During the summer holidays there will be a revised（修改过的）schedule（时刻表）of services for the students . Changes for dining-room and library service hours and for bus schedules will be posted on the wall outside of the dining hall . Weekly film and concert schedules which are being arranged will be posted each Wednesday outside of the student club .
In the summer holidays , buses going to the town center will leave the main hall every hour on the half hour during the day . The dining room will serve three meals a day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the week and two meals from noon to 7:00 p.m. on weekends the library will continue its usual hours during the week but have shorter hours on Saturday and Sundays . The weekend hours are from noon to 5:00 p.m.
All students who want to use the library borrowing services must have a new summer card . This announcement will also appear in the next week’s student newspaper .
1 The main purpose of this announcement is to .
A. tell students of important schedule changes .
B. tell students of new bus and library services .
C. show the excellent services for students .
D. ask students to renew their library cards .
2 At which of the following times will the bus leave the main hall ?
A. 8:00 , 9:00 , 10:00, 11:00 B. 8:30 , 9:30 , 10:30 , 11:30
C. 8:30 , 9:00 , 9:30 , 10:00 D. 8:00 , 9:30 , 11:00 , 12:30
3 Times for films and concerts are not listed in this announcement
because .
A. they are not to be announced B. they are hard to arrange
C. the full list is not ready D. the full list is too long
4 In the summer holidays , the library will have .
A. no special hours B. special hours on weekdays
C. special hours on weekends D. special hours both on weekdays and weekends
When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．
Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．
The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as 1 watched 1 was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．
Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．
The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．From the passage，we can learn that the author was．
| A．an animal protector | B．the cat owner | C．a prison officer | D．a prisoner |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison． |
| B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat． |
| C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds． |
| D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness． |
We can infer from the third paragraph that．
| A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong |
| B．the American prison culture will be improved |
| C．the author is not content with the prison culture |
| D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Caring Makes Us Human． | B．Prison Culture is Important． |
| C．Animals Need Care． | D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for． |
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contest, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation（启示）came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously（自发地）told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first trade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her fist music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting（借用）my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.What do we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Many children find lots of fun in mindless activities. |
| B．Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her leisure time. |
| C．Rebecca collects online materials for her writing. |
| D．Rebecca is different from any other child of her age. |
What was the author's writing experience?
| A．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer. |
| B．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations. |
| C．She was constantly under pressure of writing more. |
| D．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers. |
Why did Rebecca want to enter this year's writing contest?
| A．She possessed real talent for writing. | B．She wanted to win. |
| C．She wanted to share her stories with readers. | D．She had won a prize already. |
Teaching materials for learning Chinese are provided here. There are sites where you may find interesting instructions suitable for you. Here are some sites to begin your surfing.
You may start with these pages from this website — just to get a little taste of it without working too hard.
● A Is For Love
Flash cards for learning a few Chinese words
● Listening to the sound of Chinese
Play a few words of Chinese on your computer.
● A few Chinese words
Each word is enlarged for easy study.
If you are studying Chinese, these tools can help.
● Zhongwen site
More than a dictionary!
● Clavis Sinica
Excellent program by Professor David Porter. It displays a whole document in Chinese [GB] or [BIG5], and gives individual word’s definition, pronunciation as well as much more information when you click on that word. If you are studying Chinese, this is a very useful tool.
● Chinese Character Visual Dictionary
If you like to know more, go to the following sites on the Internet.
● The Chinese Outpost
Pronunciation, Character and Grammer By Mark Andrew Baker. The best. A must-visit site.
● Learn Cantonese / Mandarin Online
● Internet Based Chinese Teaching and Learning
● Rainland Kids discover Chinese — Site is in Germany
If you want to have a better understanding of China, go to this one.
● Wanfang Data
As an affiliate (分支) of Chinese Ministry of Science && Technology, Wanfang Data has been the leading information provider in China since 1950s. With a wide range of database resources and value-added services, Wanfang Data has become a gateway to understanding Chinese culture, medicine, business, science, etc.The underlined lines are probably some ______.
| A．books | B．websites | C．tips for learning Chinese | D．dictionaries for learning Chinese |
This passage is most probably from ______.
| A．a TV programme | B．a teacher’s lecture | C．a newspaper | D．the Internet |
If you want to know each Chinese character’s definition, pronunciation and much more information, you’d better surf ______.
| A．Zhongwen site | B．A Is For Love | C．Clavis Sinica | D．A few Chinese words |
If you want to know China about its culture, medicine, business, science, you’d better surf ______.
| A．Learn Mandarin online | B．Wanfang Data |
| C．Rainland kids discover Chinese | D．The Chinese Outpost |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
“I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”
“I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”
But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”
I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame (责怪) others, and you play the role of victim (受害者), chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.
This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard (标准) for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．How to make friendship last for ever |
| C．You are who your friends are |
| D．Friends are the most important in one’s success |
The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead | B．they’ll influence you |
| C．they’ll cover your shortcomings | D．they’ll help you achieve your goal |
The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.
| A．the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor |
| B．people have poor taste in music |
| C．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
| D．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.
| A．improve a lot in making more friends |
| B．come to the right way of making friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．arrange the time with your friends properly |
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◆Days 1～3：UK—Shanghai
Fly to the great city of Shanghai and in the evening sample traditional Shanghai food. Visit the beautiful Yu Gardens, Old Town, Shanghai Museum, cross the Great Nanpu Bridge and tour the Pudong area. Also explore Xintiandi with its 1920’s style Skikumen Buildings and end your stay in Shanghai with an amazing Huangpu River evening tour.
◆Days 4～7: Shanghai－Yangtze River Tour
Fly to Yichang and change(approx. one hour) to board your Yangtze River ship for the next four nights. Enjoy a tour of the Three Gorges Dam(三峡大坝) before sailing on the grand Yangtze River, passing through the impressive Three Gorges. We take a side trip to the Lesser Three Gorges or travel up the Shennong Stream in a peapod boat and enjoy various shore trips along the way.
◆Day 8: Chongqing－Chengdu
Get off in Chongqing and drive to Chengdu for an overnight stay.
◆Days 9～10：Chengdu－Xi’an
Visit the famous Panda Reserve to see the lovely animals. We then fly to the historic city of Xi’an for two nights’ stay and enjoy traditional Shui Jiao. Next day, explore one of the most important discoveries of the 20th Century－the Terracotta Warriors(兵马俑), followed by the ancient City Wall and a performance of Tang Dynasty dancing.
◆Days 11～13: Xi’an－Beijing
Visit Little Wild Goose Pagoda and see the ancient objects at the well-known Shaanxi Provincial Museum before walking through the lively Muslim Quarter to see the Great Mosque. Later fly to Beijing for three nights’ stay and try Peking Duck. During our stay in Beijing, we stroll through Tiananmen Square to the Forbidden City, the largest and best preserved collection of ancient buildings in China, and visit the Summer Palace. Next day we take a walk on the Great Wall, tour the unique Temple of Heaven and enjoy an attractive Chinese Acrobatic Show.
◆Day 14: Beijing－UK
Fly back to the UK, arriving home later the same day filled with happy memories.The first and last scenic spots to be visited in Xi’an are .
| A．the Terracotta Warriors and Shaanxi Provincial Museum |
| B．the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Mosque |
| C．Little Wild Goose Pagoda and the Great Mosque |
| D．Little Wild Goose Pagoda and the Muslim Quarter |
The underlined word “sample” in the passage probably means “”.
| A．buy | B．reserve | C．taste | D．make |
The ad is mainly intended to .
| A．provide the British with a better understanding of China |
| B．attract the British to traditional Chinese food |
| C．offer services of booking air tickets to tourists |
| D．encourage the British to travel in China |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the ad?
| A．The tourists will stay in Beijing for three nights before leaving for the UK. |
| B．The tourists will visit the 1920’s Shikumen buildings in Beijing. |
| C．The tourists will take a side trip to the Three Gorges Dam during the tour. |
| D．The tourists will have to pay extra for fuel and meals. |