In 1972, Richard Sears, a young American began learning Chinese because of his interest in traditional Chinese culture.Drawn to the ancient language, he went to China to study Chinese in the 1990s.
In 1994, Richard Sears decided to put the ancient Chinese characters online. Then, in 2002, he did it. That is the beginning of the Chinese Etymology(汉字字源) website."My website did not get much attention for the next few years. Until one day in 2011, it suddenly got a lot of attention.I got a few thousand emails, and a few million visitors and people stated calling me 'Uncle Hanzi' ,"Sears said with smile. Hanzi means Chinese characters. He has put more than 96, 000 ancient Chinese characters onto the website. "When I study each character, I wonder what the ancient Chinese thought," said Sears.
After visiting many Chinese cities,Sears learned more about China and ancient Chinese culture.He said when he came to China in the last century, few Chinese could speak good English. "However you can hear English in many places in China now.Chinese language and culture were mysterious and not known by people in most countries then, but now, more and more people in the world are learning Chinese, even Chinese history,traditional Chinese medicine and so on," Sears added.
At present, the 70﹣year﹣old American has made his home in China."When I die, I hope my website will live on, and I'm planning to write a book about my research.This will be my gift to China," he said.
(1)What does "Drawn to the ancient language" mean in Paragraph 1?
A. Sears was interested in ancient Chinese.
B. Sears had to study Chinese characters.
C. Sears could draw Chinese characters well.
D. Sears could speak ancient Chinese very well.
(2)Chinese Etymology website went online in .
A.1972
B.1994
C.2002
D.2011
(3)What did Sears put on Chinese Etymology website?
A. Chinese history.
B. Ancient Chinese characters.
C. The daily life of Richard Sears.
D. Traditional Chinese medicine.
(4)From the passage, we can infer that Sears set up the website to .
A.become famous
B. get the nickname "Uncle Hanzi"
C. write a book about his research
D. make more people know about ancient Chinese characters
(5)The best title for the passage could be .
A. Great Changes in China
B. Mysterious Chinese Language and Culture
C. American "Uncle Hanzi"
D. A Young American and Traditional Chinese Culture
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪癖的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then I could make out that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn’t the slightest(轻微的) idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing so heavily that I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. It seemed Milly had died. “She meant more to me than anyone… even my own wife!” he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal (丑闻) . I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn. “I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold!” he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. “She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her !” he said, and burst into tears again.The underlined phrase “make out” in the first paragraph means____.
A.expect | B.understand |
C.see clearly | D.hear clearly |
What do we know about Milly from the story?
A.She had met with an accident | B.She had caused a scandal. |
C.She was seriously ill. | D.She was hidden somewhere. |
The farmer wished that the writer might ____.
A.look into the matter | B.bring Milly back to life |
C.free him from a scandal | D.keep the whole thing a secret |
The person who told the story is probably a ____.
A.farmer | B.policeman |
C.country doctor | D.newspaper reporter |
It helps us understand the world better if we know a little geography and have some maps at hand. But with maps in Chinese only, misunderstanding is possible in studying world events. Chinese names are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning to a foreigner. For the opening of the country maps are important and helpful and needed badly.
I wish maps with various languages, like those used in the United Nations, would come out and be sold in all bookstores open to Chinese.The writer is mainly talking about ____.
A.geography | B.maps |
C.Chinese names | D.the opening of the country |
Knowing a little geography and having some maps in Chinese only, a foreigner ____.
A.can study world events easily |
B.can study world events without misunderstanding |
C.can’t study world events without misunderstanding |
D.will feel joy in studying world events |
What are the difficulties for a foreigner to use a map in Chinese?
A.A foreigner has nowhere to buy a map |
B.All the bookstores only open to Chinese. |
C.The names of Chinese people are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning. |
D.The names of places on a map in Chinese are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning. |
In the United Nations people use maps in ____.
A.foreign languages only | B.Chinese only |
C.various languages | D.English only |
Imagine that you are going on a trip to Ireland. The first three days of your trip are planned below. Read the schedule and use it to answer the questions below.
Day 1 Morning: Your trip begins in the capital city, Dublin. There you will visit Temple Bar, an area famous for its brightly colored buildings, busy stores and restaurants. Stop by the outdoor market for some cheese and homemade bread. Afternoon: Walk to Dublin Castle(城堡). Visit the Throne Room to see the golden chair where the kings and queens from England once sat. Evening: Watch an Irish step-dance performance. |
Day 2 Morning: Ride the train to the city of Limerick. Take a tour of King John’s Castle, which has built about 800 years ago. Afternoon: Ride a boat along the River Shannon. Evening: Enjoy a nice Irish meal. |
Day 3 Morning: Ride the train to the city of Cork. Walk along St. Patrick’s Street, known for its many stores. Feel free to buy souvenirs. Afternoon: Take a bus to nearby Blarney Castle. Climb the tower to see the famous Blarney Stone, which is thought to give those who kiss it good luck. Then return to Cork. Evening: Watch a Gaelic football match. Rest for the next day’s horseback riding lesson. |
Where can the tourists see the golden chair?
A.At Temple Bar. | B.In Dublin Castle |
C.On St. Patrick’s Street | D.In Blarney Castle. |
What kind of transportation will the tourists use during the trip?
A.Train, bus and boat. | B.Bus, train and plane. |
C.Horse, bus and bike. | D.Boat, car and bus. |
How many days will the trip probably last?
A.Only one day | B.No more than three days. |
C.Exactly two days | D.At least four days |
E-book is short for electronic( 电子的) book. It is usually read on personal computers. Some mobile phones can also be used to read e-books.
Earlier e-books were written for a specific group of readers and were about only a few subjects. With the development of the internet, knowledge and answers to a lot of questions mainly come from e-books. This is why the e-book business is increasing quickly
E-books have many advantages. First, they save time. We don’t need to go to a bookstore to buy books, besides, we can find the topic we want to know about on the Internet, and then we can quickly get many e-books on similar topics. Second, e-books save money. Some e-books cost a little money, and there are millions of e-books on the Internet that we can get for free. Third, more trees are saved because e-books don’t need to be printed(印刷) on paper. Fourth, e-books make reading more convenient. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you in a small computer or any e-book reader (电子阅读器) without worrying about their weight.
But e-books have certain disadvantages. They need a personal computer or an e-book reader and the information can be lost if its file format (文件格式) is not supported or changed in the reader’s computer.
However, e-books provide us with a new way of reading. That is good.
根据短文内容,选择最佳答案。Why is the e-book business increasing quickly? Because _________.
A.earlier e-books are about only a few subjects. |
B.people don’t like to read any paper books any more. |
C.most e-books have been written for a specific group of readers. |
D.the development of the Internet makes e-books more useful. |
How many advantages do e-books have according to this article?
A.Three | B.Four | C.Five | D.Six |
Which of the following is true according to this article?
A.E-books can’t be red on mobile phones. |
B.All the e-books on the Internet cost lots of money. |
C.E-books can make reading more convenient. |
D.You can’t read e-books without a personal computer. |
What is the disadvantage of the e-books?
A.You’ll lose the information if its file format is not supported. |
B.You can carry hundreds of books in an e-book reader. |
C.You can buy cheap e-books anywhere. |
D.You can read e-books at any time. |
The author mainly tells us __________.
A.you don’t need to buy paper books in a bookstore if you read e-books. |
B.the information can be lost if its file format is changed. |
C.the development of e-books can help save the environment. |
D.e-books provide us with a new way of reading. |
Are you looking for something fun and would you like to help others in your spare time? Then join us to be a volunteer! We’re a non-profit (赢利的) organization. We have volunteer jobs of all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children to people in their seventies can become a volunteer.
You can help people in many ways. Schools need help with taking care of children while parents are working. Hospitals need volunteers to look after children while their parents are seeing a doctor. Animal lovers can help take care of those dogs and cats without homes. There is something for everyone.
“As a volunteer, I don’t want to get anything. Seeing the children’s happy faces, I’m happy, too.” Said Carlos Domingo, an old woman of 62. “I often played computer games in my spare time before. Now I help older people learn how to use computers.” said another volunteer at the age of 18.
If everyone helps out a bit, we’ll have a better world to live in. Interested? Call us 1-800-555-5756 or visit our website: www.activol.com.
请根据短文内容,选择最佳答案。When do the volunteers help others?
A.In their spare time. | B.At weekends |
C.On weekdays. | D.In the evenings. |
_____ can be a volunteer.
A.Children | B.Old women |
C.Anyone aged 12-70 | D.Young people |
Volunteers want to get _______ when they help others.
A.money | B.computers |
C.everything | D.nothing |
Carlos Domingo does volunteer work with ______.
A.animals | B.children |
C.computers | D.older people |
We can read such a passage ______.
A.in a newspaper | B.in a storybook |
C.in a picture book | D.in a textbook |