More and more English-educated Chinese Singaporean parents are realizing the importance for their children to be not only good at the all-important English language, but also at Chinese. China has become a great political and economic superpower and they want their children to become bilingual.
It is common knowledge that, to master any language, especially one’s mother tongue, one must begin from childhood. But there are challenges and barriers for children of English-speak ing homes to succeed in their journey towards bilingualism.
Take my family as an example. While my wife and I are products of English education, we had some foundation (基础) in Chinese which we kept up in our working life. But the language of communication in our home is mainly English.
We are glad that our three children had between 8 and 11 years’Chinese schooling before switching over to English schools. Their foundation in Chinese has become an advantage in their adult life. They can hold their own in the spoken language, but would find it hard to write a business letter in Chinese for lack of usage.
We have a grandson who will be two years old shortly. His parents have given my wife and I the unenviable task of making him bilingual. It is a very tough assignment, as we are with him only a couple of hours on most days. For the rest of the time, he is being surrounded by English sounds by his busy parents.
Fortunately, our perseverance is paying off. After eight months, he has been used to hearing Chinese sounds, and even he can now quite comfortably identify common everyday objects in Chinese. Why is it becoming necessary for some Chinese Singaporean children to learn Chinese?
| A．Because most of the Singaporeans come from China. |
| B．Because their parents are missing their motherland. |
| C．Because China has become a great political and economic superpower. |
| D．Because Chinese is the official language in the UN. |
The underlined word “bilingual”in Paragraph 1 probably means _______ .
| A．a person who knows English |
| B．a person who knows Chinese |
| C．a person who knows only one language |
| D．a person who knows two languages |
What do we know about the author and his children?
| A．He lives in China now. |
| B．His children hate learning English. |
| C．He usually speaks Engliah at home. |
| D．His three children master Chinese very much. |
The author uses the example of teaching his grandson mainly to prove that _______ .
| A．there are challenges for children of English-speaking homes to learn Chinese |
| B．his foundation in Chinese is a big advantage in teaching his grandson |
| C．he is quite good at teaching small children Chinese |
| D．learning Chinese is very popular in Singapore |
We learn from the passage that _______ .
| A．all the children in Singapore need to learn Chinese |
| B．understanding Chinese is becoming an advantage in Singapore |
| C．the author’s children know nothing about Cshinese |
| D．the author feels it easy to teach others Chinese |
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货）, saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．The man’s job was bike racing. |
| B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
| D．They used it for work and daily life. |
We can infer from the text that ____________.
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week. |
| B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike |
| D．life was hard for the young family. |
How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
| A．From radio broadcasts. |
| B．From a newspaper. |
| C．From TV news. |
| D．From a stranger. |
A couple had two little boys aged 8 and 10 who were very naughty．They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that if any trouble occurred in their town their sons were probably involved.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman（牧师） in the town had been successful in educating children so she asked if he would speak with her boys．The clergyman agreed but asked to see them individually．So the mother sent her 8-year-old first in the morning with the elder boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming （嗡嗡） voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him strictly, "Where is God?"
The boy's mouth dropped open but he made no answer, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed．So the clergyman repeated the question in an even stricter tone "Where is God?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer．So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and shouted" Where is God?"
The boy screamed and escaped from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him．When his elder brother found him in the closet, he asked "What happened?"
The younger brother replied out of breath, "We are in big trouble this time．God is missing--and they think we did it．"What were the two boys like?
| A．They always made trouble． | B．They were brave. |
| C．They were easygoing. | D．They were honest. |
What did their parents plan to do?
| A．They gave up their children. |
| B．They liked their children very much. |
| C．They wanted the clergyman to persuade their children． |
| D．They helped their children to make trouble. |
What do you suppose the boy felt when he was asked by the clergyman?
| A．Happy． | B．Sad. |
| C．Afraid． | D．Surprised. |
What do you think the underlined word "slamming" in Paragraph 5 means?
| A．Open． | B．Shut． | C．Knock． | D．Pull. |
America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society in many ways — education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying（老龄化）of America has made us a very different society — one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.
A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his / her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say, "I am much younger than my mother-or my father- was at my age." No one says "Act your age" anymore. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.It can be learned from the text that the aging of the population in America ______.
| A．has made people feel younger |
| B．has changed people’s social position |
| C．has changed people’s understanding of age |
| D．has slowed down the country’s social development |
The underlined word ‘one’ refers to _______.
| A．a society | B．America | C．a place | D．population |
"Act your age" means people should _______.
| A．be active when they are old |
| B．do the right thing at the right age |
| C．show respect to their parents young or old |
| D．take more physical exercises suitable to their age |
If a 25-year-old man become general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it _______.
| A．normal | B．wonderful |
| C．unbelievable | D．unreasonable |
It was already dark when an old man came to a small town. He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night. After he had gone to his room, the owner said to his wife, “Look at his bag, dear. I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it. I want to steal it when he is asleep.”
“No, no,” said the woman. “He must look for his bag tomorrow morning. Then he’ll take you before the judge.” They thought and at last the woman had an idea. “We have forgetful grass,” said the woman, “Why not put some into his food? If he has the food, he will forget to take his bag away.” “How clever you are!” said the owner, “Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”
The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed. The next morning, when the owner got up, he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag. He woke his wife up and said angrily, “What a fool! Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.”
“No, no,” said the woman. “I don’t think so. He must forget something.”
“Oh, I’ve remembered!” The owner cried out suddenly, “He forgot…”The old man came to the inn _______.
| A．in the morning | B．in the afternoon |
| C．in the evening | D．at night |
The owner and his wife wanted to _______.
| A．get the man’s bag |
| B．steal the man’s money |
| C．make the man pay them more |
| D．hide the man’s bag |
The owner and his wife put the forgetful grass into the food because _______.
| A．the old man always forgot something |
| B．they wanted to make the food better |
| C．they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn |
| D．they wanted to know if the grass was useful |
According to the passage the old man forgot _______.
| A．to take his bag away |
| B．to tell the owner when he left |
| C．to close the door when he went to sleep |
| D．to pay them the inn money |
On the coast of Brazil lies its most famous city Rio de Janeiro. Rio is a beautiful place to visit. It is full of exciting parades, historical architecture and natural beauty.
The most famous time of year in Rio is the spring when the samba schools organize a giant parade of dance, music and costumes. Samba is a type of fast Brazilian music, which is perfect for dancing. The carnival lasts two days and over 20 samba schools perform, a total of 70,000 people in brightly coloured costumes, all dancing and singing! It is a magnificent spectacle and millions of people watch the carnival on television around the world.
Rio de Janeiro is a religious city and it is full of churches. Some, like the former Imperial Church, were built over 400 years ago while others, like the Metropolitan Cathedral, are very modern. The Metropolitan Cathedral was built in 1976 and is so large that 20,000 people can stand inside at one time!
Another important religious site in Rio is the Corcovado hill. On the top of the hill, along with a small church, stands a 30-metre high statue of Jesus with his arms stretched out. From this point you can see every part of the city. Brazilian carnival is_________.
| A．a type of Brazilian music |
| B．a parade of 70,000 people dancing and singing |
| C．a parade of millions of people on television |
| D．the name of a samba school |
The Metropolitan Cathedral___________.
| A．was built 400 years ago | B．is on Corcovado Hill |
| C．is a religious city | D．was built in 1976 |
The Corcovado Hill is famous for__________.
| A．the samba parade |
| B．the beautiful view of the city |
| C．the statue of Jesus |
| D．the small church |
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