As China’s influence grows, many students in the US are working hard to learn Chinese. Parents and education experts (专家) in the US think Chinese speakers may have greater chances.
The number of schools that teach Chinese has grown. Ten years ago, only about 300 schools in the US had Chinese lessons. Today, about 1,600 schools teach Chinese.
Lomond Elementary School (小学) in Ohio is one of them. Each week, all students in grades one through five have a one-hour Chinese class. They learn the language through songs, games and lots of talking.
“We’re trying to make students interested in the language,” teacher James told Times for Kids. “We think it’s really important that all children receive these lessons,” he says. “We’d like to do even more.”
“Schools are looking to the future,” says Nancy, a US education expert. “China is becoming a really powerful country. Young people should not only know the language but understand the culture.” Students may not be thinking about the future, but they think learning Chinese language and culture is fun.
“We wish we could go to China one day.” said Karl and his classmate, Walt, from Miami.
More than 40 million foreigners around the world are studying Chinese. About 50,000 people in the US are learning the language. Chinese has become the second most spoken foreign language in the US after Spanish.At present, many American students are learning Chinese because________.
| A．they wish to work in China |
| B．they would like to travel all over China |
| C．it is the most useful language in the world |
| D．China’s influence grows |
_______is an American education expert.
| A．James | B．Nancy | C．Karl | D．Walt |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．students are looking to the future |
| B．there are more Spanish people than Chinese in the US |
| C．Chinese is becoming popular in the US |
| D．Chinese is the most popular foreign language in the US |
Are you in a bad mood? Don’t worry! According to a new Australian study, a bad mood can actually be good for you. The study showed that being sad could help people to judge others more correctly and was also good for the memory.
The study was carried out by Professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales.“People in a bad mood paid more attention to the people and things around them than happy people .Happy people were more likely to believe anything they were told,”said Forgas
For the study, Forgas and his team did a lot of experiments. During the experiments, they made the participants(参加者) feel happy or sad by watching films and thinking about good or bad things of the past.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge whether some wrong things were true or not. The results showed that people in a bad mood were less likely to believe that these things were true.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make mistakes when they were asked to remember the things that they saw.
The study also showed that sad people were better at talking about their thoughts in written style. In fact, the study said that a slightly bad mood could help to make communication more successful.The study was completed by _______________.
| A．sad participants | B．happy participants |
| C．Professor Joseph Forgas | D．Forgas’ friends |
Being sad is good for the following except ______________.
| A．one’s judgment | B．one’s diet |
| C．one’s memory | D．one’s communication |
. How did they make the participants feel happy or sad during the experiments?
| A．By asking and answering questions. |
| B．By talking about their good or bad things of the past. |
| C．By paying more attention to the people around them. |
| D．By watching films and thinking about good or bad things of the past. |
According to the fourth paragraph, they asked the participants to ______________.
| A．judge if some wrong things were true or not |
| B．remember the things that they saw |
| C．write down their thoughts |
| D．make communication with others |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Happy people were less likely to believe anything they were told. |
| B．Happy people could judge others more correctly. |
| C．Sad people were less likely to make mistakes when they remembered the things they saw. |
| D．Sad people did worse in talking about their thoughts in written style. |
When I was ten, my sisters and I were amazed at our neighbor’s Christmas tree. We returned home from their house and decided that we must have one of our own. In our house we never had enough money for a Christmas tree.
In fact, we insisted so much that my father had no choice but to agree. “Yes!” he finally said.“This year we will have a Christmas tree.” Our mouths dropped open at the thought of having our own tree. Then Dad said,“I’ll do it myself.”
We followed him around the house as he gathered up the materials he would need, We all sat close to him, carefully watching everything he did. He passed the thread around the first nail on the corner of a box, then back down to the second nail on the box, and up again to the nail, until right there before our eyes a green Christmas tree began to take shape. He carefully did the same with all of the 50 nails in the box and when he had finished, he said,“Now you can decorate it.”
I don’t remember where the decorations came from, but they were red and small and to us they just looked so beautiful and perfect for our tree. When we finished decorating it, we proudly invited all our friends over to see our Christmas tree. We were so happy, not only because it looked so pretty, but because my father had made it himself. It truly was the most beautiful Christmas tree we had ever seen.
Years later, things got better and Dad was able to buy a proper Christmas tree which we would happily decorate. However, my sisters and I will never forget the night when we got our first Christmas tree.What do we know about the writer?
| A．She had no friends at school. |
| B．She never went to her neighbor’s home. |
| C．She lived a hard life when she was young. |
| D．She seldom saw beautiful green trees. |
How did the writer and her sisters feel when their father decided to make a Christmas tree?
| A．Excited | B．Worried |
| C．Bored | D．Disappointed |
The third paragraph mainly describes__________.
| A．how the Christmas tree was decorated |
| B．how the Christmas tree was bought |
| C．how the Christmas tree was found |
| D．how the Christmas tree was made |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A brave act by a happy family | B．A father’s love for his children |
| C．A picture of large families | D．An act of kindness |
The Chinese meaning of the underlined word”decoration” is_______.
A.装饰 B.讨论
C决定 D.捐赠
Today, I felt terrible.My head was full ofproblems andconfusion（暴乱）.I decided to take a walk even though I didn't know where to go.The most special thing happened when I was out forthis walk.
I saw an old man sitting on a chair. He was a seller of second-hand shoes. I thought he looked at least70 years old. He seemed so tired and nobody was buying his shoes.I wanted to give him something but I had not brought anything with me.
Then, a little girl came toward him. I heard the child say, "Grandfather, may I polish (擦干净) your shoes?" That old man took pity on her,smiledand gave her a shoe to polish.
The girl told him she needed money to buy her brother a new school uniform.
"Oh, little girl. Just stop doing this. Come with me and I will buy you a uniform." Then they walked to a market , and he bought her brother a uniform.
The girl said “thanks” to him and left, leaving the old man smiling.
He walked away from the market, but I stopped him. I whispered in his ear, "You are a hero! Thank you for your kindness!" As I walked away, I looked back and I could see him still smiling.
I was blown awayby the kindness I had just seen. Someone who had so little was so generous! Amazing!My own sadness had completelydisappeared, chased way by the light of this kind act.
I began realizing that I have a lot to be thankful for. I hope, some day, I can show my appreciation (感激) of what I have by following the example of the old man. He only had a little, but shared it so beautifully with someone who had nothing. What did the girl need?
| A．a pair of new shoes | B．a uniform for her brother |
| C．a uniform for herself | D．a pair of second-hand shoes |
Who did the girl clean the shoes for?
| A．her brother | B．the writer |
| C．the old man | D．herself |
From the passage, we know that the old man was .
| A．rich | B．dishonest |
| C．selfish | D． poor |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A kind shoe seller | B．A pair of old shoes |
| C．A clever little girl | D．A girl’s new uniform |
What can we learn from the passage ?
| A．If we have only a little, we shouldn’t help others |
| B．When we have problems, we must ask others for help |
| C．We should learn to be thankful and share what we have with others |
| D．When we meet with difficulties, we should complain about them. |
A farmer carelessly lost an expensive gold watch in the barn on the farm, where he searched for everywhere but failed.
So he put a notice on the gate of the farm: whoever finds the gold watch will be rewarded 100 dollars.
People tried their best to look for the watch in order to get the reward. However, the barn was too large and the straw in the barn was too thick,it was getting dark they were still unable to find it. So they give up the reward of 100 dollars one by one.
But only a small boy was still not discouraged but kept looking for it .He had nothing to eat throughout the day.In order to solve the family problem, he looked forward to finding the gold watch and let his parents,brothers and sisters have a full meal.
The night was already getting late,the boy was also tired. He was lying in the straw to have a rest when he heard a strange “tick--tock ”.
He immediately held his breath and listened carefully,and followed the sound. He found the watch and got the 100 dollars.
Like the gold watch in the barn,success has been around us and spread in every corner of life. Only when we are calm and firmly look for it ,we can find it.If someone found the gold watch, what would the farmer offer him?
| A．100 yuan | B．100 dollars |
| C．100 pounds | D．100 pence |
Why did the boy insist on looking for the gold watch?
| A．Because he liked the gold watch.. |
| B．Because he wanted to own the watch. |
| C．Because he was silly |
| D．Because he wanted to get the reward |
The passage above is probably taken from_________.
| A．A newspaper | B．a science book |
| C．an advertisement | D．a notice |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The boy had no brothers or sisters. |
| B．The boy’s family had a hard life. |
| C．It was easy for the boy to find the watch. |
| D．The farmer didn’t look for the watch for himself |
Of the following,which order is right according to the story?
① The boy succeeded in finding the gold watch
② The farmer offered the boy a reward of 100 dollars
③ A farmer lost a gold watch carelessly
④ Many people tried to find the watch,but they failed.
| A．②①④③ | B．④②③① |
| C．③④①② | D．①③④② |
Some students like to translate(翻译) when they practice speaking English. Translation is a very difficult exercise. During a conversation, we don’t really have time to translate what we understand. When we use translation, we don’t develop the necessary reflexes (反应能力) needed to speak and understand a foreign language. It is important to build up reflexes right from the beginning. It will help you later when your skills are good enough to take a conversation.
Here is some advice on how to build up reflexes when you only have basic words and grammar.
Relax!
No one is checking you except yourself! Look at each communication experience as an adventure. Try to relax first when you speak English. You will pick up on small details.
Context(上下文) is your friend.
What is context？ It means the situation in which something happens and that helps to understand it. (2)We can make good guesses about what is being said by using the context. It will be easy when you think about the context. You will feel much more comfortable and confident if you remember that.
Ask questions what you want to know.
After you have proudly asked for tickets at the train station, the booking-office clerk (售票员) spoke a long sentence to you about the place and the time. You may be a little unclear or have only understood a part of it. However, you can ask questions about what you want to know, such as, “Did you say…?” and “Would you repeat that more slowly?”. So that you can easily move the communication forward. Use body language.
Use body language to go with your words when you __(1)___ to learn a __(1)_____ language. The person you are speaking to only wants to understand you and will be carefully listening to you. As you become more proficient (熟练的) in your second language, you will depend(依靠) more on the language and less on body language. But there is no shame for a beginner.
在(1)处的空白处分别填入一个适当的词使句意完整、上下文通顺。
________ __________ 将(2)句译成中文。
_______________________________________________________________________________回答问题： What does the writer want us to do first when we speak English?
_______________________________________________________________________________ 在文中找出与 Maybe you didn’t hear clearly or understand all of it.意思相同或相近的句子，
并将它写在答题卡上。
_______________________________________________________________________________ 在文中找出最能表达该短文主题的句子，并将它写在答题纸上。
_______________________________________________________________________________