Learning Chinese has been like climbing a steep(陡峭的)mountain.
My mother was born in Tokyo,while my father moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong when he was seven years old. At home we speak English. I know some basic Chinese customs :to use chosticks gracefully (得体地)and what to say on Spring Festival to get a red envelope. But I never truly learned to speak Chinese.
Why should I need to learn the language ,anyway? I live in America where everyone speaks English.
I realized I was wrong in ninth grade when I arrived at Philips Academy,a famous boarding school in Massachusetts.The school encourages a global outlook(视野). There I decided to welcome the opportunity to learn Chinese. I met other American-born Chinese and together we spoke Ching-lish outside of the classroom.
I searched for ways to access Chinese culture through dramas such as Meteor Garden (《流星花园》)and music by singers such as S.H.E,Wilbur Pan and Jasmine Leung（梁静茹）. Listening to Chinese music is where I found my favorite singer in the whole world:Jay Chou. Even if I cannot understand what he is crooning（哼唱）, I do feel more Chinese whenever I listen to his music.
Last summer I spent five weeks in China,four of which were taking a language course at a Beijing high school. I was proud when I could understand the dialogue in Intitial D（《头文字D》） and when I could easily translate Fairy Tale sung by Kong Leung（光良）.
Learning Chinese has been a rocky trek（艰苦跋涉）, and I know it will continue to be that way before I arrive at a relative plateau（高地） of fluency（流利）.I hope that one day I will be able to work and maybe even live in China as a true Chinese.
1、The author wrote the text mainly to___.
A.share her experience of learning Chinese
B.tell us why she is interested in learning Chinese
C.show off(炫耀) the progress she made in learning Chinese
D.give advice on how to learn Chinese
2、The author's attitude to learning Chinese changed because___.
A.she found Chinese was interesting to learn
B.she wanted to take a course to pass easily
C.she realized she should have an open mind to the outside world
D.she made friends with some American___born Chinese at the school she studied
3、The author tried all of the following to learn Chinese EXCEPT___.
A.listening to Chinese music
B.practicing speaking Chinese with her parents
C.enjoying Chinese dramas
D.taking a Chinese course in China
4、We can learn from the text that___.
A.S.H.E.is the author's favorite singer
B.dialogues in Meteor Garden are easy to guess
C.the author enjoys learning Chinese though it is difficult
D.the author can speak fluent Chinese now
Spring is just around the corner and it’s a time to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors．Here is a selection of festivals around the country that are a great excuse to travel and get back in the spring sunshine．
Dana Point Festival of the Whales
Dana Point, California
March 7 to 8 and 14 to 15, 2010
Each year, over two sunny weekends in March the town of Dana Point, California celebrates the return of migratory California gray whales to this part of the Pacific Ocean．Festivities include whale-watching, an arts festival and educational hands-on activities for the entire family．Prices start at $29 per adult and $19 for children．For more information, visit: www．dpfestivalofwhales．com
Chandler Ostrich Festival
Chandler, Arizona
March 13 to 15, 2010
Chandler is the center of ostrich（鸵鸟） ranching （农牧场工作） in the USA．You can see jockeys ride these feathered beasts around the ostrich track at Tumbleweed Park．General admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for children aged 5 to 12 and kids 4 and under are free．For more information visit:
www．ostrichfestival．com
Festival of Houses and Gardens
Charleston, South Carolina
March 19 to April 18, 2010
The Historic Charleston Foundation gives curious travelers the opportunity to explore gardens of some of the finest private residences in America．Each 3-hour tour （afternoons from 2 to 5 pm and evenings from 6 to 9 pm） lets you visit 8 to 10 properties dating from the American colonial period．Prices range from $25 to $45．For more information, visit:
www．historiccharleston．org
Tulip Time Festival
Holland, Michigan
May 1 to 9, 2010
You don’t need to travel to the Netherlands this spring to see and smell some of the world’s finest tulips （郁金香）．The town of Holland is home to millions of colorful bulbs. The 81st annual Tulip Time Festival, one of the largest flower festivals in America will kick off with fireworks on May 1．Admission fee ranges from $6 for the children’s area to $38 for theatre tickets．Tickets and more information are available at www．tuliptime．com.A couple with their 4-year-old son will go whale-watching, they have to pay _____．
| A．$77 | B．$58 | C．$38 | D．$48 |
The underlined word “jockeys” in the passage is closest in meaning to _____．
| A．judges | B．riders | C．children | D．travelers |
If you want to learn about the history of American colonial period, you can visit.
| A．Tulip Time | B．Houses and Gardens |
| C．Dana Point of the whales | D．Chandler Ostrich |
It can be concluded that.
| A．all the festivals are held in March | B．all the Festivals are concerned with animals |
| C．all the Festivals surely interest children | D．all the Festivals are held in the U.S.A |
Steve Jobs-A surprising success.
Nothing in the early years of Steve Job’s life suggested that he would be so successful. Born in San Francisco, the child of two students, he was adopted and grew up close to Silicon Valley. While at company-and he and his best friend Steve Wozniak got summer jobs there.
After finishing high school in 1972, Jobs studied at an expensive liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon but he dropped pout after one after one term. He grew his hair and a beard, slept on friends’ floors, and sometimes went to a Hare Krishna temple for free meals. Like many drop-outs at that Beatles-inspired time, his ambition was to visit a guru（古鲁[印度教的宗师或领袖]）in India, which he eventually did with a friend. When they got there, the guru had died.
At this point, Jobs has a limited education, and no obvious talents, apart from a notorious（臭名远扬）ability to talk. However, he did have a devoted friend who was an electronics genius. They were a great team. Without Jobs’ s ambition, high design standards, the ability to make deals and great maketing skills-Wozniak might well have spent a quiet life designing hardware at HP.The article tells us that .
| A．Steve Jobs’s parents lived in San Francisco |
| B．Steve Jobs’s parents were rich |
| C．Steve Jobs’s parents worked at Hewlett-Packard |
| D．Steve Jobs didn’t know his real parents |
STEVE Jobs went to a temple because .
| A．He was a Buddhist |
| B．His family were Indian |
| C．He had very little money |
| D．He was inspired by the Beatles |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Steve Jobs was uneducated. |
| B．Steve Jobs went to India. |
| C．Steve Jobs was A GREAT SALESMAN. |
| D．Steve Wozniak was loyal. |
Form the article, Apple was successful because .
| A．Steve Jobs was a computer Genius |
| B．Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were lucky |
| C．Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked well together |
| D．Steve Wozniak liked a quiet life |
Science can’t explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people ---half of them pet owners ---while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松)around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don’t judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about I1 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise overall---mostly with their dogs --- and found it worth doing.What does the text mainly discuss?
| A．What pets bring to their owners. |
| B．How pets help people calm down. |
| C．People’s opinions of keeping pets. |
| D．Pet’s value in medical research. |
We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if _____.
| A．he has a pet companion |
| B．he has less stress of work |
| C．he often does mental arithmetic |
| D．he is taken care of by his family |
According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?
| A．They have lower blood pressure. |
| B．They become more patient. |
| C．They are less nervous. |
| D．They are in higher spirits. |
Most recently, it’s very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews．Naturally, it’s easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us． We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I’ll let them fail．
I’ll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc —will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．
It’s a small price to help them learn a skill they’ll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don’t accompany them on job interviews．Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?
| A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties． |
| B．Because they think they can help them on the questions． |
| C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews． |
| D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so． |
According to the author, what is beneficial to kids’ development?
| A．Sheltering them． |
| B．Keeping them safe． |
| C．Leaving them alone． |
| D．Blaming them． |
Why does the author stress（强调） failure in kids’ life?
| A．To make them stronger than other kids． |
| B．To help them grow in this tough world． |
| C．To help them develop all social skills． |
| D．To make them learn to compromise． |
Which of the following might be the best title for the text?
| A．Never Shelter Your Kids |
| B．Let Your Kids Fail |
| C．Be Eager to Grow Up |
| D．Live Without Parents |
Maple Lane Bakery
At 8260 S. State Rd. Claypool, IN. (574) 566-2917, it offers a variety of cooked pies, cookies, and bread. With 20 years’ experience Maple Lane Bakery has specialized in the making of pies. The menu includes peach pie $7.19, berry pie $ 7.70, apple pie $7.19 and banana pie $6.99. Feel free to place an order at least 24 hours in advance.
Berry’s Cakes &Candy Shop
At 816 E. Winona Avenue Warsaw, IN. (574)269-1231, it specializes in cakes and offers cookies and candies. The chocolate cookies are sold at $8.99 a dozen. Betty’s Cakes &Candy Shop, started half a century ago, specializes in wedding cakes and birthday cakes. Buying a cake from Betty’s will not disappoint you as they are always excellent.
Crepes’ Quality Bakery
At 217 S. Cavin Street Ligonier, IN. (260)894-3024, this bakery with a history of over a century is located downtown Ligonier. It offers cookies and cupcakes, and specializes in rolls and bread. If you plan to buy cookies for the office or work area, you had better get there early as the building workers arrive just before 5:00am waiting for the doors to open.
Olympia Candy Kitchen
At 136 N. Main Street Goshen, IN. (574)533-5040, it has been welcoming visitors for almost a century in its unchanged location in downtown Goshen, Indiana. Its tradition began in 1912 when Greek Nicholas began making his own chocolates. Today this family-owned operation offers all kinds of candies and boxed candies.
If you need an order, you should call ahead of time to see if they can meet your request. Which of the following pies is the most expensive?
| A．Peach pie. | B．Banana pie. | C．Apple pie. | D．Berry pie. |
If you want to order a birthday cake, you are advised to call______.
| A．(574)533-5040 | B．(574)269-1231 | C．(260)894-3024 | D．(574)566-2917 |
Which of the following bakeries has the shortest history?
| A．Crepes’ Quality Bakery |
| B．Betty’s Cake & Candy Shop |
| C．Olympia Candy Kitchen |
| D．Maple Lane Bakery |
The author wrote this passage mainly to ______.
| A．tell readers some travel information |
| B．persuade more people to eat pies |
| C．make the bakeries better known to readers |
| D．warn customers to order bakeries in advance |