_______71_______ It is a very happy day for many boys and girls. Before the term ends in some schools, the children act a nativity (基督诞生) or "birth" play, showing how Jesus was born in a stable.（马棚）.

On the twenty-fourth of December, all children are very excited.______72____ The younger children think that Father Christmas will come down the chimney of fireplace, so they hang up a sock for him to put presents in. The greedy ones even hang up a pillowcase or a sack to try to get more presents.________73_____

On Christmas morning, the children wake up very early. Some even turn on the light at two o'clock, and most of them are awake by six o'clock although there is no light in England for another hour or two at this time of the year.

_____74______ At about one o'clock in the afternoon, the Christmas dinner is brought in._____75______ Children search in their Christmas pudding for new coins which are hidden in it. The rest of the day is full of games and eating until the happiness of all Christian holidays comes to an end.

E. Later that night, Father or Mother will put presents in the sock, and leave others at the side of the bed.

F. Usually they are sent to bed early so that their parents can get the presents ready.

G. Christmas Day falls on the twenty-fifth of December.

What is great art? On the one hand, we can all see that great art is old art which is called great. But how do we know which art of our own times is great, and which will be forgotten? And who decides?

These are important questions, for the great art of the past often was not considered great during its own time. When Shakespeare and Charles Dickens were writing, for example, most critics considered them as hack (平庸的) writers with little or no literary ability.

Similarly, Van Gogh and many of the other Impressionist painters of the late nineteenth century were not allowed to participate in events involving what were thought to be the "real" painters of the time, and often they were very poor. Yet today their paintings often sell for millions of dollars, while those so-called "real" painters are now barely remembered.

So what makes great art? Can, for example, rock music be great art? Music videos? Cartoons and comics? Those who call themselves critics of the fine arts often have been the last to recognize great art in the past, and we can probably expect this to be the situation today.

Critics often don’t recognize great art because they tend to be prejudiced against what is popular. Popular works, whether they are novels, movies, or comics, are usually considered to be produced for the sake of money only, and not for the sake of art.

But popularity, it seems to me, is one of the three signs that a present-day work of art may come to be thought of as great. The other two are that it is groundbreaking, and that it is inherently (内在的) beautiful.

Many works have one or even two of these qualities of being popular, unusual, and beautiful. But having all the three often will mean that a work of art will someday be seen to be great, though it may take a good spoonful of time, such as a century or two, to know for sure.

1.The first paragraph is intended to__________.

2.The author used the examples of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Van Gogh to prove _____.

3.According to the author, great works _______.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you  noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.

The study also found the effect is greater, the younger people learn a second language.

A team led by Dr Andrea Michelle, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.

Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.

“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.

Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的).” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”

The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.

1.The main subject talked about in this passage is ______.

2.In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to ______.

3.We may know from the scientific findings that ______.

4.The underlined word “bilingual” probably means ______.

There are some highlights in April in Shanghai.

Live Music – Late Night Jazz

Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player. He’s coming with his new 7 – piece band, Herbie’s Heroes. Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don’t expect to get much sleep. This is Herbie’s third visit to Shanghai. The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly.

Place:  The Jazz Club          Dates:15 – 23 April           Price:￥80

Time: 10:00 p.m. till late!        TEL:6466 – 8736 

Scottish dancing

Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop. Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn. Instructors will demonstrate the dances. The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent.

Place:  Jack Stein’s     Dates: every Monday   Price:￥60 including one drink

Time: 7:00 – 00:00 p.m.   TEL:6402 – 1877

Exhibitions – Shanghai Museum

There are 120,000 pieces on show here. You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof. It’s always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition. There are lots of mummies and more gold than you’ve ever seen before. Let us know if you see a mummy move!

Place: Shanghai Museum           Price:￥30（￥15 for students）

TEL:6888 – 6888                 Dates: daily

Time: Monday – Friday 9:00 a. m. – 5:00 p. m., Weekends 9:00 a. m. – 9:00p.m.

Dining – Sushi chef in town

Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai. In Japan, it’s become an art form. The most famous Sushi ‘artist’ is Yuki Kamura. She’s also one of the few female chefs in Japan. She’ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month.

Place: Sushi Scene in the Shanghai Hotel  Dates: all month          

Price: ￥200                        Time: lunchtime TEL: 6690 – 3211 

For a full listing of events, see our website.

1.From the text we may learn that Sushi is         .

2.Which is not true about the ads?

3.Where are the ads available to people?

Last Friday my brother and I were driving home together after doing some shopping and gave our attention to an interesting conversation. Because of this distraction (分心)my brother took a wrong turn.

Unfortunately, the wrong turn took us towards a bridge and we had no way to turn back. Unwillingly, my brother paid the bridge fee and drove on. He was clearly frustrated by the mistake and the needless waste of $4.

We eventually reached an exit and, as we took it, my brother noticed a young fellow pulled over to the side of the road. He came out of his car and tried to phone someone. I was busy trying to figure out which way we would go next but my brother pulled over and asked the guy if he needed any help. And he did. He had a flat tire and needed a tool to get it off.

My brother gave him a wrench, and then began to help him change the flat. The young man said that this had been a bad week for him: earlier he had gotten into a minor car accident, and now this flat on his way home from work. But he called us “a breath of fresh air” and kept thanking us because he really would have been stuck if we hadn’t come along.

After we finished the job he thanked us again and pulled out $20 from his pocket and tried to give it to us. “No,” I said. “We were never supposed to even get on that bridge,we took a wrong turn. But now we know why we did. It was to help you. Thank you for turning our mistake into an opportunity to serve.” 

What I loved most was that my brother was able to see a chance to help. His reaction in the situation is a lesson for everyone and we felt so good the rest of the day.

1.When did the author and his brother notice the young man who had a flat tire?

2.We can learn from the text that the writer’s brother ________.

3.What did the young man mean by calling the writer and his brother “a breath of fresh air” ?

4.Which of the following sentences best describes the writer’s experience?

Once there was a very brilliant, creative and learned man. He gained much ____36_____while traveling throughout the world. Unfortunately he lost his legs and left arm in a traffic accident, leaving only a finger and thumb on his right hand. He became so ____37_____ that he was afraid he would spend his life _____38_____ and would no longer be able to use his life in a(n) ____39_____way.

One day, he remembered how he had always loved getting ____40_____. He realized that he still had partial ____41_____ of his right hand and could write with  ____42_____. Then, he had an idea. “Why not write to other people who need encouragement?”

He ___43___ where he could find those who could be encouraged if they read his letters. He thought of people in ____44___. Many of them had hope of regaining their ____45___ . Others would keep feeling depressed and remain put away for the rest of their lives. He decided that he must try to __46____ them. So he wrote to a prison ministry about sending letters to the prisoners. The prison minister replied that writing to the prisoners would be  ____47____. However, it would be against prison rules for the prisoners to write back.

____48_____with the intention, the man began sending   49   messages of God’s love, hope, strength, and encouragement. He wrote twice a week, testing his strength and ability to the ___50____. He poured his heart and soul into his words,  ___51_____ his experience, sense of humor, optimism, and faith.

It was difficult to write those letters, especially without hope of any ___52___. Frequently, he felt discouraged, wondering if anyone  ___53____read his letters. However, this was his ___54____chance，so he determined to continue.

At last, he received a letter from the prison officer, which said, “Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell (牢房) to cell until they almost fall to ____55___!”

We all have unique experiences, abilities and talents. We can discover ways to reach others in need of encouragement and strength.

With the help of the foreign experts, they produced ___ washing machines in 2003 as the year before.

Judging from ____number of cars, only ____small number of people have attended the meeting.

We had thought Carla would say a lot about her job interview, but she ____ it.

---Hurry, John!

---Oh, damn! Both my legs are nearly to give out. I ____for hours.