A Chinese couple tried to name their baby “@”, saying the character best represents their love for the child, according to an official trying to standardize the national language. The unusual name stands out especially in Mandarin, which has no alphabet (字母表) and instead uses tens of thousands of multistroke (多笔画的) characters to represent words. “The whole world uses it to write emails, and translated into Chinese it means ‘love him’,” the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.
While the @ symbol is familiar to Chinese email users, they often use the English word “at” to sound it out. With a drawnout “t”, this sounds something like “ai ta”, or “love him”, to Mandarin speakers. Li says the name is an extreme example of people’s increasingly adventurous approach to Mandarin, as commercialization and the Internet break down conventions (习俗).
Another couple tried to give their child a name that in English sounds like “King Osrina”.
Li did not say if officials accepted the “@” name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals (阿拉伯数字) and foreign languages. Sixty million Chinese face the problem that their names use ancient characters so uncommon that computers cannot recognize them and even fluent speakers are left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a report on the government website. One of them is the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name has a rare “rong” character that gives newspaper editors headaches.
Why did the Chinese couple try to name their baby “@”？
| A．Because they wanted their baby to have a special name. |
| B．Because they wanted their baby to have an international name. |
| C．Because the @ symbol is familiar to email users all over the world. |
| D．Because the @ symbol sounds something like “ai ta”, which means “love him” in Chinese. |
It can be inferred that ___________.
| A．Li Yuming is in favor of the baby’s name |
| B．many Chinese people use Arabic numerals in their names |
| C．a majority of the Chinese people are having longer names |
| D．there is little possibility for the “@” name to be officially accepted |
The underlined part in the passage probably means___________.
| A．even native speakers find it hard to accept these strange names |
| B．even native speakers can’t find these characters in their computers |
| C．even those who are expert at Chinese can’t recognize these characters |
| D．even those who are expert at Chinese find it hard to accept these names |
The former Premier Zhu Rongji is mentioned in the passage because ________.
| A．people often mispronounce his name |
| B．there is an uncommon character in his name |
| C．he often made newspaper editors annoyed during his term in office |
| D．he once stressed the importance of standardizing Chinese characters |
The passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．how Chinese parents name their babies |
| B．the importance of standardizing Chinese characters |
| C．a ban on names using Arabic numerals and foreign languages |
| D．the problems caused by uncommon characters used in Chinese names |
I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled(贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.
War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled(爬)under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”
Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.What made Kate so angry one evening?
| A．She couldn’t find her books. |
| B．She heard the author shouting loud. |
| C．She got the news that her grandma was ill. |
| D．She saw the author’s shoes beneath her bed. |
The author tidied up the room most probably because______________.
| A．She was scared by Kate’s anger. |
| B．She hated herself for being so messy |
| C．She wanted to show her care |
| D．She was asked by Kate to do so |
How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?
| A．By analyzing分析 causes. |
| B．By showing differences. |
| C．By describing a process过程. |
| D．By following time order. |
What might be the best title for the story?
| A．My Friend Kate | B．Hard Work Pays Off |
| C．How to Be Organized | D．Learning to Be Roommates |
Welcome to one of the largest collections of footwear（鞋类）in the world that will make you green with envy. Here at the Footwear Museum you can see exhibits（展品）from all over the world. You can find out about shoes worn by everyone from the Ancient Egyptians to pop stars.
| Room 1 The celebrity(名人) footwear section is probably the most popular in the entire museum. Started in the 1950s there is a wide variety of shoes and boots belonging to everyone from queens and presidents to pop stars and actors! Most visitors find the celebrities’ choice of footwear extremely interesting. |
Room 2 Most of our visitors are amazed and shocked by the collection of “special purpose” shoes on exhibition here at the Museum of Footwear. For example, there are Chinese shoes made of silk that were worn by women to tie their feet firmly to prevent them from growing too much! |
| Room 3 As well as shoes and boots the museum also exhibits shoe shaped objects. The variety is unbelievable. For example, there is a metal lamp that is similar to a pair of shoes, and Greek wine bottles that like legs! |
The footwear Library People come from all over the world to study in our excellent footwear library. Designers and researchers come here to look up Information on anything and everything related to the subject of footwear. |
Where would you find a famous singer’s shoes?
| A．Room1. | B．Room 2. | C．Room3. | D．The Footwear Library |
All exhibits in each room .
| A．share the same theme |
| B．have the same shape |
| C．are made of the same material |
| D．belong to the same social class |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．The oldest exhibits in Room 1 were made in the 1950s. |
| B．Room 2 is the most visited place in the museum. |
| C．Room 3 has a richer variety of exhibits than the other two. |
| D．Researchers come to the Footwear Library for information. |
The purpose of the text is to get more people to .
| A．do research | B．design shoes |
| C．visit the museum | D．follow celebrities |
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．were poor but somewhat content (满足的) |
| C．dreamed of having a better life |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs ?
| A．The frogs were easy money. |
| B．They needed money to buy medicine. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs made too much noise. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．The crops didn't do well. |
| B．There were too many insects. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．The pesticides were overused. |
What can we infer推断 from the last sentence of the text ?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony(和谐) between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old days will never be forgotten. |
The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.
The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.
Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.
Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.
What did the author think of her winter life in New York?
| A．Exciting. | B．Boring. | C．Relaxing. | D．Annoying. |
What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?
| A．Having a swim. |
| B．Breathing in fresh air. |
| C．Walking in the morning sun. |
| D．Visiting a local farmer’s market. |
What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?
| A．They are soft. | B．They look nice. |
| C．They taste great. | D．They are juicy. |
What was the author going to that evening?
| A．Go to a farm. | B．Check into a hotel. |
| C．Eat in a restaurant. | D．Buy fresh vegetables. |
Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission is at normal charges and you don’t need to book. They end around 21:00.
November 7th
The Canal Pioneers, by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal planning and building. Chris Lewis will explain how Brindley made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early “civil engineers”.
December 5th
Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Well before the arrival of freezers, there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering, Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London’s ice trade grew.
February 6th
An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Stroudwater Canal is moving towards reopening. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.
March 6th
Eyots and Aits- Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames has many islands. Miranda has undertaken a review of all of them. She will tell us about those of greatest interest.
Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book
More into:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson
London Canal Museum
12-13 New Wharf Road, London NI 9RT
www.canalmuseum.org.uk www.canalmuseum.mobi
Tel:020 77130836
When is the talk on James Brindley?
| A．February 6th. | B．March 6th. |
| C．November 7th. | D．December 5th. |
What is the topic of the talk in February?
| A．The Canal Pioneers. |
| B．Ice for the Metropolis |
| C．Eyots and Aits- Thames Islands |
| D．An Update on the Cotsword Canals |
Who will give the talk on the islands in the Thames.
| A．Miranda Vickers | B．Malcolm Tucker |
| C．Chris Lewis | D．Liz Payne |
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