Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front          

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

 Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 Liu is known for his interaction(互动)with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧).

“It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

From the story we know that______.

A. Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions

B. Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show

C. Liu Qian performs on streets in order to increase his fame

D. Liu Qian does street show to make money

In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing US minority．As their children began moving up through the nation’s schools，it became clear that a new kind of culture was coming out．Their achievements are made in the nation’s best universities，where mathematics，science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character.This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U.S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English.They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college．Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively(客观)．And the money spent on education is more immediately returned in something like engineering than with an arts degree．

Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children should take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer.An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do，and it helps．Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture，such as family value，the importance of education and so on that lead to their success.

Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they could cause the native Americans’unhappiness．Many can remember when Chinese,Japanese and Filipino immigrants(移民)were unequally treated because of social separation．Indeed，it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.

1.Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because       .

A．they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgement in these areas

B．there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures

C．they know little about American cultures and Western cultures

D．their English is not good enough

2.Asian-Americans prefer something like engineering to an arts degree because________.

A．people majoring in engineering are respected

B．people with an arts degree are looked down upon

C．they can’t find a job with an arts degree

D．they can earn more money after graduation

3.While making great achievements at college，Asian-American students________.

A．are afraid that their academic successes take on a strong Asian character

B．still worry about unfair treatment in society

C．generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents

D．feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English

4.According to the passage，the major factors determining the success of Asian-Americans are   .

A．Asian culture and the American educational system

B．Asian culture and a solid base in basic mathematics

C．hard work and parental help

D．hard work and a limited knowledge of English

 

  Americans usually make allowance(宽容) for non-native-speakers who have some trouble understanding English. But they become annoyed when a person pretends to understand but doesn’t really and then creates problems because of misunderstanding what is said. No one wants soap when he asks for soup. So if you don’t understand what is said to you, admit it and politely ask the person to repeat or explain.
Second, it is quite rude to talk with a friend in your native language and leave your American friends standing there feeling stupid because they can’t understand the conversation. The Americans may also feel that you are talking about them or saying something you don’t want them to hear. If you must turn to your native language to explain something to a non-English-speaking friend, at least translate for your American friends so they don’t feel left out.
Learn just a few more polite English expressions, and you’ll be ready to face the world of Americans with confidence. The polite answer to a compliment(赞扬) about your looks or your works is “Thank you.” (A smile and a nod is not enough.) The response to “Thank you.” is, of course, “You’re welcome,” if someone asks “How are you?” don’t give your medical history. Just say “Fine, thanks. How are you?” Finally, what should you say when someone sneezes(打喷嚏)? It may not seem logical, but the correct response is “God bless you.” That’s about all there is to it. Now that you’ve learned this general knowledge of manners, in the U. S. A., you’ve ready to be polite in English. Let’s hope your American friends will be just as polite.
【小题1】In the first paragraph, the underlined word “annoyed” means      .

A．rather angry

B．very impolite

C．quite unfriendly

D．fairly pleased

【小题2】The passage is mainly about      in the U. S. A.
A. the importance of good manners          B. the general knowledge of English
C. the skill in daily conversations           D. the good manners in communication
【小题3】 When you talk with someone in your native language, your American friend may feel     .

A．he should learn the language	B．you try to keep some secrets from him
C．you are angry with him	D．he becomes a fool

第四部分：任务型阅读（共10题；满分10分）

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。 注意：每空格1个单词。

Chinese are very generous(慷慨的) when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the U.S. or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.

However, what most parents fail to see is that the best education they can give their children is usually very cheap.

Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.

The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.

Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.

Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of confidence.

Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.

Title: What Chinese Parents Do in (71)_____ ▲_______ Their Children

Attitude towards Children’s education	●Chinese are very (72)____ ▲______, serious and devoted in education.
Measures	●Never (73) ____▲_____ too much of money. ●Send them to the best schools or abroad. ●Want their children to take (74) __▲___ in extra-course activities.
Belief	●The more investment in education, the (75) __▲____ the result will be.
What they can see in their children	●Their children skill in some fields with (76)__ ▲___ skills.
What they can’t see in their children	●Lack of self-respect and (77)___ ▲___ in themselves.
(78)____ ▲____ of their failure	●Only teach them how to take multi-choice tests and (79) _____▲_____ hard at study. ●Never teach them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.
(80)How to___▲__with the problems	●Only by teaching practical skills, can they succeed in education.

 

 

Is there a nationwide shortage of nurses? It’s hard to say．However, some characteristic symptoms often indicate that there is indeed a shortage．

One symptom is the vacancy rate, or the percentage of budgeted positions that are unfilled．New England’s hospitals currently report that an average of 7 to 12 percent of their registered nurse positions are vacant, the highest level since the last shortage in the late 1980s．Vermont has a relatively low vacancy rate, at 7．8 percent．But its vacancies were at 1．2 percent just five years ago．

Another symptom is the increased use of stopgap measures to fill empty positions．For instance, many nurses report an upswing in how frequently they are asked to stay past their shifts．According to Murphy, working in the St．Elizabeth’s Hospital, “The shortage has definitely created a lot of opportunities of overtime for our nurses, whether they want them or not．” Similarly, a national survey of registered nurses shows that in an average week, nurses in the U．S．work 2．4 more hours than they are scheduled to．Much of this extra time is voluntary, as nurses earn overtime pay when they stay to fill in blanks in the schedule．

When they can’t fill open positions by more traditional means, health care providers hire temporary staff to tide them over．Travelling workers are the largest part of the temporary health care workforce, hired for thirteen-week reduction at health care facilities facing short-term lack of workers．Temporary workers, mainly nurses, cost hospitals $ 7．2 billion in 2000．

“Any successful solution to the shortage depends on convincing more people to become nurses, and that is not an easy goal to reach．To achieve it,” says Buerhaus, “society needs to place more value on nursing．Legislation （法规） can’t do that – it should come from people．” And if this continues, we might have to learn to care for ourselves in the hospital．

1.The temporary staff hired by a hospital _______．

       A．cost a large part of the hospital’s budget

         B．meet the need for nurses in the hospital for a short time

       C．should work on a weekly basis and on a scheduled timetable  [来源:ZXXK]

         D．ought to work passively for thirty continuous weeks

2.According to Buerhaus, what is a successful solution to the nurse shortage?

       A．To convince people of the benefits of being a nurse．

       B．To ask the government for help to work out specific legislation．

       C．To publicize the past achievements of nurses．

       D．To make people aware of the importance of being a nurse．

3.What’s the probable meaning of the underlined word “upswing” in Paragraph 3?

       A．Symptom            B．Decrease                 C．Increase          D．Figure

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards nurse shortage?

         A．Worried              B．Indifferent     C．Doubtful                 D．Optimistic