Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine an early Christmas churchman who reportedly helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1700 years ago, but the day that has his name is even earlier than that.

More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweet heart for a year.

Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they sent each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also sent gifts, like flowers of chocolate candy. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some used another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short “Jane, I love you very much”. Others say more. This one, for example, “Dan, Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever. May.”

Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United States, and 90 other countries as well. This means someone can send a Valentine message to lover in a far-away city or town almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper.

1. When was the day named after Valentine?

A. More than 1700 years ago before Valentine’s death  

B. More than 2000 years ago

C. On February 24                              

D. It is not mentioned in the passage.

2. Which is not true about the Roman holiday?

A. Girls put into a container large pieces of paper with their own names on them.

B. Boys and girls became sweet hearts by chance

C. Girls and boys were not lovers for a year.

D. It was celebrated as a holiday for lovers

3. What is the cost of printing a message to show one’s love? It’s _______________.

A. a few dollars                   B. 80 dollars, and more                C. very expensive

D. a few dollars in a local newspaper and 80 dollars in USA Today

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The ancient Roman girls were more open and easy-going than boys

B. Valentine was killed for helping lovers

C. Readers of USA Today can send roses to their lovers along with printed messages

D. Valentine was honored by people for his firm Christian belief and warm heart

5. What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To briefly introduce the origin of Valentine’s Day and the modern style.

B. To advertise for USA Today.

C. To tell you that Americans are open to express their love

D. To sell roses on Valentine’s Day.              

Violin prodigies（神童）, I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists, the reason for this phenomenon. “It’s very clear, “he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field and is able to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, “children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well.” The Koreans and Chinese, as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

1.Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ______.   

2. Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______.

3.Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______.

4.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

New Year and Its Celebrations（新年习俗）?
January 1,the beginning of a New Year.?
As far back in history as we can tell ,people have celebrated（庆祝）the start of a New Year .The people of ancient Egypt began their New Year in summer .That is when the Nile River flooded its banks bringing water and fertility（肥沃）to the land .The people of ancient Babylon（巴比伦）and Persia（波斯）began their New Year on March 21,the first day of spring .And some native American Indians（美洲土著印第安人）began their New Year when the nuts of the oak（橡木）tree became ripe .That was usually in late summer.?
Now almost everyone celebrates New Year's Day on January 1,the day as before people observed the New Year's holiday in many different ways .The ancient Babylonains celebrated it by forcing their king to give up his crown（王冠） and royal（皇家） clothing. They made him get down on his knees and admit all the mistakes he had made during the past year. This idea of admitting wrongs and finishing the business of the old year is found in many societies at new year.?
So is the idea of making resolutions（决定）.The resolution is a promise to change your ways ,to stop smoking ,for example ,or to get more physical exercise.?
Noise making is another ancient custom at the New Year .The noise is considered necessary to chase away（赶走） the evil（邪恶） spirits of the old year .People around the world do different things to make a lot of noise .They may hit sticks together ,beat on drums（鼓）,blow horns（号）,or explode fire-works（烟火）.?
Americans celebrate the New Year in many ways .Most do not have to go to work or school .So they visit family and friends ,attend church services ,share a holiday meal ,or watch New Year's parades（游行） on television. Most years university teams play in special holiday games .For those who have been busy at work or school ,new year may be a day of rest .They spend the time thinking about and preparing for the demands of the New Year.?
1.Which of the following statements is right??
A.The people of ancient Egypt began their New Year in spring.?
B.The people of ancient Babylon began their New Year on March 21,the first day of spring.?
C.Some native American Indians began their New Year in early summer.?
D.The people of ancient Persia began their New Year in late summer.?
2.Why do people make a lot of noise on the New Year according to the passage??
A.The noise is considered necessary to frighten the evil spirits of the old year.
B.The noise is considered necessary to show people's excitement.?
C.The noise is considered a symbol of admitting all the mistakes one did in the past year.?
D.People have no other better ways to show their happiness.?
3.Americans celebrate the New Year by doing things as follows except ________.
A.resting at home?
B.visiting family and friends?
C.attending church services?
D.having sports and games?

（共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分）
先阅读短文，然后根据短文的内容判断正误，并将结果转涂到答题卡上。正确的涂A，错误的涂B。
As high school students, Sang Tian and Huang Yunru dreamed of attending one of the world’s top universities. They slaved over their studies and were in the end admitted to famous schools – only one turned out to be far more famous than the other, according to new ranking (排名)of Asia’s top schools.
Huang Yunru, 19, went to the University of Hong Kong, the No 1 school in Asia. Sang, also 19, went to Tsinghua University, which was ranked a disappointing 16th in Asia. When Sang heard the news, he couldn’t believe his ears. “What? How can it be?” he said, greatly surprised.
The new list of Asia’s top 200 universities was published last month by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a UK-based career and education company. The ranking have started heated discussions among Chinese people, since the mainland’s top two schools – Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University – were not in the top 10.
Actually, this isn’t the first time that the schools have gone on poorly in regional or global ranking. The 2010 world university list released by the magazine US News & World Report ranked Peking University at 50th and Tsinghua University at 56th. They were the only two mainland schools in the top 100. Meanwhile, 37 US universities made the top 100 list. And three of 10 Hong Kong universities made the top 50.Chinese universities’ poor performance has saddened many students. “I can’t understand their standards,” said Sang. “At least we are a university with a long, proud history.”
According to the QS list, Chinese universities are doing OK in academic peer review, with both Tsinghua and Peking University scoring a full 100. But when it comes to student-to-faculty ratio（师生比）, their ranking drops, with Tsinghua at 22th and Peking at 23rd.John Hennessy, president of Stanford University, said at the Fourth Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum in early May that a lack of small-group discussions has seriously affected the teaching quality at Chinese universities. This has also resulted in students being afraid to question or challenge teachers.
【小题1】Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University were in the top 10 in the ranking of Asia’s top schools.
【小题2】There were no top 100 universities in the mainland according to the ranking.
【小题3】Hong Kong universities are doing much better than the Chinese mainland ones in the ranking.
【小题4】Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University are so famous that they are not worried about the result at all.
【小题5】 One of the reasons for the mainland’s universities’ disappointing ranking is that there are simply not enough teachers for the large number of students.

Watch a baby between six and nine months old,and you will observe the basic idea of geometry（几何学）being learned.Once the baby has mastered the idea that space is three dimensional（空间的）,it reaches out and begins grasping various things,that the ideas of sets and numbers are formed.So far,so good.But now an ominous development takes place.The nerver fibers in the brain separate themselves in such a way that the baby begins to hear sounds very exactly.Soon it picks up language.And it is then brought into direct communication with grown-ups.From this point on,it is usually downhill all the way for mathematics,because the child now becomes exposed to all the rubbish words and beliefs of the born.Nature,having done very well by the child to this point,having permitted it the luxury（奢侈）of thinking for itself for eighteen months,now gives it up to the unreasonable conventions（惯例）and beliefs of society.But at least the child knows something of geometry and peaceful days,no matter what vicissitudes（兴衰变迁）it may suffer later on.The main reservoir of mathematical ability in any society is thus possessed by children who are about two years old,children who have just learned to speak freely.

What does the passage mainly discuss?

A.The impact（影响）of language on mathematics.

B.Children’s ability to learn languages.

C.How basic ideas of physics are learned?

D.Maths-learning strategies（策略）for babies.

According to the passage,which of the following activities would teach a baby about geometry?

A.Picking up a wooden block.                           B.Recognizing the number 2.

C.Saying a rubbish word.                                  D.Looking at a distant word.

Which of the following conclusions is true according to the writer?

A.The language ideas used in early education interrupt mathematical reasoning.

B.It is hopeless to try to teach children mathematics after the age of two.

C.Language teaching should join some mathematical formulas（公式）.

D.Preschool education should emphasize society’s beliefs and conventions.