In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics. It’ s teaching I children the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen. There is no   clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart ’s Melville Junior School，although there is a full range of facilities(设施）for computer lessons and technology isn ' t being ignored. The school' s headmaster believes the old -fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic performance and self-respect of his 1，200 pupils.

"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-respect" , headmaster Bryan Lewis said. “ Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been. “ Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ballpoint pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor. By the time they reach grade five, at age 9，they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens. Lewis said the school’s 7-and 8 -year-olds use fountain pens for 80-90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math. “I don’ t see fountain pens as old -fashioned or out of date. Modern fountain

pens are beautiful to use. It’ s not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper，” Lewis said. ‘We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper. ”

Some people argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees. ‘We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true, ” Lewis said. “You still need to have proper handwriting skills. ”

. The Scottish school in the passage   _____.

A.  does not think highly of modern technology

B.  values fountain pens more than anything else

C.  pays special attention to the use of fountain pens

D.  takes an action which is considered stupid by many people

The underlined word “predecessor” in Paragraph 2 refers to_____.

A. the pencil   B. the keyboard

C. the ballpoint pen    D. the fountain pen

The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that_____.

A.  children should be required to use fountain pens when they are five

B.  handwriting skills are more important than typing skills nowadays

C.  using fountain pens may slow down students ’ speed of writing

D.  fountain pens have helped to build up students' self-respect

Which is the best title for this passage?

A.  Handwriting Not Useless Now

B.  Old-fashioned Pen Coming Back

C.  Stay Away from Tech and Teach Fountain Pen

D.  Fountain Pen Strengthens Academic Performance

       In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics．It's teaching youngsters the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen．There is no clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities （设施）for computer lessons and technology isn' t being ignored．The private school' s headmaster believes the old-fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic （学术的） performance and self-esteem （自尊）of his 1,200 pupils．

       "The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem", headmaster Bryan Lewis said．" Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been．" Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ball point pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor．By the time they reach grade five, at age 9, they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens．Lewis said the school's 7- and 8-year-olds use fountain pens for 80 percent to 90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math．"I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or out of date．Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use? it's not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper," Lewis said．"We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper．"

       Some people in wealthy nations argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees．"We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true," Lewis said．"You still need to have proper handwriting skills．"

1．The Scottish school in the passage _____．

       A．does not think highly of modern technology

       B．values fountain pens more than anything else

       C．pays special attention to the use of fountain pens

      D．takes an action which is considered to be stupid by a great many people

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

       A．Schools in Scotland all encourage using pens．

       B．Fountain pens today are much more expensive．

       C．Lewis thinks the idea of the paperless world impractical．

       D．The left-handed can't benefit from the new fountain pens．

3．The underlined word "predecessor" in Paragraph 2 refers to _____．

       A．the pencil      B．the fountain pen      C．the keyboard  D．the ball point pen

4．The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that _____．

       A．children should be required to use pens when they are five

       B．using pens may slow down students' speed of writing

       C．pens have helped to build up students' self-respect

       D．handwriting skills are more important than typing skills

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version（改写本）of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: the off-key singing; the blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high; the terrible dancing; the hips jerking（摇摆）to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad. But, it was this very bad act that sold well.

Marc Juris, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America. ”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.

So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean ”

Now, he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour（魅力）or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

What is the main idea of this passage?

       A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.

       B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

       C．How an unsuccessful person became famous.

       D．Success sometimes does not require hard work.

Hung was popular in America for all the following reasons EXCEPT ________.

       A．his shirt and pants           B．his off-key singing

       C．his hips jerking        D．his excellent version

What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 6 refer to?

       A．William Hung.        B．Hung’s bad act.

       C．Hung’s website.              D．The public’s opinion.

Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

       a．The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

       b．The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

       c．Hung became popular among Americans.

       d．Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

       e．Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

       A．d, b, e, c, a     B．a, c, d, b, e      C．a, d, b, c, e      D．d, b, a, e, c

Why was Hung able to win the hearts of America?

       A．His success was based on his own hard work.

       B．He attracted people’s attention in the contest.

       C．He was good-looking though he didn’t sing well.

       D．His character was completely different from other idols”

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.But, it was this very bad act that sold well.Marc Juris, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”

Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

13.What is the main idea of this passage?

A.Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.  

B.Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

C.How an unsuccessful person became famous.

D.Success sometimes does not require hard work.

14.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A.William Hung.     B.Hung’s bad act.   C.Hung’s website.    D.The public’s opinion.

15.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

a.The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

b.The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

c.Hung became popular among Americans.

d.Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

e.Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

A.d, b, e, c, a       B.a, c, d, b, e        C.a, d, b, c, e          D.d, b, a, e, c

16.Why was Hung able to win the hearts of America?

A.His success was based on his own hard work.

B.He attracted people’s attention in the contest.

C.He was good-looking though he didn’t sing well.

  D.His character was completely different from other idols’.

In England three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop. They studied the information on the post sign and decided which bus to take. About five minutes later the bus they wanted came along. They prepared to get on. Suddenly people rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted insulting remarks about the foreigners. The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed. No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus so that the first person who arrived at a bus-stop is the first person to get on the bus.

Learning the language of a country isn’t enough. If you want to ensure a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your hosts. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, You might see a man apparently shaking his head at another and assume (认为) that he is disagreeing. But in many parts of India a rotating (旋转) movement of the head is a gesture that express agreement or acceptance. Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty. In that country you shake your head to express “yes” — a nod means “no”.

In Europe it is quite usual to cross your legs when sitting, talking to someone, even at an important meeting. Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could cause offence (冒犯). It is considered too informal an attitude for such an occasion. Also when in Thailand avoid touching the head of an adult — it’s just not done.

Attitudes to women vary considerably around the world. In Japan, for example, it is quite usual for men to plan evening entertainments for themselves and leave their wives at home.

Knowing about customs and attitudes is useful when you are travelling, but you also need to know the language used to express different degrees of formality (礼节).

The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and ashamed because ________.

A. they didn’t know the English language

B. the bus conductor told them to jump the queue

C. they didn’t know the custom of lining up for a bus

D. they thought they were looked down upon

What’s the meaning of the underlined word “insulting” in Para. 1?

A. Modest.   B. Entertaining.      C. Misunderstanding.      D. Rude.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?

A. In Europe, using the left hand is considered less respected.

B. In India, the left hand is not used as a sign of respect to others.   

C. In Thailand, you’d better cross your legs when sitting or talking.       

D. In Japan, it is considered bad manners to touch the head of an adult.

The underlined sentence “Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty” means in Bulgaria _______.

A. you are probably thirsty if you nod your head

B. you’re possibly eager to have a drink if you nod your head

C. you probably refuse to drink when you nod your head

D. you’d like to have a cup of tea because you nod your head

We can infer from the passage that _________.

A. in Asian countries, women are equal to men in every field

B. learning a language well is a necessity before going abroad

C. attitudes to women vary from country to country

D. in Japan, men are still the centre of the family