
28. The policeman was
____ speed. It was coming up nearer and nearer to the kidnapped car.
A. obtaining B. getting C.
acquiring D. gaining
29. I’m sorry but I
_____ it on purpose and Id like to know what I _____ next.
A. haven’t done; shall do
B. don’t do; will do
C. won’t do; am going to do
D. didn’t do; am to do
30. They at last came
to a great desert, _____ lies the Dead Sea to its east.
A. where B. there
C. across which D. over
which
31. They have formed
a good relationship, and they hope both sides will _____ .
A. stick to it
B. keep it up C.
pay attention to it D.
look after it
32. He has got
everything ready, _____ it well.
A. determined
to do B.
to be determined to doing
C. determining
doing D.
to determine to do
33. Not until he
spoke the truth, ______.
A. did his parents forgive him B.
had his parents forgiven him
C. his parents forgave him
D. his parents would forgive him
34. This kind of
facilities, _____ for the convenience of the blind people, will be put into use
soon.
A. having been designed B. to be designed C. designed D. having been designing
35. I regret _____
with her in such a heated way just now.
A. to
argue B. to have
been argued C. arguing D. argued
第二节：完形填空(共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36～55题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Some desert animals can survive the very strong
summer heat and dryness because they have very unusual characters. The camel,
for example, can 36 an increase in the temperature of
its body and its blood of 9 °C. In addition, it can drink a huge 37 of water at one time, then store
sufficient water in its red blood cells and other parts of its body to supply
its needs for two weeks or more. The kangaroo rat(长鼻袋鼠),
on the other hand, 38 all the water it needs from water
that it produces during respiration(呼吸). However, most
animals need to 39 a fairly constant body temperature,
and will die if it rises more than 5 °C. 40 , they need to find some way to
avoid the strong sun rays. Nor can many animals either store or produce water
in their bodies, as the camel and kangaroo rat 41 . So they must find ways to 42 water loss from their bodies to the
lowest degree.
Because very few desert animals can survive the
strong rays, the temperature, and the evaporation(蒸发)
rate 43 a typical summer’s day, most of them are 44 during the night. Only 45 the sun has set does the desert come
fully to life. The night is 46 cool, and the darkness provides 47 , not only from the sun, but
also from other animals and from the birds. So the coming of darkness is the
signal 48 the large majority of animals
and insects (昆虫) to continue their search for water and food. When morning
comes, most of
them seek 49 again: many go underground; nearly all
find 50 shady and they can avoid the sun rays
there.
For many kinds of insects,
living in the desert is 51
than for animals. Like many
desert plants, they have a waterproof skin which 52 water loss by evaporation. In
addition, some insects spend all 53 most of their life below ground. Here,
for most of the year at least, there is 54 wetness, and it is generally
cooler than on the 55 .
36. A. carry B.
bear
C. effect
D. delay
37. A. amount B. number C. level
D. sum
38. A. obtains B. consumes C. brings D.
replaces
39. A. raise B.
reject
C. keep
D. regulate
40. A. However B. Again C. Instead D.
Therefore
41. A. can B.
may
C. must
D. need
42. A. quicken B. reduce C. lighten D. keep
43. A. in
B. to
C. of
D. through
44. A. sensitive B. active C. involved D.
disturbed
45. A. after B.
since C.
until
D. before
46. A. extremely B. suddenly C. relatively D.
sufficiently
47. A. prevention B. protection C. possession D. permission
48. A. for
B. with C.
from
D. among
49. A. food B.
shelter C.
water
D. work
50. A. something B. anything C. anywhere D.
somewhere
51. A. easier B. better C. safer
D. harder
52. A. causes B. changes C. prevents D.
suffers
53. A. or
B. and C.
but
D. when
54. A. little B.
plentiful C.
thorough
D. some
55. A. hill B.
surface C.
top
D. skin
第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
A
Tests conducted
at the University of Pennsylvania’s Psychological Laboratory showed that anger
is one of the most difficult emotions to find out from facial expressions.
Professor
Dallas E. Buzy confronted 716 students with pictures of extremely angry
persons, and asked them to identify (识别) the
emotion from the facial expressions. Only two percent made correct judgments.
Anger was most frequently judged as “Pleased”.
And
a typical reaction of a student confronted with the picture of a man who was
mad was to classify his expression as either “bewildered”, “quizzical”, or
simply “amazed”. Other studies showed that it is extremely difficult to tell
whether a man is angry or not just by looking at his face. The investigators found further that women
are better at finding out anger from facial expressions than men are. In fact,
they found that psychological training does not improve ones ability to judge
a mans emotions by his expressions but actually hinders it. For in the
university tests, the more courses the student had taken in psychology, the
poorer judgment score he turned in.
56. The information in this passage centers
around ____ .
A. the relation between anger and other emotions
B. the differences between men and women with
respect to emotion
C. the influence of psychology on human emotions
D. the discovery of anger from facial
expressions
57. When tested, students with psychological
training _____ .
A. marked less
than two percent of their possible choices correctly
B. did better
than the average student in the group
C. seemed less
able to judge correctly than the average student
D. performed
in a manner not specified in the passage
58. To achieve the greatest success
in finding out anger from facial expressions, it would be best to ____.
A. use adults rather than students as judges
B. ask women who do not study psychology to
judge it
C. ask men rather than women to judge it
D. be satisfied with a two percent success, if
such a percentage is guaranteed (保证)
B
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume
not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we use are
understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to
summon a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some
Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our
troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty
payments did not bother to find out that “Gift” means poison in German.
Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at
least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners
like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic (语言上的) and cultural
blindness and the casualness(随意性) with which we take notice of the developed
tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us
friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few
concessions (让步) to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no
information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we
do not have multilingual (多语的) guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have
translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our
transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have
difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and
restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up
are conditioned by those natives---usually the richer---who speak English. Our
business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy (外交),
are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with
cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance (无知). After all,
America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of
needed funds and goods.
But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all
good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the
world is changing. A 1979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans
want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to
have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may
not always be the upper hand.
59. It can be inferred
that Americans being approached too closely by Middle Easterners would most
probably ____.
A. stand still B. jump aside C. step forward D. draw
back
60. The author gives
many examples to criticize Americans for their ___.
A. cultural self-centeredness
B. casual manner
C. lime care about foreign visitors D.
overproudness towards other cultures
61. In countries other
than their own most Americans____.
A. are kept apart by me local people
B. are not well informed due to the language
barrier(障碍)
C. tend to get along well with the natives
D. need interpreters in hotels and restaurants
62. According to me
author, Americans’ cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance(无知)
will____.
A. affect their image(形象) in the new era
B. cut themselves off from the outside world
C. limit their role in world affairs
D. weaken the position of the US dollar
63. The author’s
intention in writing this article is to make Americans realize that ____ .
A. It is dangerous to ignore their foreign
friends
B. it is important to maintain their leading
role in world affairs
C. it is necessary to use several languages in
public places
D. it is time to get familiar with other
cultures
C
Are some people born clever, and others born
stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and experiences?
Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes To some extent our
intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make
a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child
who lives in a boring (令人厌烦的) environment will develop his intelligence less
than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a
persons intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those
limits will depend on his environment. This view now held by most experts, can
be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some
extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between
two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take
two unrelated people at random (任意的) from the population, it is likely that their
degrees or intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we
take two identical (完全相同的) twins, they will very likely be as intelligent
as each other.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and
put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a
university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon
find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates (表明)
that environments as well as birth play a part. This conclusion is also
suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact (接触) with each other, but who are not related at
all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
64. It can be concluded that _____.
A. a person beginning to live on a lonely island
alone in his late teens may be very low in intelligence
B. a person beginning to live on a lonely island
alone in his late teens may be very high in intelligence
C. a husband
and his wife may be similar in intelligence if they have been married long
D. a father and
his son may be identical in intelligence
65. Which of these
sentences best describes the writer’s point on intelligence?
A. Intelligence is determined at birth.
B. Intelligence is mainly developed by
environment.
C. Some people are born clever and others
stupid.
D. Intelligence is given at birth, but can be
developed by environment
66. It is suggested
in the passage that _____.
A. twins always have the same intelligence
B. intelligence doesn’t depend on relationship
by the blood
C. unrelated people can never have similar
intelligence
D. people in the same circle are likely to have
similar intelligence
67. The best title
for this article would be ______ .
A. On intelligence
B. What does intelligence mean
C. We are born with intelligence D.
Environments play a part in developing intelligence
D
STAGE
Tiketan antelope (羚羊): A modern dance describing the life of the
antelope of Tibet is set for the stage. The dance is also a plea(呼吁)
to humans to protect the vulnerable creature.
Time: 7:30 p. m, November 22, 23.
Place: Poly Theatre, 14 Dongzhimen Nandajie.
Tel: 6500-1188ext. 5176.
Monkey King: Two Peking opera excerpts(节选), one focusing on
the Monkey King, are being performed every evening at me Zhengyisi Theatre.
“The Broken Bridge” and “Eighteen Arhats Fight
the Monkey King” are featured on Fridays.
On Sundays, “Farewell My Concubine” and “Monkey
King’s Havoc (大闹) in Heaven” are the featured pieces.
Time: 7:30 p.m. daily.
Place: Zhengyisi Theatre.
Tel: 1362-119-5714.
Ming-style theatre: The Liyuan Theatre presents traditional Peking Opera
excerpts specially packaged in short programmes for foreign audiences in its
original style.
The theatre brings back to life of the surroundings of old
Beijing by setting up Ming-style tables that enable guests to taste local food
during the performances. With an interpretation (说明)
in English, the performances are from the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre.
Time: 7:30 p.m. daily.
Place: Qianmen Hotel, 175 Yong’an Lu, Xuanwu District.
Tel: 6301-6688 ext. 8867.
68. Where can you surely see performances from a
local Beijing Opera troupe(剧团)?
A. In Poly Theatre. B. In Qianmen Hotel. C. In Zhengyisi
Theatre. D. Not specifically
told.
69. must be
a performance describing Monkey King.
A. Havoc in the Dragon’s Palace
B. Picking up the Jade Bracelet
C. The Broken Bridge D.
Farewell My Concubine
70. Pieces of performances may be the shortest
presented _____.
A. in the Poly Theatre
B. in the Zhehyisi Theatre
C. by the Tibetan Dancing Troupe D. by the
Liyuan Theatre
E
Domestic violence (家庭暴力)
is no longer a taboo subject in China and more women are choosing not to
suffer harm while society pledges warmer support to those caught in violence.
“China has scored remarkable achievements in its
fight against domestic violence in the past years,” said Zhang Hongman, an
official with me Beijing Office of the United Nations (UN) Development Fund for
Women.
“But the most outstanding gains have been made
by a successful literacy campaign (文字攻势, enlightening
many Chinese people of me fact that domestic violence does not have to be
hushhush and should be publicly condemned and punished.”
She said exposing domestic violence is the first
step towards effectively fighting it because only from there can all-out
efforts be made to try and protect victims (受害者) .
Yesterday was the International Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women and the UN published a report urging
governments to take action to reduce domestic violence.
According to the UN World Health Organization
report, “nearly half the women who die due to homicide are killed by their
current or former husbands or boyfriends.”
No official large-scale activities were held in
China yesterday, but Liu Shana, an official with the All-China Womens
Federation, said an ongoing fight against domestic violence has been carried
out actively throughout the country.
Increased publicity together with a hit
television show called “Don’t Talk to Strangers” eye-catching roadside and
subway advertisements and broadcast and print reports criticizing the domestic
violence are reaching across China.
71. What does the underlined word “taboo” mean
in the first paragraph?
A. often spoken of B. forbidden C. very
cruel D. shameful
72. According to .the
passage, it can be concluded that _______
A. domestic violence may also happen after the
marriage couples have got divorced(^ ^Ei)
B. sometimes women also perform domestic
violence
C. Many activities were conducted by governments
to mark the International Day
D. “Don’t Talk to Strangers” was specially shot
for the International Day
73. Domestic violence
was usually considered to be .
A. something
between family members only
B. a serious thing
mat people outside China also pay attention to
C. something for
the government to deal with in an all round way
D. something that
people had known very clearly to
74. It can be
inferred from the passage mat domestic violence is______.
A. a common thing happening both at home and
abroad
B. something happening most seriously in
China
C. something very likely leading to death
D. a common thing that is under control
75. What is probably
the best title of the passage?
A. Domestic
violence keeps increasing.
B. Domestic
violence dealt with.
C. China model in
reducing domestic violence.
D. U.N eyes China
for its domestic violence.
第二卷(共35分)
第四部分：写作(共两节，满分35分)
第一节：短文改错(共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)
此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上划一个(√)；如有错误(每行只有一个错误)，则按下列情况改正：
该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。
该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。
该行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。
注意：原行没有错的不要改。
I am back in Briton now after great holiday
76. ______
with Rose in Dublin. I
really enjoy it. We travelled
77. ______
by train and boat. I
hated the boat journey---I tried
78. ______
to sleep, and it was
very difficult. When we arrived, 79.
______
we both very tired. We
stayed with her
parents for
80. ______
two
weeks and they cooked lovely meal for
us.
81. ______
I practised my English at all times. We visited some 82.
______
of Dublin’s ancient
buildings. The castle was close
83. ______
so we didnt get into one. I also liked
the universities 84. ______
there. What I regretted
I wasn’t a university student! 85.
______
第二节：书面表达(满分25分)
假定你是某中学学生李华。最近，你班同学正在参加21世纪英文报“大家谈”栏目的一个讨论。本次话题为：父母的收入有没有必要让孩子知道？
请你根据下表所列情况给报社写一封信，客观地介绍讨论情况。
70%的同学认为:
30%的同学认为:
1． 父母的收入应当让孩子知道；
2． 知道后，知其来之不易，能够更加努力学习；
3． 知道后，可以理解家长艰辛，学会俭省；为大人分忧。
1． 父母的收入没有必要让孩子知道；
2． 如果知道父母收入较好，会助长乱花钱风气；
3． 知道父母收入后，会以为不用努力也能靠父母，影响学习的动力。
注意：1．信的开头已给出。 2．词数：100左右。3．参考词汇：收入: income
Dear editor,
I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we recently had about
whether we should know our parents income.
高三上学期期末英语测试题参考答案
1—5 CCBCC 6—10 BACAC 11—15 BBBBA 16—20 ABBAC
21—25 CACCB 26—30 ADDDC 31—35 BAACC
36—40 BAACD 41—45 ABCBA 46—50 CBABD 51—55 ACADB
56—60 DCBDC 61—65 BADCD 66—70 DABAD 71—75 BAAAB
76. great前加a 77. enjoy→enjoyed 78. √
79. and→but 80. both前加were
81. meal→meals 82. 去掉at 83. close→closed 84. one→it 85. What→How
One possible version:
Dear editor,
I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we recently had about
whether we should know our parents income.
We do have different opinions on this matter. Most of us (about 70%)
think we should know our parents’ income since it will help us understand how
hard our parents have to work, no matter how much they earn. Then we will study
harder and will not waste money any more. We may also learn to share our
parents’ trouble.
About 30% of my classmates think it unnecessary to let the children
know how much their parents earn. If they know their parents have enough money
to support the family, they will not study hard since they needn’t worry about
the future. It is said, especially when their parents have a relatively high
income, the children will easily form a wasteful habit.
Yours truly,
Li Hua
听力录音稿
Text 1
W: Are you going to
Jane’s birthday party, George?
M: Yes. I received her
invitation yesterday. What abort you, Nina?
W: I wouldn’t miss it
for anything.
Text 2
M: Can you tell me
where the swimming pool is?
W: I’m on the way there
for training. Come with me.
Text 3
W: What have you got
for Mummys birthday tomorrow? Ive made a beautiful card for her.
M: I have got nothing
yet, but I decided to give her a goldfish to keep.
Text 4
W: How far do you live
from the university, Mr. Smith?
M: It takes about 15 minutes to
drive from my home to the university. But during the rush hours it will take 5
minutes more.
Text 5
W: Alan, have you got a
meeting in Edinburgh?
M: Yes. I’m going to
see some important people, Why?
W: I’m going to visit
Glasgow on Wednesday and it’s quite near Edinburgh.
M: Ah ... I’m going to
drive there tomorrow, so you can go with me.
Text 6
M: Excuse me.
W: Yes? What can I do
for you?
M: I’m visiting my
uncle. Could you tell me which room hes staying in?
W: Your uncle’s name,
please?
M: Colin. Mr Colin
Martin. He was sent into this hospital last night.
W: Let me see ... Oh,
his room number is 204 and its on the third floor.
M: Thank you very much.
Which way is it to the stairs?
W: Over there, but wait
a minute.
M: What?
W: Your uncle had a heart attack.
He’s all right now, but his doctor won’t allow any visitors until tomorrow morning.
M: OK, I’ll come back
tomorrow. Thanks.
W: Not at all. See you
then.
Text 7
W:
Hurry up, Charlie! Everyone is waiting for you.
M:
I’ll be ready in a minute... I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t realize it was so
late.
W:
I hope we won’t be late. The bus has got started.
M:
What time is it?
W:
Let me see. Twenty-five to two.
M:
Then we’ll just make it. The meeting doesn’t start until half past two.
Text
8
M:
Can you play basketball with me today?
W:
No, I can’t. I’m sorry. I have to help my mother. We are going to move
tomorrow.
M:
Where is the new house? Is it far from here?
W:
No, its not far. Its just across the road.
M:
Can I help you pack?
W:
Sure. Thanks.
M:
What can I do?
W:
Take the books out of the bookcase. Put them in this box. Hey, don’t read that
magazine.
Text
9
M:
Good morning.
W:
Good morning. Can I help you?
M:
Could you tell me if there are any buses leaving for New York?
W:
There are four buses: two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
M:
Oh. I’d prefer to leave in the morning.
W: Well, there are
two buses then. No. 90 leaves Washington at 8:20 a. m. and No. 80 leaves at
11:30 a. m. The trip takes about 4 hours.
M:
Can I have two tickets for the 8:20 bus?
W:
Certainly. That’ll be 36 dollars.
M:
Here is the money.
W:
Here are your tickets.
M:
Thank you. .
W:
My pleasure.
Text
10
M: This is a true
story about a French couple, Paul and Mary, who were in Hong Kong on holiday
and went to a restaurant for a meal.
W:
They had a meal in their hotel?
M: No, what they
did was go to a restaurant. Anyway, they couldn’t speak Chinese or English
well, so they had to use sign language to order their meal. Well, this seemed
to work all right. The waiter nodded and smiled and started to go to the
kitchen.
W: He understood them.
M: Oh, I forgot to mention they
had their pet dog, Rosa, with them and Mary reminded her husband that Rosa was
hungry. They called the waiter back and they pointed at the dog, Rosa, and made
eating gestures. The waiter didn’t seem to understand and looked puzzled. But
in the end he smiled and nodded and picked up the dog and took it into the
kitchen. Paul and Mary were satisfied and chatted about their holiday
experiences until their food was ready. After about an hour the waiter returned
with their main course on a silver dish covered with a large silver lid. Youll
never believe this, but it really happened. When they lifted the silver lid
they found their dog inside.
W: Did they eat their
meal?
M: No, of course not. What happened was that they both suffered a
mild nervous breakdown and took the next plane back to Paris.
W: And that’s a true
story? I find it very unlikely to have happened.
M: It’s perfectly true.
Really!
