全国2012年1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. The fact that the same object is called a “table” in English and a “桌子” in Chinese shows that language is ______. ( )
A. systematic B. arbitrary
C. symbolic D. vocal
2. All languages have kinship terms and distinguish characteristics in relatives. For example, “grandmother” versus “mother” distinguish generation, and “母亲” versus “婆婆”distinguish blood relationship. Then what characteristic does “mother” versus “father” distinguish? ( )
A. generation B. blood relationship
C. sex D. marriage
3. The first week day after Christmas is called ______ when presents are traditionally given to dustmen, postmen and a few other public servants. ( )
A. Christmastide B. Boxing Day
C. Thanksgiving Day D. Easter
4. When you say someone is a busybody, you mean that he is a ______ person. ( )
A. tiresome B. handsome
C. meddlesome D. troublesome
5. How many sentences below have hypotactic relations? ( )
Bread and butter is my usual breakfast.
He bought bread, butter, milk, etc.
I’ll join you if it doesn’t rain tomorrow.
I think it will rain tomorrow.
A. 1 B. 2
C. 3 D. 4
6. Although English and Chinese are both SVO languages, the two sentences below show that there are differences in ______. ( )
—Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world.
—上海是世界上最大的城市之一。
A. grammar B. branching pattern
C. object D. word order
7. There are weapon names both in English and Chinese. An American father names his son as Brenda. Similarly, a Chinese father may name his son as ______.( )
A. 杨剑 B. 杨坚
C. 杨涛 D. 杨军
8. In China, when a visit is over and the guest is seen to the door, the host most probably may say “请走好”. The English equivalent of such utterance is “ ______”. ( )
A. Have a smooth trip B. Walk well, please
C. Good-bye D. It’s nice to have met you
9. “To make a cat laugh” means ______. ( )
A. to be tragic B. to be comic
C. to be proud D. to be serious
10. The phrasal verb “look into” corresponds in meaning to the single word ______. ( )
A. investigate B. expect
C. despise D. watch
11. “To be very careful and correct in one’s behaviour” is synonymous to ______. ( )
A. “to keep one’s nose clean” B. “Mr. Right”
C. “to keep one’s own company” D. “to mind one’s p’s and q’s”
12. In the sentence “He’s merely parroting what many others have said”, the word “parroting” refers to ______.( )
A. estimating B. imagining
C. imitating D. acknowledging
13. Which of the statements is NOT true? ( )
A. Honorifics are language forms used in speeches to show respect to a superior.
B. There are more honorifics in Oriental languages than in European languages.
C. Japanese is particularly rich in honorifics.
D. English is particularly rich in honorifics.
14. In English culture familiarity is highly valued. Suppose you are an American university professor, if you want to enjoy a harmonious relationship with your colleagues, you’d better allow yourself to be called ______.( )
A. John Smith B. Professor Smith
C. Mr. Smith D. John
15. What is the logical relation of the sentences below? ( )
I was not informed. Otherwise I should have taken some action.
A. additive B. adversative
C. causal D. temporal
16. When hearers, topics and environments change, the speakers’ speaking styles vary. There are 5 different styles: frozen, formal, consultative, casual and intimate. Which of the following statements is intimate style? ( )
A. Visitors should go up the stairs at once.
B. Would you mind going upstairs right away, please?
C. Time you all went upstairs, now.
D. Up you go, chaps!
17. To avoid ambiguity,______ are seldom used in English documents ______. ( )
A. loan words B. personal pronouns
C. long sentences D. learned words
18. Mars is the Roman god of ______. ( )
A. beauty B. the sea
C. the sky D. war
19. The distance zone ranging from 4 to about 8 feet is referred to as the ______ zone. ( )
A. public B. intimate
C. socio-consultative D. casual-personal
20. The uncontrollable shaking of our knees and trembling of our hands when we are experiencing fear are examples of ______.( )
A. adapters B. illustrators
C. affect displays D. regulators
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. In its narrow sense, culture is called ______. ( )
A. anthropological culture B. academic culture
C. small c culture D. large C culture
22. The social circumstance of language use includes at least ______. ( )
A. language users B. settings
C. weather conditions D. topics
23. Morphemes can be classified into ______ morphemes. ( )
A. reflective B. inflectional
C. derivational D. derogative
24. If you want to gain the attention of a stranger, you may say “______”. ( )
A. I’m sorry B. Excuse me
C. Hello D. I beg your pardon
25. Which of the following expressions are examples of allusions from history? ( )
A. Woodwooz. B. A Trojan horse.
C. Waterloo. D. A Tridom rat.
26. In the sentence “She’d taken a blue fit if she’d known her son was out in a boat alone.”, the meaning of “a blue fit” is ______.( )
A. extreme annoyance B. irritation
C. alarm D. disappointment
27. To sound modest and humble was vital to the ancient Chinese people, one might call his son as ______. ( )
A.犬子 B.令郎
C.令爱 D.小儿
28. If the sentences in a text exhibit cohesion, they are connected by ______ means. ( )
A. grammatical B. systematic
C. lexical D. meaningful
29. The differences between American English and British English are mainly ______ in nature.( )
A. grammatical B. lexical
C. phonological D. stylistic
30. What is the meaning of the gesture “touching or pointing to one’s own nose by raised thumb” in western culture? ( )
A. It’s me. B. I’m great.
C. I’m right. D. I’m the one.
Ⅲ. Fill in each underlined space with a proper expression.（20%）
31. When we say that language is systematic, we mean that language is ______ governed.
32. The English equivalent of “副” is “vice”, “deputy” and “associate”, Among them,______ is often used together with president, chairman, governor, etc.
33. Morphemes are smallest units of ______.
34. In informal situations, English speakers tend to address others by using their ______ names, such as “Tom”, “George” etc.
35. “An Englishman’s ______ is his castle” is a well cited proverb in literature on cross-cultural communication.
36. “As brown as a ______” is used by English speakers to describe skin which is very brown, especially from the sun and weather.
37. Pleasant, polite or harmless sounding words or expressions that are used to mask harsh, rude or infamous truths are ______.
38. Hypotactic relations at the sentential level refer to constructions whose components are linked through the use of ______.
39. The word in American English for “教职员” is ______.
40. Cultures that allow people to interact at a great distance are referred to as ______ cultures.
IV. Answer the following questions briefly. (12%)
41. What is thought?
42. The two sentences below convey the same conceptual meaning, but there is difference in their overall meaning. What different meaning do these two sentences convey?
Mr. Black donated the first prize.
The first prize was donated by Mr. Black.
43. What does the phrase “waving a red flag” mean?
44. What is body language?
V. Translation. (18%)
45. —Hasn’t he approved your plan?
—Yes, he has.
46. Please return the book to me as soon as you’ve read it.
47. You’re invited to come to my house. (用敬语翻译)
48．饭菜不好，请大家随便吃。
49．你对他期望过高了。干这活他还是新手呢。
50．天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
VI. Discuss the following topics. (20%)
51. How are introductions conducted in English?
52. Explain the functions nonverbal messages perform in human communication.
