题目内容
Next Hot Language to Study: Chinese
The fourth-graders at Chicago’s McCormick Primary School are unaware of the difficulty in learning Chinese. For most, who speak Spanish at home, it’s becoming their third language. They’ve been learning and using Chinese words since kindergarten, and it’s now second nature to give a hearty “ni hao” when strangers enter the classroom.
The classroom scene at McCormick is unusual, but it may soon be a common fixture(固定物) in American schools, where Chinese is rapidly becoming the hot new language. Government officials have long wanted more focus on security—useful languages like Chinese, and pressure from them—as well as from business leaders, politicians, and parents—has driven a quick growth in the number of programs.
Chicago itself is home to the largest effort to include Chinese in US public schools. The program here has grown to include 3,000 students in 20 schools, with more schools on a waiting list. Programs have also spread to places like Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and North Carolina. It’s true that the number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French.
Advocates (提倡者，拥护者) see knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as a help in a global economy where China is growing in importance. “This is an interesting way to begin to engage with the world’s next superpower,” says Michael Levine, director of education at the Asia Society, which has started five new public high schools that offer Chinese. “Globalization（全球化) has already changed the arrangements in terms of how children today are going to need to think about their careers… The question is, when not whether, the schools are going to adjust.”
In Chicago, the trend extends beyond schools with high numbers of Asian students. “The fact that my students are 98% low income and 99% Latino(拉丁美洲人) and they are succeeding in this, tells me everyone should have a try at learning languages,” says Virginia Rivera, principal at McCormick.“We want to give our young people opportunities to advance… and Chinese is a great opportunity to survive in today’s economy,” says Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago.
【小题1】The first paragraph is mainly written to _______.
| A．show the importance of Chinese learning |
| B．introduce the topic to be followed |
| C．advise primary schools to teach Chinese |
| D．prove it’s easy for children to learn language |
| A．Six. | B．Two. |
| C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．the competition between Latino and Asian students |
| B．the global economy |
| C．the interesting way to engage with China |
| D．the Chinese learning |
| A．Most students at McCormick can speak three languages. |
| B．Chinese is gaining its popularity in all schools in Chicago. |
| C．French has far more speakers than Chinese does in Chicago. |
| D．Globalization in a way makes it necessary to learn Chinese. |
| A．The Chinese learning in Chicago. |
| B．The ways to learn Chinese. |
| C．McCormick Primary School. |
| D．Globalization and Chinese learning. |
【小题1】B【小题1】C【小题1】D【小题1】B【小题1】A
解析
My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. 
“Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even opened an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled (潦草地写) hurriedly were found on dashboards (仪表板) and car seats, or taped to steering wheels.
It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism (怀疑态度) had kept me from believing in true love — one that is pure and lasting. However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious (爱调戏的) little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on devotion and passionate love.
Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other’s sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em.”
But there came a dark cloud into my grandparents’ life: when my grandmother got breast cancer. Gradually it took over the whole of her body. One day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.
“Shmily.” It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet (花束). The family came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket (棺) and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and sadness, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby (催眠曲,). Shaking with my own sorrow, I would never forget that moment.
S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.
【小题1】The point of the article is to ________.
| A．give advice on how to keep love fresh |
| B．explain to readers the meaning of “shmily” |
| C．show the true love between the writer’s grandparents |
| D．express how much the writer loved her grandparents |
| A．To support the first paragraph. | B．To introduce the next paragraph. |
| C．To give the main idea of the article. | D．To make the article more interesting. |
| A．used to kiss her grandfather in secret |
| B．died from breast cancer, which spread all over |
| C．played crossword puzzle daily with her grandfather |
| D．considered her grandfather old and careless |
| A．She doubts whether it was true love. |
| B．She finds their way of expressing love strange. |
| C．She admires their romantic and passionate love. |
| D．She thinks she will never be able to love like that. |
rouble until t troubles you.
“Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot
shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother
even opened an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last
sheet. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled (潦草地写) hurriedly were found on dashboards (仪表板) and car seats, or taped to
steering wheels.