Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains(平原).
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered. How is bamboo like grass?
| A．It is thin and easy to cut. |
| B．It grows everywhere. |
| C．It grows quickly after its cut short. |
| D．It is short and green. |
The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
| A．short | B．strong |
| C．thick | D．tall |
From the text we know ______.
| A．most people call bamboo plant trees |
| B．a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days |
| C．the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows |
| D．a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago |
Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
| A．Because it is cheap. |
| B．Because it is colorful. |
| C．Because it drills fast. |
| D．Because it is used by Asians. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors. |
| B．Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years. |
| C．Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects(工程). |
| D．Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world. |
Scholars and researchers have tried to discov
er what personality characteristics go along with success in intercultural experiences. Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete. But three characteristics stand out in their reports: patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness of being unclear.
Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm even when things do not go as one wants them to, or hopes they will, or has even been sure they will. Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not.
A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in his own reactions than a humorless person. The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to.
The awareness of being unclear is a more difficult concept than patience or a sense of
humor. Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear to the newcomers. That is, they do not know what is happening in the situation. Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can’t be sure of different people’s roles in what is going on. “It’s like I just got here from the moon,” a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said, “things are just so different here.”The passage mainly tells us.
| A．that it’s not easy to travel abroad |
| B．that humor is very important in communication |
| C．of some characteristics in dealing with foreigners |
D．of three main ways u seful for communicating with foreigners |
According to the passage, what characteristic should be most focused on?
| A．Patience. | B．The awareness of being unclear. |
| C．The sense of humor. | D．Understanding each other. |
“The awareness of being unclear” refers to.
| A．knowing the meaning of an exact situation |
| B．not stating clearly what happens |
| C．realizing the possible misunderstanding in a situation |
| D．being aware of the unclear situation |
According to the writer, the Chinese students is.
| A．a hard-working student | B．recently back from the moon |
| C．interested in the study of moon | D．not used to the culture in America |
Which of the following can best sum up the passage?
| A．It is necessary to learn the language before you go to the country. |
| B．Americans are used to the culture of other countries. |
| C．One needs many characteristics to live in a foreign country. |
| D．To live in a foreign land one should get fully prepared.[ |
Computer programmer David Jones makes 35,000 poun
ds a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a b
ank prepared to let him have a credit card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm puts two new games on the home market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. In spite of his salary, made by inventing new programs within a quite short period of time, the bonus payments and profit-sharing (奖金和分红), he cannot dri
ve a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards.
He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His firm has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose 35,000 pounds sounds a lot but actually that’s not good enough. I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I know what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.”
David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might di
sappear.”Why is David different from other young people of his age?
A．He earns a very hi gh salary. |
B．He has not a job. |
| C．He does not go out much. | D．He lives at home with his parents. |
David’s greatest problem is ____________.
| A．making the banks treat him as a grown-up | B．inventing computer games |
| C．spending his salary | D．learning to drive |
He was hired by the firm because ____________.
| A．he had worked in a computer shop | B．he had written some computer programs |
| C．he worked very hard | D． he had learned to use computers at school |
He left school after taking six 0-levels because ____________.
| A．he did not enjoy school |
| B．he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him |
| C．he was afraid of getting too old to start computing |
| D．he wanted to earn a lot of money |
Why does David think he might retire early?
| A．One has to be young to write computer programs. |
| B．He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire. |
| C．He thinks computer games might not always sell so well. |
| D．He thinks his firm might go bad. |
Willy, a merchant, returned home to his own country from a faraway continent, where he had succeeded making a small fortune by hard work. He found on arriving at the port that all his relatives were having a large party.
He was in such a happy mood and in the joy of the moment, he did not even bother changing his grey flannel（法兰绒）suit which had become a little worn during the trip home.
When he entered the brilliantly lit room, his relatives and friends gave him a rather cold welcome because they had noticed his modest suit and immediately imagined that he had come back a poor man.
A young man who happened to be accompanying him was quite irritated at this and said to Willy, “What a wonderful reception you have received from these people. They have not even the intention of shaking your hand after all these years that you have been away from home.”
“Just wait and see!” whispered Willy, “They will soon change their looks!” Saying this he slipped a precious ring on his finger. All of a sudden the faces of all those present lit up and immediately Willy was surrounded by so many people that he didn’t know what to do. A man shook his hand, a cousin threw his arms around him, and he had so many invitations from the people present that he thought he would be unable to make any other appointments for several years.
“Has this beautiful, precious ring of yours the power of magic people?” asked the young man.
“Oh, no!” replied Willy, “They see in this glittering diamond ring something that makes them think I am rich, and, unfortunately, they place wealth above everything else.”
"What blind people!" 
exclaimed the young man. “It is not the ring that has drawn them to you but their desire for riches. Is it possible to appreciate more a piece of yellow metal surrounded by little stones than the goodness of my Lord? And indeed how foolish are people who place their trust in riches rather than in virtues（美德）!” In what way did Willy go to attend the party held by his relatives and friends?
| A．In such a modest mood. | B．In travel-soiled clothes. |
| C．Wearing a precious jewel. | D．Without being accompanied. |
The word “irritated” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to “______”.
| A．excited | B．pleased | C．angry | D．envious |
According to the young man, people should ______.
| A．give up all the physical wealth | B．appreciate more jewelry than goodness |
| C．observe carefully when judging a person | D．avoid being blinded by the desire for wealth |
Which can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Diamond Ring | B．The Welcome Party |
| C．The Modest Clothes | D．The Joyful Crowd |
Contrary to many people believe, highly intelligent children are not necessarily certain to achieve academic success. In fact, so-called gifted students may fail to do well because they are unusually smart. Ensuring that a gifted child reaches his or her potential requires an understanding of what can go wrong and how to satisfy the unusual learning requirements of extremely bright young people.
One common problem gifted kids face is that they, and those around them, place too much importance on being smart. Such an emphasis can encourage a belief that bright people do not have to work hard to do well. Although smart kids may not need to work hard in the lower grades, whe
n the work is easy, they may struggle and perform poorly when the work gets harder because they do not make the effort to learn. If the academic achievement of highly intelligent children remains below average for an extended period, many teachers will fail to recognize their potential. As a result, such students may not get the e
ncouragement they need, further depressing their desire to learn. They may fall far behind in their schoolwork and even develop behavior problems.
IQ is just one element among many in the recipe for success—Children develop well or struggle in school for a host of reasons apart from IQ. These include motivation and persistence, social competence, and the support of family, educators and friends.
Because highly gifted children solve the most varied thought problems faster and more thoroughly than those with more average talents do, they need additional intellectual stimulation while they wait for the rest of the kids to learn the basics. Two central approaches are used to satisfy the educational needs of such children: acceleration and enrichment. Acceleration means studying material that is part of the standard subjects for older students. Enrichment involves learning information that falls outside the usual subjects.
A child might skip one or more grades as a way of accelerating in school. But being with older children for the entire school day—and perhaps for grade-based extracurricular activities such as sports—can make a child feel inferior in every filed outside of academics. One very bright fourth-grader who had skipped two grades remained far ahead of his classmates i
ntellectually, but as his classmates reached adolescence, his social and other shortcomings became painfully apparent. While acceleration is not an option, or not a good one, enrichment can be. After all, school is not a race but an adventure in learning. As such, the goal is not finishing first but absorbing as much knowledge as possible in the time assigned. Thus, providing opportunities for a child to study topics outside the regular subjects can be at least as valuable as pushing him or her through the required material faster.What is the basic reason for the low academic achievement of highly intelligent children?
| A．Teachers’ failure to recognize their potential. |
| B．Too much emphasis on being intelligent. |
| C．Studying topics outside the regular subjects. |
| D．Lack of encouragement from teachers. |
According to the passage, which of the following belongs to enrichment activities for talented children?
| A．Skipping one of more grades and studying together with older children. |
| B．Learning the same material in the standard subjects for older students. |
C．Learning information that is not included in the regula r subjects. |
| D．Learning how to read with fluency even in their pre-school days. |
Which of the following statements do you think is true about the writer?
| A．He is in favor of enrichment rather than acceleration. |
| B．He is in favor of acceleration rather than enrichment. |
C．He speaks highly of both enrichment and  acceleration. |
| D．He thinks neither enrichment nor acceleration is a good choice. |
In this article, the writer wants to ______.
| A．point out the weaknesses of acceleration for gifted children |
| B．compare acceleration with enrichment for gifted children |
| C．stress the importance of enrichment for gifted children |
| D．discuss how to bring out gifted children’s potential |
Each participating team will receive ______.
| A．1 T-shirt and 1 souvenir | B．4 T-shirts and 1 souvenir |
| C．1 T-shirt and 4 souvenirs | D．4 T-shirts and 4 souvenirs |
A family team which does not complete any task at the activity stations but has completed the hunt at 11.30 a.m. will ______.
| A．not be entitled to any prize | B．be awarded a mystery gift |
| C．be awarded the consolation prize | D．not receive the T -shirts |
The main purpose of the hunt is to ______.
| A．get people to spend time with family | B．attract people to win cash and prizes |
| C．encourage people to appreciate nature | D．promote Wiedken & Kennedy Advertising |