It’s not so surprising that US First Lady Michelle Obama has called Modern Family her favorite TV series. September saw the fun, heartwarming sitcom take home the Best Comedy Series award at the 2013 Emmys. This is the fourth year in a row that the series has won that title. The show features three families who move in and out of each other’s lives. The first one is a typical American family: the working dad Phil, stay-at-home mom Claire and their three children.
The second family is made up of Jay, his young Hispanic wife and her son Manny. Jay, 65, is the father of Claire. He is 30 years older than his wife and everyone mistakes the two for being father and daughter.
The third family is made up of a gay couple, Mitchell and Cameron, and their adopted daughter Lily. Mitchell is Jay’s son.
On Sept 25, the show started its fifth season, in which Claire makes a big change – she returns to work. The other big storylines include Jay’s stepson Manny starting high school and Mitchell and Cameron looking for a primary school for Lily. Will things go right for the three families?
Modern Family has no spies, aliens or vampires (吸血鬼); it’s just about ordinary people. So what has made it such a hit?
According to the Los Angeles Times, its “presentation of contemporary US society” contributes to its success. The show presents what a typical “nuclear family” is like in the US: two parents, a big house and two or three children. When there’s a fight between their kids, Phil wants to be the “cool dad” while traditional mom Claire lives by the saying “an eye for an eye”. She always forces Phil to punish the troublemaker.
The show also touches upon developments in interracial relations in the US by focusing on Hispanic communities. This makes sense, as “by 2040, America will no longer be a majority-white country, with the fastest growth rate among Hispanics…” BBC pointed out.
In addition, according to BBC, 40 percent of Americans say they have a gay friend or relative. By including Mitchell and Cameron, Modern Family reflects the changing status of gay people in the US.
“The US is a melting pot … so the family has come to reflect that diversity.” commented The Hartman Group, a US research firm.Which of the following is TRUE about the characters in Modern Family?
| A．There are always fights between Phil and Claire because of their different ways of raising kids. |
| B．Jay, Claire and Mitchell make up a typical American family. |
| C．Mitchell and Cameron are a gay couple and they adopted a boy. |
| D．Jay and his wife are often not thought of as a couple because their ages are so far apart. |
What’s new in Modern Family’s fifth season?
| A．Lily is entering kindergarten. |
| B．Jay’s grandson Manny starts high school. |
| C．Phil loses his job. |
| D．Claire goes back to work. |
Why is Modern Family so popular?
| A．It reflects current US society. |
| B．It presents what a typical “nuclear family” is like in the US. |
| C．It includes developments in interracial relations in the US. |
| D．It reflects the changing status of gay people in the US. |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the article?
In today’s world, English is the most wildly used language. It is our duty to learn English in the new situation of the reform and opening (改革开放) to the outside world. How can we master the English language ? I’d like to give you some good advice.
First, get interested in it. I enjoy listening to foreign friends talking when I was a child. At the same time I watched the English programme Follow Me on TV. From then on, I kept on learning English. The more I learned, the more progress I made.
Second, practice makes perfect. Many people study English very hard, but they are very shy to speak it in public, for they are afraid of making mistakes. Remember you have to make a mistake before you can correct it. A native English speaker makes mistakes sometimes, too.
Third, the beginners should be encouraged to pay attention to idioms. The English language has many idioms. For example, you should say “ He is as strong as a cow.” The writer wants to tell us ____________.
| A．the importance of learning English |
| B．the new situation of the reform and opening to the outside world |
| C．some good ideas on how to master English |
| D．the wide use of the English language |
If we want to learn English, we must first __________.
| A．show interest in it | B．enjoy listening to it |
| C．watch English programmes on TV | D．practice speaking it |
When we are learning English, ____________.
| A．remember the mistakes and correct them | B．try not to make any mistakes |
| C．avoid mistakes before making them | D．don’t be afraid of making mistakes |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 means “_______________.”
| A．Remember to make a mistake before you can correct it |
| B．You are sure to make a mistake before you can correct it |
| C．Remember you have to make a mistake and then correct it |
| D．You’ll make a mistake after you can correct it |
Welcome to our school. You can do a lot of things here. Come and join us.
| Timetable |
|
| Sunday 8:30---11:30 Personal（个人的） Inventions（发明） You can see many inventions by the students; you may also bring your own inventions. |
Monday 19:00---21:00 Space and Man Dr. Thomas West If you want to know more about the universe(宇宙). |
| Wednesday 19:30---21:00 Modern Medicine Mrs. Lucy Green Would you like to know medical science? |
Friday 18:30---21:00 Computer Science Mr. Harry Morison from Harvard University（哈佛大学） Learn to use Windows XP. |
You may have a chance to introduce your inventions（发明） on _________.
| A．Sunday | B．Monday | C．Wednesday | D．Friday |
The person who teaches Computer Science is from___________.
| A．Canada | B．Australia | C．New Zealand | D．America |
You may learn something about a disease(疾病) called SARS from __________.
| A．Dr. West | B．Mr. Morison | C．Mrs. Green | D．Mr. Thomas |
If you want to learn something about satellites(卫星), you can go to the class from______.
| A．8:30 to 11:30 on Sunday | B．19:00 to 21:00 on Monday |
| C．19:30 to 21:00 on Wednesday | D．18:30 to 21:00 on Friday |
Of all the things we eat and drink, water is the most important. Not all people realize this, but it is quite true. The human body can live without food for a long time, but two or three days without water usually result in death.
Many people do not understand how much water the human body needs, but many people do not drink enough, especially in the hot weather. Most people drink when they are thirsty but often need more water after exercises.
65 to 70 percent of the human body is water. Water is important in several different ways. Most people need five to seven liters（升） of water every day, but we needn’t drink this amount(量) because a lot comes from the food we have. If we don’t have enough water, however, we will feel tired and many become ill. Do you know what the best drink is? Yes, you are right. Cool water!When do we need more water?________
| A．In cold weather or after exercises. |
| B．In hot weather or after exercises. |
| C．Before breakfast, lunch and supper. |
| D．When we feel tired or become ill. |
How much water are there in the human body?_________
| A．About three fourths of the human body is water. |
| B．Nearly a half of the human body is water. |
| C．Less than a half of the human body is water. |
| D．Almost one fourth of the human body is water. |
Must most people drink five liters（升）of water every day?_______
| A．Yes, because water is the most important |
| B．No, because what we eat contains（包含）water |
| C．Yes, because we can’t live without water |
| D．No, because we are not thirsty |
Which of the following is not right?_________
| A．Cool water is the best drink. |
| B．Few people understand how much water the human body needs. |
| C．All the people don’t realize water is the most important. |
| D．When we feel tired or become ill, we never need any water. |
When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was badly crippled (跛脚), and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare, I would be ashamed of the unwanted attention. If ever noticed or bothered, he never let on.
It was difficult to walk together—and because of that, we didn’t say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, “You set the pace. I will try to follow you.”
Our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. He went to work sick, and even in bad weather. He almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. It was a matter of pride for him.
When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help... Such times my sister or I would pull him through the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y., on a child’s sleigh to the subway entrance. Once there, he would try to grasp handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice free. In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in Brooklyn on his way home.
When I think of it now, I am surprised at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to suffer from shame and disability. And I am also surprised at how he did it—without bitterness or complaint.
He never talked about himself as an object of pity, not did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a “good heart”, and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.
Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don’t know exactly what a “good heart” is. But I know the times I don’t have one myself.
He has been away for many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about my troubles, when I am envious of another’s good fortune, when I don’t have a “good heart”.How did the man treat his father when he was young?
| A．He helped his father happily. | B．He never helped his father. |
| C．He helped his father, but not very happily. | D．He only helped his father take a walk after supper. |
As a disabled man, his father____.
| A．didn’t work very hard | B．didn’t go to work from time to time |
| C．hated those who had good fortune | D．was happy and satisfied, and never lost hope |
What does the underlined word “reluctance” mean in the article? It means ____.
| A．anger | B．sadness | C．happiness | D．unwillingness |
How did the father get to work usually?
| A．By subway. | B．By bus. | C．By wheelchair. | D．By bike |
The income gap between China's rural and urban residents(居民) has continued to widen during the past few years in spite of rapidly rising rural incomes, Agricultural Minister Sun Zhengcai said here on Wednesday.
The income ratio(比率) between urban and rural residents was 3.28:1 in 2006, against 3.23:1 in 2003, said Sun in his report on the promotion of building a new countryside in 2007. Sun also said the net income of rural residents in different regions also varied widely. The income gap is only one of several problems in rural areas, according to Sun's report. While listing the achievements in rural areas in recent years, Sun believed that rural development still followed behind urban development.
"We have bigger pressure to ensure the supply of major agricultural products such as grain," he said. "China's urbanization(都市化) has been speeded up and more rural residents have gone to urban areas," he said.
"In this case, more agricultural producers become farm produce consumers, which created more pressure for supply," he said.
Another problem facing China's agricultural development is inadequate application of science and technology.
"Only 30 percent of scientific and technological achievements have been applied to agricultural production, which is 40 percentage points lower than developed countries," he said.
Despite increased government spending in rural areas, the infrastructure(基础下部组织) is still poor and easily hit by disasters.
According to Sun, the government spent 431.8 billion yuan ($59.15 billion) on agriculture, rural areas and farmers this year, an increase of 80.1 billion yuan over the previous year.
China set aside 11.38 billion yuan to promote a new rural cooperative medical care system and 27.98 billion yuan to support the new compulsory education mechanism in rural area to ensure that all citizens shared the fruits of China's reform and opening-up, Sun said.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Because of the rapidly rising rural incomes, the income gap between China's rural and urban residents will disappear this year. |
| B．The net income of rural residents in different regions is the same. |
| C．The government has taken measures to develop the economy in the rural areas. |
| D．Because of the rapidly rising rural incomes, the supply of major agricultural products is enough. |
Can you infer the meaning of the underlined words in paragraph 5?
| A．be made full use of | B．be made little use of | C．be not made full use of | D．be made good use of |
How much is spent on agriculture, rural areas and farmers the previous year?
| A．431.8 billion yuan | B．511.9 billion yuan | C．351.7 billion yuan | D．80.1 billion yuan |
Which is NOT the problem in rural areas?
| A．The income gap | B．The inadequate application of science and technology |
| C．The supply of major agricultural products | D．China's urbanization |