Does technology pose a threat to the purity of Chinese language?
Many Chinese use instant messenger tools such as MSN or QQ, listen to music on MP3 players and log on the Internet using ADSL—most without knowing the literal Chinese translation of the abbreviations(缩略词). But they don’t have to, as many English letters have become part of the local vocabulary.
A dozen abbreviations including GDP, NBA, IT, MP3, QQ, DVD and CEO are among the 5,000 most-frequently used words in the Chinese media last year, according to a report on the 2006 Language Situation in China.
The report said some parents are so keen on English letters that a couple tried to name their baby “@”, claiming the character used in email addresses reflects their love for the child. While the “@”is obviously familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word “at” to pronounce it “ai ta”,or “love him”.
The study collected more than 1 billion language samples from newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and websites. The annual report is jointly compiled by the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission.
“Nowadays, more and more English abbreviations are being used in Chinese, making them an important part of modern language,” said Hou Min, a professor at Communication University of China.
“The abbreviations have gained popularity because of the ease of usage,” Hou said. For example, DNA is much simpler to use than its Chinese version. “As more Chinese people learn foreign languages, especially English, in recent years, using abbreviations has become a trend among educated people,” she added.
Some language scholars fear such usage will contaminate(污染)the purity of Chinese and cause confusion in communication. Which of the following is TRUE about the report on the 2006 Language Situation in China?
| A．The report is compiled by the Ministry of Education alone. |
| B．The report is compiled every year. |
| C．The report is compiled every two years. |
| D．The report is based on over 1 billion language samples from websites. |
Why does the author use the example of a couple who tried to name their baby “@”?
| A．To show Chinese is badly polluted by English. |
| B．To express the couple’s love for the child. |
| C．To indicate “@”is a very common sign among the e-mail users. |
| D．To show some people are very enthusiastic over English letters. |
Why are the English abbreviations becoming more and more popular according to the passage?
| A．Because English is the most common language in the world. |
| B．Because using English abbreviations is a fashion. |
| C．Because English abbreviations are easy and simple to use. |
| D．Because English abbreviations are easy to pronounce. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．People should know clearly the exact Chinese translation of English abbreviations. |
| B．More and more Chinese people will use English abbreviations in the future. |
| C．Most parents like to give their child English names now. |
| D．Language scholars hate to use English abbreviations. |
At five he was collecting old newspapers to make money. And when he was 15 he signed his schoolmates up to start a baby-sitting circle.
Now 20, third-year Cambridge University student, Peter Blackburn is managing director of a company with a £ 30,000 plan. And he thinks it will make more than $15,000 by next summer. He set up Peter Blackborn Ltd last year to bring out a new, color term-planner that now students all over the UK are using.
"I felt that most of the planners going around were pretty unimaginative," he says, "I believed that I could do a better job and decided to have a go".
Blackburn admits that he is putting far more effort into business than his computer studies course at university. While fellow students are out with their friends, he keeps in touch with his business office in Lancashire by movable phone. Before he set up the company he spent one holiday preparing a plan that would persuade his bank to lend him money.
"Most students work hard for a good degree because they believe that will help them get a job to support themselves," he says "I work hard at my company, because that is what will support me next year, after I leave college."
Friends believe that Blackburn will make £ 1 million within 5 years. He is not quite so sure, however. "There's a lot to be done yet," he says.
Choose the right order of the facts given in the passage.
a. He spent his holiday preparing a plan.
b. He collected newspapers.
c. He set up his own company.
d. He asked the bank for money.
e. He set up a babysitting circle.
| A．e, b, c, a, d | B．b, e, a, d, c | C．b, e, d, a, c | D．b, e, c, a, d |
When he was quite young, Blackburn _______ .
| A．already made a lot of money | B．already had a business brain |
| C．was already managing director of a company | D．already set up his own business |
The underlined expression in the fourth paragraph "have a go," here means _______ .
| A．give up this job and have a new one | B．leave the company |
| C．have a try | D．develop my business quickly |
In spite of a college student, Blackburn _______ .
| A．spends more time on his business than on his studies course |
| B．keep in touch with his business office by movable phone |
| C．seldom goes out with his friends |
| D．often spends whole holiday preparing business plan |
Which of the following best explain why Blackburn works hard at his company?
| A．He wants to do more business practice before he leaves college. |
| B．He wants to make more money before he leaves college. |
| C．He wants to get a good job like most students after he leaves the college. |
| D．he depends on the company for his living in the future. |
A new weapon is on the way in the fight against smoking in Europe. Soon when smokers buy cigarettes, they might see a shocking photo of a blackened lung or a cancer patient staring back at them from the packet.
Some boys may think of smoking as cool and sexy. Their friends won’t agree when they see their packets of cigarettes lying on the table.
The European Union announced on October 22, that it had chosen 42 photos that showed the damage cigarettes could do to the body. It called on member nations to put these pictures on packets to discourage young smokers.
To catch the attention of teenagers, the special packets warn of long-term medical dangers, like cancer. Short-term effects, like bad skin, are also on the list.
“The true fact of smoking is disease, death and horror. That is the message we should send to the young,” said David Byrne, an EU health official. “Hopefully these pictures will shock students out of their love for cigarettes.”
The EU head office hoped the pictures would work better than current written warnings on packs of cigarettes. The warning included “smoking kills” and “smoking can lead to a slow and painful death.”
So far, Ireland and Belgium have shown interest in the photos. Canada has used similar pictures and warnings on cigarette packs since 2000. The country has recently seen a fall in the number of smokers.
According to studies, smoking is the single biggest cause of avoidable death in EU. Every year more than 650,000 smokers die, more than one person a minute. What would be the best title for the text?
| A．New Ways to Stop Smoking. | B．Pictures to Shock Smokers. |
| C．New Packers of Cigarettes. | D．Dangers of Smoking. |
Which of the following is NOT the true face of smoking?
| A．Disease. | B．Death. | C．Horror. | D．Happinese. |
We can learn from the test that _______.
| A．The EU countries have put the new warning method into practice |
| B．only a small number of the EU countries have used the new warning method |
| C．the new warning method has worked in some EU countries |
| D．countries in the EU still use the old warning method |
Which country is most successful in stopping smoking?
| A．Ireland. | B．Belgium. | C．Canada. | D．EU |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph suggests that ________.
| A．It’s hard to stop smoking in EU |
| B．deaths caused by smoking could have been avoided |
| C．smoking is the biggest cause of deaths in EU |
| D．EU has the largest number of deaths caused by smoking |
A person may have an idea about himself that will prevent him from doing good work..
He may have the idea that he is not capable of it. It is easy to get such an idea even though there is no justification for it. A child may think he is stupid because he does not understand how to take the most of his mental faculties, or he may accept another person s mistaken estimate of his ability. Older people may be handicapped by the mistaken belief that they are incapable of learning anything new because of their age.
A person who believes that he is incapable will not make a real effort, because he feels that it would be useless. He won’t go at a job with the confidence necessary for success, and he won’t work hardest, even though he may think he is doing so. He is therefore likely to fail, and the failure will strengthen his belief in his incompetence.
Alfred Adler, a famous psychiatrist（精神病医生）, had an experience which illustrates this. When he was a small boy he got off to a poor start in arithmetic. His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they would not expect too much of him. In this way, they too developed the idea, "Isn’t it too bad that Alfred can’t do arithmetic?" He accepted their mistaken estimate of his ability, felt that it was useless to try, and was very poor at arithmetic, just as they expected.
One day he became very angry at the teacher and other students because they laughed when he said he saw how to do a problem which none of the other students had been able to solve.
Adler succeeded in solving a problem. This gave him confidence. He rejected the idea that he couldn’t do arithmetic and was determined to show them that he could. His anger and his new found confidence stimulated him to be at arithmetic problems with a new spirit. He now worked with interest, determination, and purpose, and he soon became extraordinarily good at arithmetic. He not only proved that he could do arithmetic, but he learned early in life from his own experience that , if a person goes at a job with determination and purpose, he may astonish himself as well as others by his ability.
This experience made him realize that many people have more ability than they think they have. And that lack of success is as often the result of lack of knowledge of how to apply one’s ability, lack of confidence, and lack of determination as it is the result of lack of ability.The underlined word “justification” most probably means ________.
| A．reason | B．rightness | C．need | D．demand |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The basic principles in doing math problems. |
| B．Our idea about ourselves may have a negative influence on our work. |
| C．Our ideas do not always have and influence on us. |
| D．All actions are caused by impulse. |
What does Alfred Adler’s story tell us?
| A．Many people have more ability than they think they have. |
| B．Anybody can become a mathematician, if he has determination. |
| C．Arithmetic is actually very easy. |
| D．Most teachers are wrong when they evaluator their students. |
Why did he become angry one day?
| A．Because the teacher and other students laughed at him. |
| B．Because they challenged him to do a difficult arithmetic problem. |
| C．Because he couldn’t solve the arithmetic problem. |
| D．Because he was very poor at arithmetic. |
What idea did Alfred’s teacher have?
| A．He was slow in arithmetic. |
| B．He should work harder. |
| C．He should be transferred to a special school. |
| D．He should not tell his parents that he was slow. |
Help or Not
Dear editor,
During last year's winter holiday, I went shopping with my grandmother. We saw several beggars. Some of them were disabled, which made me feel sad. Among them were old people, young people and even children! When I wanted to help them, my grandmother stopped me. She told me they were not worth showing mercy to because some beggars cheated people out of their money. Should I help them?
Yours,
Mary from Guangzhou
Dear Mary,
While I understand your grandmother’s point of view, I think that just because some beggars have cheated people, this doesn’t mean you should never help any beggars.
Showing mercy to people who are not as fortunate as us is one of the kindest things we can do. While some beggars may use dishonest means to get money, most beggars will not. Even those who use dishonest means are probably hungry for food and feel they have no choice but to cheat people. It is important to be careful for your own safety. But if you want to help, you don’t necessarily have to give it to beggars in the street.
Another way you can help is by donating money to the China Charity Federation. Visit its website at: www. china charity. cn.net.
18.From the grandmother’s point of view, we can learn that ________.
A. she has never helped the beggars.
B. she believes not all beggars are honest
C. she has surely been cheated by some beggars
D. she shows no pity for the poor
19. Mary felt sad for _______.
A. her grandmother B. the disabled beggars
C. the old people D. herself
20. The editor suggests that Mary should _______.
A. have her own mind B. follow her grandmother
C. do something for those unfortunate D. help the China Charity Federation
21. The underlined word “donating” probably means _______.
A. give out of kindness B. put into a business
C. earn through an organization D. give in return for some kindness
From poor beginnings to most expensive player
ZINEDINE Zidane，who dreams of leading France to its second World Cup title in a row next month，has always preferred to express himself with a football rather than with words．
Last Wednesday Zidane scored the decisive goal when Real Madrid of Spain won the Champions League final against Germany's Leverkusen 2一1．
He became one of the world’s most expensive players when he joined Real Madrid from Italy's Juventus for US $ 66 million．And he has been a national hero since he scored twice in the 3-O defeat of Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final．
But despite his success，Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground．He leads a quite family life，there is hardly any gossip about him and he avoids putting his wife and two children in the spotlight．
“Just because I'm a public figure it doesn't mean I have to express myself on everything．I don't like to discuss some personal matters publicly．”he said．
Even as a child playing football in the slum area of Marseille，France，where he was raised by his Algerian parents，Zidane was shy．
He loved football even as a little kid．“I realized football is a wonderful mixture of a sharp mind and hard training rather than just talking，”he said．
Even when the match awards were just chocolate and bread，Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich．
Before he was 10 years old，it was obvious that he could become a great footballer．He was offered his first professional contract(合同)when he was just 20．Now，at the age of 29，he has already picked up two World Player of the year awards．
This quiet striker has not yet spoken of his hopes for the coming World Cup．But his fans across the world will be eagerly watching him to see what he'll do this time． What did Zidane learn from his childhood football experience? He learned that_____________.
| A．he could become a great footballer |
| B．he could become rich if he became a footballer |
| C．football is a mixture of a sharp mind and hard training but not just talking |
| D．football is a favorite sport in the future |
According to the article，what are Zidane’s main characteristics?
| A．He is a shy but successful man． |
| B．H e loves his wife and children． |
| C．He doesn't like to speak in public． |
| D．He is a quiet，down—to earth person of few words． |
When the writer says“Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground”,he means_________.
| A．Zidane spends more time standing than sitting most days |
| B．Zidane is a down-to earth person |
| C．Zidane has spent most of his time training on the pitch |
| D．Zidane likes standing when he succeeds |
The sentence“Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich”means___________．
| A．football made Zidane's poor family wealthy when he was a child |
| B．Zidane knew that football could bring him fame and wealth even when he was a child |
| C．football brought happiness to Zidane when he was a child in a poor family |
| D．Zidane knew that if he wanted to be rich he must play football from childhood |
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