Many American schools have a student exchange program with foreign countries. Along with this program,there is usually another one called the“American Host Family”program.As its name suggests,the program gets American families involved in foreign students’ lives in America and offers homes for them.
Foreign students generally welcome such an opportunity to have a“family”here,but there are also those who prefer to stay“homeless”.
Many American families volunteer to host foreign students.However,if there is a shortage of host families,schools also get in touch with local people and introduced foreign students to them.
The“American Host Family”program changes in lengths of time.It can go from a few days to a few years,depending on each individual school.After the first year is over,it is up to foreign students and their“families”to decide if they want to stay together as a“family”.American families can host as many foreign students as they like.They can either have several students or just one at a time.Many families start with new students each year while still keeping in touch with the old ones.Schools usually leave it to foreign students and their host families to decide their activities after both sides meet.
My school, however, holds activities every year. On major holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas,foreign students are usually invited to their thomes for dinner.Even schools that do not have host family programs often arrange students to get together with American families on these special holiday occasions.
It is typical that a host family invites its foreign daughter or son over,and they cook the student’s home food together,Undoubtedly,Chinese students are usually considered good cooks,whether or not they are really qualified for such praise at home.Although many Chinese students rarely cooked at home,they often have a hard time making their American friends believe that they cannot cook.It often happens when a Chinese student promises to cook a Chinese meal for his host family,he usually sees a little crowd expecting him:friends or relatives are also invited over for the“special”Chinese food!
1.The best title of the passage might be .
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A．Studying in the U.S. |
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B．The“Host Family Program”in the U.S. |
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C．The“Student Exchange Program”in the U.S. |
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D．Activities in American Schools |
2.What’s the purpose of the“American Host Family program”?
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A．To bring foreign students closer to American life. |
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B．To provide homes for foreign students. |
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C．To make greater progress in the study of foreign students. |
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D．To supply“sons”or “daughters”for American families. |
3.What can we know about the program from the fourth and fifth paragraphs?
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A．Its time,the number of students and families. |
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B．Its activities,the number of schools and students. |
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C．Its lengths of time,the number of students and activities. |
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D．The number of students,the lengths of time and important holidays. |
4.We can know from the last paragraph that .
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A．foreign students must prepare their home food for their host family |
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B．not all Chinese students are good cooks in the eyes of Americans |
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C．it is good manners to invite relatives or friends to taste foreign food |
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D．Americans are very interested in foreign food |
Today is my first day at Merchiston Castle School,and I was really nervous about it, because I have never visited the school before and didn’t take any summer course. Despite my anxiety,I soon relaxed once I arrived; the staff were so nice that I felt my spoken English was better than it actually was! As soon as I walked into the dayroom of my boarding house,I was absolutely(完全地) amazed by the friendly atmosphere; everyone was so friendly that a boy as shy as I had no difficulty in setting in,and I made many new friends on my very first day,although I was struggling to remember all the names.
Also I realized there were other international students in the house from all over the world,such as South Korea,Japan and Russia.Although their English was not so fluent,it didn’t take long for us to understand each other at all.In some ways,it was even better to practice Enlgish by speaking to the international students,because we were both learning.
As a boarder,the quality of food is something I consider very important,and Merchiston has not let me down.The school kitchens are run by a professional catering company,and the quality of food is excellent,also they take the issue of a healthy diet really seriously.I remember once I was asked to take more salad for my meal by a member of the kitchen staff for I did not have enough vegetables.This brings to another point of being a boarder:you need to learn how to look after yourself and be responsible for yourself.One of the huge advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school,which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of the bed as early as the daypupils!
1.Why was the writer nervous when he was at Merchiston Castle School on the first day?
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A．Because he had no friends and relatives there. |
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B．Because he didn’t know the school well. |
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C．Because he was not good at English. |
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D．Because he was shy. |
2.On the first day, .
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A．though the writer was anxious,he soon relaxed |
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B．he found the dayroom of his boarding house terrible |
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C．he made many new friends,but he didn’t remember any of their names |
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D．he thought he spoke English better than the staff in the school |
3.Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
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A．In the boarding house,there are only students from South Korea,Japan and Russia. |
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B．The international students in the boarding house don’t speak Englsih very fluently. |
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C．The food in Merchiston doesn’t make the writer disappiointed. |
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D．The professional catering company thinks the issue of a healthy diet is very important. |
4.The underlined word“boarder”in the first paragraph means“ ”.
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A．a student who is from abroad |
B．a student who lives at school |
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C．a student who is good at English |
D．a student who used to be shy |
My uncle’s house in the downtown area is a bit smaller than that in the countryside, but it is twice _________ expensive.
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A．as |
B．too |
C．rather |
D．very |
The ______ on his face suggested that he was a little nervous .
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A．instruction |
B．expression |
C．attitude |
D．behaviour |
Some people like wearing fashionable clothes; _______ some birds like brilliant feathers.
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A．immediately |
B．likely |
C．completely |
D．similarly |
Thank you _____ visiting our company. We are looking forward to _____ you again.
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A．to, seeing |
B．for ,see |
C．to, see |
D．for, seeing |
