Tigers are terrible animals, but a cat is a cute animal.    As a mother, the Chinese-American writer Amy Chua is just a tiger . Her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (《虎妈战歌》), tells us how she gives her two children education.    She says that being strict is the only way to train a child’s talent. Her kids had to obey the following rules. To begin with, her kids weren’t allowed to watch TV or play computer games. Then, they were not allowed to “ hang out ” with other kids after school. They had to be the top students in their class. And they had to practice the piano and the violin for hours every day. Of course, she believes this has brought a lot of problems for herself and her kids. But she doesn’t mind because her kids have become great. Chua says, like her, most Asian mothers are tigers because they believe their children can achieve a lot if they’re pushed hard enough. She says American mothers are really cats. They care more about their children’s self-respect (自尊). They don’t want to be strict with their kids because this may hurt their feelings. With soft words and understanding, they encourage their children to choose for themselves. So is a tiger mom better than a cat mom? It may also depend on the child.
【小题1】The writer of this passage wants to  _________.

—Chinese people are worried about the food they eat these days.

—Yes, the food safety is a serious         in our country. We should try to solve it.

A．subject           B．program          C．problem          D．opinion

Are Sports Important?

Sports are all around us．We watch and read sports news．There are also sports clubs，and even sports—only channels（频道）on TV．In many countries，players make millions of dollars every year．

But why are sports so important? They're only games，right?

Our readers answer：

Vlad（Ukraine乌克兰）

Sports bring people together．In 2006，our team was able to play in the 2006 World Cup for the first time．Everyone was happy．Rich and poor，old and young，men and women—everyone was in the streets together!

Mike（USA）

Sports bring people together，but they divide them，too．Fans of different teams fight all the time—they shout and hit each other．And here's another example：My brother plays high school baseball．Last week，his team played an important game．At the game，two parents fought about a call．Come on… baseball is only a game! Sports are so competitive（有竞争力的）these days．It's all about winning．Then the game isn't fun．

Oba（South Africa）

Right now，some of the world's best soccer players are from African countries，and the 2010 World Cup games will be in South Africa．Yes，some players make a lot of money—may be too much．But sporting events（like the World Cup）bring tourists and money to countries and people．And that is good for Africa．

1．What does Mike think of a game when players and fans only think about winning?

A．It's important．                                        B．It's exciting．

C．It's not fun．                                             D．It's not necessary．

2．Why are sports important for Oba?

A．Because sports are competitive these days．

B．Because sports can make money for a country．

C．Because sports can make players rich every year．

D．Because sports can make people happy．

3．What does the underlined word “call” mean?

A．Decision．           B．Telephone．            C．Suggestion．          D．Seat．

4．What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Sports are popular all over the world．

B．Sports divide people from different countries．

C．People have different opinions about sports．

D．Sports bring tourists and money to Africa．

When I was a teenager growing up in France, I wanted to leave school and have my own life. The only way I could   1  this was to work in the local paper factory in my town, or get married. I was very nervous when I told my   2  I wanted to leave school. I thought he would say, “  3  You are going to college (大学).” I was very   4  when he said, “OK. Let’s go to the paper factory.”
Two days later,   5  took me to the factory. I imagined everyone to be friends   6 together and having fun. I even imagined there would be music and singing. I   7  I had watched too many movies as a teenager.
When we   8   the factory gate, my father spoke to the guard (门卫) and one minute later we were   9 . I walked around the factory looking at the building, the workers, and listening to the noise. It was   10 . I ran back to my father and said, “I want to go home.”
He asked me, “What do you think of the   11 ?”
“Too bad,” I answered.
“And marriage(婚姻) is even   12 !” he said.
I went back to school the next day thinking about studying hard   13  I could get into a good college. I   14  studying English so I decided to major in languages at college. Thanks to my father and our   15  to the paper factory, I now work at the United Nations and my father is very proud of me. I married a very good man and my life is much better than it would have been working in the factory!