If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles（蜡烛）. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past twenty years, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes(孔子学院) in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学). Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing(比赛)to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the west, even if his birthday is. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to______.
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers’ interest in the topic |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______.
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C． Old Thinker with a Big Future |
| D．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
The passage is likely to appear in a _______.
| A．leaflet | B．history paper |
| C．newspaper | D．philosophy textbook |
It was starting to get dark and Bobby turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the setting sun’s rays reflecting off something along the roadside. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime(一角钱). Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as B
obby felt at that moment.
As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw.
His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn’t buy anything with only a dime.
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother’s Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cents offering. Then he said to him, “You just wait here and I’ll see what I can do for you.”
The sound of the door closed as the last customer left. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel cold and afraid. Suddenly the shop owner came out. There, before Bobby’s eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby’s heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box. “That will be ten cents, young man.” The shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime.
Sensing the boy’s reluctance(勉强), the shop owner added, “I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?”
When the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out of the door that the owner was holding, Bobby heard the shopkeeper say, “Merry Christmas, son.” Bobby feel that he was rich?
| A．Because he found a purse with many dollars |
B．Becau se he found some money on the way home. |
| C．Because he was given a bunch of flowers |
| D．Because he found some hidden treasure. |
What can we infer from the third paragraph?
| A．Christmas gifts were always very expensive |
| B．The salesperson’s words greatly disappointed Bobby. |
| C．Bobby was tired of trying one shop after another |
| D．The salesperson was trying to cheat Bobby. |
While waiting for the shop owner in the flower ship, Bobby .
| A．was full of excitement and joy |
| B．was very thankful to the shop owner |
| C．felt he had been cheated by the owner |
| D．was not sure whether the owner would accept his offering |
Living an Adventurous Life
Nearly ten years ago, I was told that I had a brain tumor （瘤）, and this experience changed my attitude about adventure forever．I thought that I was going to die and that all my adventures were over．I did not have a brain tumor, it turned out, but rather multiple sclerosis （多发性硬化症）, which meant that, although they were not over, the nature of my adventures could have to change．
Each morning that I wake up is a fresh event, something that I might not have had．Each gesture that I make carries the weight of uncertainty and demands significant attention: buttoning my shirt, changing a light bulb, walking down stairs．I might not be able to do it this time．If I could not delight in them, they would likely drown me in anger and in self-pity．
I admire the grand adventures of others．I read about them with interest．With Peter Matthiessen I have hiked across the Himalayas to the Crystal Mountain．I have walked with Annie Dillard up, down, into, and across Tinker Creek in all seasons．David Bain has gone with me along 110 miles of Philippine coast, and Ed Abbey has rowed me down the Colorado River．I enjoy the adventures of these courageous figures, who can strike out on difficult trips – 2 miles, 250 miles, 3000 miles – ready to bear cold and tiredness, indeed not just to bear but to celebrate．
But as for me, I can no longer walk very far from the armchair in which I read．Some days I don’t even make it to the backyard．And yet I’m unwilling to give up the adventurous life, the difficulty of it, even the pain, the anxiety and fear, and the sudden brief lift of spirit that makes a hard journey more attractive．
I refine adventure, make it smaller and smaller．And now, whether I am moving on my hands and knees across the dining room to help my cat, lying wide-eyed in the dark battling another period of sadness, gathering flowers from the garden, meeting a friend for lunch, I am always having the adventures that are mine to have．Which of the following is TRUE about the author’s reaction after the illness?
| A．The author is drowned in anger and self-pity． |
| B．The author travels to places he/she has dreamed of． |
| C．The author can’t take care of himself/herself any longer． |
D．The a uthor adapts to the condition successfully． |
Why does the author admire the people mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．Because they write popular novels． | B．Because they are great adventurers． |
| C．Because they are famous geographers． | D．Because they fight with hardship in life． |
Which of the following shows the author’s strong love for adventures?
| A．The author spends almost every day looking for adventures． |
| B．The author works hard to make more money for adventures． |
| C．The author imagines having adventures while reading． |
| D．The author expects to recover only to continue adventures． |
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes．To some degree our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount 
of special education can make a genius （天才） out of a child born with low intelligence．On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings．Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment．This view, now held by most experts can be supported in a number of ways．
It is easy to say that intelligence is to some degree something we are born with．The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence．Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different．If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other．Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth．
Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments．We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring．We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part．This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence．By using the example that two people closer in blood relationship are closer in intelligence, the writer wants to prove _________．
| A．intelligence is given at birth |
| B．intelligence can be developed by environment |
| C．intelligence can be developed by experience |
| D．education plays an important part in the development of education |
A child who lives in rich and varied surroundings turns out higher in intelligence because ________．
| A．his family is rich and therefore can afford to develop his intelligence |
| B．he can break the limits of intelligence fixed at birth |
C．his family is rich and provides him with various healthy food |
| D．these surroundings are likely to help him reach the limits of their intelligence |
The writer of this article believes that _________．
| A．the development of one’s intelligence is determined by many things working together |
| B．environment plays the most important role in the development of intelligence |
| C．education plays the most important role in the development of intelligence |
| D．birth plays the most important role in the development of intelligence |
The best title for this passage might be ________
__．
| A．The Answer to a Question | B．Birth and Environment |
| C．Intelligence | D．Intelligence and Education |
Is there a nationwide shortage of nurses? It’s hard to say．However, some characteristic symptoms often indicate that there is indeed a shortage．
One symptom is the vacancy rate, or the percentage of budgeted positions that are unfilled．New England’s hospitals currently report that an average of 7 to 12 percent of their registered nurse positions are vacant, the highest level since the last shortage in the late 1980s．Vermont has a relatively low vacancy rate, at 7．8 percent．But its vacancies were at 1．2 percent just five years ago．
Another symptom is the increased use of stopgap measures to fill empty positions．For instance, many nurses report an upswing in how frequently they are asked to stay past their shifts．According to Murphy, working in the St．Elizabeth’s Hospital, “The shortage has definitely created a lot of opportunities of overtime for our nurses, whether they want them or not．” Similarly, a national survey of registered nurses shows that in an average week, nurses in the U．S．work 2．4 more hours than they are scheduled to．Much of this extra time is voluntary, as nurses earn overtime pay when they stay to fill in blanks in the schedule．
When they can’t fill open positions by more traditional means, health care providers hire temporary staff to tide them over．Travelling workers are the largest part of the temporary health care workforce, hired for thirteen-week reduction at health care facilities facing short-term lack of workers．Temporary workers, mainly nurses, cost hospitals $ 7．2 billion in 2000．
“Any successful solution to the shortage depends on convincing more people to become nurses, and that is not an easy goal to reach．To achieve it,” says Buerhaus, “society needs to place more value on nursing．Legislation （法规） can’t do that – it should come from people．” And if this continues, we might have to learn to care for ourse
lves in the hospital．The temporary staff hired by a hospital _______．
| A．cost a large part of the hospital’s budget |
| B．meet the need for nurses in the hospital for a short time |
| C．should work on a weekly basis and on a scheduled timetable |
| D．ought to work passively for thirty continuous weeks |
According to Buerhaus, what is a successful solution to the nurse shortage?
| A．To convince people of the benefits of being a nurse． |
| B．To ask the government for help to work out specific legislation． |
| C．To publicize the past achievements of nurses． |
| D．To make people aware of the importance of being a nurse． |
What’s the probable meaning of the underlined word “upswing” in Paragraph 3?
| A．Symptom | B．Decrease | C．Increase | D．Figure |
What’s the author’s attitude towards nurse shortage?
| A．Worried | B．Indifferent | C．Doubtful | D．Optimistic |
Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch．But he is in for an unwelcome surprise．The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer, and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again．
The idea goes like this．A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro-processor and memory, and a GPS （全球定位系统） satellite positioning receiver．If the car is stolen, a coded （编码的） cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted．
In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves．“The_pattern_of_vehicle_crime_has_changed,” says Martyn Randall, a security expert．He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools．But only if the car is more than 10 years old．
Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won’t allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code sent out by the ignition （点火） key．In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997．
But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner’s keys．And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system．
If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen．The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal．
Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle’s movements via the car’s GPS unit．The remote immobilizer is fitted to a car to ________．
| A．prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner |
| B．help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief |
| C．prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops |
| D．allow the car to lock automatically when stolen |
By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed”, Martyn Randall suggests that ________．
| A．it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing |
| B．self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft |
| C．the thief has to make use of computer technology |
| D．the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old |
________ is necessary in making a modern car tougher to steal．
| A．A coded ignition key | B．A unique ID card |
| C．A special cellphone signal | D．A GPS satellite positioning receiver |
The operations centre will first ________ after receiving an alarm．
| A．start the tracking system | B．contact the car owner |
| C．block the car engine | D．locate the missing car |