There is no other five-year –old like him. He has a potato-shaped head , thick eyebrows and a voice that is not easily forgotten. He is not evil, but trouble follows him wherever he goes.

Crayon Shinchan（蜡笔小新）enjoys great popularity in China. He has many fans in Hong Kong , Taiwan and on the mainland. And he is one of the hottest cartoon characters in his home country, Japan.

But, the trouble-maker’s show was ranked the No. 1 most unwanted cartoon program by Japan’s Parents’ Association on April 18.

More than half the parents who took part in the study thought Shinchan was a negative role model for children. They believed his actions and speech were adult in nature and not suitable for kids.

Many parents and education experts in China agree with them. Shinchan, they say, is really offensive. He looks out for pretty ladies on the street; at the bookstore he reads magazines full of sexy women; he pretends to be kidnapped by his teacher when he sees a police car; and he raises his mum’s skirt and shouts out the color of her underpants if she doesn’t buy him what he wants.

“Crayon Shimchan is full of dirty humor. The boy shows some terrible adult mentality(心态),which doesn’t match his age,” said Pang Lijuan, professor of the Education Department at Beijing Normal University. Pang further pointed out that Shinchan destroys the traditional image of a polite, hard-working boy. She fears that some teens may copy his behavior and harm their psychological development. Pang and many others in China think that Shinchan is a cartoon for adults-----not for children.

But some kids disagree. Jiangxin, a senior 2 student in Luhe Middle School in Beijing, became a fan of Shinchan after he first saw the cartoon two years ago. He said it is Shinchan’s humor , courage, and cleverness that makes him and his friends love the little cartoon character . “Shinchan looks at the adults’ world with kid’s eyes. He uncovers the hypocrisy(虚伪) and selfishness in a childish way,” explained Jiang. “We watch it just for fun.” But Jiang also admitted that Shinchan is not good for all ages. “It may not be suitable for primary school kids. They may try to blindly copy him.”

Shinchan’s “father ”, Japan’s popular cartoonist, Yoshito Ushi, never thought Shinchan would cause such a heated discussion. He argued that Shinchan is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. The boy does everything adults would like, but don’t dare to do. “People can easily forgive him because he’s only five years old,” said Yoshito.

1. Teachers and parents dislikes Crayon Shinchan because         .

A. he looks very ugly                      

B. he caused a heated discussion

C. the character was created by an adult cartoonist

D. he was regarded as a negative role model for children to follow  

2.Many children are crazy about Shinchan mainly because        .

A. he looks very funny                    

B. the cartoon character is suitable for all ages

C. they think he is humorous, clever and brave

D. he is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men

3.The underlined word “offensive” in Paragraph 5 probably means        .

A. humorous     B. ugly-looking     C. funny    D. unpleasant 

4.What is Yoshito Ushi’s explanation of Shinchan’s behaviour?

A. Shinchan is such a naughty boy that he can’t behave himself.

B. Shinchan is trying to draw people’s attention by doing some offensive things.

C. Shinchan wants to set a role model in a different way.

D. Shinchan’ s behaviour is just a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men.

There is no other five-year –old like him. He has a potato-shaped head , thick eyebrows and a voice that is not easily forgotten. He is not evil, but trouble follows him wherever he goes.
Crayon Shinchan（蜡笔小新）enjoys great popularity in China. He has many fans in Hong Kong , Taiwan and on the mainland. And he is one of the hottest cartoon characters in his home country, Japan.
But, the trouble-maker’s show was ranked the No. 1 most unwanted cartoon program by Japan’s Parents’ Association on April 18.
More than half the parents who took part in the study thought Shinchan was a negative role model for children. They believed his actions and speech were adult in nature and not suitable for kids.
Many parents and education experts in China agree with them. Shinchan, they say, is really offensive. He looks out for pretty ladies on the street; at the bookstore he reads magazines full of sexy women; he pretends to be kidnapped by his teacher when he sees a police car; and he raises his mum’s skirt and shouts out the color of her underpants if she doesn’t buy him what he wants.
“Crayon Shimchan is full of dirty humor. The boy shows some terrible adult mentality(心态),which doesn’t match his age,” said Pang Lijuan, professor of the Education Department at Beijing Normal University. Pang further pointed out that Shinchan destroys the traditional image of a polite, hard-working boy. She fears that some teens may copy his behavior and harm their psychological development. Pang and many others in China think that Shinchan is a cartoon for adults-----not for children.
But some kids disagree. Jiangxin, a senior 2 student in Luhe Middle School in Beijing, became a fan of Shinchan after he first saw the cartoon two years ago. He said it is Shinchan’s humor , courage, and cleverness that makes him and his friends love the little cartoon character . “Shinchan looks at the adults’ world with kid’s eyes. He uncovers the hypocrisy(虚伪) and selfishness in a childish way,” explained Jiang. “We watch it just for fun.” But Jiang also admitted that Shinchan is not good for all ages. “It may not be suitable for primary school kids. They may try to blindly copy him.”
Shinchan’s “father ”, Japan’s popular cartoonist, Yoshito Ushi, never thought Shinchan would cause such a heated discussion. He argued that Shinchan is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. The boy does everything adults would like, but don’t dare to do. “People can easily forgive him because he’s only five years old,” said Yoshito.
【小题1】 Teachers and parents dislikes Crayon Shinchan because         .

Happy April Fool’s Day．In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes in history．They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them．
INSTANT COLOUR TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white．The station’s technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display colour reception．All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color．Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people were taken in．Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970．
SAN ERRIFFE
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement （增刊）in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean．A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this unknown nation．The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot．Few noticed that everything about the island was made up．
NIXON FOR PRESIDENT
In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again．His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his election speech．Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger．Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke, Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little．
【小题1】The underlined phrase “taken in” in the 2nd paragraph means ________.

Long before they became doctors, lawyers, CEO’s or real estate developers, they played in garage bands and maybe even dreamed of becoming rock stars. That’s why they signed up for Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp.

    For nearly a week, the mostly middle-aged “campers” had practiced in the West 54th Street studios. They came from as far away as London and Tokyo and as close as Long Island and downtown New York to prepare for their moment of onstage glory.

    “I feel like I’m 18 again,” said Jerry Goldberg, a 60-year-old investment banker and guitar player, whose family was in the audience.” I admit that I felt a little uncertain when I first got here, but this has turned out to be a wonderful experience, one of the greatest of my life.”

    Everybody has two businesses, their own business and show business. This can be a life-changing experience for them. Mr. Daltrey, who has appeared at several fantasy camps, was asked why he keeps coming back.

    “I’ve had people tell me that I shouldn’t be doing this, that it's bad for my image,” he acknowledged. “But that’s rubbish. Look, it’s all so positive, and everybody is having so much fun. So what’s bad about that?”

    Jeff Munger, a drummer and rancher(农场主) said. “I’m at a point in my life where I’m going to spend my money on things I’m passionate about, and I’m absolutely crazy about music.”

    Most of the campers are successful executives or professionals: a founder of the Oracle Computer Company, a businessman whose father invented the Big Mac, a plastic surgeon, presidents of health care and seafood companies.

1.This text is mainly about________.

    A．a music course for the elderly people

    B．a pop club for professional musicians

    C．a rock music camp for music lovers

    D．a studio for wealthy businessmen

2.What do the middle aged campers have in common?

    A．They are all interested in charity.

    B．They are all passionate about music.

    C．They are all retired business people.

    D．They were all rock stars when they were young.

3.According to the text, Mr. Daltrey ________.

A．once played in a garage band

B．has come with his family

C．has joined in the camp a couple of times 

D．is very careful about his image

4.We can infer from the text that the campers _________.

    A．enjoy their regular jobs     B．come from different countries

    C．do part-time jobs            D．have a great many fans

D
Who takes care of the elderly in the United States today? Many people wrongly believe that when people reach old age, their families place them in nursing homes. They are left there in the hands of strangers for the rest of their lives. Their grown-up children visit them only occasionally, but more often, they do not have any regular visitors. Actually this is not true. In fact, family members provide over 80 percent of the care that elderly people need.
Prof. Samuel Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches 40 years of age, they have more parents than children. This statistic (统计) shows the change in life-styles and responsibilities of aging Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents some time after their own children have grown up. Moreover, because people today live longer after an illness than people did years ago, family members must provide long-term care. These facts also mean that after care-givers provide for their elderly parents, who will eventually die, they will be old and may require care too. When they do, their spouses (配偶, 指夫或妻) will probably take care of them.
Because Americans are living longer than ever, more psychologists and social workers have begun to study care-giving to improve care of the elderly. They have found that all caregivers share a common characteristic: all caregivers believe that they are the best person for the job, for different reasons. One caregiver said that she had always been close to her mother. Another was the oldest child. In other words, they all felt that they could do the job better than anyone else. Social workers interviewed caregivers to find out why they took on the responsibility of caring for an elderly, dependent relative. They discovered three basic reasons. Many caregivers believed that they had the responsibility to help their relatives. Some stated that helping others made them feel more useful. Others hoped that by helping someone now, they would deserve care when they became old and dependent.
（  ）68. It can be inferred that a middle-aged couple in the US _______.
A. spend more time with their children than with their parents
B. depend on their children’s assistance in caring for the elderly
C. don’t pay more attention to their children than to their parents
D. spend more time taking care of their parents than before
（  ）69. The most common characteristic of caregivers is ______.
A. they all have professional qualifications in care-giving
B. they all believe themselves to be the best caregiver
C. they are the eldest child in the family
D. they are close to their parents
（  ）70. Which of the following is NOT a basic reason for care-giving?
A. Respect from other members of the family.
B. Prepayment for the care they will get in old age.
C. A feeling of being needed and helpful.
D. A strong sense of duty to the elderly.
（  ）71. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Most old people in the US are living a happy life.
B. Most old people in the US live longer today after an illness than people did years ago.
C. Most elderly people in the US are taken care of by their families, who often find the experience satisfying.
D. Most elderly people in the US prefer living with their families to living nursing houses.