Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important. Parents in China, according to this passage, _______.
| A．are too strict with their children |
| B．are too rich to educate their children |
| C．have some problems in educating their children correctly |
| D．are too poor to educate their children |
The writer of the passage does not seem to be satisfied with ______.
| A．the parents’ ideas of educating their children |
| B．the education system |
| C．children’s skills |
| D．children’s hobbies |
Doing some cooking at home helps children ______.
| A．learn how to serve their parents |
| B．learn how to become strong and fat |
| C．benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future |
| D．make their parents believe that they are clever |
According to the last paragraph we can conclude that ______.
| A．broken radios and television sets are useful |
| B．one’s curiosity may be useful for his later life |
| C．an engineer must fix many broken radios |
| D．a good student should spend much time repairing radios |
“She was born for the camera,” said a photographer who shot Liu Yifei’s picture when she was only eight.
Over the past year, Liu, an 18-year-old Chinese American, has shot to fame while playing Wang Yuyan in Jin Yong’s Eightfold Path of the Heavenly Dragon(《天龙八部》). Millions of teenagers have been drawn in by her light smile and beautiful long hair. Many magzines have described her as one of the most charming young actresses of 2004. People say that Liu will be even bigger this year.
“ She is so beautiful on TV. She has the special character to give flesh and blood to the fairy-like and beautiful Wang Yuyan,” said Yang Mingwei, a Senior 2 boy and Liu’s fan from Wuyi High School in Fujian.
Currently Liu filmed the TV series The return of the Condor Heroes(《神雕侠侣》), another Jin Yong novel. In the show aired this year, Liu played the Little Dragon female.
Liu is now a grade three student at the Beijing Film Academy, the star factory of China. But some people say that her success is only down to her beauty. When she returned to China with her mother at the age of 14, she did original work as a model. It was when a director saw her picture on an advertisement board on the street that her opportunity to work in TV arose.
“A pretty face does not last forever. To be a good actress you must work hard and have a professional attitude,” Liu said. Every day she spends hours practising all the kungfu kicks and punches for the show.
“There have been times during filming when I have remained hanging in the air on wires for half a day as the director keeps trying to get the perfect take,” said Liu recenly.
1.In the first paragraph, the photographer commented on Liu’s .
A.beauty B.talent as an actress
C.promising future D.special character
2.What does the underlined word “aired” probably mean?
A.Flown. B.Broadcast. C.Published. D.Recorded.
3.From Yang Mingwei, we learned that he meant Liu Yifei ______.
A.worked hard when playing Wang Yuyan
B.is more beautiful than Wang Yuyan
C.did a good job in the playing Wang Yuyan
D.was very lucky to play Wang Yuyan
4.In which part of a newspaper can you read the above passage?
A.National news. B.Business. C.Advertisement. D.Famous people.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题
卡上将该项涂黑。
The 2009 outbreak of HINI is a new kind of influenza virus, commonly referred to as “swine flu”. It is thought to be a break of four known kinds of influenza. A virus subtype H1N1: one endedmic(流行病) in humans, one endemic in birds, and two endemic in pigs (swine). The source of the outbreak in humans is still unknown, but cases were first discovered in the U.S. and soon after in Mexico.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)，it is not yet clear how serious this new virus actually is compared with other influenza viruses, although on May 26 they stated that new cases in the U.S. have probably reached the hightest point, and most cases have so far been mild relative to “seasonal flus”. But because this is a new virus, most people will not have immunity(免疫性) to it, and illness may eventually become more severe and widspread. The H1N1 flu mainly spreads in the same way that regular “seasonal influenza” spreads through the air from coughs and sneezes or touching those infected. It cannot be transmitted from eating cooked pork or by being in close contact with pigs.
As yet there is no vaccine(疫苗) available to prevent infection although companies are in the planning stages for having one available later this year. But there is concern that the virus could vary again over the coming months, leading to a new and potentially more dangerous flu outbreak later in the year, and a vaccine that will be less effective in preventing its spread.
As of May 27, the virus had spread to more than 50 countries; however, over 80% of reported deaths have taken place in Mexico. According to the CDC, the fact that the flu’s infection activity is now monitored more closely may help explain why more flu cases than normal are being recorded in Mexico, the United States and other countries.
1. The 2009 outbreak of H1N1 is thought to .
A.be concerned with four endmics
B.have come from the virus from pigs
C.occur because of unknown virus in Mexico
D.be caused because of people without immunity
2.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ______.
A.most people won’t be infected with the flu
B.the H1N1 will not be too mild to cause many deaths in the world
C.the present situation allows of no optimist
D.H1N1 can be transmitted by touching pigs
3.To make people worried more is that .
A.no effective vaccine can prevent the virus from spreading
B.the virus will mutate in the following months
C.a seasonal influenza will break out
D.the newly-developed vaccine will lose effectiveness
4.From the passage we can learn that .
A.every country is watching closely the spreading of the H1N1
B.more than one-fourth of the deaths from the H1N1 are in Mexico
C.only the United States and Mexico recorded the cased of influenza
D.effective medicine has been produced to cure the H1N1
Win a trip to the OREGON COAST-Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. Build the biggest sand castle on the beach. Search tide pools for sea life. Watch the bright orange sunset over the ocean. Whether you’ve been to the Pacific Ocean before or have only closed your eyes and imagined it, we want to know how you would explore the Oregon Coast if you had the chance to go this summer.
JUDGING
1. Clear relationship between the Essay and the Drawing 40%
2. Creativity and skill in design and form of the Drawing 40%
3. Expression of the passion to draw and explore 10%
4. Journalistic quality, tidy nature and overall quality of the Essay 10%
PRIZE
By entering, you will have the chance to win an all expense paid trip to the ORECON COAST. Activities will include: kite flying, studying beautiful sea creatures, searching for sea life in a boat, science exploration at a science center and roasting over a beach campfire.
Who may enter: The competition is 0pen to kids aged 6 - 14.
TERM : Entries(参赛作品) must be postmarked no later than July 31 ,2009.
How to enter
Surf travelogue. com/kids to download and print out an entry form.
Be sure to mark whether you have or have not been to the Pacific Ocean in山e form. Create a drawing of the Pacific Ocean on a piece of paper using a pen or paints.
Write an article of 100 words or less to explain why you want to go, what you think you would see and what you would explore if you have never been to the Pacific Ocean, or describe your favorite memories from your last visit.
Send to Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. NG1145 14th street NW. Washington D. C. 20036
1. What is the most important for the judging?
A. Whether your article is written in a neat way.
B. The article and the drawing should be closely related.
C.Whether you show your passion to draw and explore
D. The skill in your drawing the map of the AtlanticOcean.
2. If you win the competition, you may____
A. search the beach for sea plants
B. fly a kite on the beach
C. roast the sea creatures over a beach campfire
D. win an all expense paid trip to Washington D. C.
3. What information can you get from the passage?
A. Your article should be 8t least 100 words.
B. Every kid can rake part in the competition.
C. You must send the drawing before June 31, 2009.
D. Your entry form should be downloaded and printed out.
4. You can most probably read the passage in ________.
A．a textbook B．a travel guideC．a newspaperD．a research book
People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals.They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill.Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain.No one knows why they were painted there.Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals.Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.
About 5,000 years ago,the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represrnt the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.
Th
e Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died ,scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories.It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip .But , for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple.The ordinary people could not understand it.
By the year 1,000 BC,people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing . The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system . This was because each sign , or letter, represented only one sound in their language.The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.
These days ,we can write down a story ,or record information, without using pictures.But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing , photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily ,and they can make a story much more interesting.
1.Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because_________.
A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures
B. the painters were animal lovers
C. the painters wanted to show imagination
D. the pictures were thought to be helpful
2. The Greek alphabed was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that__________.
A. the former was easy to write
B. there were fewer signs in the former
C. the former was easy to pronounce
D.each sign stood for only one sound
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.
B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.
C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.
D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.
4. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures_______.
A. should be made comprehensible.
B. should be made interesting.
C. are of much use in our life.
D. have disappeared from our life.
●Tower Bridge is one of London’s most well known landmarks. Opened in 1894, this hydraulic(液压的) bridge can be raised to permit river traffic to pass underneath.
Visitors to Tower Bridge can enjoy wonderful views of the River Thames from the bridge towers. There is also a museum which explain how the bascule bridge operates and discusses its history. Tower Bridge is often incorrectly referred to as London Bridge. London Bridge, however, is a different bridge that is located directly upstream from Tower Bridge.
●The British Museum is a “must do” for all visitors to London England. Treasures from around the world can be found in Britain’s largest and most popular museum. To top it off, admission to the British Museum is free of charge.
Due to the enormous size of the museums, visitors should prioritize what they wish to see. One “must see” is the Rosetta Stone – a key puzzle piece in the recorded history of humankind. The British Museum is located in the Bloomsbury district of London in London WC1.
●Greenwich Park is a beautiful large park located a few kilometers away from the centre of London. Attractions in Greenwich include the Cutty Sark, the Gypsy Moth and the Old Royal Observatory. A painted line at the observatory indicates zero degrees of longitude（经度）.
Many visitors to Greenwich enjoy having their photos taken with one leg in the western hemisphere（半球）and the other in the eastern hemisphere. Greenwich is the place where time was officially tracked – “Greenwich Mean Time” or “GMT”.
Greenwich is located in London SE10.
●The Eurostar high – speed train service provides fast connections between London and Paris and London and Brussels. The Eurostar trains pass through the 32 – mile Channel Tunnel under the English Channel. The tunnel is also known as the “Euro Tunnel” or “Chunnel”. The Channel Tunnel is considered to be one of the world’s great engineering wonders.
Trains leave form the Waterloo Rail Station which is located in south London.
1．If a tourist doesn’t have any money on him, which of the following can he do?
A．Visit Tower Bridge. B．Visit the British Museum.
C．Go around Greenwich Park. D．Take a Eurostar high – speed train.
2．Where can we find the attraction of the Cutty Sark?
A．On London Bridge. B．In the Old Royal Observatory.
C．In the British Museum. D．In Greenwich Park.
3．What can we learn from the passage?
A．Tower Bridge can be raised mainly to let the water flow faster.
B．The British Museum is the largest museum in the world.
C．Greenwich Park is where the western hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere meet.
D．The Eurostar train can take people from London to many cities in Europe directly.
4．In what web page do you think the passage is probably found?
A．International news. B．Study abroad.
C．Tourist Information and Travel Guide. D．Art of architecture.