The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.
Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is our own "Harry Potter"?
The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?
There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.
As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.
Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.
64. The disadvantages of our books are the following except_______.
A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment
B. many of our books are of the same
C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.
D. Our authors never know what our children need.
65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.
A. it has no sense of teaching
B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore
C. it is only written in children’s language
D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.
66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?
A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book
B. He is also attracted by the book
C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about our books.
D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.
67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s our own Harry Potter”?
A. We are short of books for children
B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.
C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”
D. Our authors are hoped to make the market of our books for children take off
Christmas has never looked as beautiful as it is now, when this one-foot-tall mini tree grew from a pothole(坑洼)in the streets of London.
London pothole gardener Steve Wheen , 34 , has created over 150 little gardens so far the smallest one of which is just one-inch-square.
“I really enjoy the reactions of people who come across my work and love them .”said Steve. "London can be so grey, especially at this time of year. When l was thinking about how to brighten it up, gardening came to my mind."
Steve has been pothole gardening for four years, mainly around the streets of London His pothole gardens are made with some plants he chooses from his local garden centre. Each of them usually costs between five and ten pounds. Although they are often temporary to the streets, Steve is sure that they can be in people's mind for a long time, if they are lucky enough to come across these small gardens while they go about their daily lives.
“I'm always surprised when I ask people what they think the message is behind my Work .”he said. "Often they think I'm against or in honor of something. One person even considered that l was marking the places where people had died in car accidents."
“I think in a city like London, where it's easy to feel short of green space, my message can be seen as a green one and that's fine with me. ”he said. "The environment is something we all need to be thinking about more and more. But most importantly, it's all about making people smile and giving them an unexpected moment of happiness.”Which of the following pictures can describe "a pothole garden" best?
Steve thinks the main color of London around Christmas is
| A．white | B．blue | C．grey | D．green |
What does the underlined word "temporary" probably mean?
| A．lasting for a short time. |
| B．beautiful but dangerous |
| C．strange to passers-by |
| D．very expensive |
Steve Wheen makes pothole gardens in London mainly to _____.
| A．be against or in honor of something |
| B．mark the places where car accidents happen |
| C．protect the environment |
| D．make people enjoy more greens |
When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy — love, marriage, birth — also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated.
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don’t think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have. We’re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.
Happiness isn’t about what happens to us — it’s about how we see what happens to us. It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It’s not wishing for what we don’t have, but enjoying what we do possess.As people grow older, they ___________________.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health. |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling. |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness. |
| B．Psychologist’ opinion is well proved by Grandma’s case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings. |
| D．Grandma’s happiness came from modest expectations of life. |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success______.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way. |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much. |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices. |
| D．are more likely to be happy. |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
The United States government wants to know what the public think about its findings on the safety of cloned animals.
The Food and Drug Administration says meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats are safe to eat. An F.D.A. official called them "as safe to eat as the food we eat every day." And when those clones reproduce sexually (有性繁殖), the agency says, their offspring (后代) are safe to eat as well. But research on cloned sheep is limited. So the F.D.A. suggests that sheep clones not be used for human food.
The United States this year could become the first country to approve the sale of foods from cloned animals. First, however, the public will have ninety days to discuss three proposed documents. On December 28th the F.D.A. released a long report, called a draft risk assessment, along with two policy documents.
The agency says it must receive the public’s opinion by April second. The F.D.A. seemed ready to act several years ago, but an advisory committee called for more research. For now, the government will continue to ask producers to honor a request that they not sell foods from cloned animals.
Clones are still rare. They cost a lot and are difficult to produce.
The F.D.A. says most food from cloning is expected to come not from clones themselves, but from their sexually reproduced offspring. It says clones are expected to be used mostly as breeding animals to spread good qualities.
Public opinion studies show most Americans do not like the idea of food from cloned animals. But this research also shows the public knows little about cloning.
Cloning differs from genetic engineering. A cell taken from a so-called donor animal is grown into an embryo in the laboratory. Next, the embryo is placed into the uterus (子宫) of a female animal. If the process is successful, the pregnancy reaches full term and a genetic copy of the donor animal is born.The main purpose of the text is to __________.
| A．tell an interesting story |
| B．give some advice on foods |
| C．give a report |
| D．compare different opinions |
From the passage we know that ___________.
A. foods from cloned animals are popular in America
B. according to F.D.A., some cloned adult animals are safe to eat
C. cloned animals will be easy to produce
D. most foods from cloning is expected to take place of other foodsWho believe that foods from cloning are safe to eat?
A. Most Americans B. An advisory committee
C. CriticsD. The F.D.A.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that __________.
| A．cloning has much in common with genetic engineering |
| B．not every cell taken from a donor animal can grow into a genetic copy |
| C．the donor animal should be a female one |
| D．cloned animals grow faster than normal ones |
Which of the following is TRUE about foods from cloning?
A. They come from the sexually reproduced offspring of cloned animals.
B. The government is in favor of foods from cloning now.
C. Only F.D.A. has the right to sell the food.
D. Many countries have sold foods from cloned animals.
BAD weather, bad food and grumpy people – that’s what some people think of first when they think about Britain. Many online commentators even joke that Britons are so grumpy precisely because it constantly rains and they are always hungry.
In fact, many believe that Britons are inherently negative, in contrast to their neighbors across the Atlantic Ocean.
“Americans are more optimistic, due to the fact that they are told they can become the next president of the United States,” Ricky Gervais, a British comedian, told online forum Big Think. “British people are told, it won’t happen to you. And they carry that. They carry that with them. We champion the underdog .”
It’s no wonder that Britons hold the reputation of having a “stiff upper lip” – being cold and not showing any emotion.
Britain’s reputation as a grumpy country may, however, simply be the result of a cultural misunderstanding. According to the BBC, British actor Michael Caine once said: “I think what is British about me is my feelings and awareness of others and their situations. English people are always known to be well-mannered and cold, but we are not cold – we don’t interfere in your situation. If we are heartbroken, we don’t scream in your face with tears – we go home and cry on our own. It’s completely to do with your comfort – we don’t intrude on your space. That’s very English.”
A BBC reader noted that the perceived coldness of British people is actually their way of dealing with hardship. Remembering the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, Stuart Colley, who lived in the capital at the time, said: “It seemed to me that most people’s response was a ‘cruel’ determination to carry on and not to ‘fall’ into an over-emotional outpouring of grief or anger – despite what many of us felt inside. Our stiff upper lip seems to be something that gives us strength as a society when we most need it.”What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?
| A．To list common stereotypes about the UK. |
| B．To fight common misunderstandings about the UK. |
| C．To analyze what makes British people grumpy and negative. |
| D．To list some differences between Americans and British people. |
Which of the following statements might Ricky Gervais agree with?
| A．Britons like challenging the underdog more than Americans do. |
| B．Americans are more optimistic and realistic than British people. |
| C．Britons are more comfortable with life’s losers than Americans. |
| D．Bad weather in the UK is the main thing that makes Britons grumpy. |
The underlined phrase “interfere in” in the second-to-last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．think about | B．benefit from |
| C．get in the way of | D．have a positive effect on |
Why does Michael Caine think British people are not cold?
| A．They can be heartbroken, and they cry too. |
| B．They are well-mannered and unwilling to disturb others. |
| C．They care a lot about what other people think of them. |
| D．They are taught to face hardships by themselves. |
With the example of the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, the author intends to ____.
| A．explain why British people tend to be cold |
| B．reveal that Britons don’t intrude on others’ space |
| C．present an example in which British people hide their emotions and feelings |
| D．show how not giving in to emotions can help one to get through a tough time |
Babysitter Wanted
I am seeking a babysitter for my 6-month-old son. A few hours on Saturdays and Sundays to help me and then additional times as needed. Applicant should be over 18, responsible, loving, warm, drug-free, and have experience caring for babies. A college student looking for a part-time job is also OK. The pay is $ 10 an hour.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, please reply to: rebecharv @ aol.com or call 800-4964. It is urgent!
Office Manager wanted
A company is looking for a full-time manager to be in charge of the business aspects. Strong skills are needed in organization and business management. The office manager is responsible for keeping financial records, so he/she should be familiar with computer.
Please send your resume to jim @ californiaaquatics. com or call 800-6978.
Waiter/ Waitress wanted
Specialty Restaurant is looking for an experienced and well seasoned waiter/ waitress. A knowledge of wines and fine dining experience are necessary. Must work well under pressure and understand the basics of fine dining and customer service.
If you're interested, please reply to job-tkupe 1329358152 @ craigslist. org.
This is a part-time job. Please, no phone calls about this job!
Office Cleaner Wanted
Looking for Part-time work?
Position available in the Mississauga area!
Part-time 4 hours per day from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Duties include:
--Clean Washrooms
--Dust Furniture
-- Mopping floors
--Other general cleaning
Some experience is necessary
Pay: $ 15 per hour
Reply to: job-p3b7u-1365632206 @ craigslist.org or call 800-8197The position of a(n) ___________ is full-time job.
| A．babysitter | B．office manager |
| C．waiter/ waitress | D．office cleaner |
Where can you send e-mail as a college girl?
| A．job-p3b7u-1365632206 @ craigslist.org |
| B．job-tkupe 1329358152 @ craigslist. org. |
| C．jim @ californiaaquatics. Com |
| D．rebecharv @ aol.com |
Which of the following is the most important for waiter/ waitress job?
| A．Being familiar with computers. |
| B．Having a knowledge of wines. |
| C．Knowing more about menus. |
| D．Working well under pressure. |