China is having such a huge influence on the United States that many Americans are struggling to learn the Chinese language in a bid to keep competitive.
“Interest in learning Chinese among American youth and their parents has grown quickly in the past five years,” said Vivien Stewart, vice president at the Asia Society. China’s quick rise to near-superpower and its effects politically, economically and culturally are driving the American’s interest to learn the language, experts say. From kindergartens to high schools, studies by the Asia Society show, there is a “rapid rise” in interest among pupils to study the Chinese language. “The Chinese rich cultural traditions and blossoming economy mean that it is now important for all of our students to be better prepared,” said Michael Levine, Asia Society's executive director of education. A survey found that 2,400 high schools - an unbelievably high number - would be interested in offering the Advanced Placement (AP) courses in Chinese language and culture when the courses become available in 2016.
China, the world’s most popular nation, is important to the United States because it is a leading trader, consumer and investor. Its political influence is also rising across the world. It has replaced the United States as the world’s largest consumer and could become the second largest economy in the world, after the United States, in the next two to three decades.
Even though the US State Department has described the Chinese language “critical” to national prosperity and security, “the current facilities to support recruitment(招募) of students and teachers as well as the growth of high quality programs is terribly not enough,” an Asia Society study says. The Society has set an aim of having at least five percent of American high school students learning Chinese by 2015.
“Millions of Chinese are learning English, but only 24,000 Americans are learning Chinese,” said Andrew Corcoran of the San Francisco-based Chinese American International School. The most popular languages after English in US schools at present are Spanish and French while Japanese is the most popular Asian language.The underlined word blossoming (Para. 2)means______.
| A．weak | B．old | C．developing | D．developed |
Why do more and more Americans begin to learn the Chinese language?
| A．To be a bridge between the two big countries. |
| B．To keep competitive. |
| C．Because they are always interested in it. |
| D．To gain advantage in trade. |
What problems is the US faced with when it comes to learning Chinese?
| A．A lack in current facilities to support recruitment of students and teachers and programs. |
| B．Not many people want to learn foreign languages. |
| C．The language is rather difficult compared with English. |
| D．Too many Chinese are learning English. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Foreign Language Learning |
| B．Danger from China |
| C．The Chinese Language gets More Popular |
| D．Difficulties in Learning the Chinese Language. |
第二部分：阅读理解（共20小题。每小题3分，共60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。
A
We thought we had it all---a beautiful house, three healthy children and one more on the way,
two cars, a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment---and we loved it. Then, the market turned and my husband’s job at a construction company was gone. The company was closing down for good.
We both started looking for jobs right away, but there weren’t any to be found. With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through. The more we pulled together, the closer we got. I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn’t felt in years.
That’s why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for our present situation. I continually asked him to stop, but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job.
Finally, one afternoon I pulled him aside and said, “We have four healthy children and each other. That’s what’s important. That makes you a rich man.”
“ But what if we lose the house? They’ll hate me—you’ll hate me,” he replied.
I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye. “No matter where we live I will be happy –as long as I have you.” I smiled again. In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said “I do”.
I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed. He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn’t for quite some time. It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family.
We are still struggling for out better life, but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can’t buy and no one can take away from us.
36．The underlined sentence in the second paragraph means that________.
A．they became closer as they struggled together
B．they hoped to find jobs in the same company
C．neither of them had the courage to ace difficulty
D．they were trying to make their relationship closer
37．We can learn from the passage that________.
A．they both found good jobs at last.
B．both of them were worried about joblessness.
C．her husband was to blame for the unemployment
D．they didn’t love each other when they got married
38．Which of the following can best describe their present life?
A．Bitter but easy. B．Comfortable and happy.
C．Hard but warm. D．Well-off and relaxing.
39．The best title of the passage might be________ .
A．We Have It All B．We Find It Again
C．A Perfect Couple D．A Hard Time
第二部分阅读理解
（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节阅读下列短文，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。
A
One night, Mrs. Riley, an elderly woman, was walking along a dark London street. She was carrying her handbag in one hand and a plastic carrier bag in the other. There was nobody else in the street except two youths. They were standing in a dark shop doorway. One of them was very tall with fail hair, the other was short and fat with a beard.
The youths waited for a few moments, and then ran quickly and quietly towards Mrs. Riley. The tall youth held her from behind while the other youth tried to seize her handbag.
Suddenly, Mrs. Riley threw the tall youth over her shoulder. He crashed into the other youth and they both landed on the ground. Without speaking, Mrs. Riley struck both of them on the head with her handbag and walked calmly away.
The two surprised youths were still sitting on the ground when Mrs. Riley crossed the street towards a door with a lighted sign above it. Mrs. Riley paused, turned round, smiled at the youths and walked into the South West London Judo（柔道）Club.The two youths stood in a dark shop doorway because _____.
| A．they had nothing to do |
| B．they were homeless |
| C．they meant to rob somebody |
| D．they were guarding the shop |
What did Mrs. Riley do to the two youths?
| A．She hurt them seriously. |
| B．She taught them a lesson. |
| C．She reported them to the police. |
| D．She sent them to a judo club. |
The story tells about an elderly woman who _____.
| A．often went shopping at night |
| B．was brave and wise |
| C．worked in a shopping center |
| D．had a skill of self–defense |
第二部分阅读理解
（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节阅读下列短文，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。
A
One night, Mrs. Riley, an elderly woman, was walking along a dark London street. She was carrying her handbag in one hand and a plastic carrier bag in the other. There was nobody else in the street except two youths. They were standing in a dark shop doorway. One of them was very tall with fail hair, the other was short and fat with a beard.
The youths waited for a few moments, and then ran quickly and quietly towards Mrs. Riley. The tall youth held her from behind while the other youth tried to seize her handbag.
Suddenly, Mrs. Riley threw the tall youth over her shoulder. He crashed into the other youth and they both landed on the ground. Without speaking, Mrs. Riley struck both of them on the head with her handbag and walked calmly away.
The two surprised youths were still sitting on the ground when Mrs. Riley crossed the street towards a door with a lighted sign above it. Mrs. Riley paused, turned round, smiled at the youths and walked into the South West London Judo（柔道）Club.The two youths stood in a dark shop doorway because _____.
| A．they had nothing to do | B．they were homeless |
| C．they meant to rob somebody | D．they were guarding the shop |
What did Mrs. Riley do to the two youths?
| A．She hurt them seriously. | B．She taught them a lesson. |
| C．She reported them to the police. | D．She sent them to a judo club. |
The story tells about an elderly woman who _____.
| A．often went shopping at night | B．was brave and wise |
| C．worked in a shopping center | D．had a skill of self–defense |
第二部分阅读理解
（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节阅读下列短文，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。
A
One night, Mrs. Riley, an elderly woman, was walking along a dark London street. She was carrying her handbag in one hand and a plastic carrier bag in the other. There was nobody else in the street except two youths. They were standing in a dark shop doorway. One of them was very tall with fail hair, the other was short and fat with a beard.
The youths waited for a few moments, and then ran quickly and quietly towards Mrs. Riley. The tall youth held her from behind while the other youth tried to seize her handbag.
Suddenly, Mrs. Riley threw the tall youth over her shoulder. He crashed into the other youth and they both landed on the ground. Without speaking, Mrs. Riley struck both of them on the head with her handbag and walked calmly away.
The two surprised youths were still sitting on the ground when Mrs. Riley crossed the street towards a door with a lighted sign above it. Mrs. Riley paused, turned round, smiled at the youths and walked into the South West London Judo（柔道）Club.The two youths stood in a dark shop doorway because _____.
| A．they had nothing to do | B．they were homeless |
| C．they meant to rob somebody | D．they were guarding the shop |
What did Mrs. Riley do to the two youths?
| A．She hurt them seriously. | B．She taught them a lesson. |
| C．She reported them to the police. | D．She sent them to a judo club. |
4The story tells about an elderly woman who _____.
| A．often went shopping at night | B．was brave and wise |
| C．worked in a shopping center | D．had a skill of self–defense |
Ship tourism to Antarctica is on the rise: More than 35,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctic this summer. In 1992-1993, 6,750 visited Antarctica, according to the Antarctica Treaty. All of this tourism, however, is putting both tourists and the environment in great danger.
Among the tourist ships that visit the continent, the Explorer, a Canadian ship, was one of the first. Put to use in 1969, it was built to carry tourists to Antarctica. Last week, however, it became the first commercial passenger ship to sink beneath the waters. Fortunately, all of the passengers and crew members were rescued from the ship. However, the sunken ship endangered the Antarctic’s fragile(脆弱的) environment. The ship was estimated to be holding 48,000 gallons of fuel.
The accident was not unexpected. Both the US and UK had warned a conference of the Antarctic Treaty member countries in May that the tourism situation in this area was a potential disaster. The US said in a paper, people “should take a hard look at tourism issues now, especially those related to ship safety.” Although the Antarctic seas are relatively(相对地) calm, floating ice causes a potential threat to ships. The owner of the Explorer blamed the sinking on a fist-like hole in the ship created by ice.
Many of the other large ships now visiting Antarctica are not designed especially against thick ice. Such ships generally can only come to the continent in summer. But the tourist rush is pushing ships into dangerous situations. “The increasing number of ships operating in Antarctic means that the ship are under great pressure to get there in time for the key visiting sites,” the British government wrote in a paper at the meeting of member countries.
As a natural frontier, Antarctica is in a messy legal situation. There are no obvious answers as to who is responsible for dealing with the threat that tourist may cause to human life and the environment.
There is no coast guard for Antarctica. Do we want it to become Disneyland, or do we need some controls?Which of the following is true according to this passage?
| A．Antarctica tourism has a history of about 17 years |
| B．The number of tourists to the Antarctic is over 5 times as large as that of 17 years ago. |
| C．The tourism boom has caused holes in the floating ice in the Antarctic. |
| D．The Antarctica Treaty is responsible for the problem. |
The sinking of the Explorer____________.
| A．led to a conference about the tourism situation in the Antarctic. |
| B．was caused by the rough seas |
| C．had been predicted |
| D．did harm to the Antarctic. |
It can be inferred from the passage that_________.
| A．a Disneyland will be built in the Antarctic |
| B．fewer people are visiting the Antarctic because of the warnings given |
| C．not all the ships are suitable to go to the Antarctic |
| D．some ships take risks visiting the Antarctic in other seasons rather than in summer |
In this passage, the writer suggests that___________.
| A．people had better not make a tour of the Antarctic |
| B．ships to the Antarctic should be built strong enough |
| C．there should be legal controls over tourism in the Antarctic |
| D．the Antarctic’s environment is fragile |
What attitude does the writer hold towards Antarctic tourism?
| A．Supportive. | B．Positive. | C．Indifferent. | D．Anxious. |