Every year, whenever Spring Festival arrives, a lot of Chinese people cannot wait to go home. They queue for long hours in front of the ticket offices in railway stations, or do whatever they can in order to get a ticket. They tolerate the long journey on the train only to want to ______ with their near and dear ones.
According to The Beijing Youth Daily, most Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival not only because they want to follow tradition, there are also some practical reasons to explain Chinese people's fever for the holiday. Compared with one's workplace, home provides a more humane environment for one to relax oneself.
Society may do with or without you, but at home, you become unique and indispensable. You may be the father or mother, daughter or son, grandfather or grandmother in the family and the family will be incomplete if anyone is absent, because every member in the family is bound together, and everyone in the family is pleased with the feeling that he or she is unique and irreplaceable.
In addition, family provides an ideal environment for one to fully relax oneself. At home, one can take one's time do whatever he or she wants, and one can spend money whenever one likes. In society, however, one needs to do everything fast and with high efficiency, because society always reqiores efficiency and maximum profits. Such company principles make people merely a tool in modern society.
Chinese people's strong desire for Spring Festival shows that they feel oppressed and have a sense of predicament(困境) of existence in modern society. The Spring Festival provides a chance for them to escape from such anxiety and treasure the long-lost tradition of community spirit. With the Spring Festival, people can find back the warm, family atmosphere often seen in days gone by.
1. What's the passage mainly talking about? (Please answer within 10 words. )
2. Fill in the blanks with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 10 words. )
3. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?You may not be a necessary part in society, but in your family, you are very important and no one else can take the place of you.
4. Do you think home is important for Chinese to celebrate the Spring Festival?Why or why not? (Please answer within 30 words. )
5. Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese.
Gene technology to benefit people
Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic talked about by people.
The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only can these two diseases be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life can be longer.
Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial family being a good example, have hereditary (遗传的) diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing with hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it, and a healthy child will be born.
Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to make human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology.What does “these two killers” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．Gene technology and another treatment of the two diseases. |
| B．The two murderers who killed the cloned baby. |
| C．Hereditary disease and cancer. |
| D．Cancer and heart disease. |
In what way can gene technology help to treat hereditary diseases?
| A．Using gene technology, a scientist finds the wrong gene and corrects it. |
| B．Using gene technology, people with hereditary diseases can live longer. |
| C．Using gene technology, human babies can also be cloned. |
| D．Doctors can cure cancer and heart disease with the help of gene technology. |
What is the main purpose of writing the text?
| A．Explaining that gene technology will also do great harm to human race. |
| B．Telling the readers the positive effects gene technology has on people’s life. |
| C．Expressing the writer’s idea that gene technology will benefit people. |
| D．Informing people that gene technology helps clone babies in large quantities. |
The Basics of Math—Made Clear
Basic Math introduces students to the basic concepts of mathematics, as well as the fundamentals of more tricky areas. These 30 fantastic lectures are designed to provide students with an understanding of arithmetic(算数) and to prepare them for Algebra (代数) and beyond.
The lessons in Basic Math cover every basic aspect of arithmetic. They also look into exponents (指数), the order of operations, and square roots. In addition to learning how to perform various mathematical operations, students discover why these operations work, how a particular mathematical topic relates to other branches of mathematics, and how these operations can be used practically.
Basic Math starts from the relatively easier concepts and gradually moves on to the more troublesome ones, so as to allow for steady and sure understanding of the material by students. The lectures offer students the chance to “make sense” of mathematical knowledge that may have seemed so frightening. They also help students prepare for college mathematics and overcome their anxiety about this amazing — and completely understandable — field of study.
By the conclusion of the course, students will have improved their understanding of basic math. They will be able to clear away the mystery (神秘性) of mathematics and face their studies with more confidence than they ever imagined. In addition, they will strengthen their ability to accept new and exciting mathematical challenges.
Professor H. Siegel, honored by Kentucky Educational Television as “the best math teacher in America,” is a devoted teacher and has a gift for explaining mathematical concepts in ways that make them seem clear and obvious. From the basic concrete ideas to the more abstract problems, he is a master in making math lectures learner-friendlier and less scary.
With a PhD in Mathematics Education from Georgia State University, Dr. Siegel teaches mathematics at Central Arizona College. His courses include various make-up classes and a number of lectures for future primary school teachers.
If the course fails to provide complete satisfaction to you, you can easily exchange it for any other course that we offer. Or you can get your money back.What does the course Basic Math mainly cover?
| A．Arithmetic. | B．College Mathematics. |
| C．Algebra. | D．Mathematics Education. |
What benefits can students expect from Basic Math?
| A．Stronger imaginative ability. |
| B．Additional presentation skills. |
| C．Greater chances of becoming teachers. |
| D．More mathematical confidence. |
What can we learn about Professor H. Siegel?
| A．He is a guest lecturer at Kentucky Educational Television. |
| B．He works in Georgia State University. |
| C．He is to deliver 30 lectures in Basic Math. |
| D．He specializes in training teachers. |
Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?
| A．A news report. | B．An advertisement |
| C．A lesson plan. | D．A book review |
You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better or for the worse?
If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.
Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的).The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.
Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.
Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening — in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed — and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers. But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got.After a short overseas holiday, people tend to ______ .
| A．expect small changes | B．notice small changes |
| C．welcome small changes | D．exaggerate (夸大) small changes |
How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?
| A．Cautiously. | B．Skeptically. | C．Positively. | D．Critically. |
When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by ______ .
| A．the tight security | B．the messy arrivals hall |
| C．the relaxed policemen | D．the bank robbers |
Which might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Life in Britain. | B．Britain in Memory. |
| C．Britain in Future. | D．Back in Britain. |
When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault.” or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my fault; the car broke down.” It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.According to the passage, winners .
| A．blame themselves rather than others |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．have responsible and able colleagues |
| D．deal with problems rather than blame others |
The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．improve | B．accept | C．avoid | D．consider |
When problems occur, winners take them as ______.
| A．excuses for their failures | B．chances for self-development |
| C．challenges to their colleagues | D．barriers to greater power |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Winner’s Opportunity. | B．A Winner’s Problem. |
| C．A Winner’s Secret. | D．A Winner’s Achievement. |
Global financial big dogs are no match for China's "Da Ma", or housewives, who have crowded into gold stores across China, buying up 300 tons of gold over the past two weeks. No wonder gold prices have steadied after taking a dive.
During the May Day holiday, gold stores were crowded with mostly female customers. Most of them are middle-aged "Chinese housewives". This group of buyers has risen to fame recently. They are big spenders and are desperate to get their hands on a bargain. "I bought some gold jewellery and kept them as a gift for my son when he gets married," said a buyer from Shanghai.
The gold business is skyrocketing. "Our sales are growing by the day. Yesterday we sold more than ten million yuan of gold products," a gold store salesperson said. The gold rush in China started about two weeks ago thanks to a decline in global gold prices. Media reports suggest that Chinese housewives have spent about 100 billion yuan, or about 16 billion US dollars, purchasing 300 tons of gold since mid-April. That has helped support gold prices.
"Gold prices depressed since the middle of last month but have risen gradually. That is mainly due to the strong demand from Asian markets," said foreign trader Zhang Chen from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. "Some people even joked that Chinese housewives have beaten Wall Street analysts." For Chinese people, with limited investment options, the only thing better than buying gold is buying gold at discount prices.What does the author mean by the underlined sentence of the first paragraph?
| A．The global big dogs can’t match with Chinese housewives. |
| B．China's "Da Ma" help a lot to support the global economic crisis. |
| C．Chinese housewives spend a great deal of money on gold. |
| D．Chinese housewives have a better consumption idea than global financial big dogs. |
The whole passage mainly developed_______ ?
| A．by comparison | B．by contrast | C．by quotation | D．by time order |
We can infer about the gold rush in China from the passage?
| A．The Chinese housewives are most willing to spend money in buying gold. |
| B．China's "Da Ma" crowded into stores to get gold as the best gifts for sons when they get married. |
| C．China's "Da Ma" are bigger spenders and cleverer than global financial big dogs. |
| D．China’s "Da Ma" become the largest gold buyers due to a decline in global gold prices. |
The author’s description about the passage is ______.
| A．negative | B．subjective | C．doubtful | D．objective |