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 (住所). 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(标牌) outside said ‘VACANCLES’, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said ‘NO VACANCLES’, 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（洞）.
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 inEnglandC．driving their car on English roadsD．going toEnglandby 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’, 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 coffee
B. wanted them to take the coffee pot away
C. really wanted some more coffee
D. wanted to express my politenessB
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(答案→)B
解析：
【文章大意】本文是一篇故事。文章讲述了由于语言的含义不同所导致的一些笑话，从而告诉我们不同的文化背景有些词有不同的意思。
【小题1】B考查细节理解。根据文章第一段中的 they asked me for advice about how to find acmodation (住所)可知，西班牙朋友是在向我询问在英国住宿的问题。故选B。
【小题2】A考查细节理解。根据文章第一段中的because this kind of acmodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. 可知，这种家庭能给我们提供学习英语口语的机会。故选A。
【小题3】A考查细节理解。根据文章第三段中的Then my friends went to house where the sign said ‘NO VACANCLES’, 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. 可知，在英语中‘NO VACANCLES’是：没有空闲的房间。故选A。
【小题4】D考查细节理解。根据文章第四段中的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. 可知，在英语中‘DIVERSION’的意思是：走不同的路。故选D。
【小题5】C考查细节理解。根据文章最后一段中的I said ‘Thank you’ in French. I meant that I would like some more.可知，在法语中的“谢谢你”意为：我想再多喝些咖啡。故选C。