When something becomes fashionable very quickly , we say that it’s a “craze”. The latest craze is sometimes a style of clothes or a hairstyle. Sometimes it is a game or a TV programme.
In the 20th century a lot of crazes started in the USA and then became popular in the USA andthen became popular in other parts of the world. American youth culture has spread through tourism , TV , films, magazines and music videos.
One of the biggest crazes was the hula hoop（呼啦圈）. Hula hoops are not popular now, but in the1950s they were a sensation. An American company called Wham-O started to make plastic（塑料的）hoops toys, and in the USA the company sold 100 million hoops in a year.
Frisbees（飞盘）were another Wham-O product（产品）. Some people say that the idea
started in the factory of the Frisbee Baking Company in Connecticut. Workers there threw metal pans to each other during their breaks. Two businessmen made a plastic type of the flying pans, and sold their products to Wham-O. They became a big business.
So businesses usually help to produce a craze. Yoyos were another example. In the Philippines, where its name means “comeback”, the yoyo was a popular toy in the 1920s. But it didn’t become a global (世界性的) craze until an American called Donald Duncan bought the idea and sold it to the world. Around 100 million people bought yoyos in 1962 and 1963.
Most crazes come and go, but sometimes they survive. When the big skateboard started in California in 1965, many parents and governments said that the boards were dangerous, and they were not allowed in some areas. But the boards became popular again and they are still an important part of youth culture today.What is a “craze” ?
A. A special culture in the western country.
B. Something that is liked by the young.
C. Something that first spreads in the USA.
D. Something that becomes very popular over a short period (时期) of time.What does the underlined word “sensation” mean ?
| A．昂贵的物品 |
| B．值得珍藏的物品 |
| C．轰动一时的物品 |
| D．昙花一现的物品 |
What fact does the passage provide ?
| A．All crazes in the world come and go quickly. |
| B．Skateboards are not allowed in most areas of America. |
| C．In the last century the USA introduced many new crazes. |
| D．Crazes have nothing to do with culture. |
Which of the following can be chosen as the best title of the passage ?
| A．Something about Crazes |
| B．Wham-O products |
| C．A successful Company |
| D．American Youth Culture |
A new language exchange program is helping Brazilian students practice their English and it helps cheer up the lonely lives of elderly American retirees(退休人员).
FCB Brazil developed the Speaking Exchange Project and CAN school in Brazil, put it into practice . They help the students have conversations with the retirees in Chicago . Chatting on the Internet about their families, hobbies, futures make them form special friendship in the process.
To help the students improve their English, the video conversations are recorded, allowing students to review them and improve. One heart-warming conversation in the video is between an old lady and a girl talking about travel.
“Are you planning some day to go to Brazil?” The girl asks the lady. “Oh, I would love to!” She says. The girl then tells her,“ You can stay in my home if you want, ”making the lady laugh happily. At the end of their conversation, the girl expresses her grattitude(感激) for her help in improving her language skills.“ I want to thank you for this exchange of experience, ”she says . The lady put her hand to her heart and says, “Girl, if you were here, I’d give you a big hug.”The students in Brazil chat online with the students in America.
FCB Brazil developed the Exchange Project to help students to improve their English..
The conversations between the students and the retirees aren’t allowed to recorded.
The old lady invites the girl to live with her.
The girl expresses her thanks to the lady for improving her English by chatting .
When we talk about instant(方便的) messaging tool, which will be the first one jump into your mind? If your answer is QQ or MSN, I must say you’re a bit old fashioned. Today, Wechat is becoming the most popular text and voice messaging tool all over the world. It has had 700 million registered（登记） users all over the world up to now. It has a Chinese name Weixin, it is necessary for the young people in China to have the communication tool. Actually, it is also a new product from Tencent(腾讯)，so we can call it QQ’s little brother.
You can log in to Wechat with your Facebook account（账号） or sign up with your phone number, and then add your friends’ number in your contact list , by which you can chat with your family of friends in a brand new way by using your phone no matter when and where you are. It’s just like using a walkie talkie (two way radio).But you don’t need to worry about other things, such as basic fees. It won’t cost you extra money to make conversations.
You can also only need three steps to finish calling others through Wechat. It is free for ten minutes. If you want to make a phone call again, you need to pay for it through a credit card. Someone thinks the sound in the phone is not clear. There is some noise in it. It is not safe for the user. So you should pay attention to your personal information and not share it to others.From the first paragraph of the passage, we know______.
| A．QQ is the most popular instant messaging tool in China. |
| B．700 million Chinese people are using Wechat |
| C．Wechat is the most popular text and voice messaging tool all over the world |
| D．young people in China don’t use Wechat |
Wechat is used by people can______.
| A．sell their things | B．make money |
| C．chat with each other | D．set up their own website |
The underlined phrase” sign up” means _______ in Chinese.
| A．标记 | B．记录 | C．注册 | D．采集 |
Make a phone call through Wechat,________.
| A．it may be not safe for the user |
| B．you needn’t pay any money for it |
| C．the sound is very clear |
| D．it will cost your friend’s money |
Which of the following is NOT true about Wechat?
| A．It is a messaging tool. |
| B．It is used in the phone. |
| C．You can’t do anything except making a call. |
| D．You need to add your friends’ number in your contact list before chatting with them. |
| Are you interested in cloned (克隆) animals? Please click on our website. You will see many cloned animals, such as cloned sheep, mice, pigs, rabbits and some other animals. Website: http://www. bio. org |
Do you like watching cartoon movies? Well, if your answer is “yes”, I think you will enjoy this film. It is an interesting movie, and you will hear Brad Pitt’s voice in the film Happy Feet 2. Time: From Tuesday to Sunday (19:30—21:20; 21:30—23:10) Place: Sunshine Cinema Ticket Price: ￥30 Tel: 0551--5436688 |
| The biggest science show will be held in the City Hall on April 4th. On the show you will experience the feeling of losing weight. You can know a lot about robots, spacecraft, GPS and so on. In a word, you will be surprised at the development of the latest science. Tel: 0551—2661234 Ticket Price: Under 5—Free; Students—￥10 Adults—￥20 |
The biggest science museum will open on May 21st. There you will see and learn about lots of inventions in the world. Everybody with this month’s Overseas English will get a small present that day. You are welcome! Tel: 0551—3462345 Address: No. 168 Victory Street Ticket Price: Free Overseas English March 5th 2012 |
Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang will take their 4-year-old daughter to the science show. They will pay .
| A．￥40 | B．￥45 | C．￥30 | D．￥50 |
The reader with an Overseas English of March 5th, 2012 will get a small present .
| A．on New Year’s Day | B．on May 5th, 2012 |
| C．from Tuesday to Sunday | D．on May 21st, 2012 |
Why will you feel surprised on the science show?
| A．Because the City Hall is very big. |
| B．Because there are many people on the science show. |
| C．Because you will lose your weight. |
| D．Because you will find science has developed so fast. |
You can see many pictures of on the website http:// www. bio. org.
| A．films | B．robots |
| C．cloned animals | D．spacecraft |
According to the posters, which of the following is true?
| A．You may know something about Brad Pitt in the biggest science museum. |
| B．If you like cartoon movies, you can enjoy the film Happy Feet 2 on Friday evening. |
| C．You can go to the City Hall and see the cloned sheep. |
| D．There will be a science show on April 1st. |
Overnight, TFboys, a boy band consisting of three middle school students, became the talk all over China. Founded last year, the oldest member of TF boys is only 14. But the number of their followers on Sina Weibo has reached 11 million. Their music videos are also getting millions of views online.
Some say that TFboys has become popular only because of their pretty faces. But take a serious look at the three boys, and you may find out what has helped them win over so many people.
Wang Junkai, 14, from Chongqing
What did you do when you were 8 years old? Wang had become a trainee at TF Entertainment at that age, he still goes to school like other kids during weekdays. But his weekends were filled with training classes. He learned how to sing and dance. He had to do the splits (劈叉) again and again. Many boys couldn’t stand it and quit, but Wang didn’t give up. Before he finally became a TFboy, the tough guy has been practicing for five years.
Wang Yuan, 13, from Chongqing
Fans like to call Wang “Er Yuan” because he is a funny guy who’s always telling dry jokes. But when he starts to sing, you’d be thrilled by his clear voice and high pitch (高音). The cheerful boy lives a simple life. He doesn’t like to compare himself with others. His mobile phone cost only 300 yuan. He’s a big fan of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. He has watched every Pleasant Goat movie at the cinema.
Yiyang Qianxi, 13, from Hunan
Yiyang is the shortest of the three boys, but he definitely(明确地) has the most splendid resume (履历). He is a top student. He is an excellent dancer. He takes part in TV shows. He has played different roles in many movies. He is even good at calligraphy (书法). When other teenagers show off their new clothes on Weibo, Yiyang displays his calligraphy work. How can he be good at so many things? “ I’d practice dancing while others were chatting,” he said.Some people believe that TFboys has become popular only because of
| A．their beautiful songs | B．their pretty faces |
| C．their lovely voices | D．their rich families |
How do you think of the members of TFboys?
| A．They are hard-working and talented. |
| B．They have become popular because of their good looks. |
| C．They are getting on well with each other. |
| D．They don’t go to school because they should take part in many training classes. |
From the article, we know that always making people laugh.
| A．Yiyang Qianxi | B．Wang Yuan |
| C．Wang Junkai | D．The TFboys |
What doed the word “splendid” mean?
| A．great | B．full | C．bad | D．high |
The article mainly tells us that .
| A．The TFboys always try their best to do everything. |
| B．The TFboys have become popular not only because of their good looks but also their hardworking. |
| C．The TFboys are tired of their hard training classes. |
| D．The TFboys always work hard. |
Canada is famous for its winter lifestyle, for the season lasts half the year there. A great example of this is the Quebec Winter Carnival(嘉年华). Quebec is an old city with beautiful historic buildings, and many agree that winter is the best time to visit. The city comes alive in the snow, especially during the winter festival. People who visit the cold city can find tons of things to do that will make winter seem perfect.
The Carnival has a magical ice palace made with 9,000 tons of snow, a boat race on the St. Lawrence River, and two night parades(游行) with funny people and colorful cars. Other interesting things include a 122-meter ice slide, and a large football game. There is also an exciting dogsled(狗拉雪橇) race that runs through six kilometers of the city’s streets. With more than 20 teams in the game, the dogsled race is noisy, fun and full of great cheer. Even better, artists from around the world come to enter the snow sculpture(雕塑) competition. It is amazing how these artists can bring snow to life. The Quebec Winter Carnival has everything for the whole family and more. It is surely a great way to experience winter at its fullest.
Another famous winter festival is on the other side of the world in China. Known as the City of Ice, Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province, which is next to Siberia. In the winter, it is very cold, and temperature there can drop to 30℃below zero. Even so, the cold weather makes the city the right place for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. The festival is held every year.How long does the winter last in Canada?
| A．One year | B．About six month |
| C．Many weeks | D．Four month |
According to the passage, many people think ______ is the best time to visit Quebec.
| A．spring | B．summer | C．autumn | D．winter |
Which of the following is TRUE about Harbin?
| A．It is known as the City of Ice. |
| B．It’s famous for its four seasons. |
| C．It is in Northern China, Next to Quebec. |
| D．It holds an exciting festival every month. |
The Quebec Winter Carnival includes_________
①a snow flight ②two night parades ③a winter swimming ④a dogsled race ⑤a boat race
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①③⑤ | D．②④⑤ |
The writer will probably write about________
| A．the Quebec Winter Carnival |
| B．the introduction of Heilongjiang Province |
| C．the snow sculpture competition in Quebec |
| D．the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival |
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