For many in the United States,Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population. Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800’s when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as “Amreeka”.
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves. The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924. The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian, and some Egyptian immigrants. These new immigrants, who were mostly Christian, came to America in search of better opportunities. Even the doomed Titanic, which set sail for America in 1912, had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard. The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants; they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ, caused by political unrest in the Middle East. This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States, according to demographers. And quite different from popular belief,64 percent of them are American-born. Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income. Education is important among Arab-Americans; 82 percent have high school diplomas,36 percent have bachelor’s degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees. The-median average income among Arab-Americans is $39 580,which is higher than the US average.
【小题1】What would be the best title for the text?| A．Arabs in America. | B．The Two Arab Immigration Waves to America. |
| C．Arab-Americans, Contributions to America | D．Arab-Americans, Education and Income. |
| A．all Arabs were Christian at that time | B．Arabs wanted to hunt for a better development |
| C．the Second World War broke out | D．Arabs wanted to gain higher income |
| A．to tell us that taking ship at that time was dangerous |
| B．because Titanic became a well-known disaster |
| C．to show us there were many Arabs flocking into America at that time |
| D．to inform us that Arabs are brave enough |
| A．Arab-Americans are much more clever than native Americans |
| B．Arab-Americans are hard-working people |
| C．the higher education you receive, the higher income you will get in America |
| D．Arab-Americans play the most important role in the American average in both education and income |
The problem largely stems from the fact that both nation’s names are written similarly in Mandarin---Ruidian(Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland)------which begin with the same symbol, according to the Swedish Consul General Victoria Liu in China.
In an effort to put an end to the mix-up, the Swedish and Swiss governments have launched a competition on a website, asking Chinese people to come up with funny ways to help differentiate the two countries. Submissions can be accepted as a blog post, cartoon, photo, short film or in any other format.
The winner with the best submission will receive a 12-day trip to Sweden and Switzerland and will be expected to report back on his/her impressions of both countries following the trip, the website states. Entries will be accepted until November 20.
The organizers have also
China may not be the only country struggling to tell Sweden and Switzerland apart. Residents of Spanish-speaking countries also fall victim to the confusion as Sweden is spelt “Suecia” in Spanish while Switzerland is called “Suiza”.
Sweden and Switzerland aren’t the only places that have caused confusion among people. Last month, , a British holidaymaker hoped to explore the architecture of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, but instead mistakenly caught a flight across the Atlantic to the tropical Caribbean island of Grenada following a confusing booking blunder. Earlier this summer, two US holidaymakers were flown to the wrong continent after an airline confused two airport codes.
【小题1】What can we learn about the competition launched by the two governments?
| A．The winner of the competition will receive a 24-day trip altogether to both of the countries. |
| B．The winner will report his/her impressions on the two countries in his/her submission. |
| C．The competition is held among all people around the world. |
| D．The competition is held in order to stop people’s confusion about the two countries. |
| A．To show us many people are confused by Sweden and Switzerland. |
| B．To prove airports make mistakes about people’s places too. |
| C．To explain Spanish-speaking people make mistakes too. |
| D．To prove many people are confused about some places. |
| A．Tourism | B．News review | C．Business | D．Culture |
| A．Compared. | B．Collected. | C．Invented. | D．Installed |
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate(价钱). From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly(相应地).
With so many loopholes(漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?
【小题1】While taking a taxi in Finland, ________.
| A．a passenger can go anywhere without having to pay the driver |
| B．a passenger can never be turned down by the taxi driver wherever he wants to go |
| C．a passenger pays two US dollars for a taxi ride |
| D．a passenger needs to provide good faith demonstration (证明) before leaving without paying |
| A．provide meals for any diners |
| B．are mostly poorly managed |
| C．provide free wine and charge for food |
| D．provide meal for only those who live in the hotels |
| A．The workers in Finland are paid by the hour. |
| B．The workers are always honest with their working hours. |
| C．The bosses in Finland are too busy to check the working hours of their employees. |
| D．The workers and their bosses will make an agreement in advance about the pay. |
| A．people who are worthy of trust |
| B．people who often have meals in big hotels |
| C．people who often take taxis |
| D．people who are dishonest |
Did anyone find the names of “the British Isles”, “Great Britain”, “the United Kingdom”, “England”and “the British Commonwealth” which have the same meaning? Strictly speaking these names all refer to something different. None of them are exactly the same as any of the others.
The British Isles refer to the main islands and several thousand small ones as well, which you can see on the map.Great Britain, or Britain, refers to the larger of the two main islands.But the word “Britain” is often used as a short form for the United Kingdom or you call it the UK.
Now as for England, it refers simply to the largest of the three countries on the island of Great Britain.The United Kingdom is the name of the state and the official name of the country, which many people popularly refer to England.Finally, the British Commonwealth is the usual name for what is left of the British Empire (帝国).This change shows the weakening of British Empire and the rising of the national liberation movements throughout the world today.
【小题1】According to the passage, we know that ________ .| A．Great Britain has the same meaning as Britain |
| B．the United Kingdom has the same meaning as Britain or England |
| C．all the names in the first paragraph have the same meaning |
| D．all the names refer to England |
| A．Britain, England and the UK |
| B．the two main islands and thousands of small ones |
| C．three countries and several islands |
| D．Great Britain or the United Kingdom |
| A．Edinburgh,England | B．Edinburgh,Great Britain |
| C．Scotland,Edinburgh,England | D．Great Britain,Scotland,Edinburgh |
| A．the UK is not as powerful as it was in the past |
| B．the British Commonwealth is another name of the UK |
| C．England is the largest country in the British Commonwealth |
| D．no other country is left in the British Commonwealth except Britain |
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