C
Nowadays, people in China are increasingly interested in celebrating foreign festivals, especially those western festivals.
A survey conducted recently by sina. com. showed that among the 18,222 people surveyed 63.90% said celebrating Christmas is just another way of recreation, nothing serious while 17.85% surveyed considered the festival as a fashion act, showing they were not "out". These two parts clearly indicate the general opinion of the young. 10.45% people involved said the celebration of a religious western festival with so much enthusiasm is absolutely ridiculous pursuit of foreign goodness. Only 7.80% of people define Christmas as a kind of festival colonization(殖民).
The arising of celebrating foreign festivals clearly has something to do with the advancement of China's economy. In my point of view, Christmas and other festivals celebrated in China have difference from the origin. They have lost their religious background and turned into a big occasion to have fun and enjoy life. Shop owners' pockets are filled, the public's hunger for happiness is filled, and that is enough. Foreign festivals in China are more like carnivals giving people pleasure and enjoyment.
The crisis(危机)of traditional Chinese festivals that are losing their attraction may be linked to the culture tradition and background of the festivals. Most Chinese festival culture is related more or less with real life. "The country is based on its people while the people are relied on their food".
But the western culture shows much of romance. Some festivals have their religious background while others have much to do with culture and people. At this point, food seems to be too plain. Flowers and chocolates are more welcomed.
Foreign festivals in China today are celebrated for fun.They give people opportunities to relax and celebrate,to show appreciation and gratefulness.The acceptance of foreign festivals generally depends on the openness of the public, the familiarity with the western culture, and most importantly,on people's economic status.
69. From the survey we know that among the people surveyed ______.
A. most think celebrating foreign festivals is ridiculous
B. many fear that traditional Chinese festivals will disappear soon
C. some think that celebrating foreign festivals is a sign of foreign goodness chasing
D. half think celebrating foreign festivals make people not go out of fashion
70. The writer thinks that foreign festivals celebrated in China ______.
A. have lost their religious background
B. are the same as those celebrated in the West
C. can give more fun than traditional Chinese festivals
D. may reduce the hunger of public people
81. What is the main difference between foreign festivals and traditional Chinese ones?
A. Foreign festivals can make Chinese shop owners' pockets full quickly.
B. The food at foreign festivals is too simple.
C. Chinese festivals always have something to do with culture.
D. Foreign festivals are romantic while traditional Chinese ones are connected with reality.
72. Which of the following may NOT be the reason why so many people accept foreign festivals?
A. People can relax themselves.
B. People can show their thanks to others.
C. Foreign festivals have longer histories than Chinese ones.
D. People have known more about the western culture.
There was once a professor of medicine, who was very strict with the students. Whenever he took the chair on the exam committee, the students would be in fear, because he was seldom pleased with the answers they gave. A student would be lucky enough if he or she could receive a good mark from him. At the end of the term, the students of medicine would take their exam again. Now a student entered the exam room and got seated before the committee. This student was a little nervous as he knew it would not be so easy to get through the exam at all.
The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.
Then the professor asked about the cure (药剂) for illness, and the student, too, answered just as right.
“Good,” said the professor, “ and how much will you give the patient?”
“A full spoon”, answered the student.
“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get.”, said the professor. At the same time, the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “ A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr Professor, I’ve make a mistake! A full spoon is too much for a patient. He can take only five drops.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” Said the professor coldly, “But it’s too late. Your patient has died.The students were afraid of the professor because_________.
A.they often angered and disappointed him |
B.their answers often astonished him |
C.their answers seldom satisfied him |
D.he often misunderstood(误解) them and give them bad marks |
The student’s description of the illness was _____.
A.not correct | B.not satisfied | C.completely discouraging | D.accepted. |
Before he left the room the student was almost sure that ______.
A.he had passed the exam, and the only thing was to wait for the mark |
B.his last answer was satisfying |
C.he had made a mistake |
D.he had not done well in the exam. |
Which of the following is Not true?
A.The patient will be in danger if he’s taken as much as a full spoon. |
B.The doctor will be in trouble if he’s given the patient a full spoon. |
C.Since one spoon is less than five drops, the patient will be all right soon if he takes only one full spoon at a time. |
D.If the patient wants to remain safe, he should take no more than five drops at a time. |
Which guess is the most reasonable from the passage?
A.The student must have passed the exam. |
B.The student may not have passed the exam. |
C.The student must have been very happy when he heard, “Your patient has died.” |
D.The professor must have been very pleased and given the student a good mark. |
Riding School:
You can start horse—riding at any age.Choose private or group lessons any weekday
between 9 a.m.and 8:30 P.m.(3:30 p.m.on Saturdays).There are 10 kilometers of tracks and paths for leisurely rides across farmland and open country.You will need a riding hat.
Opening Hours:Monday through Friday:9:00 a.m.—8:30 p.m.
Phone:(412)396—6754 Fax:(412)396—6752
Sailing Club:
Our Young Sailor’s Course leads to the Stage 1 Sailing qualification.You’ll learn how to sail safely and the course also covers sailing theory and first aid.Have fun with other course members , afterwards in the clubroom.There are 10 weekly two-hour 1essons (Tuesdays 6 p.m.~8 p.m.).
Opening Hours:Tuesdays:6:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m.
Phone:(412)396—6644 Fax:(412)396—6644
Diving Centre: Our experienced instructors offer one-month courses in deep-sea diving for beginners.There are two evening lessons a week,in which you learn to breathe underwater and use the equipment safely.You only need swimming costume and towel.Reduced rates for couples.
Opening Hours:Monday and Friday:6:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m.
Phone:(412)396—6312 Fax:(412)396—6706
Medical Center:
The staff of the Medical Center aim to provide convenient and comprehensive medical care to students and staff of the university.The center is well equipped and the staff here are trained to deal with a broad range of medical problems.Both female and male doctors as well as nursing staff are available for consultation.Also,all kinds of medicines are sold here and are cheaper for students than other drugstores.
Opening Hours:24 hours from Monday to Sunday
Phone:(412)396--6649 Fax:(412)396—6648
Watersports Club:
We use a two-kilometer length of river for speedboat racing,and water-skiing,A beginners’course consists of ten 20-minute lessons.You will learn to handle boats safely and confidently,but must be able to swim.The club is in a convenient central position and is open daily from 9 a.m to 4 p.m,with lessons all through the day.
Opening Hours:Monday through Friday:9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Phone: (412)396—6899 Fax396—6890If you want to swim and enjoy activities which are fast and a bit dangerous,you should join ________ .
A.Diving Centre | B.Riding School | C.Watersports Club | D.Sailing Club |
If you want to experience a new activity in the countryside in the mornings,you may fax _____________________________ .
A.(412)396—6752 | B.(412)396—6648 | C. (412)396—6876 | D.(412)396—6706 |
If you are planning to explore the ocean depths.you should attend your lessons at ______ .
A.Monday through Friday:7:00 a.m.—10:00 p.m. |
B.24 hour from Monday to Sunday |
C.Tuesdays:6:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m. |
D.Monday and Friday:6:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m. |
You want to do an activity one evening a week and get a certificate in the end,you can go to __________________________.
A.Diving Center | B.Sailing Club | C.Riding School | D.Watersports Club |
Which is NOT the convenience that the Medical Center provides?
A.Well trained staff members. | B.Nursery for newly-born babies. |
C.Good equipment. | D.Various less expensive medicines. |
Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.
Today, we know that the little iron that is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid.
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.A good title for this reading passage is______.
A.Popeye the Sailor | B.The Truth About Spinach |
C.A Mistake with Numbers | D.Folic Acid Makes You Strong |
Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?
A.They thought spinach made them strong. |
B.They thought Popeye was funny. |
C.Spinach had a lot of iron. |
D.People liked folic acid. |
A research group told people that spinach______.
A.made Popeye strong |
B.was a green vegetable |
C.had less iron than other green vegetables |
D.had more iron than other green vegetables |
The reading passage says that perhaps Popeye got his strength from______.
A.iron | B.folic acid | C.spinach | D.exercise |
Folic acid is ______.
A.something in food | B.a vegetable | C.dangerous | D.a certain kind of spinach |
Educators have spent ages arguing about whether the traditional classroom structure, with students all working on the same lesson, is really suited to different learning styles.
Twelve-year-old Yuval Kagan looks like he’s ready to work at a call center. He’s among 10 students sitting at a long table covered with laptop computers, talking into their headphones. ”Yes,” he says, looking at his computer screen. Yural is talking to a math teacher. If he has a question, he hits a button called “raise your hand” and the teacher speaks to him.
Yuval says he enjoys this form of teaching. “In a lesson with a class, the teacher always has to tell other students to stop talking, but here you can have one-on-one teaching.”
That personalized approach is what makes School of One different. It’s an after-school math program taking place here at I.S. 228 and two other middle schools. Kids spend part of their time working with online teachers. But teachers can also set instruction in small groups, where a teacher explains a special math problem. And sometimes they work together, as demonstrated by two boys using colorful blocks to figure out a geometry problem.
School of One was first piloted last summer with middle scholars in Chinatown. Assessment tests showed so much progress that the Department of Education expanded the program. Dominick D’Angelo, the principal of I.S. 228, says he wanted his sixth graders to take part because the traditional classroom doesn’t serve every child. But School of One is what its name suggests.
“A student is working at his or her own pace,” says D’Angelo. “Not with a group of 30 other students. If they don’t get it today, they have to work on it again tomorrow. They’re not left behind because they can’t catch up with the class. It’s at their own pace.”
Chancellor Joel Klein says “This kind of approach---students centered, not classroom centered---is going to be a part of the future of Education.”
But Daniel Willingham, a professor of Psychology says “Studies have been done trying to prove that some people learn best visually, however, other people learn best aurally (听觉上). They have shown that there’s no benefit in meeting the needs of those learning styles.” He adds, “It’s not clear whether considering different styles of learning makes a real difference.”
The city has raised money from private donors to keep the program going next fall. And though officials say they didn’t deliberately launch it this spring in time for the state exams, they’ll be very curious to see the performance of those 240 sixth graders at the three schools now using the School of One.
Title: Arguments about classroom structures and learning styles
A comparison of two |
●Classroom centered: all the students work on the ●Teachers have to tell students to keep |
|
School of One |
● ●Teachers can also organize the kids in small groups to explain special problems. Sometimes they can |
|
Experts’ opinions |
●The new approach will be part of the future of Education. ●Some people learn best visually, while other people learn best by ●It is not ●We are not |
|
Officials’ expectations |
● How the three schools’ sixth graders |
Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loves experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out,” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his father’s warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES
VOYAGE 1
VOYAGE 2
Mark’s finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED.
START TRANSPORT PROGRAM.
AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED(自动回收程序已启动).”
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒),until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed:
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL.
DESTINATION: MARS.
RETRIEVE DATE: 2025 Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?
A.He wanted to take a voyage. |
B.He was so much attracted by it. |
C.He was eager to do an experiment. |
D.He wanted to practice his skills. |
Where did the boy’s father most likely work?
A.In a scientific research center. |
B.In a computer company. |
C.In an electronic factory. |
D.In an information processing center. |
Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of ________.
A.a software producer |
B.a company website |
C.an astronomy program |
D.a computer game |
. What is the most possible reason for Jason to shut off the computer?
A.He was afraid of being scolded. |
B.He didn’t like the loud noise and light. |
C.He didn’t want to play games. |
D.He was afraid something dangerous might happen. |
What happened to the boys at the end of the story?
A.They were hidden in the strong light. |
B.They were sent to another planet. |
C.They were blown into the air. |
D.They were carried away to another country. |