话题阅读：文化与习俗 Passage 1 Every people uses its own special word to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where’s the beef?” It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s “Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone using it at the time. Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald’s”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America. Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company called “Wendy’s” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald’s or anyone else. The Wendy’s Company began to use the expression “Where’s the beef?” to make people know that Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy’s television advertisement showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where’s the beef?” she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy’s hamburger restaurants was success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where’s the beef?”. 1. _______ started McDonald’s restaurant. A. Ray B. McDonald C. Wendy D. Three old women 2. Other people wanted to open hamburger restaurants because they thought _______. A. they could sell hamburgers at a low price B. hamburgers were easy to make C. beef was very popular in America D. they could make a lot of money 3. Wendy’s made the expression known to everybody _______. A. with many old women eating hamburgers B. by a television advertisement C. while selling bread with a bit of meat in it D. at the McDonald’s restaurant 4. We can learn from the passage that the expression “Where’s the beef?” means _______. A. The beef in hamburgers is not as much as it is said to be B. The hamburgers are not as good as they are said to be C. It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be D. Wendy’s is the biggest 【答案与解析】本文主要讲述 ‘‘Where’s the beef?’’ 这一表达语是如何产生并流行于美国 大众的。 1. A。细节题。根据短文内容 McDonald(麦当劳) restaurant 是由美国商人 Ray 创办的。 2. D。判断题。由于 Ray 的成功，他成了富豪，其他商家也看到了商机，所以他们也开 办快餐店(Hamburger restaurants)，因为他们认为能赚大钱。 3. B。细节题。根据文章内容可知 the expression “Where’s the beef?” 是 Wendy 通过电视 广告使大众感知的。 4. C. 细节题。从文章的第一自然段中可找到答案。 Passage 2 The yearly Academy Awards ceremony was once a private affair. Now, because of television, it is very much a public affair. Hundreds of people gather in Hollywood to see the Oscars presented to outstanding( 杰 出 的 ) actors, and others involved( 参 与 ) in the motion picture industry. Millions more watch on television. It all began on May 16, 1929, when 270 men and women sat down to dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. There was no secret about the winners. The names of the winners had been known for months. Janet Gaynor, for example, had won as Best Actress. Douglas Fairbanks presented her with the famous gold statue( 塑像 ). The little statue was not then called Oscar. Like a new actor, Oscar was unknown. About six years later, it somehow got that renowned name. A number of explanations have been offered for its origin(由来), but nobody knows the true story for certain. Nowadays the results of the Oscar voting are kept secret. Only two people know the winners before the names are announced at the ceremony. The counting of votes is not done by one group of people but by different groups. Nobody except two members of an accounting(计票) company sees the final results. The information is not kept in open files( 卷 宗 ). Winners’ names are placed in closed envelopes. The accountants each carry a complete set of envelopes to the ceremony. One set is simply a spare to be used in case something happens to the other one. 1. As used in Paragraph 2, renowned means _______. A. strange B. wonderful C. much-disliked D. famous 2. May 16, 1929 marks _______. A. Douglas Fairbanks’ first winning of an Academy Award B. the first time Oscar got its name C. the first time the Awards were kept secret D. Janet Gaynor’s recognition as Best Actress 3. Two sets of envelopes are prepared for the ceremony __