全国2011年10月高等教育自学考试语言与文化试题

课程代码：00838

Ⅰ. Each of the following incomplete statements is followed by four alternatives. Read each statement and the four alternatives carefully and decide which of the four alternatives best completes the statement. (20%)

1. In its broad sense culture is ______ Whatever distinguishes man from the rest part of the world is culture. (　　　)

A. social organizations  B. the features of the world

C. the attributes of man  D. human development

2. ______ is，perhaps，the best known subject in which the interaction between language，thought and culture is investigated. (　　　)

A. Nonverbal communication  B. Intercultural communication

C. Verbal communication  D. Translation

3. Culture is a loan word from . (　　　)

A. French  B. Latin

C. Roman  D. Norwegian

4. “Greenhouse” in English and “温室” in Chinese differ in their ______ meaning.  (　　　)

A. social  B. conceptual

C. thematic  D. reflected

5. ______ is a grammatical category of nouns in English，as illustrated by the simple sentence “We are students”. (　　　)

A. Person  B. Case

C. Number  D. Degree

6. Westerners tend to be ______ thinkers. (　　　)

A. holistic  B. subjective

C. analytic  D. objective

7. When English speaking people part，they are expected to say“ ______”. (　　　)

A. It’s nice to have met you  B. I am pleased to meet you

C. Thank you very much  D. You are welcome

8. If a compliment comes to a westerner for his good Chinese，he would reply“______ ”.  (　　　)

A. No. No. That’s not true  B. Thank you for encouraging me

C. Sorry，I can’t speaking Chinese well  D. Thank you. I am glad to hear that

9. ______ contain folk wisdom rather than scientific accuracy. (　　　)

A. Idioms  B. Metaphors

C. Similes  D. Proverbs

10. The proverb “Carry coals to Newcastle” is related to ______. (　　　)

A. navigation  B. geography

C. literature  D. Christianity

11. The English equivalent for “开某人的玩笑” or “捉弄某人” is “______ ”. (　　　)

A. to kid somebody’s brain  B. to make one’s face

C. to get one’s hand  D. to pull somebody’s leg

12. The colour word “______” is associated with profit in business. (　　　)

A. white  B. blue

C. red  D. black

13. “I’m disadvantaged，for I still don’t have a cent to my name. ” In the above sentence，the word “disadvantaged” means ______. (　　　)

A. unfavourable  B. disagreed

C. poor  D. nameless

14. Anything that is ______ by religion，tradition or social usage is a taboo. (　　　)

A. prohibited  B. allowed

C. unprohibited  D. encouraged

15. Man: Would you like to see a movie with me tonight? (　　　)

Woman: It looks like raining.

The above sentences are linked by ______.

A. grammar  B. lexical

C. phonetics  D. meaning

16. John overslept this morning. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been late for school. (　　　)

The logical relationship between the above sentences is______.

A. additive  B. adversative

C. causal  D. temporal

17. The word “______” is American spelling. (　　　)

A. colour  B. traveller

C. metre  D. defense

18. Nike is the name of ______ in Greek mythology. (　　　)

A. a heroine  B. the goddess of victory

C. the goddess of fortune  D. a wealthy lady

19. The nonverbal messages that are consistent with accompanying verbal messages，but add to or strengthen or clarify the verbal message serve the function of ______. (　　　)

A. regulating  B. repeating

C. complementing  D. accenting

20. “Rubbing one’s thumb against one’s forefinger and middle finger” means ______ in English body language system. (　　　)

A. victory  B. dirt

C. OK  D. money

Ⅱ. Each of the following incomplete statements is followed by four alternatives. Read each statement and the four alternatives carefully and decide which alternatives can complete the statement. There might be more than one correct answer. (10%)

21. ______can convey messages in face-to-face communication. (　　　)

A. Gestures  B. Written symbols

C. Facial expressions  D. Phonetic alphabets

22. English words borrowed from Latin are normally used in ______ contexts.  (　　　)

A. informal  B. academic

C. religious  D. intimate

23. ______ are a category of the subjunctive mood in English. (　　　)

A. Mandative subjunctives  B. Formulaic subjunctives

C. Conditionals  D. Assumptives

24. In a telephone call，if the person wanted is not available，it is customary for the English speaking person to say “______”.  (　　　)

A. Thank you for calling.   B. Hold on a moment.

C. May I take a message?  D. Would you like to leave a message?

25. English proverbs can be classified into ______ categories. (　　　)

A. Christianity  B. sexism

C. individualism  D. metaphors

26. Which of the following are metaphorical expressions about ideas? (　　　)

A. He is the father of modern biology.   B. His ideas will live on forever.

C. I’ve had a full life.   D. Life is empty for him.

27. --- Pass me the salt. (　　　)

--- Pass me the salt，please.

--- Would you please pass me the salt?

The above utterances are arranged in an order of increasing degrees of______.

A. formality  B. informality

C. politeness  D. impoliteness

28. In a normal text，sentences are connected . (　　　)

A. informally  B. formally

C. hypotactically  D. paratactically

29. In Chinese newspapers，______ are not reported so frequently as in English newspapers.  

(　　　)

A. political achievements  B. cultural achievements

C. crimes  D. disasters

30. Our body odours may be affected by ______. (　　　)

A. orientation of house  B. exercise schedule

C. drinking water  D. emotional state

Ⅲ. Fill in each underlined space with a proper expression.  (20%)

31. Value systems，world views，national traits，aesthetic standards and thinking patterns are often regarded as the central part of ______.

32. Major English speaking countries，especially the United States，are “countries on the ______”，which is illustrated by such words as “drive-ins”，“motels”，and “diners”.

33. Subjects and ______ are not so frequently omitted in English as in Chinese，as illustrated by the sentence “This book is very interesting，Would you like to read it?”

34. In English speaking cultures，it is customary for the person calling or the elderly person to hang up the receiver ______.

35. “A Trojan horse” is an allusion derived from ______.

36. The English speaking people use the word “chicken” metaphorically to refer to a ______.

37. Many plant and place names such as “poker” and “Mississippi” in American English come from ______.

38. It is safe to say that Chinese advertising as a whole tends to be more ______ than English advertising.

39. The ______ zone ranges from touching to 18 inches. It is usually reserved for the very few special people in our lives who are very close to us.

40. Technical time refers to precise，scientific ______ of time counted in ordered， logical sequences.

Ⅳ. Answer the following questions briefly. (12 %)

41. What does the statement “Language is the carrier and container of culture. ” mean?

42. Is “spiritual” a true equivalent to“精神上的”?

43. How is the letter “i” pronounced differently when it occurs before “le” in American and British English?

44. What does the gesture “touching or pointing to one’s own nose by raised thumb” signify in western culture?

Ⅴ. Translation. (18 % )

45. Men and women，old and young，all joined in the battle.

46. God help those who help themselves.

47. Many people intend to get white-collar jobs after graduation.

48. 请赐教。

49. 敬请光临寒舍。

50. 2011年11月1日上午8点火车将到达北京。

Ⅵ. Discuss the following topics. (20 %)

51. What is your interpretation of the proverb “An Englishman’s house is his castle” and people’s behaviours related to the proverb?

52. How would you define “common core English” from the viewpoint of the speaking style?