Learning Chinese may seem difficult to foreigners outside China. However, Daisy Raffan, an

36   girl in Britain, hopes to bring the   37   to the young people.

Daisy has   38   an online learning website to teach the language to as   39   people as possible, all over the world.

With China’s fast development in the world, Daisy thinks   40   important for people to learn the language sooner rather than later.

Daisy has been learning Putonghua   41   the age of five. Two years ago,   42   she decided to pass on what she had learned, she   43   the idea for the website, kidschineseclub.com.

She said: “People are afraid to learn Putonghua. One of the main reasons is that they think it’s an   44   language to learn, but I have had fun   45   it .And I hope what I have done is easy and fun.”

Her   46    offers a series of lessons, which are videos of Daisy teaching a group of students on topics from greetings and numbers to Chinese culture.

Daisy’s website has   47   the support of several important persons —the teenager says she has received a letter praising(赞扬) her work from Gordon Brown,   48   is the British Prime Minister(首相).

She said: “I wrote to him and told him what I was doing and got a letter   49  . He said that what I was doing was a really good idea. I thought it was amazing. I was excited that   50   was supporting what we’re doing.”

Beyond Baby Mozart, Students Who Rock
Music education hasn’t changed much since the 1970s. Students are still taught to read notation(乐谱) so they can recite compositions that they would never listen to on their MP3 players or play with friends. Playing music enriches life. The question is: Why do schools teach music in a way that turns off so many young people rather than catch their imagination? Can we do a better job of using the power of music to get kids excited about school?
The experience of an organization called Little Kids Rock suggests the answer is yes — if we change the way music is taught. Little Kids Rock has helped music programs in over a thousand public schools and served 150,000 children. The organization has given 30,000 free instruments out, mainly guitars, and trained 1,500 teachers to run music classes in which students quickly experience the joys of playing their favorite songs, performing in bands(乐队), and writing their own music.

The key to Little Kids Rock is that it teaches children to play music the way many musicians learn to play it — not by notation, but by listening, imitation(模仿) and meaningful experimentation. “The knowledge you need to get started playing rock music is very limited,” explains Dave Wish, the founder of Little Kids Rock. “In high school, my friend Paul taught me a couple of chords(和弦) and my life was changed forever. On the first day of class, Little Kids Rock teachers place guitars in the hands of their students and get them practicing chords that will enable them to play thousands of songs. The kids decide what songs they want to learn and the class is off and running. Their progress is surprising. Within a year, eight and nine-year-olds are playing musical instruments, and giving concerts, even performing their own songs.
One of the biggest advantages that music offers is the ability to encourage students who are otherwise bored by school. “I’ve had students start coming back to school because of this program,” said Adkison Thomas, who heads up music for the Dallas Independent School District. He added, “One of the best things is that the teachers discover a new side of their students. They see kids become successful who weren’t before.”
【小题1】The expression “turn off” in Paragraph 1 means “______”.

DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV proprammes show people how to DIY.

English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK – “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. Huge numbers of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their houses, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experiences with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford to buy a bigger house. They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.

  DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to put together themselves with a few basic tools. However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can’t understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions, many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don’t care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders.

  Therefore, DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew. Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY.

1.How do many English people spend their holidays according to the passage?

A.     Making their homes beautiful.   B. Visiting their friends.

B.     Travelling all over the world.   D. Making a lot of money.

2. Why do English people like DIY?

A.     Many stores sell DIY things.   B. DIY can bring them fun.

C. TV programmes teach them to DIY   D. All DIY projects are easy.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.     DIY is a waste of money.   B. It is always difficult to DIY.

B.     We should be careful while doing DIY.   D. It’s very safe for us to DIY

4.In the passage, “we bite off more than we can chew” probably means ___________.

A. we can eat everything we like   B. we should do something difficult

C. we do something that is too difficult   D. we eat too much food that is not safe

Denny Crook was a famous photographer. He traveled all over the world, taking pictures for magazines and newspapers, and won many prizes.

“I’ll do anything to get a good photo,” he often said. “I’ll go anywhere at any time, even if it is (41).”

And he told the (42). He had photos of earthquakes, forest fires, floods and even wars. If something interesting happened, Denny went to photo it.

He was a married man and his wife often asked him to take her with him, but he always (43).”I’ll travel for my work, not for (44),” he told her . “You won’t enjoy yourself, and I won’t have (45) to look after you. Sometimes there’s not even anywhere to (46), and I have to sleep outside. I often don’t have a good (47) or a bath for days. You won’t like it.”

“Denny, I’m not a child,” his wife didn’t (48). “I can look after myself. Please take me with you the next time you go overseas.”

Denny did not say anything, but he (49) about it, and when he was asked to go to Africa he said to his wife, “You can come to Africa with me if you want to. I’ve got to take photos of wild (50) there. It should be interesting and not too uncomfortable.”

His wife was very (51), and at first she had a very enjoyable time.

Then Denny went to off to (52) some lions to photo. His wife went with him, but before long they became separated. She walked down one path while he walked down the other.

Suddenly, Denny heard her (53). He ran back and saw her running toward him. A huge lion was chasing her.

Quickly Denny took his camera out of its case and (54) it at his wife and the lion.

Then he shouted, “(55), woman! I can’t get you both in the picture!”

People around the world celebrate the new year. However, not all countries celebrate in the   46   way. When it is the New Year, people celebrate for several days. In some countries, the New Year is not on the same date every year. It can depend    47   the seasons, the moon or the sun.
In many countries, New Year begins on January1st, but people start celebrating on December 31st, New Year’s Eve. In New York, many people go to celebrate in Times Square. While they’re waiting for the New Year, they    48   music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o’clock, everyone    49   down from 10, 9, 8 … As soon as it’ s 12 o’clock, everyone shouts very loudly, “Happy New Year!” and they say, “Out with the old year and in with the new!” Suddenly there    50  fireworks and special drinks. Sometimes people sing an old song   51  “Auld Lang Syne”.
New Year’s Day is often a family day. Some people relax at home. Some families get together for a special    52  with grandparents, aunts and uncles. When the weather is    53  , many families go out for a walk.
On New Year’s Day, many people make resolutions for the new year. They write down a list of things, such as “I will help out more at home. I will work harder at school.”
Or “I won’t spend so much time    54  video games.” When they have made their list, they read it to their family or friends.
So it does not matter how they celebrate, for people in countries all over the world, it is a time to    55  goodbye to the old year, and to welcome the new.