You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABCs? Do you know there is such a thing as “a banana person”? How strange! ABC means American-born Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people call an ABC a “banana person”. A banana is yellow outside. So, when a person is a “banana”, he or she is white inside—thinking like a Westerner and yellow outside—looking like a Chinese.
Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don’t speak Chinese. But if ABCs cannot speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are overseas (海外的) Chinese. These people may be citizens (公民) of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood. Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair.
But they are not Chinese citizens. They are people of the People’s Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist C. N. Yang (杨振宁) . He got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen.
“ABCs” in this passage means .
| A．three English letters |
| B．a kind of banana |
| C．Chinese born in America |
| D．Americans born in China |
Chinese in Western countries are called “banana persons” because .
| A．their bodies are white inside but yellow outside |
| B．they think like Westerners but look like Chinese |
| C．they were born in China but go to study in America |
| D．they like to eat bananas |
Which of the sentences is WRONG about ABCs?
| A．ABCs may know little about China. |
| B．They are overseas Chinese. |
| C．They may speak little Chinese. |
| D．They are Chinese citizens. |
We have to accept the truth: sometimes, we just want to shout out loud.
For example, we all have days like this: our dog has made a mess on the floor we just cleaned, or our friend called to tell us he or she couldn't come at the last minute when we had cooked dinner for him or her.We may be really angry but we tried to bear things like those. According to ancient Chinese wisdom (智慧)．We should shout in a loud voice instead of keeping silent. In fact, it's good for our health.
“Chinese people have passed on the practice from ancient times to now as a part of traditional medicine.” said Mrs.Li, a 60-year-old woman from Hangzhou .“My parents taught me to do this.It's a part of our folk (民间的) culture.”
Mrs.Li is a member of a group of people who love shouting. Each morning, she and some of her friends climb to top of the hill, and let out loud shouts before starting their daily exercise. They believe that shouting is good exercise for their lungs (肺) and it brings them a lot of fun.
“Sometimes I shout out and other shout back，” said Mrs.Gu, another shouting lover.“It makes you happy. You laugh and then you feel very comfortable.”
Dr. Peter Calafiura, an American doctor, agrees that shouting can have a positive influence on people's health. So , next time you start your morning run, why not try to shout out first? It will make you healthier.What does the underline word “bear” in Paragraph 2 mean in Chinese?
| A．纠正 | B．忍受 | C．铭记 | D．杜绝 |
Where does Mrs.Li shout every day?
| A．In a park. | B．At a square. |
| C．In her house. | D．On a hill. |
What does Dr.Caliafiura think of shouting?
| A．It's great fun. |
| B．It's good for people's health. |
| C．It's easy to learn. |
| D．It's good exercise especially for kids. |
What is the passage is mainly about?
| A．A shouting lover. |
| B．A shouting club. |
| C．The advantages of shouting. |
| D．The history of shouting. |
South Korean stars shined brightly at the Opening Ceremony of the 17th Asian Games held here on Friday, Sept. 19 in Inchen(仁川).
Many stars gave shows during the welcoming performance.The most famous K-pop boy group, EXO, performed two songs on stage.Famous actors followed to show up on stage, including Jang Dong-gun, Hyun Bin, and Kim Soo-hyun.Lee Young-ae, the South Korean actress known for volunteering, was the last torchbearer(火炬手) and lighted the cauldron（圣火） with two children.
After the lighting of the flame, 16 more minutes of other K-pop performances were held. JYJ sang the theme song 'Only One' and Psy and Chinese pianist Lang Lang finally performed "Gangnam Style" with the 60,000-strong audience. The Opening Ceremony of the 17th Asian Games was held on _________.
| A．Sept. 16 | B．Sept. 17 | C．Sept. 18 | D．Sept. 19 |
______ lighted the cauldron at last.
| A．Jang Dong-gun | B．Hyun Bin | C．Kim Soo-hyun | D．Lee Young-ae |
_________ performed “Gangnam Style” with Psy.
| A．EXO | B．JYJ | C．Lang Lang | D．Li Yundi |
Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability (能力) to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ______ skills.
| A．listening | B．writing |
| C．pronunciation | D．communication |
The first tongue twister is hard because ______.
| A．it is very boring to read |
| B．it teaches us a lot of knowledge |
| C．we don’t know who “she” is |
| D．the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar |
The passage is probably taken from ______ in a school newspaper.
| A．Story Time | B．Study Garden |
| C．Latest News | D．Lost and Found |
When Mr. Brown entered the classroom that Friday morning, he stopped at the blackboard. For there, on the blackboard, were words in huge red letters: BROWN IS STUPID!
Mr. Brown thought for a moment. This could only have been the work of one of the four boys who had been kept in after school the day before.
Mr. Brown turned the blackboard around so that the words could not be seen. Half an hour later,Mr. Brown wrote four names on the board: Gerald, Alex, Michael and Laurie. Then he said, “I want these four to stay in the classroom. The rest of you may go to the playground.”
The four boys came to the blackboard. “One of you has written a most impolite remark on the blackboard,” he stared （盯着看）at them and thundered, “which one of you did it?”
The four boys gathered closer together, afraid of what was to come.
“Was it you, Gerald?”
Gerald shook his head. “No, it was not me, Sir,” he gave the teacher a most sincere look in his wide eyes.
“What do you have to say, Alex?”
“I don’t know anything about it, Sir,” said Alex, and his ears turned red.
Michael had a bright idea. “Perhaps someone broke in during the night,” he said. “And when he saw the lovely red chalk lying there, he wrote something on the blackboard.”
“Is that the best you can think so, Michael?” asked the teacher.
“I only thought ...”
“And what about you, Laurie?”
Laurie said in a rather low voice, “I didn’t do it, Sir. I don’t even know what it says on the blackboard.”
“You really don’t know what’s written there?” Mr. Brown asked. “And I don’t think dear Gerald knows either.”
“No, Sir. No idea.”
“Michael, Alex, can either of you tell me what it says on the blackboard?”
“No, Sir!” the two boys answered together. Brown walked forward and his fingers seized(揪住) a schoolboy. He said in his kindest and softest voice to the other three boys, “Very well. I only punish the one who has been telling lies, and you three may go to the playground!” What did Mr. Brown write on the blackboard?
| A．BROWN IS STUPID |
| B．WHICH ONE DID IT |
| C．The rules of the class |
| D．The names of the four boys |
Which of the following can be put into “______” in Paragraph 3?
| A．all the students arrived |
| B．all the children laughed |
| C．the four students ran away |
| D．the headmaster came in |
The underlined word “thundered” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “______”.
| A．asked softly | B．said slowly |
| C．spoke happily | D．shouted loudly |
Who has been telling lies?
| A．Gerald | B．Alex | C．Michael | D．Laurie |
The word that can best describe Mr. Brown is “______”.
| A．honest | B．smart |
| C．hard-working | D．warm-hearted |
Have you ever thought about what kind of job you would like to have when you grow up? Many people think that we can have only one job in our lifetime. We all know that this is not true, but quite a few people actually think this way. For example, when people choose a major (专业) in college, they think that the decisions they make now will decide their jobs for the rest of their lives. However, there are many examples where people became successful after changing their careers (职业) later in life.
J. K. Rowling, writer of the famous novel Harry Potter, was actually a school teacher before she began writing books. In fact, she was out of work before the first Harry Potter book came out.
Former US President Ronald Reagan began as an actor when he was a young man. He later decided that he wanted to do political work. This kind of passion (激情) finally led him to become President of the United States.
The famous 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh was not a painter from the beginning. He once worked as an art salesman and later became a preacher. It was only 10 years before he died that he decided to become an artist.
Careers are always open to change. The important thing is to find what you are really good at or what you really want to do. Once you find that passion, it’s all a matter of how hard you try.______ was a teacher before he (she) became famous.
| A．Vincent Van Gogh | B．Ronald Reagan |
| C．J. K. Rowling | D．Harry Potter |
The underlined word “political” in Paragraph 3 means ______ in Chinese.
| A．政治的 | B．艺术的 | C．文学的 | D．经济的 |
According to the passage, the most important thing to think of when choosing a career is ______.
| A．what major you choose in college |
| B．how much money you can make |
| C．changing jobs as often as possible |
| D．finding what you really want to do |
How is the passage organized? (Par = Paragraph)
| A．Par 1→Pars 2~4→Par 5 |
| B．Pars 1~2→Par 3→Pars 4~5 |
| C．Par 1→Pars 2~3→Pars 4~5 |
| D．Pars 1~2→Pars 3~4→Par 5 |