阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　If you ask most Americans, they would say their favorite season of the year is summer．The weather is warm．They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm．Young people do not have to go to school．They can do many activities outside, like playing sports and swimming at the beach or the pool．They like the sunshine during the day and the warm summer nights．People have written and recorded hundreds of songs about summer．These are some of our favorites．

　　One of the most famous songs about summer is from George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess．" He wrote the music in nineteen thirty-five．The opera takes place in the southern United States．It opens with these words："Summer time and the living is easy．Fish are jumping and the cotton is high．" Leontyne Price sings the song．

　　The nineteen fifties and sixties produced many songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school．The songs are about having fun, swimming in the ocean, driving in cars．However, for some teenagers, summer vacation was not all fun and games．Some of them had to work to earn money．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting．They say things like, “My Dad's car is bigger than your Dad's, ” and “My Mom is smarter than yours．” They particularly like to boast about their families．

　　There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting．Gavin was the worst．Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive．

　　Whatever the others said, he could always go on better．One day when they were walking to school, Harry said, “My father had a bath twice a week, ” Ted spoke next．“That's nothing, ” he said．“Having a bath twice a week is dirty．My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day．” Ted looked at Gavin．Now it was his turn．But what could he say? “This time, ” Ted thought, “I'm going to win．” Gavin didn't know what to say．He couldn't say that his father had a bath three times a day．That was silly．He walked on in silence．Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back．They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin．They reached the school gates．Still Gavin said nothing．“We’ve won, ” Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon．On the way home, Gavin said, “My Dad is so clean that he doesn't have to bathe at all．”

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　The Chinese New Year is now known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the beginning of spring．Though there are some sayings about its origin, all agree that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese means "year", was originally the name of a beast that started to eat pleople the night before the beginning of a new year．

　　One story goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would take in a great many people at one time．People were very afraid．One day, an old man came to their help and said he would stop all this．He said to Nian, "I hear that you are very strong, but can you eat up all the beasts on earth instead of people who are too weak to be your enemies? " "Yes, " Nian agreed with him and went to kill many of the beasts on earth．People were very happy because those beasts also did bad things to people and killed their farm animals from time to time．

　　After that, the old man, who was a god, rode on the beast Nian and left．Nian was gone, and other beasts also went into forests; people began to enjoy their happy life．Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper-cuts on their windows and doors at each year's end to drive Nian away, because red is the color the beast felt most afraid of．

　　From then on, every year at the beginning of spring, people prepare to Guo Nian"．The word "Guo Nian" means "go through the Nian safely"．Putting up red paper-cuts to drive Nian away and making dumplings for a better new year are still an every year doing by the Chinese people．However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, they just feel the color and the food make the New Year very enjoyable．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　We are busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?

　　Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s．At that time, computers were large and expensive．Computer network didn't work well．If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped．So a new network system had to be set up．It should be good enough to be used by many different computers．If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part．In this way computer network system would keep on working on the time．

　　At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities and banks were allowed to use it too．However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use．By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use．Scientists had also developed software that made "surfing" in the Internet more convenient．

　　Today it is easy to get on－line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day．Sending e－mail is more and more popular among students．

　　The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life．

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The following are some of the film festivals in the city! Find which interests you and go!

　　●Movie Nights on the Elevated Acre

　　55 Water St．, near Broad Street

　　※When：Thursdays at 8 p.m．from July 29 to Aug．19．

　　※What：This festival will show some Broadway-style films including “Broadway Danny Rose”(July 29), “Auntie Mame”(Aug．5)and “The Muppets Take Manhattan”(Aug．19), along with short independent films．

　　Admission Free(1-888-391-FEST, rivertorivernyc．com)．

　　●Outdoor Movie Series at the Intrepid

　　46th Street and 12th Avenue

　　※When：Every other Friday until Aug．20．Doors open at 7∶30p.m．; films begin at sunset．

　　※What：The theme this year is “Heroes of the Big Screen”, so expect to see films like “Rocky”(Aug．20)．

　　Admission Free(intrepidmuseum．org)．

　　●Films on the Green

　　At various neighborhood parks in Manhattan

　　※When：Fridays until July 16．Seating at 8∶15p.m．, films at 8∶30p.m．

　　※What：This festival shows French musicals, such as “Same Old Songs” showing today in Washington Square Park, as well as “Tosca：The Movie” on July 16 in Central Park's Cedar Hill(79th Street and Fifth Avenue)．

　　Admission Free(212-439-1400, frenchculture．org)．

　　●Summer on the Roof at the Czech Center

　　321 E．73rd St．, between First and Second avenues

　　※When：Tuesdays at dusk from Aug．4 to Sept．28．

　　※What：Czech films with English subtitles(字幕)such as the 1922 film “Hungry Hearts”, about a Jewish family who moves from Eastern Europe to the Lower East Side(Aug．4)

　　Admission Free(646-422-3399, czechcenter．com)．

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　　12-year-old Romina Mohaqqeq, believed to be Iran's youngest filmmaker, is dreaming of winning an Oscar someday．

　　“I will not regard myself a filmmaker until I win an Oscar,” she remarks．Born in 1998, she has so far directed several documentaries(纪录片)and short films and has received several awards at national and international festivals．

　　“I made my first documentary when I was eight years old．The idea came to my mind when I saw an Afghan boy who was collecting paper in a dustbin near our house．I thought it might be a good topic for a documentary,” she said．

　　“I asked my dad to make a movie about this boy but he said that it would not be an interesting topic．He told me to work on the topic myself if I liked it, so I made my first documentary and named it Long Way”．

　　Romina's “Long Way” took the best film award at Roshd International Film Festival in 2007, encouraging her to continue filmmaking．“Next, I adapted a story published in a magazine and made the short film A Box Full of Affection”．

　　She is now working on Thought, a new documentary about positive thinking．

　　Romina admits that her dad has been her only advisor all these years．

　　“When Romina decided to work on a topic herself at the age of 8, I taught her the whole process of filmmaking within 6 to 7 months．I even worked as a cameraman in some of her productions．” her father said．

　　“We also reviewed the book Film Directing Shot by Shot．We read all the sections together where she learned the entire process from pre-production to post-production．”

　　Romina also played in one of her dad's productions when she was 6, and acted in the movie The Earrings．She was among the judges of 39th edition of the Roshd International film Festival．

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　　It's generally thought to be impolite not to give waiters some money as a tip after getting good services in western countries．However, hard economic times mean tourists are giving fewer tips, according to a survey(调查)．

　　As many as one third of holidaymakers are giving smaller tips or have stopped tipping entirely, the survey by TripAdvisor found．Also, only 46％ of British always know what is expected in the way of tips in other countries．The survey of 5,595 travellers, including 1,197 from the UK, showed that 41％ of European travellers were tipping less or not at all this year．A total of 63％ of European travellers knew how to tip in other countries, with Italians coming first．

　　The survey also showed that 29％ of British tended to give the same amount in tips whatever country they were in．As many as 8％ of British said they had had a holiday ruined by a bad tipping experience, while 16％ said they they had been once in a situaiton where the waiter complained about the amount of the tip．Also, 12％ of British said tipping on holiday made them nervous, while 22％ said the US tipping culture put them off travelling to America．

　　TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw said：“It's been a challenging year for the British economy and Brits are spending very carefully．While the majority are still rewarding good service on holidays with tips, many Brits are giving smaller tips as cost-saving continues to be important．”

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　　My husband Ollie had retired from teaching and we were making plans to travel together to Florida．Then he was terribly ill and became very weak, hardly able to speak．Weeks passed and it became clear that Ollie was near death, but I prayed day and night that he could get better．

　　One of us was always in Ollie's hospital room－either me, or our grown children, Bruce and Karen．One day, in his broken and weak speech, Ollie told Bruce, “Go home．You should be with Gwen．” Gwen was Bruce's wife．They had been married for six years and lived hundreds of miles away．Gwen was about to have a baby．We felt an extra sadness, knowing Ollie would never see his first grandchild．

　　“I don't want to leave you, Dad,” Bruce said．Ollie repeated, “You should be with Gwen．” Reluctantly, Bruce left．“When the baby comes,” he promised Ollie, “you will be the first to know．” A few days later, around 2 p．m．, Ollie awoke from a sleep．He turned and looked at me．I sat close to hear his weak words．“The baby is coming now．It's a boy,” he said．For a moment his eyes were filled with tears．Then he went back to sleep again．Not long after that, Karen ran into the room．“Bruce called,” she said, a smile lighting her face．“Gwen gave birth to a healthy baby boy around two o' clock．”

　　Ollie smiled; he had been the first to know．That night, Ollie died in his sleep．

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　　Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home．

　　What to Expect

　　The host will provide accommodation and meals．Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week．You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health．

　　Accommodation Zones

　　Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system．Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的)．Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area．It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground．

　　Meal Plans Available

　　◇Continental Breakfast ◇Breakfast and Dinner ◇Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner

　　It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast．Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice，cereal(谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee．Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England．Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee．

　　Friends

　　If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission．You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy．

　　Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes

　　Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room．This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student．However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much．

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　　In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it．And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is．That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about．It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors．

　　The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand．He told this story about himself．He began earning ＄125 a week at the age of 23．That was a lot of money in those days．He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City．When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day．When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours．

　　It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up．The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life．They moved back to an apartment in New York City．

　　Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors．He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories．He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States．“Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you．Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years．

　　People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses．And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world．But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr．Jones always seems to be ahead．

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