What’s on stage
An acrobatic(杂技)show: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe(剧团)will present “ The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills(寒意)will run down your spine(脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.
Time: 7:30 p.m. , September 13-19
Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
Exhibitions
Joint show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.
Time: 9:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. until September10
Place: Huangshicheng Art Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District
Oil paintings: The Wangfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles.
Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. until September15
Place:136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District
Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949.
Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. , daily
Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (shaoyaoju area)
Concerts
Beijing rocks: “The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm.
Time: September 16
Place: The Olympic Center
Belgium Orchestra(管弦乐队): La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world to commemorate(纪念) the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.
Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11-14
Place: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities What do you think of the acrobatic show mentioned here?
| A．When you watch it, you will certainly feel cold. |
| B．Something strange will puzzle everyone, including scientists. |
| C．Unexpected things will make you excited and surprised. |
| D．Even the bravest ones will be too frightened to go on watching. |
The most characteristic thing about the Fashion Night of Chinese Rock is that____.
| A．it will let the audience choose the performers and the music |
| B．it is to bring thousands of rock fans out of their homes |
| C．it will certainly cause a rock storm throughout China |
| D．it is to be held in memory of one of the greatest musicians |
Suppose it is September 14th today, how many activities can people choose to attend?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
On the whole, we can conclude____.
| A．people in Beijing prefer modern culture to something traditional |
| B．there are usually more culture actives in September than in any other month |
| C．most of the cultural activities in Beijing are for foreign visitors only |
| D．we can enjoy a large variety of cultural activities in Beijing |
It was 9:00 am already! Richard had to leave for work! Before leaving he hurriedly looked at the newspaper and stood still! Is he seeing it right? He rubbed his eyes and saw again… Yes,it was his name in the obituary(讣告)! He threw the paper in the bin and screamed.
Richard started to recollect. He remembered that last night when he went to bed he had a chest pain and he was rushed to hospital. Then he went into a sound sleep. But what happened after that?
He could suddenly see his living room filled with people… all in tears; his mom, his wife and his children. He also saw his best friend, the one he had a serious misunderstanding a few days back. He wanted to say “Sorry” to him… but now no one could hear his voice.
He wondered how he could tell his mom that he felt so thankful to have her in his life! He wanted to tell his children how much he loved them. He wanted to tell his wife how much he loved her; he felt sorry to have hurt her sometimes.
Richard started crying and pleading to God for one LAST chance! “God, one last chance, please”, shouted Richard and opened his eyes.
Oh, this was a dream!
He woke up; looked around everywhere. He was on his bed; his wife lay beside him, deep in sleep. Richard whispered in her ears, “You are the best thing to have ever happened to me!”
He went up to the window, looking outside. Yes, everything was just the way he has been knowing so long. He decided to meet up his friends and clear all misunderstandings; he also decided to tell everyone who mattered to him all that has remained unsaid so far!When Richard saw his name in the newspaper, he felt _________.
| A．sad | B．shocked | C．regretful | D．worried |
Richard felt sorry to his wife because _________.
| A．they had a quarrel the other day | B．he misunderstood her |
| C．he hurt her sometimes | D．he didn’t love her |
After the dream, Richard would probably _________.
| A．be on good terms with his friend again |
| B．express appreciation and thanks to his friend |
| C．demand an apology from his friend |
| D．break up with his friend |
The writer of the story mainly tells us that _________.
| A．misunderstanding between friends is common |
| B．we need to see a doctor when having a chest pain |
| C．getting along well with friends is important |
| D．we should tell our family how much we love them |
Tourism has the power to bring jobs and economic development to popular destination（目的地）, but how should travelers decide where to spend their money? Are some countries more deserving of visitors’ dollars than others?
That’s the idea behind the 10-destination list put together by San Francisco-based non-profit Ethical（有道德的）Traveler, which since 2006,has published an annual guide to the World’s Best Ethical Destinations in the developing world.
“Instead of publishing countries for doing bad things,” said Jeff Greenwald, executive director of Ethical Traveler, “we’re trying to offer a favor, rewarding countries in the developing world that are really trying to do the right thing.”
So which countries are the most ethical? For 2013,the winners are Barbados, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Ghana, Latvia ,Lithuania, Mauritius, Palau, Samoa and Uruguay.
Those 10 countries scored highest in three main areas: social welfare, environmental protection and human rights.
Greenwald explained that countries must have a good tourism infrastructure（基础建设）to make the list, but the non-profit Ethical Traveler also uses the list to promote（提倡）some under-visited places that can be a role model for other countries in their region. For example, Latvia earned high marks for improving its environmental efforts and strong human rights record, and the country’s parks and nature reserves make for a great off-the-beaten-path ecotourism trip.
In addition to just visiting these countries, travelers should aim to spend their money in locally-owned business, Greenwald said, to ensure their financial support stays in the country they’re visiting. However, that requires a well-maneged tourism infrastructure. While one could argue those poor places need the money even more, tourism can put pressure on countries that face such challenges.
Erica Avrami, research and education director at the World Monuments Fund(WMF) said that a list of ethical destinations is “a wonderful idea”, the idea of being ethical goes both ways. “There’s also a certain responsibility on the part of the traveler to make sure their own footprint is as minimal as possible,” she said.The passage mainly aims to _______.
| A．promote ethical destinations |
| B．encourage ecotourism trips |
| C．speed up the development of tourism |
| D．discuss which countries are ethical destinations |
According to the fifth paragraph Latvia can make the list partially for its _______.
| A．good tourism infrastructure | B．regular ecotourism trip |
| C．strong human rights record | D．good social welfares |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Tourism fails to help develop local economy and provide jobs. |
| B．All the destinations should equally share the money spent by visitors. |
| C．Ethical Traveler punishes the developing countries for doing wrong things. |
| D．Ethical Traveler rewards the developing countries for doing the right thing. |
In the eyes of Erica Avrami _______.
| A．being ethical is not actually a wonderful idea |
| B．being ethical depends on both travelers and destinations |
| C．travelers are advised to travel as far as possible |
| D．travelers should leave as much footprint as possible |
Thank you for trusting me. I enjoy exchanging my ideas with yours
The first thing I want to tell you is that if the boys are calling you names it is their fault, not yours. Boys, at your age, are different from girls. They are trying to prove that they are manly and then often do this by picking on someone who can’t really fight back. This is, of course, wrong but it happens. In general, the boys know they are bigger and stronger than you are, so they can make fun of you and make you cry and then laugh about it. If you let them see that they are hurting you, they will only do it more. It isn’t that they want to hurt you; they simply want to make themselves feel superior（优越的）. It’s stupid, but it is common.
In English we say “ sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Canadian children learn this from their mothers because the same thing that is happening to you in China also happens here. The best ways of getting the boys to stop calling your names is to simply ignore them, knowing that the names can’t hurt you and that the boys are being stupid. If you can laugh at them they will get tired of trying to make you cry and they’ll give up. It won’t be easy, but, trust me, it will work. There is also something else working in your favor and that is that you are growing up and the boys are beginning to notice you as a young woman. I suspect some of them actually like you and are making fun of you just to get your attention. Again, it’s stupid but it happens. In reality, you can control this situation by not letting them see you getting hurt. Laugh at them, tell them they’re acting like children and they should grow up and then walk away with your head held high.
One more thing, Nancy. It is very important that you stop hurting yourself. If someone else hurts you, it is bad enough but you should’t make it worse by then hurting yourself. Even sticking a pen into your finger can cause an infection and give you a lot of trouble and besides, it hurts. The next time you are disturbed by a group of stupid boys, write to me. You and I can talk about anything you like; about China, about Canada, about travel, anything. Having a conversation with me is better than sticking holes in your fingers, at least I hope it is.It can be learned from the passage that the writer is .
| A．a Canadian | B．an Englishman |
| C．Nancy’s schoolmate | D．Nancy’s father |
Nancy hurt herself because she.
| A．couldn’t prevent the boys taking interest in her |
| B．felt it her own fault to be called names by boys |
| C．found herself more stupid than the boys |
| D．wanted the boys to see her hurt by herself |
We can learn that the boys call Nancy names mainly because they .
| A．want to prove manly | B．are bigger and stronger |
| C．mean to hurt Nancy | D．actually like Nancy |
The best way for Nancy to stop being called names is to .
| A．talk to the writer | B．cry and hurt herself |
| C．fight back and ignore them | D．stick holes in her fingers |
QINGDAO--Water and power supplies have been restored in the East Chinese city of Qingdao, the site of an oil pipeline explosion on Friday, the local government said on Monday.
Crude oil began leaking（泄漏）from the pipeline at 3:00 an Friday in Qingdao in Shandong province. The valves（阀门）of the Huangdao oil warehouse were shut about 15 minutes later.
The oil spill（泄漏的石油）then flowed into the city’s rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions occurred at two locations around 10:30 am Friday when workers were clearing the spill.
According to the local government, about 85 percent of public heating and 90 percent of the gas supply were also brought back to normal as of Monday.
Residents who have been taken to the temporary settlements are receiving bottled water and bread.
Many schools and kindergartens have reopened classes after Friday’s oil pipeline explosion. No injures and deaths of students or teachers have been reported following the explosions at an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec. The school buildings of one middle school in the district were seriously damaged during the explosions. Education authorities have arranged psychological help for students and teaching staff. All other 18 schools and kindergartens in the district reopened classes on Monday.
As of Monday noon, the death toll from the explosion had risen to 55, with 9 people still missing and 136 hospitalized. According to local police, 49 bodied have been identified so far, and 42 of them were male victims. As of Monday morning, the blood supply in Qingdao was enough for the injured after more than 950 people in the city donated more than 340,000 ml of blood in the wake of the incident.The underlined word “restored” in the first paragraph probable means “”.
| A．cut | B．destroyed | C．recovered | D．repaired |
Explosions happened when.
| A．workers were cleaning the spill |
| B．valves of the oil warehouse were shut |
| C．the oil spill flowed into the city’s water network |
| D．crude oil began to leak from an underground pipeline |
We can learn that by Monday noon the deaths in the explosion reached at least.
| A．64 | B．49 | C．55 | D．42 |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．everything was brought back to normal right after the explosion |
| B．no measures were taken to help the suffering people out of trouble |
| C．no more dead body was found after Monday noon |
| D．all the 19 schools in the district were affected by the explosion |
One determined student stepped off the traditional job for blind people in China, and now challenges a new life at university in Britain. Being a message therapist （按摩师）is a perfect job for many people with a visual disability, but for Zheng Jianwei, it was far from enough.
The 30-year-old former massage therapist gave up his hospital job in 2009to prepare for admission to graduate school. He took IELTS（雅思考试）, the language-fluency test necessary for university admission in the UK, in 2012 and scored 6.5 points. He was the first blind examinee to take the IELTS in the Southeast Chinese region. After about four year’s struggles, Zheng successfully gain an offer from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and became a graduate student.
However,Zheng’s path to graduate school was not easy. “I can’t take China’s national entrance exam for graduate school, which doesn’t provide study material（材料）for blind students,” he says.
He then turned to search for graduate school overseas. However, English became his nightmare. Zheng studied in special schools for visually challenged students since primary school, but foreign language was never a main subject.
Before giving up his job and learning English again in 2009, Zheng only knew the alphabet, a few words and some basic expressions. “Learning English again in my late 20s is not easy,” he says.
It took him three years of intensive study to gain entrance to a graduate school overseas. Because of the lack of study material, Zheng needs to spend hours and days looking for textbooks for the visually disabled and copying them, while it may take only five minutes for a sighted person to order a plain English textbook from Amazon.
In his parents’ eyes, Zheng has been a sensible, independent and decisive man from a young age. Zheng made all the major decisions by himself, including studying abroad and choosing majors. “We just follow his decisions, ” the mother says.According to the first paragraph, a blind person in China is likely to .
| A．go abroad for graduate school | B．work as a message therapist |
| C．be far from pleased with life | D．enjoy a perfect job |
It can be learned from the passage that the blind students in China.
| A．can’t take the national entrance exam to college |
| B．can find less study material than normal students |
| C．can never learn a foreign language well |
| D．can’t afford the English textbooks for an entrance exam |
Which of the following can match Zheng Jianwei’s story?
| A．All mankind is created equal. | B．Many hands make light work. |
| C．Rome is not built in a day. | D．Nothing is impossible when mind is set. |
It can be inferred from the passage that Zheng’s .
| A．parents have to follow any of his decisions |
| B．parents don’t understand or care about him |
| C．visual disability meant a hopeless damage to him |
| D．mind is healthy though physically disabled |