a. energetic and active 精力充沛的; 活跃的 e.g.
He attracted a group of go-go young to run his election. You can never stop once you step into this go-go society 4. tip
n. a useful piece of advice 提示, 小贴士 e.g.
The book shows how to prepare a CV and gives tips on applying for jobs. Here are some useful tips for central heating. 5. employ
v. engage or hire for work 雇用，聘用 e.g.
The joint venture (合资企业) employs nearly a thousand workers. I prefer to get employed in a state-owned company. 6. update
v. bring up to date; supply with recent information 更新, 获取最新信息 e.g.
Our new neighbor is updated the kitchen in the old house.
The in-service training center is for people to update their special knowledge.
Information Related to the Reading Passage Major Language Families
Here are two lists of the top ten language families with wide recognition in terms of numbers of native speakers (with their core geographic areas) and in terms of numbers of languages.
In Terms of Numbers of Native Speakers
1. Indo-European languages (Europe, Southwest to South Asia, America, Oceania) 2. Sino-Tibetan languages (East Asia)
3. Niger-Congo languages (Sub-Saharan Africa)
4. Afro-Asiatic languages (North Africa to Horn of Africa, Southwest Asia) 5. Austronesian languages (Oceania, Madagascar, Southeast Asia) 6. Dravidian languages (South Asia) 7. Altaic languages (Central Asia)
8. Austro-Asiatic languages (Southeast Asia) 9. Tai-Kadai languages (Southeast Asia) 10. Japonic languages (Japan) In Terms of Numbers of Languages: 1. Niger-Congo (1 514 languages) 2. Austronesian (1 268 languages) 3. Trans-New Guinea (564 languages) 4. Indo-European (449 languages) 5. Sino-Tibetan (403 languages) 6. Afro-Asiatic (375 languages) 7. Nilo-Saharan (204 languages) 8. Pama-Nyungan (178 languages)
9. Oto-Manguean (174 languages) 10. Austro-Asiatic (169 languages)
How to Greet People in Different Languages
Have you ever stopped to think about how many people are saying “Hello” to each other today, and in how many different languages? If you want to say “Hello” to everyone on the planet, you would have to learn at least 2796 languages and greet at least 6 500 000 000 people. Here are some of the ways of saying “Hello” around the world. Hola in Spanish, Ciao in Italian, Nihao in Chinese or Bonjour / Salut in French, and many more!
Sounds hard to learn to say so many “Hellos”? Don’t worry! It seems that nowadays the English word “Hello” is getting accepted in more and more cultures. Besides, you can ?nd some other ways to greet people, too. Here is a simple, and amusing, way to greet foreigners wherever you might travel around the world. A friend of mine who travels widely does not say “Hello”, but she tries to learn to say “Beautiful” in the local language. She can use it to “greet” a mother holding a baby, or to “greet” an old lady watering her flowers, or to “greet” a lonely salesman showing a photo of his family. The ability has earned her friendship all over the world. So why not — when even one word can bring about such pleasure?
Fun, isn’t it? And we don’t need to pronounce those different local greeting words accurately. With a hearty smile, it can be well understood and appreciated. The “Beautiful” greeting is like sunlight that melts the coldness between people.So instead of complaining about a foreigner’s misunderstanding
and unfriendliness, let’s learn to say “Beautiful” in the local language whenever and wherever you travel around the globe! Language Points
1 Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1. (Para. 1) Have you ever stopped to think about how many people are saying “Hello” to each other today…
Analysis: Stop to think means to stop whatever is being done in order to think something over. The infnitive phrase to think indicates the purpose of stopping. It is different from “stop thinking”, which means stop the action of thinking. And thinking is the object of the verb stop.
Translation: 你是否曾留心考虑过，今天一天大约有多少人说“Hello”来互相问候？
Example: I don't think this is a smart way. Have you ever stopped to think out a better idea?
2. (Para. 1) If you want to say “Hello” to everyone on the planet, you would have to learn at least 2 796 languages…
Analysis: The if-clause seems a real conditional one, for want is used instead of the unreal conditional wanted. But subjunctive mood is also implied because would is used instead of will, indicating an almost impossible action to be carried out. Translation: 如果你想对这个星球上每个人都道一声“Hello”，你就至少得学2796种语言。
Example: If you want to make a friend each day, you would have to make some 20 thousands of friends in your lifetime!
3. (Para. 2) It seems that nowadays the English word “Hello” is getting accepted in more and more cultures.
Analysis: In the sentence, it seems that introduces a subject clause and is getting accepted is in present continuous tense and passive voice. Translation: 似乎现在英语的 “Hello” 正在被越来越多的文化接受。
Example: It seems that instead of “bean curd”, the Chinese translation “tofu” is getting accepted by more and more English-speaking people.
4. (Para. 2) Here is a simple, and amusing, way to greet foreigners wherever you might travel around the world.
Analysis: The adjectives simple and amusing both modify the noun way. The purpose of putting “and amusing” between two commas is to highlight the adjective. Wherever introduces an adverbial clause to make concession, meaning “no matter where”.
Translation: 这里介绍的是一种简单但很有趣的说法，能让你在旅行到世界各地 时可以跟外国人打招呼。
Example: Here is another simple, and effective, way to deal with a sudden headache wherever you might be and whenever it comes up.
5. (Para. 3) So why not — when even one word can bring such pleasure?
Analysis: Here why not is a simplified sentence to emphasize the positive attitude towards something mentioned above. The dash — is used to introduce an explanation or reason. The words even and such in the adverbial clause are used for emphasis.
Translation: 所以，既然用一个词就能带来这样的乐趣，为什么不这么做呢?