Beijing today, first published in May, 2001, is the capital’s only English weekly newspaper and is published with the help of the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government and run by Beijing Youth Daily. Its readers include English-speaking foreigners living in Beijing and local Chinese who have great interest in English or take English as a working language.
The paper’s main content deals with metropolitan life, explaining the differences and similarities between Eastern and Western culture. Its culture and lifestyle part is regarded as a guide to metropolitan life in Beijing.
The paper has 24 pages in four main sections:
NEWS: Select stories that discuss cultural differences.
COMMUNITY: Reports on developments related to foreigners in the city and a platform(平台)by which they can communicate with a bigger audience.
CULTURE and LIFESTYLE: Highlights from international lifestyle and fashion trends in Beijing
STUDY: Cheerful and humorous pieces to help English-language students improve their skills
Beijing Today circulates 50,000 copies published every Friday. It is one of Beijing’s most authoritative(权威的) English media sources, and is sold at post newsstands and distributed in hotels, apartment complexes, etc.
Price: 2 yuan per issueWhich of the following sections would be the best choice to exchange thoughts with others？
| A．NEWS | B．COMMUNITY | C．CULTURE and LIFESYLE | D．STUDY |
If you want to subscribe to Beijing Today for half a year, you need to pay ________.
| A．52 yuan | B．24 yuan | C．104 yuan | D．48 yuan |
What CANNOT you read in Beijing Today?
| A．News abou foreign cultural festivals |
| B．fashion trends in Paris. |
| C．Discussions with foreigners |
| D．Skills in improving English |
Grandparents Answer a Call
As a third generation native of Brownsville, Texas, Mildred Garza never pleased move away,. Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help their children, she politely refused . Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms Gaf finally say yes. That was four years ago. Today all three generations regard the move to a success, giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.
No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to the children and grandchildren. Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing. Even President Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, has agreed to leave Chicago and into the White House to help care for her granddaughters. According to a study grandparents com. 83 percent of the people said Mrs. Robinson 's decision will influence the grandparents in the American family. Two-thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama's family.
"in the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn't get away from home far enough fast enough to prove we could do it on our own," says Christine Crosby, publisher of grate magazine for grandparents .We now realize how important family is and how important"" to be near them, especially when you're raining children."
Moving is not for everyone. Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices, but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead. Having your grandchildren far away is hard, especially knowing your adult child is struggling, but giving up the life you know may be harder.
25. Why was Garza's move a success?
| A． |
It strengthened her family ties. |
| B． |
It improved her living conditions. |
| C． |
It enabled her make more friends. |
| D． |
It helped her know more new places. |
26.What was the reaction of the public to Mrs. Robinson's decision?
| A． |
17% expressed their support for it. |
| B． |
Few people responded sympathetically. |
| C． |
83% believed it had a bad influence. |
| D． |
The majority thought it was a trend. |
27. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s?
| A． |
They were unsure of raise more children. |
| B． |
They were eager to raise more children. |
| C． |
They wanted to live away from their parents. |
| D． |
They bad little respect for their grandparent. |
28. What does the author suggest the grandparents do in the lasr paragraph?
| A． |
Make decisions in the best interests' of their own |
| B． |
Ask their children to pay more visits to them |
| C． |
Sacrifice for their struggling children |
| D． |
Get to know themselves better |
You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson.Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams(1860-1935)
Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addans helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community(社区)by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need In 1931,Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson(1907-1964)
If it weren't for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world's lakes and oceans.
Sandra Day O ' Connor(1930-present)
When Sandra Day O'Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952,she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator(参议员) and ,in 1981, the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court. O'Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.
Rosa Parks(1913-2005)
On December 1,1955,in Montgomery, Alabama,Rasa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgmery bus boycott. It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. "The only tired I was, was tired of giving in," said Parks.
21.What is Jane Addams noted for in history?
| A． |
Her social work. |
| B． |
Her lack of proper training in law. |
| C． |
Her efforts to win a prize. |
| D． |
Her community background. |
22. What is the reason for O'Connor's being rejected by the law firm?
| A． |
Her lack of proper training in law. |
| B． |
Her little work experience in court. |
| C． |
The discrimination against women. |
| D． |
The poor financial conditions. |
23. Who made a great contribution to the civil-rights movement in the US?
| A． |
Jane Addams. |
B． |
Rachel Carson. |
C． |
Sandra Day O'Connor. |
D． |
Rosa Parks. |
24. What can we infer about the women mentioned in the text?
| A． |
They are highly educated. |
B． |
They are truly creative. |
| C． |
They are pioneers. |
D． |
They are peace-lovers. |
Not so long ago, most people didn't know who Shelly Ann Francis Pryce was going to become. She was just an average high school athlete. There was every indication that she was just another American teenager without much of a future. However, one person wants to change this. Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly Ann as a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginning of true greatness. Her time were not exactly impressive, but even so, he seemed there was something trying to get out, something the other coaches had overlooked when they had assessed her and found her lacking. He decided to offer Shelly Ann a place in his very strict training seasons. Their cooperation quickly produced results, and a few year later at Jamaica's Olympic games in early 2008, Shelly Ann, who at that time only ranked number 70 in the world, beat Jamaica's unchallenged queen of the sprint(短跑).
"Where did she come from?" asked an astonished sprinting world, before concluding that she must be one of those one-hit wonders that spring up from time to time, only to disappear again without signs. But Shelly Ann was to prove that she was anything but a one-hit wonder. At the Beijing Olympic she swept away any doubts about her ability to perform consistently by becoming the first Jamaican woman ever to win the 100 meters Olympic gold. She did it again one year on at the World Championship in Briton, becoming world champion with a time of 10.73--- the fourth record ever.
Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile. She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless. She grew up in one of Jamaica's toughest inner-city communities known as Waterhouse, where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers. Waterhouse, one of the poorest communities in Jamaica, is a really violent and overpopulated place. Several of Shelly-Ann's friends and family were caught up in the killings; one of her cousins was shot dead only a few streets away from where she lived. Sometimes her family didn't have enough to eat. She ran at the school championships barefooted because she couldn't afford shoes. Her mother Maxime, one of a family of fourteen, had been an athlete herself as a young girl but, like so many other girls in Waterhouse, had to stop after she had her first baby. Maxime's early entry into the adult world with its responsibilities gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would not end up in Waterhouse's roundabout of poverty. One of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track, and she was ready to sacrifice everything.
It didn't take long for Shelly-Ann to realize that sports could be her way out of Waterhouse. On a summer evening in Beijing in 2008, all those long, hard hours of work and commitment finally bore fruit. The barefoot kid who just a few years previously had been living in poverty, surrounded by criminals and violence, had written a new chapter in the history of sports.
But Shelly-Ann's victory was far greater than that. The night she won Olympic gold in Beijing, the routine murders in Waterhouse and the drug wars in the neighbouring streets stopped. The dark cloud above one of the world's toughest criminal neighbourhoods simply disappeared for a few days. " I have so much fire burning for my country，"Shelly said. She plans to start a foundation for homeless children and wants to build a community centre in Waterhouse. She hopes to inspire the Jamaicans to lay down their weapons. She intends to fight to make it a woman's as well as a man's world.
As Muhammad Ali puts it, " Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision." One of the things Shelly-Ann can be proud of is her understanding of this truth.
65.Why did Stephen Francis decide to coach Shelly-Ann?
| A． |
He had a strong desire to free her family from trouble. |
| B． |
He sensed a great potential in her despite her weaknesses. |
| C． |
She had big problems maintaining her performance. |
| D． |
She suffered a lot of defeats at the previous track meets. |
66.What did the sprinting world think of Shelly-Ann before the 2008 Olympic Games?
| A． |
She would become a promising star. |
| B． |
She badly needed to set higher goals. |
| C． |
Her sprinting career would not last long. |
| D． |
Her talent for sprinting was known to all. |
67.What made Maxime decide to train her daughter on the track?
| A． |
Her success and lessons in her career. |
| B． |
Her interest in Shelly-Ann's quick profit. |
| C． |
Her wish to get Shelly-Ann out of poverty. |
| D． |
Her early entrance into the sprinting world. |
68.What can we infer from Shelly-Ann's statement underlined in Paragraph 5?
| A． |
She was highly rewarded for her efforts. |
| B． |
She was eager to do more for her country. |
| C． |
She became an athletic star in her country. |
| D． |
She was the envy of the whole community. |
69.By mentioning Muhammad Ali's words, the author intends to tell us that ____.
| A． |
players should be highly inspired by coaches |
| B． |
great athletes need to concentrate on patience |
| C． |
hard work is necessary in one's achievements |
| D． |
motivation allows great athletes to be on the top |
70.What is the best title for the passage?
| A． |
The Making of a Great Athlete |
| B． |
The Dream for Championship |
| C． |
The Key to High Performance |
| D． |
The Power of Full Responsibility |
El Nifio, a Spanish term for "the Christ child", was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nifio sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nifio, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nifio in 1997 helped American's economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvest, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱）in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth ＄36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施）can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道）make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino's harmful effects-and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
61.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
| A． |
It is named after a South American fisherman. |
| B． |
It takes place almost every year all over the world. |
| C． |
It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas. |
| D． |
It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean. |
62.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
| A． |
Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall. |
| B． |
Droughts become more harmful than floods. |
| C． |
Rich countries'gains are greater than their losses. |
| D． |
Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically. |
63.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that_________.
| A． |
more investment should go to risk reduction |
| B． |
governments of poor countries need more aid |
| C． |
victims of El Nino deserve more compensation |
| D． |
recovery and reconstruction should come first |
64.What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?
| A． |
To introduce El Nino and its origin. |
| B． |
To explain the consequences of El Nino. |
| C． |
To show ways of fighting against El Nino. |
| D． |
To urge people to prepare for El Nino. |
Chimps(黑猩猩) will cooperate in certain ways, like gathering in war parties to protect their territory. But beyond the minimum requirements as social beings, they have little instinct (本能) to help one another. Chimps in the wild seek food for themselves. Even chimp mothers regularly decline to share food with their children. Who are able from a young age to gather their own food.
In the laboratory, chimps don't naturally share food either. If a chimp is put in a cage where he can pull in one plate of food for himself or, with no great effort, a plate that also provides food for a neighbor to the next cage, he will pull at random ---he just doesn't care whether his neighbor gets fed or not. Chimps are truly selfish.
Human children, on the other hand are extremely corporative. From the earliest ages, they decide to help others, to share information and to participate a achieving common goals. The psychologist Michael Tomasello has studied this cooperativeness in a series of expensive with very young children. He finds that if babies aged 18 months see an worried adult with hands full trying to open a door, almost all will immediately try to help.
There are several reasons to believe that the urges to help, inform and share are not taught .but naturally possessed in young children. One is that these instincts appear at a very young age before most parents have started to train children to behave socially. Another is that the helping behaviors are not improved if the children are rewarded. A third reason is that social intelligence. Develops in children before their general cognitive（认知的）skills,at least when compared with chimps..In tests conducted by Tomtasell, the children did no better than the chimps on the physical world tests, but were considerably better at understanding the social world
The cure of what children's minds have and chimps' don't in what Tomasello calls what. Part of this ability is that they can infer what others know or are thinking. But that, even very young children want to be part of a shared purpose. They actively seek to be part of a "we", a group that intends to work toward a shared goal.
58. What can we learn from the experiment with chimps?
| A． |
Chimps seldom care about others' interests. |
| B． |
Chimps tend to provide food for their children. |
| C． |
Chimps like to take in their neighbors' food. |
| D． |
Chimps naturally share food with each other. |
59. Michael Tomasello's tests on young children indicate that they____.
| A． |
have the instinct to help others |
| B． |
know how to offer help to adults |
| C． |
know the world better than chimps |
| D． |
trust adults with their hands full |
60. The passage is mainly about ____.
| A． |
the helping behaviors of young children |
| B． |
ways to train children's shared intentionality |
| C． |
cooperation as a distinctive human nature |
| D． |
the development of intelligence in children |