| The NBA playoffs(季后赛) began on April 28, and the next two months will be filled with games decided in the final minutes. The playoffs are also a way to show off the world’s best basketball players. |
| There’s a saying from Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility(责任).” This is true no matter whether you are a class monitor or a president. A recent survey in the USA asked kids what they would do to make life better for other kids if they were president. “Providing shelter” topped the list. |
| May 19, 1613: Xu Xiake, a famous traveler during the Ming Dynasty, started his trip around China, which lasted for more than 30 years. In 2011, China announced its first National Tourism Day, held on May 19 every year in memory of this ancient explorer. |
| Do you have female friends that refer to as “guimi”? If you are a girl and the answer is yes, you are a lucky dog. “Guimi” is only used among girls. It refers to your most honest friends. In English, the word to use is “BFF”- which stands for best friend forever. But if you want to say a guy is your close friend or “nanguimi”, you should use “bromeo”, which is made up of “bro” and “Romeo”. |
| CHINA is planning to build a national earthquake monitoring and warning system in five years. While the system would never be able to forecast an earthquake, it could detect(探测) quakes and notify people within seconds before seismic(地震引起的) waves actually hit them, and a trial program including nearly 100 monitoring stations is currently being carried out in southeast China’s Fujian Province and has proven successful. |
The above five passages may be .
| A．from posters | B．from newspapers | C．from ads | D．from novels |
From the passage we know May 19 is in China.
| A．the beginning of the NBA playoffs | B．in memory of Spiderman |
| C．Earthquake Day | D．National Tourism Day |
“Guimi” refers to .
| A．any female friends | B．bromeo | C．your most honest friends | D．those friends who can only share happiness |
China’s earthquake monitoring and warning system could .
| A．forecast an earthquake | B．be used in Zhejiang Province |
| C．not detect quakes | D．notify people within seconds |
Which of the following is wrong according to the passage?
| A．China will build earthquake warning system in five years. |
| B．In English, the word “BFF” stands for best friend forever. |
| C．The playoffs can show off the world’s best football players. |
| D．“Providing shelter” topped the list in American kids’ survey. |
was born in Brussels, on June 25th, 1928. His real name was Pierre Culliford. At first, he almost became a dentist’s assistant. Luckily, he got a job in a cartoon studio. There he met and worked with some of Europe’s most famous comic book artists such as Franquin and Morris. Unfortunately the studio closed down and Peyo decided to become a full-time comic artist. He found himself a pen name from his childhood nickname ‘Pe- yot’.
Peyo became successful as a comic (连环画) artist. He decided to draw what he really loved,
stories based in the Middle Ages. He created the character Johan and drew some Johan strips (漫画) for the Belgian daily newspaper ‘Le Soir’ and then for ‘Spirou’ magazine. Johan soon became a huge success and one of the magazine’s main characters. 
For Johan’s ninth book of adventures, Peyo needed a group of imps (小精灵) to build a magic flute. At a meal with his friend Andre Franquin. he asked Franquin to pass him the salt. But he couldn’t remember the word so he said, “Pass me the … um… the smurf!”. Franquin handed it over and answered, “Here’s the smurf. Onee you’ve smurfed with it you can smurf it back to me!” And so the name and language of the little imps were invented. The readers soon fell in love with these little smurfs, who love having fun, live in mushroom-shaped houses and speak a strange and wonderful language.
The Smurfs films were first seen on Belgian television and then in France and the Netherlands. In 1981. The Smurfs was on the American NBC TV Channel for the first time, but the success didn’t stop there. The success of the Smurfs became planetary in the 80’s because of the cartoons. There are few regions left where people don’t know smurfs, but their name changes in every county; the Smurfs, die Schlümpfe, Los Pitufos, I Puffi. de Smurfen, les Schtroumpfs… and 蓝精灵 in Chinese.
In August 2011, the Smurfs make their return to the big screen again, this time in 3D! Peyo left us on December 24, 1992, but the Smurfs have continued their many adventures and are today looking forward to a bright and even more exciting future.Peyo’s real name was .
| A．Pierre | B．Franquin |
| C．Morris | D．Johan |
Peyo tried many different jobs except .
| A．as a dentist’s assistant | B．the one in a cartoon studio |
| C．as a full-time comic artist | D．as a newsagent |
The Smurfs .
| A．are a group of blue imps from Peyo’s book |
| B．are serious and hate having fun |
| C．soon became one of the ‘Spirou’ magazine’s main characters |
| D．will be in the movie on December 24th, 2011 |
The last paragraph tells us .
| A．The Smurfs have come back to their big screen home. |
| B．Peyo has left for another country. |
| C．The Smurfs’ story stops after Peyo left us. |
| D．There might be more works about Smurfs in the future. |
Climate is the average weather usually taken over a 30-year time period for a particular region and time period. Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region. Weather describes the short-term state of the atmosphere (大气).
The climate is changing. Many agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats (威胁) facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities (极端性) in weather patterns.
Is the Earth getting warmer? Yes! The Earth has warmed by about 1°F over the past 100 years. But why? Well, scientists are not exactly sure. The Earth could be getting warmer on its own, but many of the world’s leading climate scientists think that things people do are helping to make the Earth warmer.
Global Warming may be a big problem, but can you make a difference? Yes! There are several little things you can do to make a difference. Try carpooling. This will help reduce the amount of fossil fuels going into the atmosphere. Whenever you use electricity, you help put greenhouse gases into the air. Turn off lights, the television, and the computer when you are through with them. Also, planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air. Finally, don’t forget about recycling.Climate is weather.
| A．the same as | B．different from |
| C．a kind of | D．part of |
The Earth has warmed by about 1°F over the past 100 years .
| A．only because of human activities |
| B．but scientists are not exactly sure of the reasons. |
| C．and we can do nothing to it. |
| D．and it’s getting warmer on its own |
Global Warming may be a big problem, but we can do the following things to make a difference except .
| A．carpooling | B．saving electricity |
| C．cutting down more trees | D．recycling |
What can be the best title of the article?
| A．Climate and weather. |
| B．Weather and climate changing. |
| C．Climate changing and global warming. |
| D．Weather and global warming. |
Fun Facts about animals
| ●After killing an animal, a cheetah waits half an hour to catch its breath. |
●The biggest horses are the Shire horses. The tallest on record is 198cms from shoulder to leg. |
●The only mammal that can fly is the bat. Bat’s wings are overgrown hands. |
| ●Gorillas are actually very gentle animals although they have bad reputation (声誉). ●Gorillas build nests in tree tops to sleep in. |
●The rhino has the thickest skin of any animal. Its skin is 2cms thick and covers their body like armor. |
●An elephant’s trunk has no bones in it, only 100,000 muscles!!! ●Elephant babies take 22 months to develop inside their mothers before they are born. |
| ●A kitten is born blind and helpless and stays close to its mother for protection. In just nine weeks, it can grow big enough to leave its mother and look after itself. |
●A camel’s hump is actually used to store food. It is made of extra (多余的) fat. ●They have long legs to keep them as far away from the ground as possible |
● Bears usually walk on 4 legs, but when they are frightened, they stand up and walk on two legs to make themselves appear bigger. |
After a cheetah kills an animal, it .
| A．waits thirty minutes to catch its breath |
| B．waits half an hour for the animal to catch its breath |
| C．eats the food immediately |
| D．doesn’t eat the food until its friend comes. |
It takes 22 months to develop inside their mothers before they are born.
| A．Baby gorillas | B．Baby bears |
| C．Kittens | D．Baby elephants |
Which statement is NOT true according to the reading material?
| A．The tallest Shire horse on record is 198cms from shoulder to leg. |
| B．Bat’s wings are overgrown legs. |
| C．The rhino’s skin is 2cms thick and covers their body like armor. |
| D．The camel has long legs to keep them cool in the desert. |
The Clockwork Radio
The British inventor Trevor Baylis created this really clever ′wind-up radio′ for people from Third World countries. in some parts of the Third World countries, it’s very hard for people to get or pay for enough energy. This radio uses no batteries (电池) and does not need any electricity to run it. A clockwork generator (发电机) is put inside the radio and works as the power. When it is fully wound up (上弦), the radio can work for long periods.
The clock work product is not a new invention. The Victorians had already put it in wide use. We may find them used in toys as well. Then what is new about this clockwork radio? Baylis has used this simple but effective (高效的) way of creating electricity to both help the people of the Third World and to develop a product which is selling well in Western Europe.
Even former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandella has one of these radios and personally recommends this product to others. What does the clockwork radio use to run it?
| A．Batteries. | B．Electricity. |
| C．A clockwork generator. | D．Wind power. |
The Third World countries are in the world.
| A．the rich countries | B．the poor countries |
| C．Western European | D．Victorian countries |
Which sentence is true according to the passage?
| A．the clockwork radio can work for only a short period of time. |
| B．Trevor Baylis created the world’s first clockwork product. |
| C．The clockwise radio is also a toy for people of the Third World. |
| D．Nelson Mandella owns one of the clockwork radios. |
Interested in Chinese calligraphy (书法) experiences? By joining our Beijing Tours Xi’an Tours or Guilin Tours, visitors can add Chinese calligraphy classes to the tour at, very reasonable prices.
Most of the big museums in China have calligraphy collections. See our Museums Tours.
For travelers who are interested in the history and culture of Chinese calligraphy, Museum of Chinese Characters in Anyang City, Henan Province is a good choice. The Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an City houses many works of famous ancient calligraphers as well as precious stone sculptures (雕塑).
Contact us for a tailor-made tour.Where can we find this piece of writing?
| A．In a story book. | B．In a textbook. |
| C．In a cookbook. | D．In a travel magazine. |
What can we see in the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an City?
| A．Statue of ancient calligraphers. |
| B．Precious stone sculptures. |
| C．City houses |
| D．Famous workers. |