Question

I ran into quite a few language problems while vacationing (度假) 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 or knickers( 內(nèi)褲), not trousers as it does back home.

Katie — From America

I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. 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

When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing(指引) me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to (使...明白)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 garage and just solved the problem.

Mary — From Britain

1.Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in amazement because _______.

A. Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans

B. Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty

C. they mistook “pants” in American for underpants

D. they didn’t know English

2.Which of the following words is from British English？

A. Pants. B. Ground floor.

C. Restroom. D. Trunk.

3.When Tom asked for the “restroom”, the people around him thought ________.

A. he wanted to have a rest

B. he wanted the toilet

C. he wanted a chair

D. He wanted to go to a department store

4.The underlined word “garage” is probably ________.

A. a parking place B. a car

C. a gas station D. a place to repair cars

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：分享幾個(gè)有趣的小故事，說明英式英語和美式英語間存在的文化差異。

1.1】推理判斷題。Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans.媽媽摔倒了，褲子上沾到了泥。my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”。媽媽因此向和我們一起的人表示抱歉。But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers( 內(nèi)褲), not trousers as it does back home.。英式英語中，pants特指內(nèi)褲，語義差異使得英國人產(chǎn)生了誤解，故選C。

2.2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。ACD三個(gè)選項(xiàng)在英式和美式英語中都有，只是意思不同，而B只在英式英語中出現(xiàn)，故選B。

3.3】推理判斷題。When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing(指引) me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. 當(dāng)湯姆尋找“restroom”，周圍的人把他帶到了一個(gè)有椅子的房間，在那里可以坐著休息，周圍人認(rèn)為他是想要休息了，故選A。

4.4】詞義解析題。聯(lián)系上下文可以知道。When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken。他打電話給租車公司，試圖解釋清楚車后備箱的鑰匙是壞的。In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.最后他們到了garage 才解決了這個(gè)問題。所以garage 是修車行，故選D。

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