Youth, friendship and love are the main themes of this year’s Chinese movies, such as So Young(《致青春》) and American Dreams in China(《中国合伙人》). Tiny Times(《小时代》), one of the most popular movies this summer, also has the same features.

The movie was based on author and director Guo Jingming’s novel of the same name. It tells a story about four girls who come from different backgrounds and of different personalities. Since it was shown on June 27, Tiny Times has made 483 million yuan at the box office. The sequel(续集) of it was shown on Aug 8 and it has also been a big box office hit.

Cao Yuhan, 13, a high school student at Beijing Jianhua Experimental School, is a big fan of the movie. “I’m deeply touched by their friendship,” Cao said. “When Nan Xiwang is in trouble, the other three girls try their best to help her, even running barefoot （光脚）in the snow. However, not everyone has had good things to say. The people’s Daily said that the film went too far in encouraging youths to become materialistic(物质至上主义的). Film commentator Raymond Zhou wrote on his online blog that “Buying luxury goods (奢侈品)seems as a way to express love or friendship, and the word ‘money’ is repeated over and over again. Song Kexin, 14, a high school student at Zhida Middle School in Taiyuan, Shanxi, shows a typical example of a fan’s attitude(态度). And that’s to look for the positive value. “That movie is a little far from our daily life. My friends and I are not having parties every day,” Song said, “But I admire Tang Wanru’s optimistic attitude（乐观态度）. She’s always looking at the bright side of life. I should learn from her.”

1.Which is NOT one of the main themes of this year’s Chinese movies?

A. Youth            B. Love                             C. War                     D. Friendship

2.According to the article, the movie Tiny Times ________.

A. is more popular than the other two movies           

B. was made from Guo Jingming’s novel

C. tells about four girls with similar personalities

D.opened in Chinese cinemas on August 8

3.What does film commentator Zhou Liming think of the movie?

A. The four girls’ friendship is touching.              

B. It encourages the young to work hard.

C. It has many advertisements for luxury goods.           

D. It shows money expresses love or friendship.

4.Song Kexin admires Tang Wanru because of Tang’s ________.

A. optimistic attitude         B. rich family background

C. good looks               D. excellent grades at school

You might have noticed that the cost of food has gone up.In fact the price of wheat and rice has nearly doubled in the past few years.It’s thought that right now，850 million people—that’s more than 10 times the population of the UK—are short of food because it’s too expensive or there’s not enough of it.

The price of basic food such as wheat and corn has stayed the same for quite a long time，about 30 years.But as the world’s population is getting bigger，there’s more pressure to feed more people，plus there’s less land and water to go round.

Another reason is climate（气候）change.Droughts and floods make it hard to grow crops like rice and grain.The price of oil has gone up and that makes it more expensive for farmers to run their tractors and to transport the food they make.And lots of fields are being used to grow crops to make other things that can’t be eaten—which is bad news for hungry people.

The main losers are poor people who live in cities in poor countries，who are facing higher prices for food.Some people are doing well out of the food crisis（危机） though.Farmers in rich countries like the US，Canada and Australia are getting record prices for their harvests.

World leaders are meeting in the Italian capital Rome to talk about the problem of rising food prices.Some countries are helping out with the cost of foods and international aid agencies have called for more money for food production in poor countries.

1.The price of food goes up because all of the following EXCEPT _____.

A．there are more and more people in the world.

B．American farmers are getting richer and richer.

C．many farm lands are used to make other things rather than food.

D．climate change makes it harder to grow food.

2.Who lose the most because of the food crisis?

A．Farmers in rich countries.

B．Farmers in developed countries.

C．Poor people in cities in poor countries.

D．Poor people in cities in developed countries.

3.What does the food crisis mean to farmers in Canada?

A．They can get a lot of money from the government.

B．They have to save a lot of money.

C．They can make more money from the high price.

D．They are losing a lot of money.

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A．Why is the Price of Food Going Up？

B．How Many People are Short of Food?

C．What Can We Learn from the Food Crisis?

D．Who Can Benefit（受益） from the Food Crisis?

British English and American English
A student is studying British English. He wonders: Can I have a talk with Americans? Can they catch me? Learners of English often ask--what are the differences between British English and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly, there are some differences between British English and American English. There are a few differences in grammar（语法）. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “Have you a pen?” Americans “in the hospital” and “Do you have a pen?” Pronunciation (发音) is sometimes different. Americans usually sound the “r” in words like “car”and “farm”. Some speakers of British English do not sound the “r” in these words. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour”and “honour” are British English spellings. “Color” and “honor” are American English spellings.
These differences are in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary. However, they are not important. For the most part, British English and American English are the same language.
【小题1】In American English, we can say, “      ? ”

China's first moon rover (月球车), Yutu, set off from the lander（登陆车） early on December 15, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe (探测器) soft-landed on the moon surface.

The 140 kg six-wheeled rover touched the moon surface at 4:35 a.m., leaving deep lines on the loose moon land. This was recorded by the camera on the lander and the images were sent to the earth, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. After that, the rover and lander will take photos of each other and start their own science explorations.

Earlier this morning, engineers made final checks of the environment of the landing area and the situation of the probe（探测仪）. Yutu, reached its solar panel (光板) and started to drive slowly to the moon at 3:10 a.m.. It took Yutu nearly a whole hour to complete the simple task.

Chang'e-3 landed at the Bay of Rainbows on the moon, at 9:11 p.m. on December 14, making China the third country in the world to carry out such a mission (执行此类任务) after the United States and Russia.

In old Chinese tales, Yutu was the white pet rabbit of Chang'e’s. The name for the rover was selected following an online survey that collected several million votes from people around the world.

The rover, 1.5 meters long with its two wings folded (折叠), 1 m in width and 1.1 m in height, is a perfect robot controlled by the command center from the earth. It will face challenges including temperature differences of more than 300℃ on the moon.

Yutu will do some research and look for natural resources (资源) for three months, while the lander will conduct an exploration at the landing place for one year. Then they will have a good rest on the moon and will not be used for a long time until China’s next probe visits the moon again.

1.Which is the best title for the passage above?

A. The American’sfirst rover on the moon  

B. The tale of Chang’e

C. The journey to the moon                    

D. Yutu explores the moon

2.Which is the correct order of the following events?

a. The 140 kg six-wheeled rover touched the moon surface.

b. The rover and lander will take photos of each other.

c. Yutu started to drive slowly to the moon.

d. Chang'e-3 landed at the Bay of Rainbows on the moon.

A. a-b-c-d                      B. c-d-a-b                        C. d-c-a-b                     D. c-a-b-d

3.What does the underlined word “width” mean in Chinese?

A. 智力                        B. 宽度                 C. 重量                        D. 长度

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The moon had been visited by only two countries before 2013.

B. Yutu is a perfect robot under the control of its own computer.

C. Yutu and Chang’e will return to the earth after the one-year mission.

D. Chang’e-3 is 140 kg in weight.

5.There will soon be a second moon rover to explore the moon. Which is its proper name?

A. Chang’e-5               B. Yutu-2                     C. Shenzhou-11       D.Tiangong-2

When you get up in the morning, do you find it hard to choose what clothes to wear? If so, you probably need help to make the bigger choices in your life, like what to do when you’re older. Brave New Girls, by American author Jean Gade-berg, will help you make such choices. It says you must be a brave new girl. A brave new girl is one who is confident, healthy and happy. A brave new girl can realize her dreams. To be brave, you need to make a decision for yourself. Other people may tell you what to do, but you should not listen to them. You must only do what you want. If you always wear clothes like your favourite TV star, you must stop doing so. Instead, become your own star and wear the clothes you want. You have to like your body, it says. If you don’t, you will not take good care of it, and it won’t stay healthy. The book also says that girls must start becoming more confident. If you are confident, you’ll succeed in life. A good way to become confident is to realize that you are as clever as boys. In fact you are. Just look at their grades! Only then can you realize your dreams and become who you want to be.

1. What quality should a brave new girl have?

A. Confident.         B. Healthy.              C. Happy.               D. A, B and C.

2.Brave New Girls is a ________.

A. film                 B. story       C. book                D. newspaper

3.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. To be brave.                   B. A good book.

C. To be a brave new girl.                   D. Realize dreams.