We know many musical instruments well, such as pianos, violins, drums and so on. What about the erhu? The erhu is a traditional Chinese instrument. It is the most popular of the huqin family, and it has a long history.
The modern erhu developed from the xiqin, which was played by many ethnic minorities (少数民族) during the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, musicians began to use the erhu to perform different kinds of music, and it became quite a popular instrument. With the rise of some forms of folk art, the art of the erhu developed quickly during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It became an important accompanying (伴奏) instrument in different folk music. At present, it is used in both traditional and modern music, such as in pop, rock and jazz. It has even become a solo (独奏) instrument. One of the most famous musical pieces played on the erhu is ErquanYingyue.
As the erhu was mainly played by common people and the playing skills were passed down orally (口头地), there are few written records about the erhu that can be found. To study the history and the development of the erhu, historians (历史学者) usually turn to ancient paintings. The earliest pictures of this instrument were found in Yulin Caves and Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves in Gansu Province, where five erhu pictures were discovered on murals (壁画).
（1）When did the erhu become a popular instrument?
| A． |
In the Tang Dynasty. |
B． |
In the Song Dynasty. |
| C． |
In the Ming Dynasty. |
D． |
In recent years. |
（2）To study the history of the erhu, historians usually ________.
| A． |
play the most famous erhu pieces |
B． |
listen to different kinds of folk music |
| C． |
get help from ancient paintings |
D． |
read some books about ethnic minorities |
（3）Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A． |
The huqin belongs to the erhu family. |
| B． |
Folk art stops the development of the erhu. |
| C． |
People can find plenty of written records about the erhu. |
| D． |
The erhu is used in both traditional and modern music now. |
（4）You may read the passage in the ________ section of a newspaper.
| A． |
culture |
B． |
business |
C． |
health |
D． |
nature |
（5）The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A． |
the forms of folk music |
B． |
the history of the erhu |
| C． |
the rise of different dynasties |
D． |
the development of Chinese instruments |
Now students’ English handwriting gets worse and worse. Their teachers worry about that. Is your English handwriting beautiful? If not, here are four steps that really work!
Use paper with lines
Using paper with lines can keep you writing straight instead of up or down when you write English words or sentences. Those lines on the paper can help you to write words in the right size. Be sure to fill the lined space completely. And remember that those capital letters are written properly.
Slow down
If your writing is hard to read, try slowing down a little. For some kids, going a little slowly makes the handwriting clear. If you write too fast, it’s hard for you to stop where you should, and even worse, you may make more mistakes.
Hold your pencil correctly
When you hold your pencil correctly, writing is much easier. Some kids press down really hard when they write. That makes the handwriting not nice. Try to be relaxed and don’t hold the pencil so hard. Let your writing appear nice and clean. If you do so, people will guess you are a student with a good habit.
Draw more pictures
Drawing can improve your handwriting. You need to use the skills to control your pencil better when you are drawing pictures. Even though you have no chance to draw at school, you can practice by yourself at home.
Handwriting is very important. Imagine you are a world-famous movie star or a well-known sports player, what do you do when your fans run up to you? Give them your autographs, of course!
| Steps to Improve Your English |
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| Reason |
Students’ English handwriting gets worse and worse. That makes their teachers feel |
|
| Steps |
Use paper with lines |
It can help you |
| Slow down |
If some kids write a little slowly, their handwriting will be |
|
| Hold your pencil |
Writing is much easier. Don’t press down too hard when writing. Try to |
|
| Draw more pictures |
It is believed that |
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| Handwriting is very |
Daniel Olin was 11 years old when his parents moved to Canada. He liked his new school and made friends there, but then things at home started to change. His mum and dad began to argue and the arguments got worse and worse until one day, Daniel's mum left. With his father working long hours, Daniel felt very lonely and very unhappy. He wanted to escape, to run away. And that's what he did.
Very early one terribly cold morning when the snow was deep on the ground, he packed a bag with some clothes, some chocolate and a map of Canada and set off to a forest. He ran and ran until he could hardly breathe. His feet were heavy with the snow but he still walked on through deep snow, not even watching where he was going.
Then, disaster struck. A rock hidden by the deep snow caught his feet and Daniel fell to the ground. He had broken the bone. He was very cold and was starting to feel tired, but he knew that if he fell asleep in the snow, he would certainly die from the cold.
A tree shook ahead. From within the branches(树枝), a pair of yellow eyes watched Daniel. The puma had been following him. A puma is a large wild cat with claws that could tear（撕开） Daniel into pieces. But instead of moving in for the kill, the puma walked up to Daniel and lay across his chest, arms and legs. Daniel was too frightened to move, but soon the warmth of the animal reached Daniel and he began to feel better. From time to time, the puma pressed his muzzle (口鼻) against Daniel and rocked his head gently. Clearly, the puma knew that Daniel must not fall asleep. This animal should have been a real danger to Daniel and yet the boy began to feel safe.
They remained like that for several hours until Daniel and the puma heard voices. The rescue (援救) team had found them.Daniel ran away from home because ______.
| A．he had a big argument with his father |
| B．he wanted to learn to be independent |
| C．he didn’t get enough care from his parents |
| D．his parents were always arguing at home |
What was the ‘disaster’?
| A．Daniel lost his way in the forest. |
| B．The heavy snow blocked the way. |
| C．Daniel fell down and got hurt. |
| D．A puma wanted to attack Daniel. |
Why didn’t Daniel notice the rock that caused him to fall?
| A．Because it was getting dark. |
| B．Because the rock was hidden by snow. |
| C．Because he was frightened by a puma. |
| D．Because he was too sad to notice it. |
Where was the puma when Daniel first saw it?
| A．In the tree. | B．On the top of a rock. |
| C．Behind the rock. | D．Before a cave. |
What is the best title for the story?
| A．Puma in danger | B．A caring puma |
| C．Rescue of a boy | D．A homeless boy |
I started learning English when I was 6 years old. For 8 years I have learned English in the way everybody else did—by going to English classes. It was useless. I did everything that the teachers told me to do. But I didn’t get any results. I mean, I was always one of the best students in class. However, it took me a long time to read English texts. I made lots of mistakes when writing, and my pronunciation was bad, and I could only speak English very slowly. After my eight years of studying hard, these were the results.
In 2003, I went to the best high school in Wroclaw. It was a special school with a lot of English classes. I owe(感激) a lot to the people I met there, both students and teachers. My first two years in high school were very important for my English. My English teacher, Mr Janusz Laskosz, gave me a lot of good advice, especially on pronunciation and vocabulary. My talented friends, Wojtek and Michael Ryszard, who are my partners now, were both fantastic English learners. What’s more, every time I heard them speak, they seemed to have a bigger vocabulary（词汇）. I wanted to be as good as them, so I studied harder. And my English improved. Wojtek and Michael also introduced me to SuperMemo, which has been very important in my life. And, of course, I could discuss the English language with them, which was a great thing.The writer studied hard at English in the first eight years, _________.
| A．but he was still not good at it |
| B．and then he could read English articles very quickly |
| C．so his pronunciation was quite good |
| D．and then he invented an effective way to learn it |
The writer made great progress in learning English _________.
| A．after he read many English texts |
| B．because he spoke English very slowly |
| C．even before he went to the high school in Wroclaw |
| D．because of his English teacher, his friends Wojtek and Michael |
We can learn from the passage that _________ could help people learn English better.
| A．good texts | B．beautiful environment |
| C．studying harder alone | D．good teachers and friends |
The best title for the passage is “_________”.
| A．How to make friends | B．How I learn English |
| C．My good English teacher | D．My high school |
Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼) in the closet (衣橱)?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother thought for a while. “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was brought to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors（祖先） arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and from time to time she looked angrily at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank in a faint(晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I wanted to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I said something about skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means ________.
| A．a family honor | B．a family secret |
| C．a family story | D．a family treasure |
Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?
| A．She was curious about it. |
| B．She planned to keep it for fun. |
| C．She needed it for her school task. |
| D．She wanted to scare her parents. |
Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ________.
| A．they realized their misunderstanding |
| B．they were crazy |
| C．they were over excited |
| D．they both thought they had won the quarrel |
You may never be in an emergency situation. But if it happens, you should know how to get help. The telephone book in the United States has emergency numbers on the inside front cover. Look at the following table from the Boston telephone book. Notice that the numbers for the police and the fire department (部门) are the same. And it is an easy number to remember. If you are too unhappy or excited to remember any numbers at all, you can simply dial (拨打) “0” for an operator (接线员) in any emergency.
| EMERGENCY NUMBERS FIRE POLICE DOCTOR BOSTON 911 BOSTON 911 BOSTON 482-5252 CAMBRIDGE 876-5800 CAMBRIDGE 846-1212 CAMBRIDGE 856-3585 SOMERVILLE 023-1500 SOMERVILLE 645-1212 SOMERVILLE 025-4774 Other Places _________ Other Places _________ Other Places ________ Write in your number here Write in your number here Write in your number here ★ COAST GUARD 223-6978 OR DIAL “0” (OPERATIOR) IN ANY EMERGENCY WE ARE ALWAYS THERE AND READY TO HELP! |
If you see a fire in Cambridge, you should dial _________.
| A．023-1500 | B．846-1212 |
| C．645-1212 | D．876-5800 |
If you dial “0”, ________ will answer your call.
| A．the police | B．the doctor |
| C．the operator | D．the fire department |
This passage is most probably taken from _________.
| A．a sports magazine | B．an emergency leaflet |
| C．a TV guide | D．a telephone book |
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