More than ever, kids today have given up reading for activities like watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Internet, but recently a new trend (趋势) has been catching on that will hopefully change that.
In fact, book clubs are becoming more popular among American kids. 11-year-old Kenya Debarros read about singer Lena Horne. “It was just amazing to see a black woman as the star and not just a mammy or a maid,” she says. But did all these kids come enthusiastically (热情地)? No, not exactly.
“I like book club, uh, I don’t know, but I am just trying it out. My mom didn’t make me, but I just tried it out,” says 16-year-old Antonio Nash.
And if they’ll try it, the experts say, there are ways to get them to come back. Make it fun, serve pizza, serve chocolate cakes and have door prizes (门票对号奖). It also helps to connect books to the real world. They talk about things that are happening in the community, so they can relate whatever they’ve read in the book to what’s happening now.
Here they have long talks about the books they have selected, which most kids don’t get to do when they’re in school, and these kids say, in book clubs they’re learning to love books and love reading.
“I feel like I’m actually in the book and doing what the actual main character is doing,” says 13-year-
-old Justin Woodard.
16-year-old Antonia McManus says reading gives her a nice break from the day, “Sitting down and reading a book gives me some time to get away from the world, and get my mind straight.”
52. What does the underlined phrase “catching on” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. Happening.              B. Realizing.    C. Becoming popular.   D. Bringing in.
53. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Book clubs develop very fast in America.
B. Book clubs are popular among American kids.
C. American kids’ habits are changing towards reading.
D. A new trend helps change children in America.
54. It can be known from the passage that ______.
A. book clubs are designed to improve kids’ study
B. book clubs are mainly to help kids forget the reality
C. kids like to go there for the silent surroundings
D. kids may get unexpected rewards in book clubs
55. Why does Antonia McManus like going to the book club?
A. She finds reading restful.
B. She could get some sound sleep.
C. She likes the noisy conditions there.
D. She can deal with her problems there.

 A recent trend(趋势) in Californian restaurants shows new eating habits among those people out to have an interesting dining experience. Appetizers(开胃品)seem to be the name of the games as diners turn away from the more traditional three-course meal in favor of smaller snacks served in various types of restaurants, bars and cafes. In this way, in the course of an evening out, you might go to a restaurant for a tasty dish to eat at one end of town, to a bar with some live music at the other end, then for a coffee, and finally back to the restaurant for a further appetizer.

Reasons for this trend are the fact that so many different types of restaurants have been set up recently, each with their own particular type of food and special atmosphere, together with the increased specialty in the type of snacks being offered. Gone are the cheese sticks of the old days, when appetizers were not really taken seriously. Some favorite snacks of the moment are slices of hot pizza, creamy fish-based dishes and crispy cakes and so on.

Prices for appetizers are not equal to a full meal; however, their new popularity has meant that they are by no means as cheap as they used to be. Certainly, for that special occasion, a meal in a nice restaurant, complete with the piano performance, is hard to beat. However, if we see this trend for “butterfly eating”---moving around several different places in one evening continues, then all the traditional style restaurants may well have to provide their own appetizer bars as well!

1. How are the eating habits of the Californians changing?

         A. People are dining out less.

         B. Californian restaurants are becoming less popular.

         C. Most people eat less than they used to.

         D. A full restaurant meal is less popular.

2. All the places that serve appetizers   _   .

         A. have much the same menu       

B. have their own particular characteristics

         C. have a bar with live music          

D. are located at the end of the town

3.  If you go out for an evening of appetizers, you are likely to       _.

         A. need a car or take a bus or other transport

         B. be bored with some kinds of snacks

         C. spend more time for a full meal than you would

         D. eat too much meat

4. Appetizers used to be seen as        .

         A. relatively important   B. a full meal

         C. a cheap meal               D. an expensive meal

LONDON — Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) fast-forward.

Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hanger also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.

Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.

Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.

“Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress,” says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.

Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.

“There is a new parenting trend(趋势) under way which says that you have to tap all your child’s potential(潜能) at a young age; otherwise you will let him down,” says Terry Apter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist(青少年精神病专家).

“It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously(以前) seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted.”

From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that _______.

A. Hagner wastes much time helping her children's lessons

B. Hagner doesn't spend much time on her full-time job

C. Hagner is interested in sports and music

D. Hagner busies herself by following a trend

British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _______.

A. treat their children as sports players

B. pay no attention to their children's lessons

C. bring up their children in a simple way

D. give their children little time to develop freely

The writer's opinion about after-school clubs is that ________.

A. activities in the country are too competitive

B. children should attend four clubs at a time

C. some clubs result in competitive pressures

D. clubs should have more subjects for school children

The last paragraph tells us that in Britain _______.

A. parents used to take their children to every club

B. parents used to be wise on how to raise children

C. parents have all benefited from children’s clubs

D. parents have come to know the standard of education

A recent trend(趋势) in Californian restaurants shows new eating habits among those people out to have an interesting dining experience. Appetizers(开胃品)seem to be the name of the games as diners turn away from the more traditional three-course meal in favor of smaller snacks served in various types of restaurants, bars and cafes. In this way, in the course of an evening out, you might go to a restaurant for a tasty dish to eat at one end of town, to a bar with some live music at the other end, then for a coffee, and finally back to the restaurant for a further appetizer.
Reasons for this trend are the fact that so many different types of restaurants have been set up recently, each with their own particular type of food and special atmosphere, together with the increased specialty in the type of snacks being offered. Gone are the cheese sticks of the old days, when appetizers were not really taken seriously. Some favorite snacks of the moment are slices of hot pizza, creamy fish-based dishes and crispy cakes and so on.
Prices for appetizers are not equal to a full meal; however, their new popularity has meant that they are by no means as cheap as they used to be. Certainly, for that special occasion, a meal in a nice restaurant, complete with the piano performance, is hard to beat. However, if we see this trend for “butterfly eating”---moving around several different places in one evening continues, then all the traditional style restaurants may well have to provide their own appetizer bars as well!
【小题1】How are the eating habits of the Californians changing?

A．relatively important	B．a full meal
C．a cheap meal	D． an expensive meal

As prices and building costs keep rising, the do-it-yourself (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.

   “We needed furniture (家具) for our living room,” says John Ross, “And we just didn't have enough money to buy it. So we decide to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.

    Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I've finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”

    John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it -yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.

1.We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.

A. find it hard to pay for what they need

B. have to learn to make their own furniture

C. take DIY courses run by the government

D. seldom go to a department store to buy things

2.John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _______.

A. run a DIY shop   

B. make it repair things

C. save time and money  

D. improve the quality of life

3.When the writer says that Jim has a full-time at home, he means Jim _______.

A. makes shoes in his home

B. does extra work at night

C. does his own car and home repairs

D. keeps house and looks after his children

4.Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when _______.

A. his car repairs cost too much

B. the car repair class was not helpful

C. he could not possibly do two jobs

D. he had to raise the children all by himself

5.What would be the best title for the text?

A. The Joy of DIY.                       

B. You Can Do It too!

C. Welcome to Our DIY course!            

D. Ross and Hatfield: Believe in DIY.