Japan will hand out its first “Nobel Prize of Manga (国际漫画奖)” for artists in the comic book field abroad. This is another step in Japan’s efforts to show the power of pop culture diplomacy.
The International Manga Award, which was compared by manga lover Foreign Minister Taro Aso to a “Nobel Prize” when he first proposed it, will be given to an artist working abroad whose work best contributes to the spread of the manga form worldwide.
Manga, a name used for Japanese style comic books, often combines stories with drawing styles that differ from the overseas superhero comics and cartoon, particularly in their frequent emphasis on cuteness.
The winner will receive a certificate and a cup at an award ceremony, and will spend 10 days in Japan meeting with local comic book artists and publishers.
“Manga has been spreading overseas and are selling quite well,” Aso said when announcing the award to the public. “I want to further improve the communicative power of these so-called ‘pieces of pop culture’.”
Aso has argued that warm feelings for Japanese comics and cartoon can translate into warm feelings for Japanese foreign policy.
He has proposed sending cartoon artists overseas as cultural ambassadors and the government has named some officials to advise ways to promote Japanese cartoon and culture to foreign audiences.
The award committee, consisting of manga artists and publishers, is expected to make its selections quite soon.
According to a ministry official Nobuyuki Watanabe, the prize carries no money reward. The cup’s design has yet to be finished, but it will be something “appropriate”.
【小题1】 The International Manga Award will be presented to ____________.

A．Nobel Prize of Manga	B．the characteristics of manga
C．a brief introduction of manga	D．the development of manga

In a time of low academic (学术的) achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. however, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.

In the recent comparison of Japanese and American pre??school education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. 62 percent of the more individually oriented (强调个性发展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An em??phasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.

Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential (潜力) development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.

Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.

We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________.

A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents

B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements

C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic in??struction

D. Japan’s higher education is better than theirs

Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach

importance to ________.

A. problem solving                B. group experience

C. parental guidance                   D. individually oriented development

In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on ________.

A. preparing children academically       B. developing children’s artistic interests

C. tapping children’s potential              D. shaping children’s character

Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

A. They can do better in their future studies.

B. They can gain more group experience there.

C. They can be individually oriented when they grow up.

D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate edu??cation.

Japan will hand out its first “Nobel Prize of Manga (国际漫画奖)” for artists in the comic book field abroad. This is another step in Japan’s efforts to show the power of pop culture diplomacy.

The International Manga Award, which was compared by manga lover Foreign Minister Taro Aso to a “Nobel Prize” when he first proposed it, will be given to an artist working abroad whose work best contributes to the spread of the manga form worldwide.

Manga, a name used for Japanese style comic books, often combines stories with drawing styles that differ from the overseas superhero comics and cartoon, particularly in their frequent emphasis on cuteness.

The winner will receive a certificate and a cup at an award ceremony, and will spend 10 days in Japan meeting with local comic book artists and publishers.

“Manga has been spreading overseas and are selling quite well,” Aso said when announcing the award to the public. “I want to further improve the communicative power of these so-called ‘pieces of pop culture’.”

Aso has argued that warm feelings for Japanese comics and cartoon can translate into warm feelings for Japanese foreign policy.

He has proposed sending cartoon artists overseas as cultural ambassadors and the government has named some officials to advise ways to promote Japanese cartoon and culture to foreign audiences.

The award committee, consisting of manga artists and publishers, is expected to make its selections quite soon.

According to a ministry official Nobuyuki Watanabe, the prize carries no money reward. The cup’s design has yet to be finished, but it will be something “appropriate”.

1. The International Manga Award will be presented to ____________.

A. a Japanese who has achieved a lot in creating new methods of drawing

B. an artist who makes contributions to introducing manga to the other foreign countries

C. the person who is expert at comics and cartoon

D. a foreign artist who has contributed to the development of manga

2. Which statement is NOT true about manga?

   A. Manga is different from the overseas comic books.

   B. Manga is popular not only in Japan but also overseas.

   C. Manga refers to international comics and cartoon.

   D. There are stories and pictures in manga.[来源:学_科_网]

3.What has the Japanese government done to show its support?

   A. To propose “Nobel Prize of Manga”.

   B. To name officials to advise ways of spreading manga overseas.

   C. To hand out its first “Nobel Prize of Manga”.

   D. To send cartoon artists overseas as cultural ambassadors.

4.The passage is mainly about ____________.

   A. Nobel Prize of Manga                      B. the characteristics of manga

   C. a brief introduction of manga             D. the development of manga

In a time of low academic（学术的）achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan ,a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation,300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents（答问卷者）listed “to give children a good start academically” as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.

In the recent comparison of Japanese and American preschool education,91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools.62 percent of the more individually oriented（强调个性发展的）Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An emphasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.

Like in America, there is diversity（多样性）in Japanese early childhood education .Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential（潜力）development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.

Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.

1.We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ____.

A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents

B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements

C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction

D. Japan’s higher education is better than theirs

2.Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach importance to ____.

A. problem solving

B. group experience

C. parental guidance

D .individually oriented development

3.In Japan’s preschools education, the focus is on ____.

A. preparing children’s artistic interests

B. developing children’s artistic interests

C. tapping children’s potential

D. shaping children’s character

4.Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

A. They can do better in their future studies.

B. They can gain more group experience there.

C. They can be individually oriented when they grows up.

D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.

In Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, earthquake danger limits（限制）the height of buildings. The city has spread out so far and the traffic has become so heavy that it is very difficult to go from one place to another. The price of the land, too, has skyrocketed. All these explains why a group of Japanese land developers came to the conclusion（结论）that there was nowhere to go but down. So far they have dug out space underground for fifteen shopping centres.

    What are some of the advantages（优势）of shopping and eating underground? Clean air is one of them. The city of Tokyo has one of the most serious smog problems in the world.                Another advantage is that you escape the ever-present threat（威胁）of traffic accidents on the city’s busy streets. Still another is the convenience（便利）of getting around: you are usually right next to, or even in, a subway station. And you can even spend the night underground if you like. The Kibosh station, for example, in downtown Tokyo, has a hotel with a bar, restaurant, and barbershop.

The reason why buildings can not be very high in Tokyo is ____.

  A. that the information about high buildings is limited in Tokyo

  B. that the workers haven’t mastered enough modern science and technology

  C. the earthquake            

D. the heavy traffic

What’s the meaning of “skyrocket”? It means “____”.

  A. go up sharply              B. be as high as that of a rocket

  C. fall rapidly                 D. be as low as that of a rocket

So far how many shopping centers underground have there been?

  A.15       B.50       C. More than 15      D. More than 50

What are the advantages of shopping and eating underground

  A. Less air pollution, the convenience of shopping.

  B. Less air pollution, the convenience of shopping, and less traffic accidents.

  C. Clean air and the convenience of getting around.

  D. Clean air, less accidents’ threat, and the convenience of getting around.

The passage mainly tells us______.

  A. the capital of Japan                            B. the land and its limits

  C. the use of space underground in Tokyo    D. how to make full use of the land