“Taxi drivers”, said BOBICO(Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee)staff, “are learning English to support the 2008 bid for the Olympic Games．”
Albert Selmer, a German businessman who speaks good English, was pleasantly surprised during his latest trip to Beijing．When he got into a taxi on Chang an Avenue, the driver greeted him and asked where he would like to go in English!“This couldn’t be imagined eight years ago when I first visited Beijing, ” said Selmer．Selmer wouldn’t have been so surprised had he known so many people are learning English in this Olympic bid city．
Eight years ago Beijing failed in its bid for 2000 Games．One of the reasons was that foreigners found it hard to communicate with Beijing residents, most of whom speak only Chinese．This time, the city is working to improve communication．
“One great change has happened during Beijing’s preparations”, BOBICO officials are speaking directly in English instead of using interpreters as they did eight years ago．
In addition to BOBICO officials, Beijing residents are looking forward to the 2008 Games by actively learning the foreign language．Free classes offered in a number of Beijing communities are enjoying high attendance．Residents are taught useful expressions, greetings．How to give directions and how to introduce themselves．
Shop assistants, bus and taxi drivers and even policemen are learning English．The young taxi driver who surprised the German visitor is probably one of those learners．
The first-stage aim of the “Beijing citizens’ English Speaking Plan” started by the city government in August, is to popularize English among government staff, taxi drivers, hotel staff and shop assistants．In five years the percentage of Beijing residents who can speak English will be raised to around 30 percent from the present 15 percent．
(1)
Albert Selmer was surprised when he got into the taxi, because ________．
[ ]
A．
he found the driver served him better
B．
the car didn’t look the same as it did eight years ago
C．
the drivers was very polite to him
D．
the driver could speak English
(2)
From this passage we know that ________．
[ ]
A．
the main reason why Beijing failed in its bid for 2000 Games was that very few people could speak English
B．
Albert Selmer often came to China in recent years
C．
Beijingers are talking an active part in learning English
D．
Spoken-English is one of great importance in our daily life
(3)
The underlined word “free” probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
loose
B．
uncontrolled
C．
not busy
D．
costing nothing
(4)
More and more Beijingers are learning English in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
make themselves understood easily while talking to foreigners
B．
make English the official language in China
C．
support the bid for the 2008 Olympic
D．
match the modern development
(5)
If more and more Beijingers can communicate with foreigners in English, ________．
Have you ever thought about what determines the way we are when we grow up?Remember the TV program Seven Up?It started following the lives of a group of children in 1973．We first meet them as wide－eyed seven－year－olds and catch up with them at seven－year intervals：nervous 14－year－olds, serious 21－year－olds and then grown－ups．
Some of the stories are inspiring, others sad, but what is interesting in almost all the cases is the way in which the children's early hopes and dreams are shown in their future lives．For example, at seven, Tony is a lively child who says he wants to become a sportsman or a taxi driver．When he grows up, he goes on to do both．How about Niki?She says, “I would like to find out about the moon．”And she goes on to become a space scientist．As a child, soft－spoken Bruce says he wants to help “poor children” and ends up teaching in India．
But if the lives of all the children had followed this pattern, the program would be far less interesting than it actually was．It was the children whose childhood did not prepare them for what was to come that made the program so interesting．Where did their ideas come from about what they wanted to do when they grew up?Are children influenced by what their parents do, by what they see on television or by what their teachers say?How great is the effect of a single important event?Many film directors, including Steven Spielberg, say that an early visit to the cinema was the turning point in their lives．Dr．Margaret McAllister, who has done a lot of research in this area, thinks that the major factors are parents, friends and their wider society．
(1)
What does the text mainly discuss?
[ ]
A．
New ways to make a TV program interesting．
B．
The importance of TV programs to children．
C．
Different ways to make childhood dreams come true．
D．
The influence of childhood experience on future lives．
(2)
What does the underlined word “influenced” mean in the last paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Impressed．
B．
Improved．
C．
Affected．
D．
Attracted．
(3)
What are the examples in Paragraph 2 meant to show?
[ ]
A．
Many people's childhood hopes are related to their future jobs．
B．
There are many poor children in India who need help．
C．
Children have different dreams about their future．
D．
A lot of people are very sad in their childhood．
(4)
Spielberg's story is meant to show that ________．
[ ]
A．
going to a movie at an early age helps a child learn about society
B．
a single childhood event may decide what one does as a grown－up
C．
parents and friends can help a child grow up properly
D．
films have more influence on a child than teachers do
