When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find acmodation. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of acmodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfast houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACABCUES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word ‘DIVERSION’ on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, thank you.”
【小题1】 My Spanish friends wanted advice about .A．learning EnglishB．finding places to stay in EnglandC．driving their car on English roadsD．going to England by car【小题2】 I suggested that they stay at “bed and breakfast” houses because .A．they would be able to practise their EnglishB．it would be much cheaper than staying in hotelsC．it would be convenient for them to have dinnerD．there would be no problem about finding acmodation there【小题3】“NO VACANCIES” in English means .A．no free roomsB．free roomsC．not away on holidayD．holidays【小题4】If you see a road sign that says “Diversion” in UK, you will .A．fall into a holeB．have a lot of fun and enjoy yourselfC．find that the road is blocked by crowds of peopleD．have to take a different road【小题5】When someone offered me more coffee and I said “Thank you” in French, I .A．didn’t really want any more coffeeB．wanted them to take the coffee pot awayC．really wanted some more coffeeD．wanted to express my politenessB
网友回答
(答案→)B
解析：
【小题1】B 细节题，从文章第一段的句子：Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find acmodation.说明作者的朋友是征求关于找住宿的地方的建议。
【小题1】A细节题，从文章第一段的句子：I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of acmodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family.可知这种房子可以提供说英语的机会。
【小题1】A 猜测词义题：从第三段的句子：So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACABCUES”, which in English means there are free rooms.后面的定语从句解释了这个单词的含义，就是“有空房”。
【小题1】D猜测词义题：从第四段的句子：In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road.说明在修路，你要走另外的路。
【小题1】C 细节题：文章最后一段的句子：I meant that I would like some more.可知答案。