Do you like the number 13? 1 In the past, a lot of tall buildings didn’t have the 13th floor. 2 For example, the number “4” is said to be unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese word for “death”. But that’s just one example about numbers in China.
When I first came here, I was surprised to see that many websites had numbers in their names instead of letters. I soon found that this is actually convenient, as Chinese characters (汉字) cannot be used for website addresses. 3
In pinyin, the telecom company China Unicom is called Zhongguo Liantong. If the company used their pinyin name for their website address, it would be quite long. 4
In addition, the pronunciations of some numbers sound similar to other words in Chinese. This is wordplay (双关语). For example, the numbers “520” in Chinese sound similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese phrase “I love you”. 5
A．They can only use numbers or letters instead.
B．There are also superstitions (迷信) about some numbers in China.
C．In western countries, some people think the number 13 brings bad luck.
D．It is interesting to see how Chinese people use numbers in different ways.
E．So instead, they used the hotline number—10010.com. This is easier to type and remember.
F．Many couples choose to get married on May 20th for this reason.
答案与解析：
【答案】1．C 2．B 3．A 4．E 5．F
【解析】本文介绍了数字在文化中的特殊意义以及它们在网站名称中的应用；文章还提到了一些数字与中文词语发音相似，形成有趣的双关语现象。
1．根据上文“Do you like the number 13? ”可知，此处是人们对于数字13的看法；选项C“在西方国家，有些人认为数字13会带来厄运。”符合语境。故选C。
2．根据下文“For example, the number ‘4’ is said to be unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese word for ‘death’.”可知，中国文化中对数字也有迷信的说法；选项B“在中国也有一些关于数字的迷信。”符合语境。故选B。
3．根据上文“I soon found that this is actually convenient, as Chinese characters (汉字) cannot be used for website addresses.”可知，汉字不能在网址上用，所以此处是介绍什么可以用在网址上；选项A“它们只能用数字或字母来代替。”符合语境。故选A。
4．根据上文“If the company used their pinyin name for their website address, it would be quite long.”可知，中国联通使用拼音导致网址太长，所以他们采用了数字；选项E“因此，他们使用了热线电话10010.com。这样更容易打字和记忆。”符合语境。故选E。
5．根据上文“For example, the numbers ‘520’ in Chinese sound similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese phrase ‘I love you’. ”可知，520的谐音是“我爱你”；选项F“出于这个原因，许多情侣选择在5月20日结婚。”符合语境。故选F。
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