Busy as I am every day, I always open my computer and check my email. Most of the time I am simply doing finger exercises, another form of piano practice without beautiful tones. Sometimes, however, I receive a gift, reminding me of the gifts in my life. The following passage is one of those gifts.
Peter Jones is a 92-year-old, short, calm and proud man. Every morning he is fully dressed by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and face perfectly shaved even though hi is unable to see anything. He would move to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years old has recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After hours of waiting patiently in the entrance hall of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he moved his walking stick skillfully to the elevator, the nurse provided a visual description of his tiny room. “I love it,” he stated with enthusiasm. “Mr. Jones, you haven’t been the room,” said the nurse.
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” he replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged…it’s how I arrange my mind. I have already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice: I can spend the day in bed complaining of the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.”
Each day is a gift, and as long as we are alive. We’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories we’ve stored just as Mr. Jones does.What do we know about Mr. Jones ?
| A．He is a blind but very neat. |
| B．His wife died many years ago. |
| C．He likes playing the piano. |
| D．His room in the nursing home is big. |
How did Mr. Jones feel about his room in the nursing home?
| A．worried | B．curious | C．disappointed | D．content |
The underlined word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to ________.
| A．the furniture | B．the room | C．a decision | D．a gift |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Each Day is a Gift | B．Be Always Grateful |
| C．Living in a nursing room | D．Arrange Your Mind Every Day |
To son, Cecil,
Just a quick note before I start in earnest. When I wrote this, you were 8, still a little boy. In 2002, I was called to active duty in the Marine Corps in the war on Terrorism (恐怖主义). On the 11th of September 2001 when America was attacked, I knew that I would eventually have to go and I was filled with a deep sense of sadness. That night as you and Keiko were asleep, I looked at your little faces and couldn’t help but fight the tears. I knew it would be hard for you because I had a similar experience. When I was a little boy aged 6, my dad, your Grandpa Cawley, was sent to Vietnam during the war there. I remember how much I missed him, too. But now unfortunately I have come to realize just how rough it must have been for Grandpa to be away from his children for a year. Thinking about this, I wanted to put my thoughts and feelings down for you and your sister. I am so sorry that I had to leave for such a long time. There is no place I would rather be than with you and Keiko. You two are the lights of my life. I have known no greater joy than in the few years since you two were born. I hope to have many more years with you. If this doesn’t happen, then know that I love you more than words can express. If for some reason I don’t make it home, I will need you to take care of your little sister and your Mom. You will be the man of the Cawley family. Be good my son and God will watch over you as he has me. I will be waiting impatiently for the time when we can all be together again.The writer of the letter may be ______.
| A．an American soldier in the battle field |
| B．an American policeman |
| C．a soldier in the Vietnam War |
| D．a postman working far away from home |
Keiko is the ______ of the writer.
| A．wife | B．son | C．daughter | D．sister |
One of the experiences the writer and his son had in common is that ______.
| A．they both experienced the Vietnam War |
| B．their fathers had to leave them and fight abroad. |
| C．they used to study in the same school |
| D．they were both eight when the fathers had to leave them |
We can infer(推断) that ______.
| A．the writer was a devoted son |
| B．the writer was a brave soldier |
| C．the writer realized he might die in the battle field |
| D．the writer’s wife was suffering from a terrible illness. |
Starting from April, 2010, you won’t be hearing the word “NBA” on sports programs on CCTV. Instead, sport host will give the full Chinese name when they refer to the NBA – National Basketball Association. You also won’t hear any other English abbreviations (缩略词) on CCTV’s Chinese programs, such as GDP (gross domestic product), or WTO (World Trade Organization). You will hear their Chinese translations.
CCTV received a notice from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television telling it to avoid using English-language abbreviations in their reports to protect the “purity” of the Chinese language. A few other TV stations also received the notice.
Fu Zhenguo, an editor of People’s Daily, is one of the people who suggested the change. “Firstly, using English in a Chinese-speaking environment is against Chinese law,” he said. “Then, using English on Chinese TV programs is unfair to people who don’t understand English. What’s worse, it will have a bad language influence on kids and teenagers.”
A lot of netizens have criticized the move, saying that it will cause problems for them.
“I understand what CD, VCD and DVD mean when I hear them. But I won’t know what the TV programs are talking about if I hear those products’ full Chinese names,” a netizen wrote in a BBS post. Following the same post, another netizen wrote jokingly: “I’m not listening to my MP3 now. I’m listening to my Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3 (动态影像专家压缩标准音频第三层面).”What does the underlined word “purity” in the second paragraph mean?
| A．纯正 | B．高贵 | C．时髦 | D．潮流 |
How many reasons did Fu Zhenguo list to show his support for the change?
| A．1 | B．2 | C．3 | D．4 |
Some netizens went against the change because_______________.
| A．the application of abbreviations will make Chinese popular. |
| B．the application of abbreviations will attract the youth. |
| C．the application of abbreviations will not simplify the understanding. |
| D．the application of abbreviations will not bring Chinese to an end. |
What can be the full name of CCTV mentioned in the text?
| A．Close Closet Top Video | B．China Central Television |
| C．China Common Time Voice | D．Closed-Circuit Television |
Taylor sings with heart
The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.
Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.
She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”What led to Taylor’s fame?
| A．Her wonderful looks. | B．Her songwriting skills together with her looks. |
| C．Her beautiful voice. | D．Her special life experience in her teenage years. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Taylor is now in her twenties. |
| B．Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards |
| C．Taylor has produced three albums up till now. |
| D．Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide. |
What may be written in the album, Speak Now?
| A．Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. |
| B．Her concern for her popularity. |
| C．Her happy childhood. |
| D．Her worries for environmental pollution. |
Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. “The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin—with young men the worst group—was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease –an infection which can lead to liver or kidney（肝肾）failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats’ waste. To attract people’s attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans.Where did the rats use to search for food?
| A．In the street | B．Under the ground |
| C．From the dustbins | D．In burger shops |
What was the rat population in Britain in 2000 according to the writer?
| A．Around 60 million | B．Around 45 million |
| C．Around 38 million | D．Around 2 million |
We may infer from the passage that ______________.
| A．Weil’s Disease will finally end the world |
| B．pizzas and crisps will become unpopular |
| C．rats will put human beings’ life in danger |
| D．young people should take the responsibility for the rat population |
By writing the passage, the author tries to _____________.
| A．close some of the burger and pizza restaurants |
| B．draw the public attention to the problem of rats |
| C．prevent the rats from growing up |
| D．making an advertisement for the classic horror tale The Rats |
The creation of a Chinese Green Card in 2004 was a milestone in the country’s immigration law. Five years on, the card is an increasingly sought-after document.
On August 15, 2004, the Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence
oAliens in China created a Green Card system granting qualified foreigners the right to live in
China permanently.
Liu Lili, who works in the Exit and Entry Administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, has watched the Green Card system develop since its inception. She said nearly all applications received by the Bureau are approved. So far, 323 people have been granted a “Green Card” qualifying them for permanent residence in Beijing. Another 15 are awaiting final approval. It takes around 6 months to process each application.
Of the 323 Green Card holders, 94 are wives or husbands of Chinese citizens; 50 are minors dependent on their parents; 20 are senior citizens returning to live with relatives; 114 are individuals who have made outstanding contributions or are of special importance to China (another 7 are their family members); and 23 are high-level foreign personnel who hold posts in businesses (another 15 are their family members).
Liu said the authorities had been granting residence to returning senior citizens for some time before the Green Card system was formally launched .The government has approved permanent residence for over 3,000 foreigners since the implementation of the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens which was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in November 1985.
Four groups of people are eligible for permanent residence: high-level foreign personnel who hold posts in businesses that promote China’s economic, scientific and technological development or social progress; foreign citizens who make large direct investments in China; persons who have made outstanding contributions or are of special importance to China; and people who come to China to be with family, such as husbands and wives, minors dependent on their parents, and senior citizens dependent on their relatives.
Liu said that most applications she dealt with were from American citizens.
Why do overseas citizens apply for permanent residence status in China? The main concern, aid Liu, is the political factor. Once people have a “Green Card”, they feel they are accepted and trusted by the Chinese government. The “Green Card” also facilitates entry and exit. With permanent residence status, visas are no longer needed and people can enter and leave the country using only a valid passport. China offers outstanding career opportunities and is seen by many as safer and more secure than many other countries, said Liu.
Liu said that Green Card holders have the same rights and responsibilities as Chinese citizens. However the card is not equivalent to Chinese nationality and holders are not allowed to vote in elections, hold political office, or serve in the military.
Obtaining a Green Card is not easy. The qualifying conditions are tough. Unless you are a close relative of a Chinese citizen，you will either have to invest a substantial amount of money in the country or make a genuinely outstanding contribution to the country’s development.
To meet increasing demand, he authorities are considering making the Green Card more available by broadening the range of applicants without lowering the requirements, aid Liu, but she gave no further details.Which of the following can’t get a green card?
| A．A foreigner whose wife of husband is of Chinese nationality. |
| B．A foreign child whose parents are Chinese citizens. |
| C．A foreigner who invests large sum of money in China. |
| D．A foreigner who works in China for a long time. |
If a foreign gets a Green Card in China, he /she_________.
| A．has the right to vote in China. | B．can be a high official in China |
| C．can enter or leave China without a visa | D．becomes a citizen of Chinese nationality |
From the article we can see foreigners apply for Green Cards mainly to ________.
| A．show that they are important | B．be accepted and trusted by the Chinese |
| C．make entry and exit easier | D．make more money. |
Which of the following is not the reason for foreigners to work or live permanently in China?
| A．They can find satisfactory jobs. |
| B．China is more secure country than many. |
| C．They have their professions, families and investments in China. |
| D．The weather, working conditions are better than better than their own countries. |