China is a country with a long history. It has great traditional culture, especially Chinese characters. Chinese characters usually have more than one meaning and some of them are very interesting. Here are six ones. We use “pinyin” here because “pinyin” is the Chinese spelling way for the characters. For example, “fu” is the “pinyin” for good luck in Chinese. “pinyin” “fu” is only the phonic part of the character and if you want to know the meaning of good luck “fu”, you must read Chinese character 福 because “fu” also represents(代表) other Chinese characters that sound the same.
“fu” means blessing, good fortune, good luck. Chinese character “fu” is one of the most popular ones used during Chinese New Year. Chinese people often put up “fu” upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment. The upside down “fu” means good luck comes since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for “come”.
“lu” is used to mean official’s a pay in old China. “shou” means long life, age or birthday. “xi” is happiness, The doubled character “xi” means double happiness. It is usually put up everywhere at Chinese weddings. “cai” is weath or money. Chinese often say “ money can make a ghost turn a millstone”. It is to say money really can do a lot of things. But, money can’t buy everything. “he” is an important part of Chinese culture. It means good relations with other people, when you have “he”, things will be a lot easier for you.
The top six lucky Chinese charaters. “fu” “lu” “shou” “xi” “cai” “he”,are particularly loved by Chinese people.
We use ______ to show how to read the Chinese characters.
| A．“pinyin” | B．letters |
| C．words | D．spelling |
The upside down 福 “fu” means .
| A．coming | B．good luck comes |
| C．good fortune | D．“fu” is upside down |
People in China most probably put up the Chinese Characters _______ on the front door at their wedding.
| A．upside down “cai” | B．upside down “fu” |
| C．doubled “xi” | D．doubled “he” |
Which of the following in Not true according to the passage?
| A．“Cai” is wealth or money |
| B．“lu” is used to mean offical’s pay in old China |
| C．“shou” means keeping thin |
| D．Things will be a lot easier if you have “he” |
The underlined word “character” means _____ in this passage.
| A．角色 | B．特征 | C．性格 | D．汉字 |
阅读下面短文，在表格内的空白处填入合适的答案（每格限填一词）。
Why you should think big
If you have something valuable in mind, a service to offer, or an idea to develop, then you present it to everyone to increase its scope(范围). Why not make full use of it?
The fact is, when you have a strong enough vision(远见), you may have the courage. And then you simply have to pursue it, however crazy it might seem to others.
Remember that everything starts small
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Everything starts small. Scientists say that everything in the universe came from a smaller unit than you can possibly imagine. So it doesn’t matter where you are at present, because from small beginnings come great things.
Think bigger by enlisting(争取) others
To think big, you need to see yourself as a small part of a greater whole. Enlist people who are better than you. If you’re not the most organized person, don’t just be unhappy about it; find someone who is better.
Big thinkers know their personal limitations(局限性). Gather people around you who can do what you can’t do to make sure your dream grows.
Think big by focusing on future regrets(遗憾)
There is an old saying, “We regret not the things we did do, but the things we didn’t.” You’ll never know how far it could go unless you see how far you can take something.
If you have big plans, just close your eyes. And strongly imagine how regretful you will be if you don’t try or attempt properly.
Feel that it is your human duty to think big
When something is probably a real service to mankind, then it is a human duty to think and act big. Even if you don’t succeed at last, it is still valuable to think big.
| Think Big |
|
| What thinking big means |
If you have something valuable in mind, you should make full use of it. You should try to pursue it with your |
| How to train yourself to think big |
Remember that every big thing starts from a It is not See yourself as a small part of a greater whole. You should gather If you don’t try, you will never know how far your idea could go. Imagine how much regret you will have if you give up your big plans. It is a human duty to think big and it is |
One windy spring day, I noticed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Colorful creations of different shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds flying and dancing. As the strong winds blew against the kites, a string kept them in control.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they rose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining (控制的) string and the cumbersome (笨重的) tail kept them in control, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!” They rose beautifully even when they fought the restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose(松散的). “Free at last,” it seemed to say. “Free to fly with the wind.”
Yet freedom(自由) simply put it in the control of an unkind wind. It fell down to the ground and landed in a mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. “Free at last”, free to lie powerlessly in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to stop lifelessly against the first obstacle (障碍物).
How much like kites we sometimes are. The Heaven gives us adversity (逆境) and rules, rules to follow from which we can grow and get strength. Some of us break away from the rules so hard that we never reach the heights we might get to. We keep part of the rules and never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, knowing that some of the rules that we may be angry about are in fact the strong force that helps us achieve. Why does the writer write the first paragraph?
| A．Because it was the first time that he had seen young people flying kites. |
| B．Because he wants to share his feelings in nature with the readers. |
| C．Because he wants to tell the readers how to make beautiful kites. |
| D．Because he wants to use readers’ similar life experience to understand the article better. |
By writing the second and third paragraphs, the writer seems to let the readers know__________.
| A．anyone who wants no restraints is sure to be a sad end |
| B．what a pity it is that one kite flew down to the ground |
| C．man with freedom can’t be like that kite which fell down |
| D．the unkind wind is the cause of the fallen kite’s failure |
What does the underlined word “restriction” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．束缚 | B．放纵 | C．摇摆 | D．牵引 |
In the writer’s opinion, ____________.
| A．without restrictions and rules we can make endless progress |
| B．kites are good examples to those who want to get freedom |
| C．restrictions are necessary for us human beings |
| D．we don’t need any freedom at all |
Is getting a black belt(腰带) on your life’s to-do list? Then this elderly woman in San Francisco just might be your hero.
Just two years before her 100th birthday, Sensei Keiko Fukuda has become the first woman to achieve a tenth-degree black belt --- the highest rank in Judo (柔道). Fukuda is now one of only four living people who have earned the tenth-degree black belt. Throughout history, only 16 people have ever achieved this honor.
Fukuda began practicing Judo in 1935 and is the only surviving student of its founder, Kano Jiguro.
At her teacher’s requirement, she learned English to help spread Judo internationally.
During a time when getting married, building a family and becoming a housewife were the norms(行为标准)，Fukuda broke from tradition, continuing Judo instead of getting married.
“All I did was Judo ... This was my marriage,” Fukuda replied tearfully to the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is when my destiny (命运) was set. I just imagined how long the road would be.”
She described the Jiguro’s school as “old-fashioned and sexist(性别歧视的) about belts and ranks”. In fact, an edict(法令) that prevented women from achieving any higher than a fifth-degree black belt kept Fukuda at that level for 30 years. She finally got the sixth degree in 1972 when a women’s division（分部）was created.
Fukuda thinks Judo and her life to be “gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically”. Fukuda says this kind of beauty is not external(外在的). She explained. “I believe this inner beauty is true beauty… All my life this has been my dream.”
Her dream was turned into reality, and the 98-year-old Sensei Keiko Fukuda continues to teach Judo three times a week at a women’s Judo training center.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the article?
| A．She is the first woman to achieve the highest rank in Judo. |
| B．It took her 30 years to get a tenth-degree black belt. |
| C．Her teacher wanted her to help spread Judo to other parts of the world. |
| D．Only one woman and fifteen men have ever earned the tenth-degree black belt in the history. |
Why did Fukuda pursue(追求) Judo all her life?
| A．To look for inner beauty. |
| B．To help Japan become stronger. |
| C．To spread Judo around the world. |
| D．To fight against tradition. |
Which of the following best describes Fukuda according to the article?
| A．Traditional | B．Popular |
| C．Determined (坚定的) | D．Curious |
Dogs are considered as man’s best friend. But what about cats? Sometimes cats can make equally wonderful friends. The following is a comparison of the two animals.
A Friend Helps You When You’re Sick
| Dogs |
When Catherine lay down on the sofa, Pepe stared(盯) into her eyes and kept sniffing(嗅). After being pushed away, he suddenly jumped onto her chest. That’s when Catherine felt a pain that made her visit a doctor, and a fast-growing cancer was found. Months later, however, Pepe started staring and sniffing again. It seemed strange, but sure enough, Catherine’s cancer had spread. |
| Cats |
When Tee sits and stares directly into her face, Alana immediately finds a chair. That’s because Tee is warning her that she is about to faint(昏倒), which can happen as often as three times a day. But Alana won’t get hurt if she sits down. Not only does Tee warn Alana, but also her husband. Then the cat stays with Alana until she recovers. |
A Friend Saves Your Life
| Dogs |
Ryan fell into the water by accident. The river was full of melted snow, and Ryan was very cold and his body temperature was dropping dangerously low. Luckily, he was found by Chelsea, who was playing with her dog, Zion. “Zion knew the boy was in trouble,” says Chelsea. “Ryan grabbed onto the dog’s collar, and Zion just turned around and came straight back to the shore.” |
| Cats |
“I was napping in my bedroom, and then I was woken by Joey screaming and running back and forth,” says Bernice. Then she found herself surrounded by smoke. With Joey alongside her, she managed to get out of the door. By then, flames(火焰) were shooting up from the basement. “I found him in a mailbox when he was young and now I feel very fortune. Without him, I’d have probably died in the smoke.” |
When Alana is about to faint, Tee will ____________.
| A．stare at her and keep sniffing |
| B．jump onto her chest suddenly |
| C．sit and stare directly into her face |
| D．scream and run back and forth |
What can we learn about Ryan?
| A．He likes swimming in rivers. |
| B．He has a lovely dog, Zion. |
| C．Chelsea helped him swim back to the shore. |
| D．He was in danger when he was found by Chelsea. |
What happened to Bernice?
| A．She was badly hurt in a big fire. |
| B．She met the brave cat, Joey, in a big fire. |
| C．A fire broke out when she was napping. |
| D．She ran out of the burning house with the help of firemen. |
Everyone has got two personalities（个性）—the one that is shown to the world and the other is hidden and real. You don’t show your hidden personality when you are awake because you are clear what to do and what not to do, but when you are asleep, your sleep position shows the real you. On a usual night, of course, people change their positions from time to time. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you are a very open person. You usually believe people and you are easy to accept new lifestyle or new ideas. You don’t like to ask for help from others. You don’t like to trouble people, either. So you never express your real feeling. You are quite a shy person and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are rather a person who is not known well to others. You worry a lot and always easily get upset. You don’t pay attention to your job. You are always stubborn（倔强的）. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curling up（蜷缩） your body, you are probably a very nervous person, but you are very kind and patient. You are shy and don’t usually like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You are easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strength and weakness. You are usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often feel sad. You always say what you think even if it makes people upset.
阅读短文，然后完成下面的表格。
| sleep positions |
personalities |
likes |
dislikes |
| on your back |
open, shy, not confident |
to believe people, |
to ask for help to trouble people |
|
stubborn |
to get upset easily |
to pay attention to your job |
| curling up your body |
|
to be on your own |
to meet people |
| on your side |
well-balanced, careful, confident |
to feel anxious |
|