Apollo

  For lovers of the arts, Apollo is a truly necessary magazine. Covering the ages and the great civilizations of the world, Apollo brings you well-illustrated yet academic articles by internationally famous scholars, as well as information on exhibitions and sales. Experience five monthly issues for as little as ￡ 5 each.

  The Guardian Weekly

  The Guardian Weekly gives you a global view with articles from four of the world’s most respected newspapers. Read the news from different views and draw your own conclusions on the stories shaping our world. Try it for 3 months for just ￡15.55. Plus get a free copy of The Guardian Year 2003.

  New Internationalist

  Full of excellent writing and photography, the NI covers one key subject each month, from Terrorism to Poverty to Climate Change.

  Reporters from around the globe provide you with a comprehensive world view. PLUS: Masses of fresh reports and stories to keep you up-to-date on world affairs. 3 months free and free World Map.

  The Week

  The Week is the only weekly summary giving you the best of the British and foreign newspapers in just 35 pages. Designed to be read in just 1 hour, it provides you with everything you need and want to know. Try The Week now with 13 issues for just ￡ 13.75.

  If you decide it’s not for you, just tell us within the first 6 weeks and you can get your money back.

1Which of the following magazines will probably provide you with articles about music and paintings?

  A. Apollo.     B. The Week.     C. New Internationalist.     D. The Guardian Weekly.

It is possible that most of the readers of the four magazines are ____.

  A. men     B. women     C. children     D. grown-ups

Which of the following would you most probably read if you want to get information from the world’s most popular newspapers?

  A. Apollo & The Week.

  B. Apollo & New Internationalist.

  C. The Guardian Weekly & New Internationalist

  D. The Guardian Weekly & New Internationalist

The purpose of writing these four texts is to ____.

  A. tell the readers the latest news

  B. get more readers to subscribe(订阅)

C. show the importance of the four magazines

  D. introduce the four magazines to new readers

Gyber language is popular among Chinese netizens, who create English words to reflect novel phenomenon in society.

"Gelivable", combining pinyin of Chinese characters Geili (giving strength) with the English suffix for adjectives, literally means "giving power" or "cool". Similarly, "Hengelivable" means "very cool", and "ungelivable" means "dull, not cool at all". "Antizen" referred to the group of college graduates who, earning a meager salary and living in small rented apartments, are like the tiny and laborious ants.

David Tool, a professor with the Beijing International Studies University said it’s very interesting to combine Chinese with English to create new words. “English is no longer mysterious to the Chinese people. They can use the language in a flexible way according to their own experiences,” he said. Chinese words and expressions were created, as well, by netizens. One example was “Suan Ni Hen”. This three-charessions were created, as well, by netizens. One example was “Suan Ni Hen”. This three-character expression, which originally meant “you win” with the first character carrying the same pronunciation as garlic in Chinese, is used to satirize（讽刺）high garlic and food prices this winter.

Chinese people use the character “bei” before a verb to show a passive voice, and it is used by netizens to show the helplessness in front of false conclusions and fake media reports. For instance, “zisha” means “suicide” while “beizisha” means “be officially presumed to have committed suicide”, and xiaokang means “fairly comfortable life” while “beixiaokang” means “be said to be living a fairly comfortable life”.

Wu Zhongmin, a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, saw the phenomenon of word creation as a natural response of young people to social issues. “Cyber language is more vivid and it shortens people’s distances,” he said.

The passage mainly tells us that            .

    A．cyber language is popular among all people

    B．cyber language is of great fun

    C．cyber language needs to be taught at coolege

    D．cyber language in China is popular for it’s relation with society

Which of the following is NOT true?

    A．Ungeilivable means “dull, not cool at all”.

    B．Antizens live in small rented apartments with small salaries.   

    C．Suan Ni Hen refers to the highest food prices ever.

    D．Beixiaokang means “be said” to be living a comfortable life.

What can we infer from the phenomenon of word creation?

    A．It’s getting more difficult to understand cyber language.

    B．Young people are more likely to respond to nature.

    C．Social phenomena are more easily reflected in cyber language.

    D．The best way to create new cyber words is to combine Chinese and English.

Chinese netizens created English words by          .

    A．combining pinyin of Chinese characters with the English suffix

    B．using the character carrying the same pronunciaton

    C．combining Chinese characters with the English

    D．putting the character “bei” before an English word

Next Hot Language to Study: Chinese
The fourth-graders at Chicago’s McCormick Primary School are unaware of the difficulty in learning Chinese. For most, who speak Spanish at home, it’s becoming their third language. They’ve been learning and using Chinese words since kindergarten, and it’s now second nature to give a hearty “ni hao” when strangers enter the classroom.
The classroom scene at McCormick is unusual, but it may soon be a common fixture(固定物) in American schools, where Chinese is rapidly becoming the hot new language. Government officials have long wanted more focus on security—useful languages like Chinese, and pressure from them—as well as from business leaders, politicians, and parents—has driven a quick growth in the number of programs.
Chicago itself is home to the largest effort to include Chinese in US public schools. The program here has grown to include 3,000 students in 20 schools, with more schools on a waiting list. Programs have also spread to places like Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and North Carolina. It’s true that the number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French.
Advocates (提倡者，拥护者) see knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as a help in a global economy where China is growing in importance. “This is an interesting way to begin to engage with the world’s next superpower,” says Michael Levine, director of education at the Asia Society, which has started five new public high schools that offer Chinese. “Globalization（全球化) has already changed the arrangements in terms of how children today are going to need to think about their careers… The question is, when not whether, the schools are going to adjust.”
In Chicago, the trend extends beyond schools with high numbers of Asian students. “The fact that my students are 98% low income and 99% Latino(拉丁美洲人) and they are succeeding in this, tells me everyone should have a try at learning languages,” says Virginia Rivera, principal at McCormick.“We want to give our young people opportunities to advance… and Chinese is a great opportunity to survive in today’s economy,” says Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago.
【小题1】The first paragraph is mainly written to _______.

A．show the importance of Chinese learning

B．introduce the topic to be followed

C．advise primary schools to teach Chinese

D．prove it’s easy for children to learn language

【小题2】 How many languages are mentioned in this passage?

A．Six.	B．Two.
C．Three.	D．Four.

【小题3】 In the last paragraph, the underlined word “this ”probably refers to _____.

A．the competition between Latino and Asian students

B．the global economy

C．the interesting way to engage with China

D．the Chinese learning

【小题4】 What CANNOT be learned from this passage?

A．Most students at McCormick can speak three languages.

B．Chinese is gaining its popularity in all schools in Chicago.

C．French has far more speakers than Chinese does in Chicago.

D．Globalization in a way makes it necessary to learn Chinese.

【小题5】 Which of the following is mainly about in this passage?

A．The Chinese learning in Chicago.

B．The ways to learn Chinese.

C．McCormick Primary School.

D．Globalization and Chinese learning.

 

 

Five Olympic mascots were announced exactly 1000 days before the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony. The long--anticipated mascots represent four of China's most popular animals — the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow .The fifth mascot is the brightly burning Olympic flame.

Each of the mascots has a repeated two-syllable name. This type of name is a traditional way of showing affection for children in China. BeiBei is the fish, JingJing is the panda, HuanHuan is the Olympic flame, YingYing is the Tibetan antelope and NiNi is the swallow. The first characters of their two-syllable names read “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 

The five elements of nature, including the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky are found in the mascot's origins and headpieces. These special headpieces also display the folk and culture of China. Each mascot also symbolizes a different blessing ---prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck.

It is the first time more than three mascots will share the important duty of representing their host country. Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team explained that, “China has such a rich culture that no single mascot could possibly represent it! That is why we chose to produce five mascots instead of one.”

Called the “Five Friendlies,” the figures embody（体现） the Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics, representing not only multi-ethnic(多民族的) cultures of China, but also the traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony between humans and nature.

In order to help Beijing 2008 spread its theme of One World, One Dream to every continent, the Five Friendlies reflect the deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Games — and to invite every man, woman and child to take part in the great celebration of human union in 2008. 

1. What’s the theme of Beijing 2008 Olympics?

A.Welcome to Beijing.

B.Prosperity, Happiness, Passion, Health and Good luck.

C.New Beijing, New Olympics.

D.One World, One Dream.

2. What did Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team, think of the five mascots?

A.He thought highly of the five mascots.

B.No single mascot could represent China.

C.The five mascots represented the culture of China.

D.They would reflect the desire of Chinese people.

3. Which of the following statements is not true?

A.It’s for the first time that five mascots are chosen to represent their host country in the Olympic history.

B.One of the five mascots YingYing stands for the Olympic flame.

C.Beijing announced its five 2008 Olympic mascots just 1000 days before the big event.

D.The five mascots express affection for Chinese children by two-syllable names.

4. Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the passage?

A.The 29th Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in 2008.

B.The theme of 2008 Beijing Olympics — One World, One Dream.

C.The significance of five 2008 Olympic mascots — the Five Friendlies.

D.How the Five Fantastic Mascots came into being.

5. What do the five mascots — the Five Friendlies represent?

A.“Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 

B.Chinese multi-ethnic cultures, philosophy of harmony between humans and nature and five elements of nature.

C.Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics.

D.The deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Olympics.