There are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese is about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative(消极) meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的) actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog—tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(冷酷的). There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.
The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.
The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.
小题1:The word “dog” in Chinese usually ______.
A. stands for friendship B. has a negative meaning C. has a positive meaning
小题2:“Every dog has its day.” means “______”
A. Everybody in the world is lucky. B. Each person lives his own way of life.
C. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.
小题3: Western people usually use “cat” to refer to “______”.
A. a tired person B. a brave man C. an unkind woman
小题4: Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Words show differences in cultures.
B. Western people think cats to be good friends.
C. Rose is the national flower of all western countries.
小题5: This passage mainly tells us ______.
A. negative or positive things B. different countries have different cultures
C. what dog and cat mean in English and Chinese
