A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@", saying the character best represents their love for the child,
according to an official trying to whip the national language into shape. The unusual name stands out especially
in Mandarin (普通话), which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke (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 drawn-out "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 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 transcript 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.

1. 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 haw an international name.
C. Because the @ symbol is familiar to email users all over the world.
D. Because die ＠symbol sounds something like "ai ta", which means "love him" in Chinese.

2. 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

3. 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

     From the earliest times, man has been interested in art. People have often worked together to collect and
save the world's art treasures.
     Fine art treasures from many countries are kept in an art museum called the Louvre in Paris, France. The
works of art have been collected by the people of France over many centuries. The Louvre has not always
been a museum. The first building was a fort (炮台). In 1190, it was the king's castle with high walls and a
round tower. It had a moat to prevent his enemies from walking in.
     Over the years, the number of buildings around the castle grew. By 1350, the castle was no longer needed
as a fort. The Louvre became a palace home for French kings and queens.
     During times of peace, new treasures were brought in. During days of war, many treasures were stolen,
and the buildings were damaged.
     When Francis I became king of France in 1515, he brought in artists from many countries. One of the
artists was Leonardo da Vinci from Italy. Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is the best known painting in the museum
today.
     In 1793, the Louvre became a public museum, just as it is now. It is a place where art treasures have been
saved for everyone to enjoy.

1. On the whole,this passage is mainly about _____.???

A. an art museum called the Louvre ?
B. an Italian artist named Leonardo da Vinci ?
C. a king of France named Francis I ?
D. the best known painting in Louvre

2. Why is it good for great art to be kept in public museums? ?

A. It helps people remember who the King of France is. ?
B. It keeps people out of the palaces. ?
C. It gives everyone a chance to enjoy good art. ?
D. It helps people to know who is the greatest artist.

3. From the passage we know that _____. ?

A. it is not possible for treasures to be stolen ?
B. old forts always make the best museums ?
C. great art should be shared with all the people ?
D. king Francis I of France brought in artists from an old fort

4. In the third paragraph the word "moat" probably means _____. ?

A. a high tower built in former times where soldiers watched out for enemies ?
B. a long and deep ditch (沟) dug round a castle and was usually filled with water ?
C. a cart pulled by horses on which soldiers fought ?
D. a long and high wall around castle

     In the United States, there were some well-constructed houses for native Indians, ranging from the simple
brush shelter to the five-storied pueblo.
     In the eastern United States, one of the existing types was that commonly know under the Algonkian name
of wigwam in which the Iroquois Indians lived. The wigwams were of wagon-top shape with straight sides
and ends, made by bending young trees to form the round shape. Over this shape pieces of tree bark were laid
to protect the Indians from bad weather. Over the bark dried grass was added. A small hole allowed smoke to
escape from the top. Doorways at each end served also as windows, The Iroquois Indians built trunk walls all
around their villages. The wall had only one opening, They could quickly close this opening if their enemies
came near.
     Interestingly, the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi also lived in a wigwam of a most primitive (原始的)
construction, but different from those of the Iroquois Indians. The Choctaw Indians' wigwams, made from
mud, cane and straw, were in the form of a bee-hive. The covering was made of a long, tough grass. A post
in the centre supported the roof. A hole in the top admitted the light, and allowed the smoke to pass out.
     The tipi tent-housing of the upper lake and plains area was put up with poles set lightly in the ground, tied
together near the top, and covered with bark and grass in the lake country. It was easily portable, and two
women could set it up or take it down within an hour.
     The Pawnee, Mandan and other Indian tribes (部落) along the Missouri built solid ring-shaped structures
of trunk, covered with earth and dried grass, housing a dozen families.
     The Wichita and other tribes of the Texas border built large ring-shaped houses covered with dried grass.
     Apart from the regular housing, almost every tribe had some style of housing.

1. Which of the following pictures shows the house for the Iroquois Indians?

A.
B.
C.
D.

2. According to the passage, the Pawnee Indians built their houses _____.

A. with openings in the trunk walls
B. large enough for several families
C. in a ring shape with bark and mud
D. by bending young trees to form the shape

3. All the native Indian houses described in the passage were _____.

A. of the same shape
B. covered with grass
C. built with a post in the centre
D. built with doorways at each end

4. The passage suggests that _____.

A. all the native Indians built trunk walls all around their houses
B. all the native Indian houses were built with poles tied together
C. the Iroquois Indians took safety into account while building their wigwams
D. the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi built their wigwams with straight sides and ends

     How words came into being is unknown. All we assume (推测) is that some early men invented certain
sounds, in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could talk
with each other. Later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be put together to show
those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, are
called words.
     The power of words, then, lies in their associations-the thing they bring up to minds. Words become
filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words bring back to us the
happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that means
something to us increases.
     Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which
have powerful effects on our minds and feelings. This clever use of words is what we call literary style (文
体). Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can express his meaning in words which sing like music,
and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our
words carefully and use them correctly, or they will make our speech silly and common.

1. We learn from the text that language might have begun with _____.

A. expressions
B. actions
C. signs
D. sounds

2. What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2?

A. The meaning of new words.
B. The relation of human experience with words.
C. The importance of old words.
D. The gradual change and development of words.

3. In the last paragraph, what does the author suggest that we should do?

A. Use words skillfully.
B. Make musical speeches.
C. Learn poems by heart.
D. Associate with listeners.

     It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers (生产商) follow certain uniform standards for various
features (特征) of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the
opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men's clothes tend to button from
the right, and women's from the left. Considering most of the world's population-men and women-are right-
handed, the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women's clothes button
from the left?
     History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th
century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women's
shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men's shirts button from the right made
sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less
likely to get caught in the shirt.
     Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is
it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from
the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the
right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop
new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in
public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were
wearing men's shirts.

1. What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

A. It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years.
B. It is different for men's clothing and women's.
C. It woks better with men than with women.
D. It fails to consider right-handed people.

2. What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

A. They tended to wear clothes without buttons.
B. They were interested in the historical matters.
C. They were mostly dressed by servants.
D. They drew their swords from the left.

3. Women's clothes still button from the left today because _____.

A. adopting men's style is improper for women
B. manufacturers should follow standards
C. modern women dress themselves
D. customs are hard to change

4. The passage is mainly developed by _____.

A. analyzing causes
B. making comparisons
C. examining differences
D. following the time order

     Chinese, unlike many other languages, has a large family of dialects and written forms. Spoken Chinese is
specially complex with more than five recognized dialect groups, even the written language with two recognized
characters.
     The written forms of Chinese include a traditional system of characters and a simplified one. The simplified
version of characters came into use in 1949.
     Traditional Chinese characters are still widely used throughout Asia and among Chinese people around the
world, while the simplified characters are only found in the People's Republic of China.
     It is usually accepted that there are five major dialect groups within the Chinese language group. These are
Mandarin, Wu, Min, Cantonese and Hakka.
     Mandarin is the official language on the Chinese mainland and Chinese Taiwan. It is also one of the four
official languages of Singapore.
     Wu is spoken around the lower Yangtze River and its tributaries (支流). Shanghai is a well-known dialect
of Wu.
     Min is commonly spoken by people in Taiwan, Fujian and Hainan. Cantonese is mainly spoken in the province
of Guangdong. Cantonese is also spoken in many parts of the Chinese Diaspora (移居地), particularly HongKong
and overseas Chinese settlements in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia. Hakka is the least well-known
dialect group inside China compared to the above four. Most of the Hakka dialect group is scattered (散居)
throughout southeastern China in Guangxi Province. Historically, the Hakka people were northerners who moved
south over several hundred years. Their name Hakka means"guest" indicating their immigrant (移民) status in the
southern areas to which they moved.

     

     The English, as a race, are very different in many ways from all other nationalities, including their closest
neighbors, the French and the Belgians. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of the
Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has
developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities.
     Broadly speaking, an Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people
he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems restrained, even embarrassed. You
have only to witness a city train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. Serious looking men and
women sit reading their newspapers of having a light sleep in a corner, no one speaks. In fact, to do so would
seem most unusual. An Englishman, pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors, once suggested, "On
entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers." Needless to say, he was not being serious.
There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately
suspected.
     In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, excitement,
etc., often accompanied by appropriate gestures. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an
Englishman feels no less deeply than any one of a different nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far
less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl.
Whereas a more emotional man might describe her as "an excellent jewel", "extremely beautiful", and "precious",
the Englishman will flatly state "Oh, she's all right." An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and
enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, "It's not bad you know." or on seeing very unusual
scenery he might convey his pleasure by saying. "Nice, yes, very nice." The overseas visitor must not be
disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement. Instead, he must realize that "all right", "not bad",
and"nice", very often have the sense of "first-class", "excellent", and "beautiful". This use of language of a
unique style, particularly common in England is known as restrained statement.

1. From the passage people can infer that the English are different from other nationalities mainly in _____.

A. attitudes
B. characters
C. habits
D. all the above

2. If one doesn't want to be suspected in pubic, he had better _____.

A. follow the English code of behavior
B. shake hands with all the people he meets
C. talk with others
D. keep quiet

3. The underlined word "restrained" in paragraph 2 most probably means _____.

A. friendly and kind
B. polite and graceful
C. afraid and frightened
D. calm and controlled

4. According to the passage, the Englishman _____.

A. has less feelings than other nationalities
B. has emotions as deep as any other nationalities
C. is liable to express emotion by means of language
D. likes to have a joke with foreign visitors

5. An Englishman's saying "all right" usually expresses the meaning of "_____".

A. not bad
B. quite right
C. not good
D. very good

     When someone says "Well, I guess I'll face the music.", he doesn't mean that (1)______ is planning to go
to a concert. It is something far less happy, as you are (2)______ (call) in by your boss to explain why you
did this or did that, or (3)______ you did not do this or that.
     At some time (4)______ another, every one of us has to "face the music", (5)______ (especial) as children,
we can all remember father's angry words"I want to talk to you!" And it was only because we did not listen
to him. (6)______ a bad thing it was!
     In the middle or at the end of every term, some students have to "face the music". The result of the exam
will decide (7)______ they will have to face the music or not. There might be parents' blame and the contempt
(轻视) of the teachers and other (8)______ (classmate).
     The phrase "to face the music" is well known to every American, (9)______ or old. It is at least 100 years
old. It originally means that you have to do something (10)______ (brave), no matter how terrible the whole
thing might be, because you know you have no choice.