Preparations are underway around the world for Chinese New Year (Feb 19) and celebrations in China will be mirrored across the planet wherever the Chinese Diaspora (华侨) calls home. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to mark the day.
London
Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London's Chinatown is a perfectly formed little firework that knows how to see in the year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns (灯笼), previous years have seen shows with acrobatics (杂技), martial arts (武术), dance and opera nearby.
San Francisco
San Francisco's Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the United States. The city was the main entry-point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between the Grant Avenue and the Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Bangkok
With a more than 100-year-old history, the Thai capital's Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty treats, clothes, toys and antiques. Sunday market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road.
Mauritius
Found in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation's rich multicultural diversity. Established in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During the Chinese Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the Dragon Dances on Rue Royale when Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional Lion dances through the streets.According to the text, which of the following has the longest history?
| A．London's Chinatown. |
| B．Bangkok's Chinatown. |
| C．Mauritius's Chinatown. |
| D．San Francisco's Chinatown. |
What's special about Bangkok's Chinatown?
| A．It is crowded with Chinese restaurants. |
| B．It is well-known for its gold business. |
| C．It was the major entrance for the Chinese. |
| D．It is where you can enjoy fireworks. |
If you want to enjoy the Dragon Dances, you can go to ____.
| A．Rue Royale in Port Louis, Mauritius |
| B．the Sunday market in Bangkok |
| C．the Grant Avenue in San Francisco |
| D．the Chinese community in London |
Pablo Picasso, born in Spain in 1881, was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. Picasso began painting when he was a small child and took advanced art courses when he was only fifteen. Between 1904 and 1947 Picasso lived in Paris. In 1947 he moved to Riviera, in the south of France.
Many people thought Picasso's works were strange and unpleasant. Still，he had a great influence on artists in every country. Today, Picasso is regarded as a genius (天才), and his paintings are in the museums all over the world.
In 1912, Picasso actually invented a new type of art. He painted a picture，then he pasted bits of paper and something else on the picture. This picture of art is called collage(拼贴艺术).
Picasso was not only a painter, he was also a sculptor (雕塑家)and a designer of scenery for plays. There are even some photographs of “ light paintings ” that he created. These paintings were produced by moving a light pencil, or a small flashlight in the air. Although the images could be seen only briefly by anyone watching them happen, the camera was able to catch the images as they occurred.
By the time he died in France in April of 1973 , he had created a staggering 22,000 works of art.
When Picasso was asked how someone could become an artist, he would reply, If you want to draw, you must shut your eyes and sing. After reading the text, we can learn that Picasso was a __________.
| A．French artist |
| B．Spanish artist |
| C．English artist |
| D．Australian artist |
The meaning of the underlined word "pasted" in this text means __________
| A．stuck with |
| B．struck on |
| C．drew |
| D．mixed with |
Which of the following statements best explains the meaning of Picasso's advice about how to become an artist?
| A．Study hard and practise painting. |
| B．Only people who sing can become painters. |
| C．Painters should learn to paint with their eyes closed. |
| D．There is more to painting than just study and hard work. |
Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．How to Become a Great Artist |
| B．A Genius |
| C．Pablo Picasso ： More Than Just a Painter |
| D．Picasso's Life in France |
According to the text, which of the statements is right?
| A．Even Picasso was a great artist, he was not clever at all when he was young. |
| B．Picasso didn't leave Paris until he was 23 years old. |
| C．People didn't like Picasso's works at first. |
| D．Picasso was only good at collage. |
Going green seems to be fad （时尚）for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle. We now shop at organic（有机的）stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green. |
| B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded. |
| D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because .
| A．they were expected to follow others |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What is the couple’s main reason for going green every day for a whole year?
| A．To follow a green fad like many other people. |
| B．To completely change their unhealthy lifestyle. |
| C．to show people how to go green to help our planet. |
| D．to show they never do anything ungreen. |
What did the couple do over the course of their Green Year?
| A．They sold their home-made food. |
| B．They ignore others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| D．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national action. |
Mrs. Obama spoke to the graduates of Martin Luther King Jr. High School on Saturday in her only high school commencement（毕业典礼）speech this year. The ceremony took place in the gymnasium of Tennessee State University.
The first lady told the 170 graduates that she spent too much of her time in college focusing on academic achievements. While her success in college and law school led to a good job, she said, she ended up focusing on public service. “My message to you today is that don’t waste a minute living someone else’s dream,” she said. “It takes a lot of real work to discover what brings you joy and you won’t find what you love simply by checking mailboxes or surfing the net.”
She said MLK reminded her of her own high school experience in Chicago. “My No.1 goal was to go to a high school that would push me and challenge me,” she said. “I wanted to go somewhere that would celebrate achievement. Unfortunately, schools like this don’t exist for every kid.” she said. “You are blessed.”
The first lady told graduates that failure may be a part of their college lives and careers, and that how they respond determines what they will become. “That’s when you find out what you’re really made of in those hard times,” she said. “But you can only do that if you’re willing to put yourself in a position where you might fail.” Overcoming difficulties has been the mark of many great people, she said, “Oprah was demoted（降职）from her first job as a news reporter, and now she doesn’t even need a last name,” she said of media giant Oprah Winfrey “And then there’s this guy Barack Obama, I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures. He lost his first race for Congress”, the first lady joked, “and now he gets to call himself my husband.”When choosing her high school, Mrs. Obama .
| A．was willing to meet challenges |
| B．was pushed to make a choice |
| C．failed to find an ideal school |
| D．wanted to study law |
By mentioning Oprah’s example, Mrs. Obama wanted to tell graduates .
| A．to start as a news reporter |
| B．to work hard to get promoted |
| C．to be brave enough to risk failing |
| D．not to waste time doing what they dislike |
What do we know about Mrs. Obama from the text?
| A．This was the first time she gave a speech to graduates. |
| B．She complained about her school life in her speech. |
| C．She is a graduate of Tennessee State University. |
| D．She is enthusiastic about public service. |
Mrs. Osama’s speech is aimed to .
| A．show how Mr. and Mrs. Obama overcame difficulties. |
| B．encourage graduates to face their future lives bravely. |
| C．tell graduates that failure is a part of their lives and careers. |
| D．to call on graduates to focus on public service. |
Where can you probably find this text?
| A．On a news website. | B．In a politics book |
| C．In a graduation paper. | D．On Mrs. Osama’s blog. |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I noticed every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I looked down on the computer and asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down? I wanted to know.”
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer—What about your planes? They are still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could, just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he is flying to Washington,” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. It can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The words soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.Where do you often hear the frightening words “Our computer is down”?
| A．at the airport. | B．At the gate. |
| C．On business | D．In the ticket office |
What could the girl in the ticket office do without asking the computer?
| A．She could do nothing. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could still sell a ticket. |
| D．She could answer passengers’ questions. |
What does the underlined word “down” in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．White | B．Broken | C．Black | D．Dark |
We can learn from the last paragraph that .
| A．a modern computer won’t be down |
| B．computers can take the place of human |
| C．there will be great changes in computers |
| D．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
The best title for the article is .
| A．Asking the Computer |
| B．When the Computer Is Down |
| C．The Computer of the Airport |
| D．The Most Frightening Words |
With golden sunshine and a gentle breeze (微风), autumn is the most beautiful seasons in the year. This is a great time to go outside and have fun. Go to a valley to see red maple trees , go and pick fruit in an orchard or find an open field to fly your kite in.
However, for many high school students, these great activities may be just a dream. With plenty of work to do, they spend all their hours indoors, struggling for a high mark in their exams. Of course, study is one of the most important things for teenagers. But life is definitely much more than that.
Sometimes we spend so much time studying that we forget how to make life wonderful. In doing so, we lose the real purpose of life —to be a valuable and happy person. To enjoy just how great it is to be alive, we have to put down our books and pens and look around us. Students, take some exercise to improve your health, talk with your parents and friends for understanding and walk around outside to refresh (振作) your body and mind.
Going out and enjoying the beautiful countryside often helps our creativity in our work. Chinese craftsman, Lu Ban created a saw to help woodworkers. But if he hadn't walked outside, he would not have been inspired by a kind of toothed (锯齿状的) grass. We could also suppose if Newton hadn't rested under that apple tree, then he wouldn't have been hit by an apple, and his classic (经典的) theories would not have come out.
Going out is not only a break from hard work, but a chance to add to life experience. So come on, give your brain a good rest. Step out of the books and get your bag ready for an autumn outing. We are sure you will get much more than knowledge from the exciting journey.In which paragraph does the writer make a summary about his opinion?
| A．Paragraph 1. | B．Paragraph 2. |
| C．Paragraph 5. | D．Paragraph 4. |
Why is going out a dream for many high school students?
| A．They are unhappy to do so. |
| B．Their parents don’t allow them to do so. |
| C．They have too much work to do for getting high marks in the exams. |
| D．They think study is the most important thing for them. |
Which of the following ISN’T the reason for high school students’ going out?
| A．To improve their health. |
| B．To invent a new product. |
| C．To develop their creativity. |
| D．To refresh themselves. |
The passage is developed mainly by______________.
| A．describing the beautiful scenery in Autumn |
| B．pointing out the present situation of high school students |
| C．making predictions (做预测) |
| D．reasoning and giving examples |
What can you learn from the passage?
| A．We should take an optimistic attitude towards life. |
| B．Nature is power. |
| C．Going out can make high school students get more. |
| D．The author isn’t happy with our education at all. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号