Square dancing is a form of entertainment and physical exercise, which is a good thing. However, a group of senior Chinese ladies dancing in New York’s Sunset Park were recently faced with noise complaints from nearby residents. The local court even served a summons (传票) related to a certain Ms. Wang.
The news soon caused heated discussion across China, with many believing the incident to involve a cultural conflict between the East and West,while others view it as a form of discrimination against Chinese in the United States.
The United States is a diverse society, and in many cases, Chinese dancers are tolerated and even appreciated. Meanwhile, the United States is a society based on the rule of law, and due to cultural differences, local regulations seem to be very different from those in China. As a result, some old Chinese ladies dancing in New York’s Sunset Park found themselves caught in an embarrassing situation. Locals and immigrants from other nations view such noise as a violation of their right to enjoy tranquility. Calling the police is regarded as the most efficient way to solve such a problem.
Before, these ladies probably did not understand local customs and rules. However, since the incident took place, they should perhaps know a little better next time and keep the noise to a minimum. People from different nations are often supposed to reach compromises, respecting and tolerating each other.
Whatever your choice of entertainment, it is important not to affect other people’s lives. Square dancing is only one of many activities during which people should mind their behavior.
As for U.S. police practice, there might still be some room for improvement. Some were said to be rather rude, leading to the so-called “racial discrimination,” which is a sensitive topic in U.S. society.
If the involved parties could be more tolerant, and solve such problems without involving the court, perhaps immigrants would mix more.
1.The writer mentions the incident in Paragraph 1 to __________.
A. show his opinion B. make complaints
C. bring up the topic D. criticize the local police
2.The underlined word “tranquility” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by ________.
A. entertainment B. quietness
C. freedom D. quality
3.What will the senior Chinese ladies most probably do after the incident?
A. Go back to China.
B. Fight for their right.
C. Ask America to change its law.
D. Keep the noise lower.
4.What’s the writer’s attitude towards senior Chinese ladies dancing in New York’s Sunset Park?
A. He thinks all parties involved should be more tolerant.
B. He strongly supports the action of the local police.
C. He considers it a shame for senior Chinese ladies to do so.
D. He suggests such kind of problem should be solved in the court.
“Beating is a sign of affection, cursing (骂)is a sign of love.”
Many may not expect to hear the words of the old Chinese saying in these modern Times—
with parents wealthier and better educated than they have ever been—but experts say they still
ring true.
Today，it seems，Chinese parents are more likely to send their children to precollege military
academies in the United States in the hope that some tough love will pave the way to success.
“Good education doesn't mean letting your children enjoy privileges, especially our boys.”
said Song Wenming，an entrepreneur (企业家)in Jinhua，East China's Zhejiang province. “They should be raised in tough conditions to know what to fight for in the future.”
In August，Song sent his 17yearold son to Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA) in
Pennsylvania. And he is far from alone，even though it takes a lot of money—around $48,000 per year—to send a child to a strict military school.
Statistics show that an increasing number of Chinese students have been registering with such academies.
A few years ago, there were no Chinese students at Valley Forge. Today，there are 28.“All of the Chinese students at Valley Forge came from wealthy families；some of them were spoiled.” said Jennifer Myers, director of marketing and communications at the school.
Song's only son, Song Siyu, had a rocky start during his first six weeks at the school. The
teenager said he went to the school voluntarily but did not expect it to be as difficult.
Now, three months later, he has perfected the art of taking a bath in 35 seconds, finishing a
meal without looking at his food, and making his bed with precision. He can even take criticism,no matter how unreasonable.
“The training is hard but I know it is good for selfdevelopment of individuals.” said SongSiyu.
“The endless training and scolding are just ways to build up our character；they are not personal.”
But his enthusiasm is not universal. Ten of the 13 Chinese students who joined the academy
this year have transferred to other schools.
But for those who stick to it, there is a reward for all the hard work.
1.From the second paragraph，we can know the old Chinese saying _____________ .
A. is out of date in modern times
B. is disagreed by rich parents
C. is still worth trusting
D.is deeply believed by better educated parents
2.The underlined sentence means that _____________.
A.Song sent his only son to military school，so he feels lonely
B.Song is the only one who sends his child to military school
C.there are other people sending their children to military school besides Song
D.the fee of the military school is so high that only Song can afford it
3.How many Chinese students are there at Valley Forge before this year?
A．10. B. 13. C．15. D．25.
4.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A.It's likely that more and more Chinese students will attend VFMA.
B.Most Chinese parents approve of educating their children by beating and cursing nowadays.
C.Song Siyu had no difficulty in adjusting to the life at VFMA.
D.Most Chinese students support the way of education at VFMA.
Parents will do anything for their children. Whether it would be the food, clothes, or the place they live in, parents will always make sure their children have the best of everything. One of the biggest concerns that parents currently have is educating their children. They are faced with lots of difficulties when it comes to education for their young ones. Choices include private school, charter school, public school or homeschooling.
Fortunately for parents, there are a variety of different strategies that they can take in order to increase their child’s overall intelligence. According to Ross A. Thompson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, a child’s brain will actually reach 90% of its full size by the time they start kindergarten.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago concluded that playing a musical instrument directly affected the brain stem, the lower section of the brain. Moreover, children that learn an instrument at an early age tend to continue it when they are older. And numerous studies show that a well-balanced meal is essential for a child’s mental as well as physical health. Some other researchers recommended that a second language should be taught when children are in preschool. They state that three to four years of age is the perfect time and that any age under four would work perfectly fine for a child’s brain development.
The average child will learn how to read between kindergarten and second grade. Many parents can give their children a jump start by teaching them to read before they start school. Children could have an adequate background of the alphabet and sounds of words before attending school. This can be done by simply reading to them whenever you want. The more comfortable they get, the easier the process will be.
1.From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.
A. parents have more choices in offering education to their kids
B. parents find it hard to satisfy their kids’ various demands
C. parents meet many challenges when raising their kids
D. parents get actively involved in the process of their kids’ growth
2.What suggestion may the researchers in the passage make?
A. To train kids as early as possible.
B. To try as many means as possible.
C. To help kids develop as fully as possible.
D. To use as many available resources as possible.
3.What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
A. The effective ways to help develop children’s brains.
B. The proper time to teach children to learn languages.
C. The vital factors to have a great effect on children’s health.
D. The practical steps to arouse children’s interest in study.
4.We can replace the words “jump start” in the last paragraph with _________.
A. Inspiration B. Introduction
C. Suggestion D. promotion
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative, but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused (激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”
1.What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?
A. They’re socially inactive.
B. They’re good at telling stories.
C. They’re careful with their words.
D. They’re inconsiderate of others.
2.Which tend to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research?
A . Science articles. B. Sports news.
C. Personal accounts. D. Financial reviews.
3.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide
B .Online News Attracts More People
C. Reading Habits Change with the Times
D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks
针对部分学生乱花钱的现象，你们班级召开了“节省用钱”的主题班会。假设你是班长，请在结束时对班会内容进行总结，要点如下：
1．省钱的重要性；
2．省钱的建议；
3．提出倡议。
注意：1.短文的开头已给出，但不计入总词数;
2.词数120左右；
3.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
We have just had a class meeting on the topic— saving money.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有十处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线划掉（\）。
修改：在错的词下划一横___线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1、每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2、只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I hardly remember my grandmother. She used to holding me on her knees and sing old songs. I was only four when she passes away. She is just a distant memory for me now.
I remember my grandfather very much. He was tall, with broad shoulder and a beard that turned from black toward gray over the years. He had a deep voice, which set himself apart from others in our small town, he was strong and powerful. In a fact, he even scared my classmates away during they came over to play or do homework with me. However, he was the gentlest man I have never known.
