Have you dreamed of traveling to cool places, meeting different people, and maybe picking up a language or two? No matter which country you live in, you can fly over the world’s highest waterfalls in Venezuela, study in France or take dancing lessons in Ghana. Besides the excitement of traveling, there is another reason to study abroad. "Obviously, I learned the language and am now fluent, but perhaps what’s more important was how much I learned about cultures, people, and myself." said Andrew, who studied in France.

Christina studied in Caracas, Venezuela, a city of 10 million people and a huge change from her hometown of 35,000! Christina said she learned how to better speak for herself and her beliefs and to express herself in another language. What could make you more confident than that?

Living away from home can also help you become adapted to the transition (过渡) to college and adulthood. Matthew said that he returned from studying in Australia with confidence, and a real interest in international affairs. "After having gone abroad in high school, I found the transition to college was a breeze — moving 560 miles from home didn’t seem difficult at all after having lived thousands of miles away. "

Speaking of college, improving your language skills might help you get into ideal colleges and even land future jobs. Colleges and employers know that studying abroad provides leadership skills in a world that needs much communication. Most of all, it’s fun! You won’t suffer from the general boredom (单调) while you’re studying in a different learning environment.

1.What do we know about Andrew?

A．He once flew over the world’s highest waterfalls.                 B．He took dancing lessons in Ghana.    C．He learned about cultures in Caracas, Venezuela.           D．He studied in France.

2.According to Christina, studying abroad enables people to ________.

A．get along with people around              B．have confidence in themselves  C．get used to a different life D．know about different cultures

3.By saying "I found the transition to college was a breeze", the author means it is _______ to adapt to college life.

A．interesting        B．difficult           C．easy             D．disappointing

4.From the last paragraph, the greatest thing you can get by studying abroad is to _______.

A．enjoy the excitement of traveling           B．pick up a new language    C．enter the university you dreamed of D．make your life full of pleasure

5.What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The advantages of studying abroad.          B．What to prepare to study abroad.    C．The experiences of studying abroad.                    D．Different opinions on studying abroad.

         Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination(歧视) have been made illegal. But one popular form continues to exist, that is alphabetism (字母排序法). This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames (姓氏) begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.

         It has long been known that the cars of a taxi firm called AAAA have a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers look through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbot has in life over Zoe Zysman. English names are fairly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a quite large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.

         Thus the American presidents and vice-presidents have surnames starting with B and C separately and 26 of those before George Bush took office (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chretien and Koizumi ). The world’s three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. The same case are the world’s five richest men (Gates, Buffet and so on).

         Can this merely happen by chance? At the start of the first year in primary school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So shortsighted Zysman gets stuck in the back row, and is seldom asked the improving questions by those teachers. At that time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.

         The unfairness continues. At university graduation parties, the ABCs proudly get their awards first. However, by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are a little tired. Lists of job interviews and conference speakers and attendees all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their readers lose interest as they plough through them.

1. What does the author intend to show with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars?

         A. An example of competition of two kinds of cars.         B. Some advantages of AAAA cars in the taxi firm.

         C. An example of unfairness caused by alphabetism.     D. Some disadvantages of Zodiac cars in the taxi firm.

2. What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?

         A. The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoe Zysman.

         B. In both East and West, names are important to success.

         C. Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies’ names.

         D. The discrimination in alphabetism can be found in many areas.

3. The fourth paragraph suggests that         .

         A. alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class

         B. teachers should pay equal attention to all their students

         C. questions are often put to the more intelligent students

         D. students should be seated according to their eyesight

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

         A. VIPs in the western world gain a great deal from alphabetism.

         B. People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill – treated.

         C. Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional unfairness.

         D. The movement to get rid of alphabetism still has a long way to go.

       Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination(歧视) have been made illegal. But one popular form continues to exist, that is alphabetism (字母排序法). This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames (姓氏) begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.

       It has long been known that the cars of a taxi firm called AAAA have a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers look through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbot has in life over Zoe Zysman. English names are fairly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a quite large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.

       Thus the American presidents and vice-presidents have surnames starting with B and C separately and 26 of those before George Bush took office (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chretien and Koizumi ). The world’s three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. The same case are the world’s five richest men (Gates, Buffet and so on).

       Can this merely happen by chance? At the start of the first year in primary school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So shortsighted Zysman gets stuck in the back row, and is seldom asked the improving questions by those teachers. At that time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.

       The unfairness continues. At university graduation parties, the ABCs proudly get their awards first. However, by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are a little tired. Lists of job interviews and conference speakers and attendees all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their readers lose interest as they plough through them.

1. What does the author intend to show with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars?

       A. An example of competition of two kinds of cars.    B. Some advantages of AAAA cars in the taxi firm.

       C. An example of unfairness caused by alphabetism.   D. Some disadvantages of Zodiac cars in the taxi firm.

2. What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?

       A. The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoe Zysman.

       B. In both East and West, names are important to success.

       C. Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies’ names.

       D. The discrimination in alphabetism can be found in many areas.

3. The fourth paragraph suggests that         .

       A. alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class

       B. teachers should pay equal attention to all their students

       C. questions are often put to the more intelligent students

       D. students should be seated according to their eyesight

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

       A. VIPs in the western world gain a great deal from alphabetism.

       B. People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill – treated.

       C. Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional unfairness.

       D. The movement to get rid of alphabetism still has a long way to go.

    Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination(歧视) have been made illegal. But one popular form continues to exist, that is alphabetism (字母排序法). This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames (姓氏) begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.

    It has long been known that the cars of a taxi firm called AAAA have a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers look through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbot has in life over Zoe Zysman. English names are fairly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a quite large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.

    Thus the American presidents and vice-presidents have surnames starting with B and C separately and 26 of those before George Bush took office (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chretien and Koizumi ). The world’s three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. The same case are the world’s five richest men (Gates, Buffet and so on).

    Can this merely happen by chance? At the start of the first year in primary school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So shortsighted Zysman gets stuck in the back row, and is seldom asked the improving questions by those teachers. At that time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.

    The unfairness continues. At university graduation parties, the ABCs proudly get their awards first. However, by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are a little tired. Lists of job interviews and conference speakers and attendees all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their readers lose interest as they plough through them.

1.What does the author intend to show with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars?

    A. An example of competition of two kinds of cars.  B. Some advantages of AAAA cars in the taxi firm.

    C. An example of unfairness caused by alphabetism.  D. Some disadvantages of Zodiac cars in the taxi firm.

2.What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?

    A. The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoe Zysman.

    B. In both East and West, names are important to success.

    C. Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies’ names.

    D. The discrimination in alphabetism can be found in many areas.

3.The fourth paragraph suggests that         .

    A. alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class

    B. teachers should pay equal attention to all their students

    C. questions are often put to the more intelligent students

    D. students should be seated according to their eyesight

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

    A. VIPs in the western world gain a great deal from alphabetism.

    B. People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill – treated.

    C. Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional unfairness.

    D. The movement to get rid of alphabetism still has a long way to go.

Have you dreamed of traveling to cool places, meeting different people, and maybe picking up a language or two? No matter which country you live in, you can fly over the world’s highest waterfalls in Venezuela, study in France or take dancing lessons in Ghana. Besides the excitement of traveling, there is another reason to study abroad. "Obviously, I learned the language and am now fluent, but perhaps what’s more important was how much I learned about cultures, people, and myself." said Andrew, who studied in France.
Christina studied in Caracas, Venezuela, a city of 10 million people and a huge change from her hometown of 35,000! Christina said she learned how to better speak for herself and her beliefs and to express herself in another language. What could make you more confident than that?
Living away from home can also help you become adapted to the transition (过渡) to college and adulthood. Matthew said that he returned from studying in Australia with confidence, and a real interest in international affairs. "After having gone abroad in high school, I found the transition to college was a breeze — moving 560 miles from home didn’t seem difficult at all after having lived thousands of miles away. "
Speaking of college, improving your language skills might help you get into ideal colleges and even land future jobs. Colleges and employers know that studying abroad provides leadership skills in a world that needs much communication. Most of all, it’s fun! You won’t suffer from the general boredom (单调) while you’re studying in a different learning environment

1. 1.

   What do we know about Andrew?

   1. A.
      He once flew over the world’s highest waterfalls
   2. B.
      He took dancing lessons in Ghana
   3. C.
      He learned about cultures in Caracas, Venezuela
   4. D.
      He studied in France
2. 2.

   According to Christina, studying abroad enables people to ________

   1. A.
      get along with people around
   2. B.
      have confidence in themselves
   3. C.
      get used to a different life
   4. D.
      know about different cultures
3. 3.

   By saying "I found the transition to college was a breeze", the author means it is _______ to adapt to college life

   1. A.
      interesting
   2. B.
      difficult
   3. C.
      easy
   4. D.
      disappointing
4. 4.

   From the last paragraph, the greatest thing you can get by studying abroad is to _______

   1. A.
      enjoy the excitement of traveling
   2. B.
      pick up a new language
   3. C.
      enter the university you dreamed of
   4. D.
      make your life full of pleasure
5. 5.

   What does the text mainly talk about?

   1. A.
      The advantages of studying abroad
   2. B.
      What to prepare to study abroad
   3. C.
      The experiences of studying abroad
   4. D.
      Different opinions on studying abroad