Every year in late April, students at Renmin University of China become the subjects of admiration and jealousy of their peers on other campuses in Beijing. Why? Because they get a week off in the middle of term, the so-called spring break.
“It’s been a unique tradition of our school for a decade,” said Wang Yueran, 20, a journalism major at Renmin University, who organized a weeklong trip to Sichuan with 12 classmates last year.
But having fun is just one dimension of the spring break. Field trips, voluntary work, and social projects are all on students’ to-do lists. Experts say the spring break is not just for students to enjoy a few days off, but for them to gain new experiences beyond the campus walls.
Push them out
The traditional Chinese belief of the exploration of knowledge and truth emphasizes “reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles”, which indicates the importance of experience as much as theory. But while Chinese universities have the tradition of spring outings, what’s the benefit of making spring break an institution?
Qin Jianguo, of the student affairs office at Shenzhen University, thinks the idea of the spring break in some universities in China comes from the intention of pushing students out of the ivory tower to experience more diversity in their lives.
“Take traveling for example. A week traveling is a very different experience to a one- or two-day outing,” said Qin. “Students are expected to acquire the spirit of teamwork and compromise, and learn survival and communication skills when put out there in an unfamiliar context.”
Diverse approaches
Many countries have similar vacations in the middle of the semester for students to do things out of their own interest. Taking Japan as an example, instead of partying like their US counterparts, many Japanese students choose to work as interns or engage in study-related projects.
“The spring break is an opportunity for many of our students to put their learning to use,” said Hiroshi Kanno, dean of the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy at Hitotsubashi University, in the school’s description of a recent spring break project.
As for Chinese students who take a week off around the Labor Day holiday, many tend to do volunteer work. Duan Zhipeng, a 22-year-old economics major at Renmin University, applied for a project to go back to his hometown in Jiangxi province to introduce his university’s enrollment policies and campus culture to local high school students.
Not a trend yet
Apart from Renmin University, only a few other universities, such as Yantai University, have a spring break for their students. The concept in China is still far from the culture and norms built around it in the US.
Wei Xiang, a professor specializing in holiday economics at Beijing International Studies University, said that the spring break is a good experiment for universities to make study schedules smoother in order to give students more options to arrange their own leisure and study activities.According to the text, up to now, Apart from Renmin University, which University has a spring break for their students.
| A．Yantai University |
| B．Peking University |
| C．Suzhou University |
| D．Nankai University |
The underlined word “it” refers to ______
| A．field trips | B．exploration of knowledge |
| C．spring break | D．ivory tower |
According to the passage,why do the students in the other universities admire the students at Renmin University?
| A．Because they tend to do volunteer work. |
| B．Because they go home to meet their relatives. |
| C．Because they get a spring break. |
| D．Because they have lesser courses . |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles |
| B．Spring break expands horizons |
| C．Enjoy yourselves |
| D．A weeklong trip |
Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
| A．Spring break can help students to gain new experiences beyond the campus walls. |
| B．Students are expected to acquire the spirit of teamwork through pring break. |
| C．Spring break can help students tolearn survival and communication skills when in an unfamiliar context. |
| D．Spring break is not common in the US. |
SYDNEY (AFP) — Thousands of people sat down to breakfast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge on Sunday after the bridge was closed to traffic and carpeted with grass for the first time for a giant picnic.
About 6,000 early riser were on the steel bridge from 6:30 am to take part in the two-hour event designed to show Sydney’s best food and outdoor lifestyle.
As music performers provided the background music, those who had won tickets to the picnic in a random lottery (随机抽奖) began to feast on fruit, pastries, muesli, yoghurt ...
“It’s amazing to see the bridge in this perspective (角度),” said Don Fuchs who lives near the bridge, which is used by about 100,000 cars daily.
“Usually you sit in the car, you cross it, and that’s it.”
“It was beautiful,” said Linda Curnow who attended the picnic with her family. “The grass was so thick that it was like being in your backyard.”
New South Wales state Premier Nathan said the event was set to become a mark of an annual Sydney’s month-long October food festival.
About 45,000 people applied for tickets to the breakfast for which people brought their own food but were able to taste samples from some of the state’s best producers.
Organizers used about 40 percent of the grass on Sydney parks. The bridge reopened at about 1:00 pm.What made Linda Curnow feel as if she were in her own backyard?
| A．There being no cars passing by. |
| B．So much food offered by Australian producers. |
| C．So many people dining at the same time. |
| D．The thick grass covering the bridge. |
Why was the event planned?
| A．To mark the Sydney food festival. | B．To attract more tourists to Sydney. |
| C．To promote the Australian life. | D．To display the world’s best food. |
We learn from the passage that _____.
| A．the giant picnic is organized in a park in Sydney |
| B．the grass from Sydney parks was moved to the bridge |
| C．the Sydney Harbour Bridge was open to traffic all day |
| D．those who had won tickets to the picnic didn’t eat breakfast |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Welcome to Sydney |
| B．October — Sydney’s art festival |
| C．Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour bridge |
| D．What is the feature of Sydney? |
Spring is just around the corner and it’s a time to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Here is a selection of festivals around the country that are a great excuse to travel and get back in the spring sunshine.
Dana Point Festival of the Whales
Dana Point, California
March 7 to 8 and 14 to 15, 2010
Each year, over two sunny weekends in March the town of Dana Point, California celebrates the return of migratory California gray whales to this part of the Pacific Ocean. Festivities include whale-watching, an arts festival and educational hands-on activities for the entire family. Prices start at $29 per adult and $19 for children. For more information, visit:
www.dpfestivalofwhales.com
Chandler Ostrich Festival
Chandler, Arizona
March 13 to 15, 2010
Chandler is the center of ostrich ranching (鸵鸟经营) in the USA. You can see jockeys ride these feathered beasts around the ostrich track at Tumbleweed Park. General admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for children aged 5 to 12 and kids 4 and under are free. For more information, visit:
www.ostrichfestival.com
Festival of Houses and Gardens
Charleston, South Carolina
March 19 to April 18, 2010
The Historic Charleston Foundation gives curious travelers the opportunity to explore gardens of some of the finest private residences in America. Each 3-hour tour (afternoons from 2 to 5 pm and evenings from 6 to 9 pm) lets you visit 8 to 10 properties dating from the American colonial period. Prices range from $25 to $45. For more information, visit:
www.historiccharleston.org
Tulip Time Festival
Holland, Michigan
May 1 to 9, 2010
You don’t need to travel to the Netherlands this spring to see and smell some of the world’s finest tulips (郁金香). The annual Tulip Time Festival, one of the largest flower festivals in the country, will kick off with fireworks on May 1. Admission fee ranges from $6 for the children’s area to $38 for theatre tickets. Tickets and more information are available at:
www.tuliptime.com A couple with their 4-year-old son will go whale-watching. They have to pay _____.
| A．$58 | B．$38 | C．$48 | D．$77 |
The underlined word “jockeys” in the passage is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．judges | B．children | C．riders | D．beginners |
A group of travelers who want to have fun in mid-April will go to _____.
| A．Festival of Houses and Gardens | B．Chandler Ostrich Festival |
| C．Dana Point Festival of the Whales | D．Tulip Time Festival |
Which of the following is TRUE of Tulip Time Festival?
| A．It is held in a town in the Netherlands. |
| B．It will start with fireworks on the first day. |
| C．It is the largest flower festival in the world. |
| D．Admission is free for children. |
Once a neighbour stole one of Washington’s horses. Washington went with a police officer to the neighbour’s farm to get the horse, but the neighbour refused to give the horse up; he claimed (声称) that it was his horse.
Washington placed both of his hands over the eyes of the horse and said to the neighbour, “If this is your horse, then you must tell us in which eyes he is blind.”
“In the right eye,” the neighbour said.
Washington took his hand from the right eye of the horse and showed the police officer that the horse was not blind in the right eye.
“Oh, I have made a mistake,” said the neighbor. “He is blind in the left eye.”
Washington then showed that the horse was not blind in the left eye, either.
“I have made another mistake,” said the neighbor.
“Yes,” said the police officer, “and you have also proved that the horse does not belong to you. You must return it to Mr. Washington.”Why did Mr. Washington go to the neighbor’s farm with a police officer?
| A．Because the neighbor was the police officer’s friend. |
| B．Because he wanted to make the neighbor return the horse. |
| C．Because the police officer was Washington’s friend. |
| D．Because they were invited to the neighbor’s farm. |
When Washington and the police officer reached the neighbor’s farm, the neighbor _____.
| A．immediately admitted that he had stolen the horse |
| B．received them warmly |
| C．said he had lost a horse, too |
| D．didn’t want to give the horse back to Washington |
When Washington asked the neighbor to tell them in which eye the horse was blind, the neighbor _____.
| A．didn’t say anything | B．knew the horse wasn’t blind at all |
| C．thought the horse was really blind | D．said he had stolen the horse |
From the passage, we know _____.
| A．Washington was a wise man |
| B．Washington’s neighbor was cleverer than Washington |
| C．the police officer was the cleverest of the three |
| D．all the three men were not very clever |
I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.
“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said.
It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.
72. Why did the author go to mother’s home?
A. To see her mother’s quilts. B. To help prepare for a show.
C. To get together for the family dinner. D. To discuss her grandmother’s life.
73. The author was surprised because __________________.
A. the quilt looked very strange.B. her grandmother liked the quilt.
C. the quilt was the best she had seen. D. her mother had made some changes
74. The underlined word “crooked” in the passage most probably means __________ .
A. unfinished B. broken C. bent D. unusual
75. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Quilt Show B. Mother’s Home C. A Monday Dinner D. Grandmother’s Quilt
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall.
At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city
Monday 7th of January until Sunday.13rd of January 2008
Feast until you’re full! Come down to Monetizes time week to enjoy the special dishes on offer it all of our food outlets. Order from the following:
|
●Succulent chicken rice ●spicy stays beef
●Delicious noodle dishes ●plump porky chips
m our lucky draw box.
January