阅读理解

　　With his standard Mandarin pronunciation, practiced skills on Chinese expressions and special humour with a Peking accent, Dashan has become a household name across China．

　　People have always wondered how the 36-year-old Canadian can be so skillful in the Chinese language even though it is considered by many as one of the most difficult languages in the world．But to Dashan, the great challenge was a piece of cake due to his deep interest, proper method and the excellent environment he created for himself.

　　“Interest is the best teacher.” That is a universal principle. Even if the 20-year-old Mark Rowswell--Dashan's real name--hadn't fully realized what attracted him to the Chinese department at the University of Toronto in Canada, he was already deeply interested in Chinese culture when he decided to have further study in Beijing.

　　Entering the Chinese department of Peking University in 1988, Dashan felt like a duck in water. Study is always a hard job, no matter how much interest you have. Therefore, effective ways are necessary to improvement. “Learn for life and learn in life”is Dashan's belief.

　　As a freshman at the University of Toronto, the student did study textbooks, which especially aimed on foreign Chinese learners. They did help him build to solid foundation.

　　However, that's far from enough to grasp the Chinese language. Starting in his junior year, Dashan began to read original Chinese novels, Chinese newspapers and even the selected works of Deng Xiaoping. “Only the material for Chinese native readers could give me a proper sense of the language,” he said．

　　The language that is the daily means of communication is the principle that Dashan always keeps in his mind．What you have really learned depends on what you can use, not necessarily your textbooks.

　　To learn in daily life requires a favourable language environment which is also necessary for improvement. Dashan admits it is hard for Chinese English learners to be brought into a good English speaking environment, but insists, “to listen and speak as much as possible does help.”

　　To help Chinese English learners develop a favourable environment, Dashan took part in a VCD programme--“Travel with Dashan”--to teach daily and up-to-date English in real-life situations.

(1)Dashan could learn Chinese very well because of ________.

[　　]

A．his interest

B．practiced skills on Chinese expression

C．his special method

D．Special humour with a Peking accent

(2)The sentence “learn for life and learn in life” here means________

[　　]

A．learn things in our daily life, otherwise it will not last long.

B．we should study in practice all our lives

C．life is difficult, so we'd better learn more to lead a better life

D．language is the necessary part of our daily life, so we must practise it frequently

(3)The main idea of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．Dashan has become a household name across China

B．how can we master a foreign language in a short time.

C．dashan took park in a VCD programme“Travel with Dashan” to teach English in real-life situation

D．try to learn English under the direction of Dashan, and you'll succeed one day.

(4)The underlined phrase“a piece of cake” here refers to ________.

[　　]

(5)Dashan read the selected works of Deng Xiaoping because ________.

[　　]

A．he admired the former leader of the government

B．he hoped to learn more of the spirits of it

C．he wanted to give him a proper sense of the Chinese language

D．They are very popular in modern times

阅读理解

　　Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. What's more, that extra candle on the cake represents another year of growth and maturity (成熟)—or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we're getting wiser and not just alder. Most of us enjoy observing the miracle of growth in others as well. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process. But growing old? That's a different story. Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American . Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You're as young as you feel . ” Older people joke about how many years young they are ,rather than how many years old. People in sane countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americana seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”. Many older Americans find the“golden years” to be anything but golden. Economically, “senior citizens”often struggle just to get by. Retirement — typically at age 65—brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social Security Benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition(营养) , medical care and housing. Some even experience age discrimination.

　　Ironically, the elderly population in America is expanding fast. Why? People are living longer. Fewer babies ere being born. The middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the ranks of the elderly, so America may soon be a place where wrinkles(皱纹) are “in” . Marketing experts are already focusing on this growing group of consumers. And even now the elderly have a great deal of political power.

　　A common stereotype(模式化的形象) of older Americana is that they are usually “put away” in nursing homes and forgotten about. Actually, only about 5 percent live on acme type of institution(慈善机构).

　　More than half of those 65 or older live with or near at least one of their children. The vast majority ad the elderly live alone and take care of themselves.

　　In spite of challenges they face, Americans in their “twilight years (暮年)” generally refuse to we up on life. They find a variety of ways to keep themselves active. To help them stay in shape, they may join mall (商业区) walkers club, fitness programs and even the “Senior Olympics” .They can enjoy hours of entertainment at senior centers and adult amusement parks. Many enroll in continuing education programs to maintain their mental skills. For Americans, if you're going to grow old, you might as well do it gracefully.

1．Older people in America ________.

[　　]

A．think it sad to enter the golden age

B．are not popular in the society

C．are respected by all

D．find it happy to have another year of growth

2．Which of the following is NOT the reason why there are more and more older people in America?

[　　]

A．The birthrate is lower.

B．The older people are taken good care of.

C．There are many more middle-aged people than before.

D．The average life-span becomes longer.

3．The underlined part in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

[　　]

A．the babies

B．baby-boomers

C．the middle-aged

D．the elderly

4．It can be seen from the passage that older people in America ________ .

[　　]

A．are content with their life now

B．are faced with challenges throughout their life

C．have chances to remain active in the society

D．receive continuing education programs to hunt for life