If you go to Russia, bring matryoshka or nesting dolls (套娃) back with you. They make great presents.
     It looks like any other doll on the outside. But if you open it, you will find a smaller doll inside. Then a
smaller one inside that one, and on and on! 
     In a nesting doll, there are dolls inside one another, from large to small. The largest one can be half a
meter high. The smallest is as small as a peanut. Usually, there are eight dolls. But there can be anything from
three to 50.
     The dolls are often pretty Russian girls in colourful dresses. They wear scarves (头巾). 
     They sometimes have other kinds of faces on them. There are cartoon people or men with white beards
(胡子). They even have great men like President (总统) Vladimir Putin on some of them.

根据短文，判断正(T)误(F)：
(     )1. There are dolls inside one another in a nesting doll.
(     )2. The largest doll can be one meter high.
(     )3. People often make dolls look like pretty Russian girls.
(     )4. Usually, a nesting doll can be eight dolls in one.
(     )5. People never makedolls look like the president.

    The Spring Festival is the biggest festival for Chinese people all around the world. The celebration usually
lasts for 15 days. There is a lot to do.
     On the eve of the Spring Festival, family members get together and have big meals. Their favourite dish
on this day is dumplings.
     Days before the Spring Festival, families will clean their homes. People think cleaning sweeps away bad
luck. It makes the house ready for good luck.
     The colour red is everywhere during the Spring Festival. People think red is a happy colour and will bring
them a bright future. People wear red, too. They decorate (装饰) their homes with pieces of red paper. Kids
get a lot of "hong bao". It is a red paper bag with money in it. Usually, older people give younger ones hong
bao. They think it brings good luck.
     The Spring Festival is the time to make everybody happy. So don't say any bad words or do anything that
will bring unhappiness to other people.
     For instance, you'd better not say any bad words like "death". Don't break anything. People think that it
means your luck is running out.
     Also, don't borrow or lend money on these days. If you have borrowed money, return it before the
Spring Festival.

1. What do most people do on the eve of the Spring Festival?

A. Family members gather for a big meal.
B. Friends eat dumplings together.
C. They borrow money from friends.
D. They give each other hong bao.

2. Why do people clean their houses days before the Spring Festival?

A. Because they enjoy being clean.
B. Because it is believed that cleaning will sweep away bad luck.
C. Because they think it will bring happiness to others.
D. Because it is thought that cleaning brings in money.

3. Which of the following things is not supposed to happen during the Spring Festival?

A. Returning money before the Spring Festival.
B. Saying words that have to do with death.
C. Wearing red clothes.
D. Decorating houses with red paper.

4. The underlined phrase "running out" probably means "____".

A. 跑出去
B. 打碎
C. 耗尽
D. 离开

5. We can tell from the story that the Spring Festival is ____.

A. a time of harvest and fun
B. celebrated for one whole month
C. only celebrated in China
D. a time for families to get together

                                                               Beijing-old and new   
     Fifty years ago, if you flew over Beijing and looked down on the city, it looked like an army camp.
The whole city was laid out in regular squares. In the middle was the Forbidden City-like the general's
headquarters. North, south, east and west were miles and miles of hutongs, with their traditional courtyard
houses. Seen from the air, these looked like the tens of the army's ordinary soldiers.
     In many ways, the old city of Beijing looked very much like other Chinese capital cities from the past
two or three thousand years. The regular city plan with the Emperor's Palace in the center, the traditional
buildings with their wooden structures and tiled roofs, the large city walls-these were features that the city
shared with other capitals of ancient China such as Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) or Kaifeng. 
     Until the 1940s, the city looked very much the same as it had for centuries. However, in the 1950s the
enormous city walls were torn down. More recently, most of the old hutongs have disappeared. In their
place, a modern city of wide roads and tall skyscrapers has been rising upwards, and spreading
outwards-far beyond the area of the old capital.
Vocabulary
army camp 军营,            lay out 设计, 策划           regular 规则的, 整齐的       square 正方形; 方块
Forbidden City 紫禁城     general 将军                   headquarters (单复数同)司令部, 大本营; 总部
courtyard 四合院            wooden 木制的, 木头的 structure 结构, 构造            tiled 用砖瓦覆盖的
feature 特点, 特征,特色  tear down 拆毁, 拆卸       spread 铺开, 展开               outwards 向外
beyond (指空间) 在…….的那一边, 远于

Write what, or who, the underlined words in the passage refer to:
1. it =                                                                         
2. these =                                                                          
3. the city =                                                                            
4. their =                                                                            

    Every year there is a Spring Festival in China. Usually it is in January or February. It is the most important
festival in China. So before it comes, everyone has to prepare things. They buy pork, beef, chicken, fruits
and many other things. And they often make a special kind of food-"dumplings". It means "come together".
On the day before the festival, parents buy new clothes for their children. Children also buy presents for their
parents. On the Spring Festival Eve (除夕), all the family members come back to their hometown. This is a
happy moment. Some sing and dance, some play cards and others get the dinner ready. When they enjoy the
meal, they give each other the best wishes for the coming year. They all have a good time.?

1. Which is the most important festival in China? ?

[     ]

A. The Mid-Autumn Festival.
B. The Spring Festival.?
C. Children's Day.?

2. When is the Chinese Spring Festival usually celebrated?

[     ]

A. In March or April.
B. In May or June.
C. In January or February.?

3.            is the special kind of food for the Spring Festival in China. ?

[     ]

A. Chicken
B. Dumpling
C. Fish?

4. What's the meaning of the food "dumplings" for Chinese people in the Spring Festival?

[     ]

A. Look up.
B. Help yourself.
C. Come together.?

5. The family            when they are having dinner together on the Spring Festival Eve.?

[     ]

A. give each other the best wishes
B. buy each other presents?
C. sing,dance and play cards?

     Have you ever seen Korean writing before? In many people's eyes it 1.             (look) lovely but
difficult. Do you know the history of the special letters?
     Long ago, Korean people 2.             (not own) their letters. At that time, they used Chinese
characters (文字). Because Chinese is hard to learn, only rich people had the money and time to ask
teachers 3.             (teach) them. One of their kings was called Sejong. He decided to invent Korean
letters. He 4.             (think) hard. One day, on October 9, 1446, he looked at a window frame (窗框)
and shouted, "I know what our letters should be!" He got the idea from the frame and invented letters
of all the same size. It seemed that they 5.            (put) in a window frame. The earliest Korean letters
were born. King Sejong said, "Chinese characters can't express (表达) Korean meanings. Now I
 6.             (invent) our own letters. These letters are very easy to learn. I hope that they 7.             
(help) all people learn to read." 
     When King Sejong first invented the Korean letters, they had 28 letters, but only 24 are used today.
All the Korean people enjoy 8.             (use) their own letters.

     Learning a new language is always a challenge. There are new words, new grammar, and new
pronunciation. Language is an important part of culture, and becoming familiar with (熟悉) the culture
as well as the language can make the learning experience much more enjoyable.
     When I was a university student, I studied Chinese for three years. Before I went to university, I had
very little knowledge of China. Therefore, when I started learning to speak Chinese, it was important for
me to also learn about China's history and culture. China's culture is very different from my own and I
become interested in it soon.
     It will be much more fun to learn about culture when you study a new language. Culture can teach you
so many things about a language. It can give you background information about the language and tell you
the history of the language. I also found out one fact, that is, if you have some knowledge about the country
and the culture, you will communicate with its people much easier.
     Whenever I try to learn a new language, I enjoy knowing information about the culture as well. It's a
challenge to dig (挖掘) deeper for more information, but it is very rewarding!

1. When we learn a new language, we will have a chance to _______.

A. learn new words, new grammar, and new pronunciation
B. learn about China's history and culture
C. stay in the other country and learn its language
D. communicate with people in China

2. According to the passage, the writer must be _______.

A. a Chinese student who is studying abroad (国外)
B. a foreign student who is studying in China
C. a famous writer who wants to learn a new language
D. a teacher who is teaching English in China

3. If you have some knowledge about the country and the culture, _______.

A. you can get a good grade in the exam
B. you will communicate with its people much easier
C. you will be interested in its history
D. you will make more friends

4. The underlined word "rewarding" means _______ in Chinese.

A. 有益的
B. 困难的
C. 值得鼓励的
D. 实用的

5. What's the best title for this passage?

A. An Enjoyable Experience
B. How to Learn a New Language
C. How to Face the Challenge When You in Trouble
D. The Importance of Culture in Learning a Language

    The Great Wall of China is called the "Ten thousand Ii Great Wall" in Chinese. In fact, it' s more than
6,000 kilometers long. It winds its way from west to east, across deserts, over mountains, through valleys
till at last it reaches the sea. It is one of the wonders of the world. 
    The Great Wall has a history of over twenty centuries. The first part of it was built during the Spring
and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period, more walls were put up to defend the borders of the
different kingdoms. It was during the Qin Dynasty that the kingdom of Qin united the different parts into
one empire. To keep the enemy out of his empire, Emperor Qin Shihuang had all the walls joined up. Thus,
the Great Wall came into being. 
    The Great Wall is wide enough at the top for five horses or ten men to walk side by side. Along the wall
are watchtowers, where soldiers used to keep watch. Fires were lit on the towers as a warning when the
enemy came.
     It was very difficult to build such a wall in the ancient days without any modern machines. All the work
was done by hand. Thousands of men died and were buried under the wall they built. The Great Wall was
made not only of stone and earth, but of the flesh and blood of millions of men.
     Today the Great Wall has become a place of interest not only to the Chinese but to people from all over
the world. Many of them have come to know the famous Chinese saying:"He who does not reach the Great
Wall is not a true man."

1. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The Great Wall is called the "Ten thousand Ii Great Wall" in Chinese.
B. The Great Wall is less than 6 000 kilometers long.
C. The Great Wall winds its way from west to east and reaches the sea at last.
D. The Great Wall is one of the wonders of the world.

2. People started to build the Great Wall in ______.

A. Spring and Autumn Period
B. the Warring States Period
C. the Qin Dynasty
D. New China

3. ______ joined up all the walls.

A. The enemy
B. Emperor Qin Shihuang
C. Modern machines
D. People from all over the world

4. What is the underlined words "side by side" mean in Chinese?

A. 肩并肩
B. 一边一边地
C. 两侧
D. 通过

5. What is the best title of the passage?

A. The History of the Great Wall
B. Welcome to the Great Wall
C. The Great Wall
D. The Famous Chinese Saying

     No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made
by animals. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him--water splashing (溅落), bees
humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he
made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language. People living in different countries
made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each
contains four or five hundred thousand words, but we do not need all of these. Only a few thousand words
are used in everyday life.
     The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary bigger, read
as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy English for you to read. You will enjoy
them. When you meet a new word, look it up in your dictionary. Your dictionary is your most useful book.

1. "Humming" in the text means ______.

A. 飞翔
B. 嗡嗡叫
C. 采蜜
D. 跳舞

2. Different countries have ______ kinds of words.

A. different
B. more and more
C. the same
D. a few

3. In our daily life we need ______.

A. four or five hundred thousand words
B. fifteen hundred words
C. only a few thousand words
D. thousands of words

4. If we want to get our vocabulary bigger, we should ______.

A. learn from the teacher
B. read as many books as possible
C. look up new words in the dictionary
D. write in the words

5. We call the words that we know our ______.

A. language
B. sounds
C. dictionary
D. vocabulary

     Just like Chinese, westerners give gifts on many occasions (场合), such as, on birthdays of good friends,
at Christmas and some other holidays. Although gifts are always welcome, it is not necessary to exchange
(交换) gifts at any time. They exchange gifts only among good friends.
     Usually when you are invited to dinner, you needn't bring a gift except on special occasions, for example,
when you are going to be a weekend guest (宾客). If you wish to bring something, the gifts should always
be small, simple and cheap. You might bring some sweets or some small toys for the children, or a book,
some flowers,a bottle of wine etc for the host (主人). If you want to make your gifts special, you can bring
some Chinese tea, Chinese paintings, Chinese papercuts (剪纸) or other things like that,or even you can cook
Chinese dish and bring it with you.
     Westerners prefer to open a gift at once, and admire (赞美) it. They would thank you and make some
comment (谈论) about the gift's beauty so that you know they like your gift very much.

1. The westerners ______.

A. never exchange gifts
B. exchange gifts at any time
C. exchange gifts among good friends
D. don't like gifts at all

2. In this passage, the word "special" means ______.

A. 一般的
B. 特殊的
C. 意外的
D. 不同的

3. You can bring ______ for the children if you are invited.

A. some sweets
B. some flowers
C. a book
D. a bottle of wine

4. According to the passage, which sentence of the following is right?

A. If you are invited to dinner, you'd better bring a gift.
B. If you want to make your gifts special, you can bring a big, expensive one.
C. Westerners like to open gifts at once.
D. If you want to send a gift, don't send the things made in China.

5. The best title of this passage is ______.

A. How to Exchange Gifts
B. Westerners Gifts
C. About Giving Gifts
D. Special Gifts