many tense situations are improved when one person or another remembers that “A soft answer turns away wrath”, or that “Two cannot quarrel if one won't”.
K 2?4Proverbs are found in almost every language in the world, whether the language is written or not. In fact, where the language has not been written, proverbs are one of the principal ways the people pass down their philosophy of life from one generation to another, thus preserving their most precious heritage.
COMPREHENSIVE EXERCISES
Ⅰ. Spelling
1. drift2. perspective3. significantly4. Danish
5. ordinary6. variety7. desirable8. isolation
9. nineteenth10. linguist11. negotiate12. satisfactory
Ⅱ. Dictation
One day over lunch in a Chinese restaurant I heard somebody say “Take what you've got and never want more.” I called the Chinese Embassy and asked the young lady who answered exactly what that meant. Did they really have such a proverb? She replied that it was indeed an old Chinese proverb, and similar in meaning to our “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. I told her I was so glad that we had something in common and thanked her.
It was then that I decided to find out if the rest of the world had this proverb in common with us. I had no trouble in my quest as far as the Spanish Embassy was concerned. When I asked for the Spanish version of “A bird, etc.”, the bright but highly amused young woman came up immediately with, “Better to have one in hand than a hundred flying”.
Ⅲ. Listening Comprehension
A. 1. F (Not everyone laughs at the same things. What is funny to an Italian may not be funny to a Chinese.)
2. F (The American says that the Empire State Building was built in only two months in order to boast that things can be done incredibly fast in his country.)
3. F (He sometimes laughs when we make mistakes because we sound funny.)
4. F (A wise person laughs at himself or herself when he or she makes a mistake.)
5. T
6. TⅣ. Translation
A. 1. An unknown disease affected his brain so badly that he lost his memory completely.
2. The protesting crowds outside the courthouse had no effect at all on the judges and the jury of this Pacific island country.
3. A guilty man apprehends danger in every sound.
K 2?54. Her soft voice and gracious smile put everyone in the room at ease.
5. Not until you have a good command of a scale of styles can you speak English appropriately in different situations.
6. His haphazard knowledge of modern economics was one of the reasons why he failed in his business.
7. The new general manager did not feel very comfortable with the way he was addressed by his