The Festival of Cultures
August 11 – 14
City Park
The Festival of Cultures is an annual event to celebrate the wide range of cultures found in our great state. People representing 40 cultural groups will share their traditions and customs. Here are just a few of the festival's many activities.
Crafts: See the fine art of basket weaving from Vietnam and Zimbabewe. Watch the delicate art of making paper umbrellas from Thailand and the decorative craft of paper picado, or paper cutting, from Mexico. All craft demonstrations provide a firsthand view of how things are made. You will appreciate the process involved in making these products.
Music and Dance: Experience musical instruments that you have never heard before. Listen to the music of a sho from Japan, a bull-roarer from Australia, a sitar from India, and a chakay from Tailand. You will also be entertained by folk dances from around the world, such as the troika from Russia and the mayim mayim from Israel. From 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on August 14, special folk-dancing classes for children will be offered. Children ranging in age from 6 – 8 can learn the kinderpolka from Germany. Children ranging in age from 9 – 12 can learn the raspa from Mexico.
Storytelling: Listen for hours as professional storytellers charm you with captivating tales. Fables, folktales, and ballads from various countries will be told. By popular demand, Gwendolyn Washington, a famous African American storyteller, is back.
Food: Enjoy irresistible foods from other countries, such as gyros from Greece, seafood paella from Spain, crepes from France, and tandoori chicken from India. These tasty dishes will be difficult to pass up.
The festival of Cultures is sponsored by the World Marketplace. For more information about the festival, call (800) 555 – 0199.In the festival, you are most likely to see the art of making _______.
| A．paper. | B．umbrellas. |
| C．bamboo beds. | D．flower vases. |
Which of these is a dance from Germany?
| A．The troika. | B．The raspa. |
| C．The kinderpolka. | D．The mayim mayim |
The underlined word “irresistible” means ________.
| A．in large quantities | B．with natural tastes |
| C．not able to be refused | D．hot but delicious |
For a family with children aged 6—12, which day would be the best bargain for visiting the festival?
| A．August 11 | B．August 12 |
| C．August 13 | D．August 14 |
Rowena and Billy Wrangler are model high school students. They study hard and do extremely well on achievement tests. And next year，Rowena will be attending Harvard University．Billy，her younger brother，hopes to go to Cornell．What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is that they don't go to school．In fact，they've never been to school．Since kindergarten，they've studied at home．Like many of more than one million people who receive home schooling in the United States, they feel as if they've gotten a good education．
The home-schooling trend began in the U.S．in the 1980s with parents keeping their children out of public schools so they could provide religious education at home. Today，as the home-schooling trend continues to grow，parents are more likely to consider home schooling as an option because they believe schools don't do a very good job of teaching and are occasionally dangerous places．But can parents really do a better job?
The answer in many cases is yes．In many studies，students taught at home ranked average or above average when compared to students who went to public schools．More importantly，these students were often more self-directed and have a greater depth of knowledge．They were well prepared for academic challenges．
One such student，Robert Conrad, now a sophomore at university, claims he really learned how to study and schedule his time during his eight years of home schooling．Still, not every student is as successful as Robert．“For every home-schooling success story，there are an equal number of failures．”states Henry Lipscomb，an educational researcher．“There are just so many disadvantages that students taught at home have to overcome．”For example，they have fewer chances to get in touch with others of their own age．Consequently，they sometimes lack the usual social skills．“No matter what，though，”states Lipscomb，“home-schooling is a growing trend．I think we'll be seeing more and more of this．”Compared with other students, Rowena and Billy are most different in the fact that.
| A．they preferred to teach themselves |
| B．they do extremely well on achievement tests |
| C．they don't go to school as other teenagers |
| D．they feel they have gotten a good education |
．At first in the 1980s parents gave home-schooling to children for.
| A．better education | B．religious education | C．safety | D．good behavior |
．According to the article, what is NOT the advantage of being educated at home?
| A．Home is a safer place for children． |
| B．Students taught at home are more self-directed． |
| C．Students taught at home have a greater depth of knowledge． |
| D．Students taught at home can go to good universities． |
．The writer thinks.
| A．parents can do a better job than schools |
| B．home-schooling will be more and more useful |
| C．home-schooling is good in some aspects |
| D．students taught at home make greater achievements |
．The best title of this text might be.
| A．Home-schooling：A Growing Trend |
| B．Home-schooling：A Better Choice |
| C．Home-schooling：A Way to Success |
| D．Home-schooling：A New Method of Education |
There are stories about two U．S . presidents，Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren，which attempt to explain the American English term OK．We don’t know if either story is true，but they are both interesting．
The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education．In fact，he had difficulty reading and writing．When important papers came to Jackson，he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said．If he approved of a paper, he would write “all correct”on it．The problem was that he didn’t know how to spell．So what he really wrote was “ol korekt”．After a while，he shortened that term to “OK”．
The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born，Kinderhook，New York．Van Buren’s friends organized a club to help him become President .They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club，and anyone who supported Van Buren was called“OK”．．The author __________.
| A．believes both of the stories |
| B．doesn’t believe a word of the stories |
| C．is not sure whether the stories are true |
| D．is telling the stories just for fun |
According to the passage，President Jackson_____________.
| A．couldn’t draw up any documents at all |
| B．didn’t like to read important papers by himself |
| C．often had his assistants sign documents for him |
| D．wasn’t good at reading，writing or spelling |
．According to the first story, the term “OK”_______________.
| A．was approved of by President Jackson |
| B．was the title of some Official documents |
| C．was first used by President Jackson |
| D．was an old way to spell “all correct” |
.According to the second story，the term “K”_____________.
| A．was the short way to say“ld Kinderhook Club” |
| B．meant the place where President Van Buren was born |
| C．was the name of Van Buren’s club |
| D．was used to call Van Buren’s supporters in the election |
．According to the second story, the term “OK” was first used ______________
| A．by Van Buren |
| B．in a presidential election |
| C．to organize the Old Kinderhook Club |
| D．by the members of the “ld Kinderhook Club” |
My newly-rented small apartment was far away from the centre of London and it was becoming essential for me to find a job, so finally I spent a whole morning getting to town and putting my name down to be considered by London Transport for a job on the underground. They were looking for guards, not drivers. This suited me. I couldn’t drive a car but thought that I could probably guard a train, and perhaps continue to write my poems between stations. The writers Keats and Chekhov had been doctors. T.S. Eliot had worked in a bank and Wallace Stevens for an insurance company. I’d be a subway guard. I could see myself being cheerful, useful, a good man in a crisis（危机）. Obviously I’d be overqualified but I was willing to forget about that in return for a steady income and travel privileges — those being particularly welcome to someone living a long way from the city centre.
The next day I sat down, with almost a hundred other candidates, for the intelligence test. I must have done all right because after about half an hour’s wait I was sent into another room for a psychological test. This time there were only about fifty candidates. The interviewer sat at a desk. Candidates were signaled forward to occupy the seat opposite him when the previous occupant had been dismissed, after a greater or shorter time. Obviously the long interviews were the more successful ones. Some of the interviews were as short as five minutes. Mine was the only one that lasted a minute and a half.
I can remember the questions now: “Why did you leave your last job?” “Why did you leave your job before that?” “And the one before that?” I can’t recall my answers, except that they were short at first and grew progressively shorter. His closing statement, I thought, revealed（显示） a lack of sensitivity which helped to explain why as a psychologist, he had risen no higher than the underground railway. “You’ve failed the psychological test and we are unable to offer you a position.”
Failing to get that job was my low point. Or so I thought, believing that the work was easy. Actually, such jobs — being a postman is another one I still desire — demand exactly the sort of elementary yet responsible awareness that the habitual dreamer is least qualified to give. But I was still far short of full self-understanding. I was also short of cash.．The writer applied for the job chiefly because _________.
| A．he wanted to work in the centre of London |
| B．he could no longer afford to live without one |
| C．he was not interested in any other available job |
| D．he had received some suitable training |
．The writer thought he was overqualified for the job because _________.
| A．he often traveled underground | B．he had written many poems |
| C．he could deal with difficult situations | D．he had worked in a company |
．The length of his interview meant that _________.
| A．he was not going to be offered the job |
| B．he had not done well in the intelligence test |
| C．he did not like the interviewer at all |
| D．he had little work experience to talk about |
．What does the writer realize now that he did not realize then?
| A．How unpleasant ordinary jobs can be. |
| B．How difficult it is to be a poet. |
| C．How unsuitable he was for the job. |
| D．How badly he did in the interview. |
．What’s the writer’s opinion of the psychologist?
| A．He was very aggressive（有进取心的）. | B．He was unhappy with his job. |
| C．He was quite inefficient. | D．He was rather unsympathetic. |
Against the supposition that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.
This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over the next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.
This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.
Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧） levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.
“We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in the amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicted, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.．According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may __________.
| A．result in a warming climate |
| B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently |
| C．lead to a longer fire season |
| D．protect the forests and the environment there |
．The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT __________.
| A．large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere |
| B．the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase |
| C．snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space |
| D．ashes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun |
．Earlier studies about northern forest fires __________.
| A．analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate |
| B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere |
| C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment |
| D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming |
．The underlined phrase “soak up” in the last paragraph most probably means __________.
| A．released | B．absorbed | C．created | D．distributed |
．From the passage we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may ____.
| A．warm the climate as the supposition goes |
| B．allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate |
| C．destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice |
| D．help to gain more energy rather than release more energy |
Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working harder than ever before in France. In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing. Offices, shops, and factories are discovering the great efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunch rooms. In almost all lines of work emphasis now falls on ever increasing output. Thus the “typical” Frenchman produces more, earns more, and buys more consumer goods than his counterpart of only a generation ago. He gains in creature comfort and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness, or individuality.
Some say that France has been Americanized. This is because the United States is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so called Americanization of France has its critics. They fear that “assembly line life” will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely (but less productive) old French style. What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life to joy in the smell of a freshly picked apple, a stroll by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local café?
Since the late 1950s life in France has indeed taken on qualities of rush, tension, and the pursuit of material gain. Some of the strongest critics of the new way of life are the young, especially university students. They are concerned with the future, and they fear that France is threatened by the triumph of this competitive, goods-oriented culture. Occasionally, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence.
In spite of the critics, however, countless Frenchmen are committed to keeping France in the forefront of the modern economic world. They find that the present life brings more rewards, conveniences, and pleasures than that of the past. They believe that a modern, industrial France is preferable to the old.Which of the following is a feature of the old French way of life?
| A．Leisure, elegance, and efficiency |
| B．Elegance, efficiency, and taste |
| C．Leisure, elegance, and taste |
| D．Elegance, efficiency, and leisure |
Which of the following is NOT true about Frenchmen?
| A．Many of them prefer the modern life style. |
| B．They actually enjoy working at the assembly line. |
| C．They are more concerned with money than before. |
| D．They are more competitive than the old generation. |
The passage suggests that _________.
| A．in pursuing material gains the French are suffering losses elsewhere |
| B．it’s now unlikely to see a Frenchman enjoying a stroll by the river |
| C．the French are fed up with the smell of freshly picked apples |
| D．great changes have occurred in the life style of all Frenchmen |
Which of the following is true about the critics?
| A．Critics are greater in number than people enjoying the new way of life. |
| B．Students critics are greater in number than critics in other fields. |
| C．Students critics have, on occasion, resorted to violent means against the trend. |
| D．Critics are concerned solely with the present and not the future. |
Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
| A．Changes in the French Way of Life |
| B．Criticism of the New Life Style |
| C．The Americanization of France |
| D．Features of the New Way of Life |