I. 閱讀理解 A
"Long time no see." is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend's e-mail, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish.
Obviously，it is a word-by-word literal translation (直譯) of a Chinese greeting with wrong English grammar! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too surprised to believe her. Her words were unbelievable at all. So I did research on Google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages containing "Long time no see." Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. Interestingly, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the software will tell you that grammar needs to be corrected.
Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan's movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a world-by-word famous Chinese detective named "Charlie Chan" on wide screens. Detective Chan liked to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius. "Long time no see." was his symbol. Soon after Charlie Chan, "Long time no see." became a popular expression in America thanks to the popularity of these movies.
Some scholars compare America to a huge melting pot. All kinds of cultures are mixed in the pot together and they change the color and taste of each other. Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed pot.
You can have some examples from other countries, such as pizza from Italian, sushi from Japanese, and déjà vu from French etc. There is a long list! Since Americans admire Chinese culture more and more nowadays, I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future. In this way, the American melting pot keeps adding richness.
1. Why did the writer himself feel surprised?
A. "Long time no see." is a Chinglish expression.
B. He's found Americans use the expression formally every day.
C. So many literal translations of expressions are used in America.
D. "Long time no see." is used as a standard American English greeting.
2. What do the underlined words "a huge melting pot" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. A large boiling cooker.
B. Cross-cultural mixture.
C. A kind of cooked dish.
D. Confucius's famous words.
3. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Detectives translated the phrase "Long time no see."
B. Cultures cannot be changed in the huge melting pot.
C. Hollywood probably made "Long time no see." very popular.
D. The huge melting pot greatly affects all kinds of languages.
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Some American expressions can be used in China.
B. Americans have a strong interest in Chinese culture.
C. American English keeps being enriched by different cultures.
D. Some Chinese daily expressions are introduced into English.
答案：1. D
解析：根據第二段“Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too surprised to believe her.”可知，作者驚訝于“Long time no see.”被用作標準的美式英語問候語，D選項正確。A選項是作者最初的想法，不是驚訝的原因；B選項“formally”與原文“sort of informal”不符；C選項文中未提及“many literal translations”，故選D。
2. B
解析：根據第四段“All kinds of cultures are mixed in the pot together...”可知，“a huge melting pot”指不同文化的混合，即跨文化融合，B選項正確。A選項是字面意思，不符合語境；C、D選項與文意無關，故選B。
3. C
解析：根據第三段“Soon after Charlie Chan, 'Long time no see.' became a popular expression in America thanks to the popularity of these movies.”可推斷，好萊塢電影可能使該短語流行起來，C選項正確。A選項文中說“Nobody knows the origin”，偵探是電影角色，并非翻譯者；B選項與“they change the color and taste of each other”矛盾；D選項“all kinds of languages”范圍過大，文中主要講對美式英語的影響，故選C。
4. C
解析：文章通過“Long time no see.”等例子說明美國像一個大熔爐，不同文化融合，美式英語不斷被豐富，C選項符合主旨。A、B選項片面；D選項是其中一個例子，并非主要觀點，故選C。
5. What is the author's understanding of maths anxiety in Paragraph 1?
A. It happens when you have to pay bills after a meal.
B. It actually reflects one's poor performance in maths.
C. Only students often suffer from this sense of worry.
D. People normally have it when dealing with numbers.
答案：5. D
解析：根據第一段“many are afraid of the moment when they have to deal with numbers and figures and feel a real sense of worry and confusion... this maths anxiety is perfectly normal...”可知，作者認為人們在處理數字時通常會有數學焦慮，D選項正確。A選項是舉例，并非定義；B選項與“our worries and fears don't necessarily reflect our ability”不符；C選項“Only students”錯誤，文中未限定人群，故選D。
