--I hate the traffic jams in the city；living in the countryside would give us a better quality of life．

-- ________

A．You can say that again．                   B．How do you like the idea?

C．I can agree more．                              D．I don't think．

   300 American students are growing up in the middle of the windy English countryside. Their parents work for the US Government based abroad. They attend an American school in a small All-American community of government employees. There are shops selling American products, sports facilities and a bowling hall, but somehow the students must adapt themselves to living away from everything they knew as children. The situation is similar to that of the Chinese students who leave home to study in another country.

Scott Lovelady has lived on the US base in Britain for nearly nine years. “I feel deprived (失落) in Britain. Before coming here I couldn’t imagine a town without 30 fast-food places and giant shopping mall.” He said. However, others see advantages of studying in a foreign country. Many of the students leave the base at 18 and go back to America for university. “Living in a different culture helps you adapt more quickly in your first few weeks at a university when you don’t know anyone and everything is new,” said one of them. “Living in an entirely new place can make you a more interesting person as you have more to offer in conversations,” said Seth Romero, another high school student on the base. Students who mix with local people often settle into their new home better, according to Barbara Jordan, a teacher at the school. “ If you are open to new experiences, you could well have the best time of your life,” she said.

Angela Green, a student also from the base, offered some advice to Chinese students going to a foreign school for the first time: “ Your friends and family are only one telephone call away. If you feel sad at any time you must remember that you can go home at any time. Living in a different place is not a jail sentence, though it may seem so at times. You will enjoy yourself soon. You may even prefer it to home.”

1. The 300 American students live in Britain _________.

A. because their parents are working there for the government of Britain

B. in order to learn something from the hard life in the windy English countryside

C. in order to improve their ability of adapting to new environments.

D. because they must stay with their parents who work there

2. The advantages of studying in a foreign country are all the following except the fact that ________.

A. that you are only one telephone call away from your family

B. you will be able to adapt to a new environment more quickly than others

C. you may understand life better because of such an experience

D. you may become more attractive because you have more interesting things to offer while talking with others

3. All the people mentioned in the passage talked about the advantages of studying in a foreign country except ________..

   A. Seth Romero            B. Angela Green 

C. Scott Lovelady           D. Barbara Jordan

4. The writer wrote this article mainly to _______.

A. talk about what it is like studying in a foreign country

B. advise people to think it over before going to study abroad

C. inform the Chinese students what it is like studying abroad and to tell them not to be too worried

D. tell students from other countries not to be afraid to study in America

Saya, the teacher doesn’t mind being pinched(掐), or if the students play in class: she’s a robot designed to show children that science and technology can be fun subjects．

Saya, a life – like female who started her career as a robot receptionist at Japanese companies and was then reprogrammed to teach, gave a lesson to fifth – graders at Tokyo’s Kudan Elementary School after being carried to the podium in the classroom．

Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi, who built Saya, says she’s not meant to replace human teachers, but to bring the joy of technology to children. “We’re not looking at making something that will take over from teachers. Our main reason for building this robot is to use new technology to teach children about technology,” he said. “But Saya may be able to help in schools where there’s a shortage of teachers,” he added. “In the countryside and in some small schools, children don’t have the chance to come into contact with new technology and also few teachers there can teach these lessons．So we hoped to be able to develop this robot to be remotely controlled to teach these classes.”

Many of the children were attracted by Saya, and didn’t take their eyes off her throughout the lecture. When class was over, some students pinched her. “ It’s so much more fun than regular classes,” said10 – year – old Nanako Iijima．

The children’s human teacher, however, was not as impressed with the robot as her students. “I am impressed that they’ve got robots to go this far, but on the other hand they still have a long way to go before they can make it a truly robotic teacher.” Akito Fukuda, the school’s science teacher said．

Japan, home to almost half of the world’s 800,000 industrial robots, expects the industry to expand to $10 billion in the future including models that will be able to care for its fast – growing elderly population．

1.Saya was first designed to         ．

       A．be touched by students                        B．teach children about science

       C．work as a robot receptionist                  D．work together with scientists

2.The underlined word “podium” in Paragraph 2 probably means “        ”.

       A．a surface for teachers to stand on          B．a board for teachers to write on

       C．a toy for students to play with               D．a video for students to watch

3.What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

       A．Saya needn’t be remotely controlled while having classes.

       B．Robots like Saya will replace human teachers in the future.

       C．Some children in the countryside know little about new technology.

       D．It’s difficult for most Japanese teachers to teach children about technology.

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．Saya is the first life – like female robot in history.

       B．Robots like Saya will replace human teachers in the future.

       C．Some children in the countryside know little about new technology.

       D．It’s difficult for most Japanese teachers to teach children about technology.

5.In which section of a newspaper can you find this passage?

       A．Entertainment.     B．Technology.        C．Politics.               D．Opinion.

The repairman told me, “No charge. Professor Pan! We’re friends.” “I’d rather pay.” I replied. “If it’s free I can’t afford it!”

Chinese often refuse payment for professional services, insisting, “We’re friends now!” But then they show up later to ask me to tutor them in English, or get them into an American university, and I wish I’d have just paid the 30 yuan I owed them in the first place!

According to the Americans “There’s no free lunch,” meaning, there’s a price for everything, and I’m always looking around to figure out what this means.

Many of our neighbors have given us fruit or flowers or costly teas, never asking anything in return. For years, a bicycle repairman has repeatedly refused to let me pay him. “Wait until you have something major to fix!” he insists.

I mentioned to a peasant friend that I wished I had a stone mill(磨)to grind flour for bread. A month later he showed up with a beautiful mill that he’d had his uncle in the countryside carve from a solid block of granite.

Chinese generosity is a real education for Americans like me, who would rather avoid social entanglements(纠缠)and just hand over the money. But cash can’t compensate (补偿) for the greatest gift—friendship.

When an American saw some of my friends sitting on bamboo stools under the trees, drinking tea, he said, “They must have nothing better to do.” “Actually,” I said, “they are professors, with plenty to do. But probably you’re right in saying that, at this moment, they have nothing better to do. And neither do I!”

And I joined the group. We chatted about tea and Chinese cooking and how much my boys have grown since we arrived. One man said, “They were pocket-sized when you came here. Now they’re taller than you. How time flies!”

How life flies. And Chinese are smart enough to share what they know. They cannot keep. They freely give off their time, never too busy to help a friend. And they are teaching me, slowly, to both give and receive.

So the next time someone says, “No charge. We’re friends!” I will thank them heartily. But if they show up later asking me to tutor them in English. I’ll make sure they tutor my son in Chinese as well, because there’s still no free lunch.

86. Why did the author insist paying the repairman when he was offered free repairs?

A. Because he was an upright man.

B. Because he didn’t know the repairman.

C. Because he thought it natural to pay for other’s service.

D. Because he didn’t want to help others in return.

87. The underlined word “figure out” in Paragraph 3 probably means____.

A. calculate　 B. think of　 C. know about　 D. make it clear

88. Generally, the author thinks that____.

A. Chinese are generous and always ready to help their friends

B. Chinese are good at exchange of equal values

C. Chinese are free enough to drink tea and chat with their friends

D. Chinese are helpful but don’t treasure time

89. The best title of the article should be____.

A. Still no free lunch

B. A good lesson from the Chinese

C. True help or not

D. Learn to both give and receive

90. Which of the following is true?

A. Chinese seldom refuse payment for professional services.

B. When a peasant knew the author needed a mill, he made one for the author himself.

C. The author thinks that Chinese are wise enough to enjoy their life.

D. Finally, the author changed his mind and decided to do as the Chinese do.

Hans was an honest fellow with a funny round good-humored face. Living alone, every day he worked in his garden. In all the countryside there was no garden so lovely as his. All sorts of flowers grew there, blooming in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower’s place, so that there were always beautiful things to see, and pleasant odors to smell.
Hans had many friends, the most devoted being the Miller. So devoted was the rich Miller to Hans that he’d never go by his garden without plucking a large bunch of flowers or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with fruits. The Miller used to talk about noble ideas, and Hans nodded and smiled, feeling proud of having such a friend.
The neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Hans anything in return, though he had hundreds of sacks of flour, many cows and sheep, but Hans never troubled his head about these, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things about the unselfishness of true friendship.
In spring, summer, and autumn Hans was very happy, but when winter came, and he had no fruit or flowers to sell, he suffered from cold and hunger. Though extremely lonely, the Miller never came to see him then.
“There’s no good in going to see Hans while the snow lasts.” The Miller said to his wife, “When people are in trouble they shouldn’t be bothered. So I’ll wait till the spring comes when he’s happy to give me flowers.”
“You’re certainly very thoughtful,” answered his wife, “It’s quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship.”
“Couldn’t we ask Hans up here?” said their son. “I’ll give him half my meal, and show him my white rabbits.”
“How silly you are!” cried the Miller. “I really don’t know what’s the use of sending you to school. If Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire, our good supper, and our red wine, he might get envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody’s nature. I am his best friend, and I’ll always watch over him, and see that he’s not led into any temptation. Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me for some flour. Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they shouldn’t be confused. The words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things. Everybody can see that.” He looked seriously at his son, who felt so ashamed that he hung his head down, and grew quite scared, and began to cry into his tea.
Spring coming, the Miller went down to see Hans. Again he talked about friendship. “Hans, friendship never forgets. I’m afraid you don’t understand the poetry of life. See, how lovely your roses are!”
Hans said he wanted to sell them in the market to buy back his things which were sold during the hard time of the winter.
“I’ll give you many good things. I think being generous is the base of friendship.” said the Miller. “And now, as I’ll give you many good things, I’m sure you’d like to give me some flowers in return. Here’s the basket, and fill it quite full.”
Poor Hans was afraid to say anything. He ran and plucked all his pretty roses, and filled the Miller’s basket, imagining the many good things promised by the Miller.
The next day he heard the Miller calling: “Hans, would you mind carrying this sack of flour for me to market?”
“I’m sorry, but I am really very busy today.”
“Well,” said the Miller, “considering that I’m going to give you my things, it’s rather unfriendly of you to refuse. Upon my word, you mustn’t mind my speaking quite plainly to you.”
Poor Hans was driven by his friendship theory to work hard for his best friend, leaving his garden dry and wasted.  
One evening Hans was sitting by fire when the Miller came.
“Hans,” cried the Miller, “My little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I’m going for the Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it’s such a bad windy night. It has just occurred to me that you can go instead of me. You know I’m going to give you my good things, so you should do something for me in return.”
“Certainly,” cried Hans. He struggled into the stormy night, and got the doctor to ride a horse to the Miller’s house in time to save the boy. However, Hans got lost in the darkness, and wandered off into a deep pool, drowned.
At Hans’ funeral, the Miller said, “I was his best friend. I should walk at the head of the procession.” Every now and then he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
【小题1】From the passage, we can learn that Hans ______.