Money matters, no matter who or where you are. So when China’s currency the yuan was devalued (贬值) against the US dollar for three straight days in mid-August, the world felt the effects. As CNN put it: “If China sneezes, the world catches a cold.”
Why does it matter so much?
The exchange rate is the term for the comparison of two currencies. It says how much one currency is worth in terms of (换算) the other.
“Exchange rates play an important role in a country’s level of trade. It is one of the most important determinants (决定因素) of a country’s relative level of economic health,” wrote Jason Van Bergen of Forbes.com. A higher currency makes a country’s exports more expensive and imports cheaper, and vice versa (反之亦然).
Devaluation means the same amount of RMB can be exchanged for fewer USD. For example, on Aug 11, the exchange rate of RMB to USD was 6.23, which meant $1 was worth the same as 6.23 yuan. Two days later, the rate changed to 6.4, meaning the value of RMB had dropped by 2.7 percent.
So what does a weaker currency mean for our lives?
It first affects those who want to travel to, or study in, the US. If your former classmate is leaving for a preparatory (预科) school in the US at the end of August, it now costs about 1,800 yuan more to exchange currency for 10,000 US dollars than it did earlier this month. However, since many currencies have decreased in value, the value of yuan is still relatively high despite the recent devaluation. This means it costs 1,200 yuan less to get 10,000 Canadian dollars now than it did in March.
Even if we don’t have plans to travel abroad, though, we could still be affected. For example, your mother will have to pay more if she buys directly from overseas websites with US dollars. And chances are that imported chocolate and potato chips will soon be a bit more expensive in your local supermarket.
However, the weaker yuan is good news for Chinese exporters. It makes Chinese exports less expensive and it could boost the overseas sales that have been among the main reasons for China’s economic growth during its rise over the past 30 years.
Just as Erik Britton of Fathom, a London-based economic consulting firm, told The Guardian: “We’re all going to feel it: we’ll feel it through commodities (商品), not just from China but from everywhere that has to compete with it; and we’ll feel it through wages.”
“The devalued yuan will force China’s Asian rivals (竞争对手), such as Indonesia and South Korea, to compete even harder,” wrote Heather Stewart, economics editor of The Guardian. “The result may be cheaper Christmas presents.”
According to the passage, it can be learned from the passage EXCEPT___________
| A.The higher China’s currency is , the less expensive potato chips from America become. |
| B.In March people spent 1,200 yuan more to get 10,000 Canadian dollars than they do today because Canadian dollars increased in value. |
| C.China’s currency’s devaluation against the US dollar in mid-August makes students studying in America pay more school fees. |
| D.People who work in Fathom will be greatly affected on account of the weaker yuan. |
The passage implies that ___________.
| A.The yuan’s devaluation contributes a lot to China’s economic growth . |
| B.Exchange rates are the most important factor determining a country’s relative level of economic health |
| C.The yuan’s devaluation has a great impact on all the countries in the world. |
| D.Chinese exports sell well overseas because of their high quality |
If the exchange rate of RMB to USD increased from 6.5 to 6.7, how much more percent would you pay when you bought a bag worth $100?
| A.2.7 | B.5.4 | C.20.0 | D.3.1 |
If you have been joining in chat room conversations, or trading email with web pals (网友) , you have become one of the millions who write in a peculiarly short form of English.
And you’ve got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF (=" sense" of humor failure) to describe Internet newcomers who don’t understand you.
Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are “talking online”, many of them all talking at the same time.
It’s fast: try talking to six people at once.It’s brief: three or four words per exchange.It takes wit, concentration, and quick fingers.
And it requires tremendous linguistic economy (语言省略).There’s neither time nor space for explanations.Why consume precious key-strokes (键盘敲击) telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB( =" be" right back) will do?
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI (=" pardon" me for jumping in).
Interested in whom you are talking to? Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal’s age, sex and location.You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you are OTF (=" on" the floor), or LOL (=" laughing" out loud), or combing the two into ROTFL ( =" rolling" on the floor laughing) .
And when it is time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG (=" got" to go) or TTYL (="talk" to you later).
People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can.Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing emotion, as it takes, more time to hold down the “shift” key and capitals.Punctuation (标点) is going, too.Many people talk on the Internet ______.
| A.by sending short emails |
| B.by using a particular short form of English |
| C.by using peculiar English words and expression |
| D.in a funny way |
In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet ______.
| A.you have to speak fast and fluently |
| B.you should speak with wit and humor |
| C.you have to express your ideas in a brief way |
| D.one should pay much attention to the accuracy of words |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means______.
| A.the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
| B.you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| C.you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D.the person who you are talking to is a 17-foot tall New York girl |
To save time on the Internet, __________.
| A.some people leave their letters in the dustbin |
| B.some people never use “shift” in their writing |
| C.many people leave the capital and punctuation |
| D.people seldom use capital letters or punctuation |
Talking to Teachers—Teachers are just people.Behind that desk, is a living, breathing human being.And just like any human being, they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them.Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and are prepared for class.And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated.The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile.
Talking to Parents—Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help.If you think there’s something your parents can do to help you socialize more or feel more comfortable around people, then ask them.Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don’t know what to do.Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk.Tell them how you feel.Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids.
This Stranger Thing—This is always a tough one.How do you deal with a neighbor, the mail carrier, or someone walking down your street—situations that often seem to cause arguments between kids and parents.The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different.Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is “what’s done”.Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don’t know.If you’re having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it.Where do they think you should draw the line? When is silence rude and when is it wise?From the first paragraph we may learn that teachers dislike____ .
| A.being talked to nicely |
| B.their students to be serious with the schoolwork |
| C.the students’ appreciation |
| D.the students who are not ready for classes |
If your parents are not supportive and you are not getting along quite well with your parents, who or what is to blame?
| A.Your parents. | B.Yourself. |
| C.Lack of communication. | D.Your teachers. |
The underlined word in the third paragraph is close in meaning to____.
| A.afraid | B.puzzled | C.strange | D.familiar |
The passage doesn’t say but it implies that in daily communication____.
| A.arguments often happen between kids and parents |
| B.we should talk to the neighbors and other people according to different cultures |
| C.city people and country people greet in the same way |
| D.we should fit our words with proper situations |
If you go into the forest with friends, stay with them always. If you don’t, you may get lost. If you really get lost, this is what you should do. Sit down and stay where you are. Don’t try to find your friends—let them find you by staying in one place.
There is another way to help your friends or other nearby people to find you. Give them a signal by shouting or whistling (打口哨) three times. Stop. Then shout or whistle three times. Any signal given three times is a call for help.
Keep up the shouting or whistling always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making noise for fun. They will let you know that they have heard your signal. They will give two shouts, two whistles or two gun shots (枪声). When someone gives a signal, it is an answer to a call for help.
If you don’t think that you will get help before
night comes, try to make a little house—cover up the holes with branches (树枝) with lots of leaves. Make yourself a soft bed with leaves and grass.
What should you do if you get hungry or need drinking water? You would have to leave your little branch house to look for a river. Don’t just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk so that you can find your way
back.
The most important thing to do when you are lost is—stay in one place. If you get lost in the forest, you should__________.
| A.stay where you are and give a signal |
| B.walk around the forest and shout so that your friends might hear you |
| C.try to find your friends as soon as possible |
D.try to get out of the for est and shout for help |
Which signal is a call for help?
| A.Shouting here and there. |
| B.Crying twice. |
| C.Shouting or whistling three times together. |
| D.Whistling everywhere in the forest. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A.When you hear two shouts or whistles, you know that people will soon come to help you. |
| B.When you can’t get help before night comes, put up a tent in the open air. |
| C.If you need drinking water you can just walk away to look for a river. |
| D.Picking off flowers as you walk can help your find your way back. |
If you ask people to name a person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare” “Samuel Johnson” and “Webster”, but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English—William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived people in two main language groups. One was a Celtic language, the other was what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or old English), a Germanic language. If this had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this didn’t last. In 1066 the Normans led by William began their rule over England. For about a century, French became
the official language of England while Old English became the language of farmers. As a result, English wor
ds of politics (政治) and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a difference between upper-class French and lower-class Old English in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked.
This shows the fact that the lower-class farmers were doing farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more “foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and ads seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the results of one
man’s ambition (野心).Before 1066, the two main languages spoken in the place wh
ich we now call “Great Britain” were __________.
| A.Germanic and French |
| B.Nordic and Germanic |
| C.Celtic and Old English |
| D.Old English and Germanic |
According to the passage, which of the following groups of words are most probably from French?
| A.President, lawyer and beef. |
| B.President, bread and water. |
| C.Bread, field and sheep. |
| D.Pig, cow and government. |
Why do Americans find France less foreign than Germany?
| A.Many signs and ads are in English. |
| B.They know little about the history of the English language. |
| C.Many French words are similar to English ones. |
| D.They know French better than German. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A.The History of Great Britain. |
| B.The Similarity (相似点) between English and French. |
| C.The Rule of England by William the Conqueror. |
| D.The French Influence on the English Language. |
The Roman Emperor Claudius II was fighting many wars. He wanted a strong army, but many men did not want to be soldiers. Claudius thought the men wanted to stay at home to be with their wives and children instead of leaving to fight wars.
Claudius thought of an awful solution to his problem. He decided to cancel all marriages! No one in all of Rome could get married. Claudius thought that if the men couldn’t get married, the men would ignore the women and want to be soldiers.
Valentine, who was a priest (牧师), believed that people needed to get married. He thought it was wrong for people to live together without being married. So he secretly and illegally married couples anyway. He performed the weddings in secret places, so the Roman soldiers would not find out.
But they did find out. Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor. The Emperor thought Valentine was a well-spoken and wise young man, and encouraged him to stop being a Christian (基督徒) and become a loyal Roman. Valentine would not deny his beliefs, and he refused. He was sent to prison and was finally killed. While he was in prison, he sent out letters to his friends and asked to be prayed (祈祷) for by writing Remember your Valentine.
Valentine was killed on the 14th or the 24th of February in the year 269 or 270. We celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th in honor of St. Valentine. The Emperor Claudius II wanted men to __________.
| A.live at home and work for the empire |
| B.become loyal Roman citizens |
| C.go to other countries and raise families |
| D.fight wars in other lands |
The underlined word “awful” in the second paragraph probably means __________.
| A.terrible | B.wonderful | C.possible | D.friendly |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A.Valentine believed in marriage and risked death to marry people. |
| B.Claudius wanted to stay at home with his wife. |
| C.Claudius thought Valentine was a man with a bright future. |
| D.Valentine broke the law. |