A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

  I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

  It was a very important event in the computerization of life---a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters and we recognized one another’s handwriting the way we know voices or faces.

As a child, visiting my father’s office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desk of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge---except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW’.

  All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

  I don’t buy it.

  I don’t want to see anyone cut off from expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

  What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand---as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.

Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was so beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was so terrible.

D. He still had a lot of work to do.

People working together in an office used to __________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another’s handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

According to the author, handwritten notes ___________.

A. are harder to teach in schools       B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends      D. carry more message

We can learn from the passage that the author _____________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. does not agree with Florey

D. puts the blame on the computer

A Tour City—Pompeii

Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy. They see the sights that Pompeii is famous for its stadium(运动场) and theatres, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii's people. They do not see them because Pompeii has no people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2,000 years.

Once, Pompeii was a busy city of 22,000 people. It lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a grass－covered volcano(火山). Mount Vesuvius had not erupted(喷发)for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe. But they were not.

In August of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded,_and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ash began to fall on Pompeii. When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.

For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stone and ash. Then, in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city looked almost the same as it had looked in AD 79. There were streets and fountains, houses and shops. There was a stadium with 20,000 seats. Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue colour in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine. They liked bread too. Metal bread pans were in every bakery. In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread—a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today. Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny power tell us that women liked to wear eye－makeup.

Ginseppe has died, but his work continues. One－fourth has not been uncovered yet. Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii.

1. Why do large numbers of people come to Pompeii each year?

A. To visit the volcano.

B. To shop and eat there.

C. To watch sports and plays.

D. To see how Pompeiians lived.

2. Why had so many people remained by volcanic Mount Vesuvius?

A. The city nearly offered all kinds of fun.

B. The area produced the finest wine in Italy.

C. Few people expected the volcano to erupt again.

D. The mountain was beautiful and covered with grass.

3. Why did the city uncovered look almost the same as it had looked in AD 79?

A. Because Ginseppe and his men dug it slowly and carefully.

B. Because the city was buried alive and remained untouched.

C. Because scientists successfully rebuilt the city with everyday objects.

D. Because nobody had lived in the city ever since the volcano erupted.

4. What's the meaning of the underlined word “exploded” in the third paragraph?

A. 爆发       B. 震动       C. 倒塌       D. 爆裂

5. What do we know about the Pompeiians who lived 2,000 years ago?

A. They lived more or less the same as Italians now do.

B. They liked women wearing all kinds of makeup.

C. They enjoyed a lazy life with drinking and eating.

D. They went back to Pompeii after the eruption in AD 79.

A simple flower made headlines (头条新闻)in the British press last week. How could that be? British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies (罂粟花) in their buttonholes.

What's wrong with that?

According to the Global Times, Chinese officials clearly had asked the UK delegation（代表团） not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.

So what's the importance of the poppy? It's a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.

From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China's humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade — including in the opium — which was made from poppies grown in India.

Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during World War Ⅰ. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11 ) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.

So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons.And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other's standpoint(立场).

Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain's Queen — a dull person with no interest in music.  Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format （模式）and impossible to play on British DVD players.

Many countries have diplomats（外交官） stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook （忽视）the cultural importance of a small flower.

64．British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on ________.

A．October 1   B．November 11    C．December 31   D．January 1

65．The poppy reminds the Chinese of________.

A．the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century

B．the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War Ⅰ

C．the Chinese soldiers killed during World War Ⅱ

D．the suffering caused by Britain during World War Ⅰ

66．The diplomatic（外交的）problem in Beijing is mainly caused by ________.

A．the translation mistake      B．the language difference

C．the cultural difference       D．the different lifestyle

67．We can infer that ________.

A．Britain's Queen is not interested in art

B．Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him

C．US President Barack Obama received a gift for music

D．Britain's Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.
I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.
It was a very important event in the computerization of life---a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters and we recognized one another’s handwriting the way we know voices or faces.
As a child, visiting my father’s office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desk of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge---except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW’.
All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.
I don’t buy it.
I don’t want to see anyone cut off from expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.
What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand---as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.
【小题1】Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?