Paris—French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would clear over 300 Roma camps in France. He will send more than 700 Roma back to their native countries, including Romania (罗马尼亚) and Bulgaria (保加利亚) in the next three months.
Many French people disagree with Sarkozy’s move. Some European countries don’t agree with the move, either. They say it goes against human rights. However, Sarkozy has made up his mind. Police have been clearing Roma camps.
Roma are also called gypsies (吉普赛人). They came from India. They left their homeland sometime during the 11th century and entered Europe in the 14th century. Today there are 2-5 million gypsies. Most of them live in Eastern Europe.
They traveled everywhere and made a living as actors, actresses, workers, and by selling goods from faraway lands. Most gypsies are very poor and their children don’t go to school. Some gypsies can’t find work so they make a living begging (乞讨) or stealing. The French government thinks gypsies bring a lot of social problems. That’s why Sarkozy wants them out of France.
Sarkozy’s move, however, won’t solve the gypsy problems in France for the long term. According to EU (欧盟) laws, the gypsies of EU member countries are free to go to another EU member country, like France. They can stay there for up to three months. Many of the gypsies will probably come back to France in the future.How many Roma will be sent from France to their native countries in the next three months?
| A．Over 300 | B．Over 700 | C．2 million | D．5 million |
According to the news, most of the Roma live in _________.
| A．France | B．India | C．America | D．Eastern Europe |
Why does Sarkozy want to send the Roma out of France?
| A．They traveled everywhere around Europe and India. |
| B．The gypsies are free to go to another EU member country. |
| C．Most gypsies are very poor and their children don’t go to school. |
| D．The French government thinks gypsies bring a lot of social problems. |
How long can the gypsies of EU member countries stay in another EU member country?
| A．They can stay there all life long. |
| B．They can stay for up to three months. |
| C．They stayed from 11th century to 14th century. |
| D．They can travel to the country and stay for a few days. |
Which is Not True according to the text?
| A．Police have been clearing Roma camps. |
| B．All the French people agree with Sarkozy’s move. |
| C．Some European countries say the move goes against human rights. |
| D．Sarkozy’s move won’t solve the gypsy problems in France for the long term. |
There are over 800 boarding (寄宿) schools in the UK with students from home and foreign countries. Boarding schools started hundreds of years ago in the country. But the earliest boarding schools were set up for white, rich boys only. Now both boys and girls can go to boarding schools from the age of 7 to 18.
What to do
In the UK, boarding schools have three terms in a school year, with about 13 weeks in each term. Students study and live together. They can’t go outside if they are not allowed to. In some schools, each student has his or her subject plan. Besides the usual classrooms and laboratories, the boarding schools have lots of other facilities for their students, including music rooms, boats, swimming pools, cinemas and theatres. Most boarding schools have a “light out” time. So when it’s time to go to bed, all the lights in the bedrooms are turned off. There are house-masters to take care of students all the time, especially after school hours.
What to wear
Nearly all students at boarding schools wear a school uniform. Boys usually wear a shirt and a tie, and girls wear a white blouse, sometimes also a tie and a skirt. As students get older, the rules become less strict.
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In the UK, boarding schools provide students with delicious food. They can choose to have a full English breakfast or simply bread. They can also choose between a meal with no meat and another meal at lunch and dinner. And there is always self-service for salad (沙拉), other side dishes and a dessert. Students can also make themselves something to eat at any time in a kitchen, or drink tea or have a snack between meals.Which of the following is TRUE according to (根据) the passage?
| A．Only white children were allowed to attend the earliest boarding schools. |
| B．Students in a boarding school are looked after only after school hours. |
| C．As students get older, the rules about wearing school uniforms become stricter. |
| D．Students can have different activities in a boarding school. |
Which is the best title for the last paragraph?
| A．What to eat | B．When to eat | C．Where to eat | D．How to eat |
The underlined word ‘facilities’ means _____________.
| A．教师 | B．设施 | C．活动 | D．课程 |
Britain Today
Food
British people like good food, and more than half of them go to a restaurant every month . Fast food is also very popular— 30% of all adults have a hamburger every three months, but 46% have fish and chips!
Cinema and TV
Films are very popular in Britain, and about 60% of people between 15 and 24 go to the cinema every month. At home, men watch TV for about three hours every day — two hours more than women.
Holidays
British people love going on holiday, and have 56 holidays every year. Most of these holidays aren't in the UK—27% are in Spain,10% are in the USA, and 9% are in France , 15% are in China. Maybe this is because the weather in Britain isn't very good! Which food could be more popular among British adults, a hamburger or fish and chips?
| A．A hamburger. | B．Fish and chips. | C．Both. | D．Neither. |
How long do British women spend watching TV every day?
| A．Three hours. | B．Four hours | C．Two hours | D．One hour |
Among the following countries , British people's least favorite country for a holiday is ____.
| A．Spain | B．France | C．America | D．China |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real，yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two，perhaps a few letters for a while— then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance，even years later，they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand，because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings，extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes，share their holidays，and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives，they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes，we，as hosts，will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans，however，express their welcome usually at homes，but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes，the welcome will be full，warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans，it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants，except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend，we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．willing to spend time |
| C．careful with time | D．serious with time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’hospitality |
| D．Americans’and Chinese’s views of friendships |
Televisions were among the most talked-about things at CES 2013—the 2013 International Consumer Electronic Show (国际消费类电子产品展销会) last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were bigger and better with some of the highest technology (技术). Some TVs used a new technology called OLED. They were bigger, thinner and lighter, offered better colour and were brighter than traditional TVs using LED.
Ultra High Definition TVs were also popular. Most of the TVs shown on the exhibition used 4k technology.
Smart TVs this year were smarter. Many offered technology that users have a more personalized （个性化的）experience. One such TV from TCL can know who is watching with the help of new technology. Then it can offer programmes according to the user’s usual interest. Another TV from Panasonic offers a similar personalized user experience.
Size also played an important part in CES 2013. TVs changed in size from big to bigger, with at least two companies —Samsung and Hisense —showing TVs that are 110 inches large on the exhibition.
The yearly CES is the biggest technology show in North America and one of the biggest in the world.
It’s a meeting of the brightest minds and the top leaders from many industries and those who want to know about the future.
Digital health and fitness inventions were also big at CES 2013. There was even a fork that tells you when you are eating too fast.
The show had over 3,200 different companies showing more than 20,000new products in about 26 miles of exhibition space.Which difference between OLED and LED is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Weight | B．Colour | C．Size | D．Price |
The writer takes TCL and Panasonic for example to tell us _________.
| A．smart TVs were smarter at CES 2013 |
| B．Ultra High Definition TVs were popular at CES 2013 |
| C．size played an important part in CES 2013 |
| D．digital health and fitness inventions were big at CES 2013 |
From the passage, we can know __________.
| A．CES 2013 has not been held yet |
| B．TVs at CES 2013 were smaller than before |
| C．many companies attended CES 2013 |
| D．no leaders from industries appeared at CES 2013 |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend |
| B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father |
| D．My Childhood |