After a boy had unwrapped his gifts on Christmas morning,his mother asked him which present he wanted to donate.

  "None," the 5-year-old boy replied. His mother explained that sharing was part of the holiday spirit. She also explained that a poor child would be very happy to receive a gift. The boy eventually agreed to part with (舍弃) one of his gifts. He put his four gifts in front of him and tried to decide which one to part with. It was a difficult decision,but he chose to say goodbye to the flute (长笛) ."Where do we take it?" he asked his mother. His mother explained that there was a Salvation Army box two streets away and someone would give the gifts to children who needed them.

  This parting with a gift became a yearly activity. When he was 8 years old,the boy treas?ured the gifts he had received so much that his decision needed to be made using a special method,which led him to part with a set of checkers (跳棋) .Three months later,he saw the checkers set at his friend Jerry's house. When Jerry was 6 years old,his father had died and his mother had lost her job,so he had few gifts.

  The next Christmas,when the boy thought about how much fun he had watching Jerry play with the checkers,he told his mother that he wanted to put his new football in the Salvation Army box. Through giving gifts,he found that giving brings happiness not only to others but also to himself.

(   ) 1. What do we learn about the 5-year-old boy?

   A. He was poor but kindhearted.

   B. He never shared anything with others.

   C. He often donated money to others.

   D. He decided to donate a gift after hesitation.

(   ) 2. The boy and his mother took the flute to         .

   A. a post office for the army two streets away

   B. a postbox for the army two streets away

   C. the Salvation Army which protects the safety of the poor

   D. a box used for collecting gifts for the poor two streets away

(   ) 3. When he was 8 years old,the boy         .

   A. loved his gifts and struggled to donate one

   B. treasured his gifts so much that he stopped donating

   C. was very generous in sharing his gifts with the poor

   D. was too pleased to share his gifts with the poor

(   ) 4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

   A. Giving presents out on Christmas Eve.

   B. Hard decisions to make about what to give.

   C. Giving brings happiness to others and oneself.

   D. Receiving presents is a pleasant thing.


 As the summer time approaches,more and more commercials and advertisements can be seen on the mass media encouraging students to join English study tours abroad. The purpose of these tours is to provide students with an opportunity to learn English in a native speaking environment and use English in real situations. Parents always believe that their children will automatically speak good English after attending these study tours. However,for me,as an English major and former participant of many English study tours,I find these summer tours ineffective.

  Parents who send their children abroad for a summer to study English usually believe that the native speaking environment,including the courses,teachers,and host families,can help their children to learn English better. This might be true if the students really study hard and they really get an all-English environment. But the fact is that,most of the time,the tour part is more important than the study part.     Although these tours take place in foreign countries,students are rarely exposed in an all-English environment. You will find that,in the morning classes,Taiwanese students would like to stick together and speak Chinese with each other,even though there are some students from other countries. In the afternoon,the students go on a sightseeing excursion with their companions from Taiwan; they speak Chinese,of course. In the evening,when students return to the host families,they would stay in their room and share the day with their roommate,another Taiwanese student. People who speak the same language with you are like a log in the ocean when living in a foreign country where you can not express your?self well,so that you would naturally stick with them. This is especially true with children. An?other unrealistic expectation parents have for these tours is that the experience of living abroad can make their children more independent and mature. However,maturity does not come over?night. It takes time and practice. The most important of all is that they need a good mentor. None of these exist in the study tours.

(   ) 1. What's the author's attitude towards the English study tours abroad?

   A. Doubtful. B. Positive. C. Negative. D. Neutral.

(   ) 2. Which of the following is the most important thing for children who study in an Eng?lish environment according to the writer?

   A. Host families. B. Hard work. C. Courses. D. Teachers.

(   ) 3. Why are students rarely exposed in an all-English environment?

   A. The study tour itself makes it less important for students to expose themselves in an all-English environment.

   B. Staying with the students from the same country makes study easy abroad.

   C. They only want to stay with their English teachers.

   D. They are not sure about their spoken English.

(   ) 4. What makes parents send their children to join English study tours abroad according to the text?

   A. Parents' misunderstanding to the ads.

   B. Parents' lack of information.

   C. Parents' unrealistic expectation.

   D. Parents' social experience.

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