Letter A

　　Dear Rose,

　　I like your programmers very much. I’m now writing to ask you something about American social customs (社交習(xí)慣). My American friends want me to join them in their dinner party. I am very happy and have decided to go, but I’m a little worried about it, too. The social customs in my country are very different from here, so I’m afraid of making mistakes.

　　Should I bring a present, such as sweets or flowers? Should I arrive on time or a little late? At the dinner table, how can I know which fork (叉子) or knife to use? How can I let the family know that I’m thankful for their kindness?

　　Wang Lin

　　Letter B

　　Dear Wang Lin,

　　It’s a good idea to bring a small present when you go to a dinner party. Flowers are always nice, or you may bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) if you know that your friends drink it.

　　You should arrive on time or five to ten minutes late. Don’t get there early. If you’re going to be more than fifteen minutes late, you should call and tell them.

　　Try to be free at the dinner table. If you don’t know about choosing the right fork or knife, just watch the other people, and follow them. If you still have no idea of what to do, ask the person next to you.

　　If you like the food, say so. Of course, you’ll thank them for the meal and for their kindness. It’s also a good idea to send a thank-you card the day after.

　　Rose

　　( )1. Wang Lin wants to _______.

　　A. make friends with Rose　　　　　　 B. know some social customs for a dinner party

　　C. make her friends happy　　　　　　 D. give her friends a surprise

　　( )2. Rose is possibly ________.

　　A. a good housewife　　　　　　　　　B. a TV hostess (主持人)

　　C. a member of the dinner party　　　　 D. a friend of Wang Lin’s

　　( )3. If you’re asked to a dinner party but not sure about what to bring as a present, it’s good to bring _______.

　　A. some fruits　　　B. a bottle of wine C. some flowers　　D. a knife and fork

　　( )4. Which of the following is NOT proper (適當(dāng)?shù)? for joining in a dinner party?

　　A. Get there 15 minutes earlier.　　　　　 B. Make yourself at home.

　　C. Follow others to use forks and knives.　 D. Thank your friends for the meal.

　　( )5. From the letters we’ve learned that it’s very _____ to know something about American social customs.

　　A. difficult　　 B. friendly　　　 C. enjoyable　　　 D. helpful

　　(B)

　　Life of Pi is a novel written by Yann Martel. It tells the story of a 16-year-old Indian boy named Pi. He spent 227 days after a shipwreck(船只失事) on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Ricard Parker.

　　Life of Pi was rejected by at least five LONDON publishing houses (出版社) before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published it in September 2001. The UK edition(版本) won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction the following year. In 2012 it was made into a film with the same name directed by Ang Lee.

　　Yann Martel, born on June 25, 1963, is a Canadian author. His first published fictional work, Seven Stories, appeared in 1993. Although his first language is French, Yann Martel writes in English. “English is the language in which I best express the subtlety(細(xì)微) of life. But I must say that French is the language closest to my heart. And for this same reason, English gives me enough distance to write.”

　　Yann Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain. He was raised in Costa Rica, France, Mexico and Canada. As an adult, Martel has spent time in Iran, Trukey and India. After graduating from Trent University in Canada, Yann Martel spent 13 months in India visiting churches, temples(廟宇) and zoos. He now lives in Saskatoon, Canada.

　　( )1. The underlined word “rejected” in Paragraph 2 means “_______” in Chinese.

　　A. 抄襲 B. 引進(jìn) C. 改編 D. 拒絕

　　( )2. Life of Pi was published in ______________.

　　A. 1993 B. 2001 C. 2002 D. 2012

　　( )3. Yann Martel had his first fictional work published when he was ______ years old.