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I receive many letters from children and can’t answer them all – there wouldn’t be enough time in a day. I’ll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.
Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte’s Web? Well, many years ago, I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That’s how the story of Stuart Little got started.
As for Charlotte’s Web, I like animals and my farm is very pleasant place to be – at all hours. One day, when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was going to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save his life. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)
Sometimes I’m asked when I started to write, and what made me want to write. I started early – as soon as I could spell. Children often find pleasure through trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures. I was not good at drawing, so I used words instead. As I grew older, I found that writing could be a way of earning a living.
Well, here is the answer to the last question. No, they are imaginary (虚构的) tales. In real life, a family doesn’t have a child who looks like a mouse and a spider doesn’t write words in her web. Although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too – truth about the way people and animals feel, think and act.
E.B. White wrote this passage to ______.
A. introduce his new books
B. introduce two funny stories
C. explain why he enjoys writing
D. answer some readers’ questions
We can know from the passage that E.B. White is a writer who ______.
A. writes very fast
B. works on a friends’ farm
C. mainly writes stories for adults
D. writes imaginary tales for children
What inspired E.B. White to write Charlotte’s Web?
A. That he wanted children to love animals.
B. That he was deeply impressed by a clever pig.
C. That he wanted to use his own way to save a pig.
D. That he wanted to save the animals on a farm.
E.B. White started to write because he wanted to ______.
A. improve his spelling
B. express his thoughts
C. show his sadness
D. make a good living
What is probably the last question?

A．Are your stories true?

B．What is the truth in your stories?

C．Will you write more imaginary tales?

D．Do you know a child looking like a mouse?

The clock rules our lives. The more we try to save time, the less time we seem to have. In every area of our lives we are doing things faster. And many of us live in towns and cities which are getting noisier and more stressful as each day passes. But now a worldwide movement, whose aim is to slow life down, has started. Its supporters are people who believe that a happier and healthier way of life is possible.
The Slow Food movement was founded the day that an Italian journalist, Carlo Petrini, saw that McDonald’s had opened a restaurant in a beautiful square in Rome. He thought it was sad that many people today live too quickly to sit down for a proper meal and only eat much fast food. He decided that he had to try to do something about it and so he started the Slow Food movement. Slow Food has become a global organization ever since and now has more than 80,000 members in 100 countries.
Slow Food also encourages people to eat local and regional food, to use local shops and markets, to eat out in small family restaurants, and to cook with traditional recipes.
The idea of Slow Cities was inspired by the Slow Food movement. The aim of Slow Cities is to improve people’s quality of life. Towns which want to become a Slow City have to reduce traffic and noise, increase the number of green areas, plant trees, build pedestrian zones, and promote local businesses and traditions. Now it has spread to other countries all over the world, from the UK to Japan and Australia. There are now 135 Slow Cities in 24 countries across the world that have been named since founding of the organization in 1999. Gao Chun County, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, is expected to be named the first “Slow City” in China next year.
“Slow Cities are about having a community life in the town,” said a local resident. “It is not ‘slow’ as in ‘stupid’. It is ‘slow’ as in the opposite of ‘worried’ and ‘stressful’.”
But not everybody is happy. For teenagers, who have to go 25km to Norwich, the nearest city, to buy CDs, living in a Slow City is not very attractive. “It’s all right here,” says Lewis Cook, 16. “But if you want excitement, you have to go to Norwich. We need more things here for young people.”
What’s the aim of the Slow Food movement?

A．To call on people to eat out.

B．To make people enjoy cooking.

C．To drive McDonald’s out of Rome

D．To encourage people to slow down.

All the following are necessary to be a Slow City EXCEPT ______.

A．reducing traffic and noise

B．increasing the number of green areas

C．building more department stores

D．promoting local businesses and traditions

From the fourth paragraph, we know that ______.

A．the Slow Food was founded in 1999

B．there is no Slow City in China now

C．Slow Cities are mainly in the UK

D．there are about 24 Slow Cities in the world

What’s Lewis Cook’s attitude to living in a Slow City?

A．Positive

B．Neutral

C．Negative

D．Indifferent

What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Slow down and you’ll move fast

B．Time flies never to be recalled.

C．Eat slowly and you’ll be healthy.

D．Pay attention to the quality of life.

Not all vegetables need lots of sunshine. Mark Hoffman and his wife own a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in rural Kempton, Illinois. They often serve their guests fresh products from the garden.
The Hoffmans have been growing food and flowers for twenty-five years. For almost ten of those years, Mr. Hoffman has been experimenting and working with shade (阴凉) plantings. He says, “The bottom line here is that most plants will produce more in full sun. But if you do not have full sun, there are other choices.”
For example, he grows tomatoes near oak trees. Oak trees can produce a lot of shade. But Mr. Hoffman says his tomato plants grow as long as they get five hours’ direct sunshine a day, especially morning sun. Not only does this go against the traditional advice that tomatoes need six, eight, even twelve hours’ full sun a day. It also shows how plants and tree roots can share nutrients and water.
Mr. Hoffman says plants with wider leaves seem to do better in shady environments. He also found that his potatoes did better partly in shade than in full sun.
Moving them out of the sun helped control an insect problem. Mr. Hoffman does not use pesticide (农药). Instead, he planted the potatoes in the shade, especially on the east side of the tree. The potatoes get morning sun, but they are shaded during the hottest part of the day. Some insects dislike shade, and the hottest part day is when they do the worst of their damage.
Time of day, sun intensity (强度), shadows from trees, walls and buildings all influence how much sunlight falls on plants. And people interested in shade planting should also remember something else. The term “shade” can describe different amounts of darkness. It can even mean different things in different parts of the world.
How many hours of sunshine are enough to keep tomato plants growing in Hoffman’s garden?

A．five hours a day	B．Six hours a day
C．Eight hours a day	D．Twelve hours a day

From the passage we can know that ______ .

A．plants with wider leaves produce more in full sun.

B．as a matter of fact, plants don’t need to grow in full sun.

C．the more sunshine plants get, the more they will produce

D．plants with wider leaves grow better in shadows

All of the following can influence how much sunlight falls on plants EXCEPT ______.

A．length of day time

B．brightness of the sun

C．changes of the season

D．shadows

Which of the following can best describe Mr. Hoffman?

A．Curious

B．Experienced

C．Easy-going

D．Funny

We may read the passage on a website in the section of ______.

A．environment

B．travelling

C．agriculture

D．lifestyle

It’s easy to see how to help some people, but what about those whose needs are not so clear? This story may have happened not long ago--- but it was a lesson which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.
It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my parents at a shelter for the needy. We served hot food to whoever came in. Most of our dinners looked like they had been having hard times; their clothes were worn out and dirty. Then, a man came in, who looked anything but needy. He was well dressed. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw (下巴) dropped in amazement when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station , the more I muttered (小声抱怨). What was this man doing? Surely he wasn’t going to take food which was meant for those who were really in need!
Then my mother quietly took me to one side. She said, “You have thought that the needs of the people who come here must be purely physical, hunger, etc. And this gentleman doesn’t seem to have any of those problems. But what if his needs are emotional（情感的）? What if he needs comfort, friends, or just to be among other human beings? Her words hit me like a ton of bricks! I felt like I should apologize to the man--- but I didn’t.
About a week later the shelter received a large donation from an anonymous source. I can’t help but wonder if it came from that man.
Now, whenever I meet someone I remember my mother’s lesson and try to send kindness their way, no matter how they look. Needs aren’t always seen. But kindness always makes a difference.
How did the author feel as the well-dressed man joined the line for food?

A．Surprised

B．Excited

C．Nervous

D．Hopeless

The author’s mother mainly wanted to tell the author that we ______.

A．shouldn’t judge a man by his appearance.

B．shouldn’t complain about others

C．should give others what they want.

D．should accept everything we meet

What does the underlined word “anonymous” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Important

B．Unknown

C．Independent

D．Excellent

From the last paragraph, we learn that ______.

A．seeing is believing

B．it’s difficult to be kind to others

C．some rich people pretend to be poor.

D．we should help people in the way they need.

What would be the best title for the text?

A．My mother’s influence on my growth

B．The importance of volunteering

C．One of my most shameful experiences

D．My mother’s simple lesson in kindness

About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio(影棚)to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast (对比). The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures in front taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen (幕). An actor and actress stood of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water’s edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film "stars"!
Who is the author?

A．A cameraman.

B．A film director.

C．A crowd-scene actor.

D．A workman for scene setting.

What made the author feel cold?

A．The heavy snowfall.	B．The man-made scene.
C．The low temperature.	D．The film being shown.

What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．A new scene would be filmed.

B．More stars would act in the film.

C．The author would leave the studio.

D．The next scene would be prepared.

People	Comments
Yingtian Hu Guangzhou, China	This is the first time that I participate in CRI. And I like it very much. I hope its website will become the most excellent one with the foreign languages. And I choose the important news which I think has a great influence on our society and our lives. In the end, I hope that more and more persons join in CRI and make it perfect!
SujanParajuli, Select city, Nepal	I am both a regular listener of CRI and visitor of its wonderful Website. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to CRI for its great efforts to keep the listeners up-to-date during the year 2008. We, the listeners, are greatly grateful to CRI for its praise-worthy efforts to quench the thirst of its dear listeners. During the Year 2008, I found all of your programs quite interesting, informative and educational. Once again, thanks a lot for offering lots of information, news, entertainment and many items which have indeed broaden the horizons of our knowledge and understanding as well.
Ibrahim Rustamov, Tajikistan	With CRI, I was impressed by China’s rapid development in all spheres. But I felt so sorry to get to know about the snowstorms in China and Wenchuan earthquake. CRI and CCTV play a great role in introducing China to the world! Kudos! My friends and I wish CRI all the best!
Mike Thatcher, London	My family and I are all keen on Chinese Culture, especially the beautiful Chinese folk music. Various interesting programs by CRI just open a window for us foreigners, through which we can know more about China and have a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Best wishes to CRI! Best wishes to China!