对外经贸大学继续教育学院夜大教育部
2011级英语专升本
《英文写作》作业 B
I. Rewrite each of the following sentences according to the requirement. (15%)
Example:
The history of English words is the history of our civilization in many ways. (periodic sentence)
--- In many ways, the history of English words is the history of our civilization.
1. They think they’re so superior because they make more money than I do. (periodic sentence)
Because they make more money than I do, they think they’re so superior.
2. My father warned me not to watch TV and that I should not smoke. (parallel structure)
My father warned me not to watch TV and not to smoke. || not to watch TC or to smoke.
3. Mike is very happy today. He received a letter from his girl-friend, Kathy, just now. (complex
sentence)
Mike is very happy today because he received a letter from his girl-friend, Kathy, just now.
4. Bill studied very hard. He failed in the final exam of physics. (compound sentence)
Bill studied very hard, but he failed in the final exam of physics.
5. He was killed and his car was damaged as well. (simple sentence)
He was killed with his car damaged.
II. Correct the errors in the following sentences. (10%)
Example:
After seeing an offensive mouthwash ad on television. I resolved never to buy that brand again.
--- After watching an offensive mouthwash ad on television, I resolved never to buy that brand again.
1. We have a swimming pool on our property we also have tennis courts.
We have a swimming pool on our property; we also have tennis courts. || property and we ...
2. His learning is as extensive as Paul.
His learning is as extensive as Paul’s (learning).
3. He crossed the stream in a canoe, which was recently stocked with fish.
In a canoe, he crossed the stream, which was recently stocked with fish.
4. While watching the late movie, sleep overcame me.
While I was watching the late movie, sleep overcame me.
5. An export, together with some assistants, are sent to help them with the work.
An export, together with some assistants, is sent to help them with the work.
III. Rearrange the following numbered sentences so that they will read logically. Put the numbers in proper sequence in the boxes provided below. (5%)
1. Since 1920, the population of China has doubled. With over one billion people today, China
accounts for 23 percent of the world’s population.
2. This increase is the greatest problem in China’s plans to modernize itself.
3. In order to solve this population problem, China has begun a “one child” policy.
4. This means that married couples have to limit their families to one child even if they would like to
have more children.
5. This policy has been most effective in the big cities where residents live in crowded apartments.
6. In the countryside, however, the farmers say they are hard pressed to limit their families to one
child since they need more children to help with the farm work.
7. Factories and farms reward “one child”families with free medical care, better housing, extra
vacation, and cash bonuses.
8. If couple have more than one child, they lose these benefits, and their salaries may be cut by 10
percent or even more.
9. This trend to one child families should slow down China’s population growth to a rate of 1.3 per
cent per year.
IV. Supply the missing paragraph (20 points)
The following passage is incomplete with the concluding paragraph missing. Study the passage carefully and write the missing paragraph of about 100 words．Make sure that the tone and vocabulary you use are in unity with the passage provided．
Language and Culture
Once a group of Chinese was visiting the home of a fairly well-to-do American. As they were shown around the house, they commented, “You have a very nice home. It’s so beautiful." The hostess smiled with obvious pleasure and replied in good American fashion “Thank you”——which caused surprise among some of her Chinese guests. Later, while conversing at the dinner table, the host remarked to the Chinese interpreter, a young lady who had graduated not long ago from a Chinese university, “Your English is excellent. Really quite fluent.” To this she demurred, “No, no. My English is quite poor.”——an answer that he had not expected and found a bit puzzling.
Was the American hostess's reply immodest, as it seemed to some of the Chinese?
Was the young Chinese interpreter's remark insincere, as it sounded to the Americans?
In both cases the answer is no．To English-speaking people, praise is to be accepted，generally with a remark like “Thank you.” It is assumed that the compliment is sincere, that the praise is for some not unworthy achievement or thing. Therefore, there should be no show of false humility, no pretended modest. To Chinese, however，the customary reply to a compliment would be to claim that one is not worthy of the praise, that what one has done is hardly enough, or that success was more a matter of luck or some other circumstances. Acceptance of a compliment would imply conceit or lack of manners. So, in the two cases above, the reason for such different reactions was different in customs and habits. Each was interpreting what the other said according to his or her own culture．
Events like these are fairly common when people of different languages and cultures communicate. Because of cultural differences, misunderstandings may arise, although the languages used in communication may be faultless．The same words or expressions may not mean the same thing to different peoples. Because of cultural differences, a serious question may cause amusement or laughter；a harmless statement may cause displeasure or anger．Because of cultural differences，jokes by a foreign speaker may be received with blank faces and stony silence．Yet the same stories
