China is casting such a huge shadow on the United States that many Americans are struggling to learn Chinese in order to maintain their competitive edge, "Interest in learning Chinese among American youth and their parents has grown dramatically in the past five years," said Vivien Stewart at the Asia Society, a US group trying to bridge the gap between Americans and people of Asia and the Pacific．

China, the world's most popular nation, is critical to the United States because it is a leading trader, consumer and investor- Its political influence is also rising across the globe．It has replaced the United States as the world's largest consumer and become the second largest economy in the world after the superpower status and its telling effects politically, economically and culturally are driving the interest to learn the language, experts say．

From kindergartens to high schools, studies by the Asia Society show, there is a "rapid rise" in interest among pupils to study the Chinese language．

Even though the US State Department has stressed the Chinese language "critical " to national prosperity and security, the "current infrastructure （基础设施）to support recruitment （招生） of students and teachers as well as the growth of high quality programs is -badly inadequate," an Asia Society study says．The Society has set a target of having at least 5% of American high school students learning Chinese by 2015．"Millions of Chinese are learning English, but only 24,000 Americans are learning Chinese," said Andrew Corcoran of the San Francisco - based Chinese American International School．

The most popular languages after English in the United States at present are Spanish and French.

The passage mainly tells the readers that _____,

       A．China is getting under a shadow from USA

       B．American competitive edge is shaking

       C．Americans object to learning Chinese

       D．Chinese appeals to more Americans         

Based on the context, what does the underlined word "inadequate" （in Paragraph 5） mean?

 A．leading                        B．interesting             

       C．disappointing            D．promising                  

According to the text which of the following is TRUE?    

       A．Culture can have an effect on exciting persons'    

       B．USA has got the high quality current        

       C．Chinese ranks 4th on the American Language        

       D．Politics decides language studying    

What might be the most suitable title for this passage?   

       A, US Government Requires its People to Learn Chinese        

       B．Chinese Gains its Popularity with Most Americans     

       C．China's Economy Helps to Spread its Language                 

       D．Americans Show Interest Learning Chinese 

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.

As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.

As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen

All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.               

That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.

What was the writer a decade ago?

A. A worker working in a university.

B. A teacher teaching in a college.

C. A clerk working in a museum.

D. A university student who had not yet taken a degree.

What does the underlined world “handicap” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Life difficulty.    B. Troublesome problem.

C. Failure in work.   D. Physical disability. 

How did the writer probably feel before meeting the disabled girl?

A. She felt full of hope.

B. She was filled with confidence.

C. She felt unhappy because of poverty.

D. She felt life was beautiful.

Which of the following title suits this passage best?

A. A Disabled Girl.

B. A Disabled Girl’s Smile.

C. Full of Hope.

D. Full of Confidence.

Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes in contact with them. Their values—this can’t be repeated too often—are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with decaying food covered by small worms, and an old person lying alone in bed, taking no notice of the worms. But is it interfering(干涉) with personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers, the ones who clear up the worms, think we are in danger of carrying this concept of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old.

Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car, it needs more mechanical maintenance(机械维修，保养) as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision of spare parts. But never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results will be. And at what point should you stop to treat the old body? Is it morally right to try to push off death by seeking the development of drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that it is designed to die? You can’t ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel bound to give them a try, on the principle that while there’s life, there’s hope. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than it does on your ability to have fun.

1. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. The values are different between the old and the young.  B. The moral problems raised by old people.

C. The personal freedom for the old.                    D. Old people’s viewpoint on life.

2. We can know from the first paragraph that________.

A. Very old people would like to live alone to have more personal freedom.

B. Very old people are able to keep their room clean.

C. Very old people like to live with their children.

D. Social services have nothing to do with very old people.

3. According to the author, which of the following is right?

A. The older a person, the more care he needs.  B. Too much emphasis has been put on old people’s values.

C. The human body can’t be compared to a car.  D. It is easy to provide spare parts for old people.

4.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to “________”.

A. their money or their health          B. the conclusion you come to

C. your talk to the old people          D. whether age is happy or unpleasant

Fading beauty

   She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.  

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum (卢浮宫博物馆) where it is housed.   

“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state (状态).  

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision (视觉) is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”

However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.  

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.  

During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.   

Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.

What does the writer mean by “time is catching up with the Mona Lisa”?

A. The painted woman is not so beautiful any more. 

B. Ageing is something that affects us all.

C. The painting needs repairing.  

D. At such an old age, she is no longer popular.

What makes the repair work difficult?

A. The wooden panel is thin and old.

B. No one knows exactly what materials were used to create the painting and how it might respond to treatment.

C. The health of the painting is suffering

D. Experts can’t agree on how to carry out repairs.

What makes her smile so mysterious according to Professor Livingston?

A. The materials the Italian artist used. B. The way she smiles.

C. The way Da Vinci painted the smile. D. It plays a trick upon the human mind.

One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would be submerged (淹没) in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy.

   The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end.

   The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate(领事馆), one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip.

   Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome. Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and absolute silence, beautiful views, hospitable (好客的) hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go.

    Don’t be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It’s not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue.

Why does the author want to go to Italy again?

      A. He had a great time there.

    B. Italy has a lot of attractions.

    C. His friend invited him there.

    D. He didn't stay in Italy long enough.

What does the author think was the hardest in preparing for his Italian trip?

    A. Buying cheap airline tickets to Italy before the traveling

    B. Getting a visa without an invitation from the Italian consulate.

    C. Booking a comfortable hotel on his own in Rome.

    D. Solving the ticket problem far in advance.

In the fourth paragraph the author mainly explains

    A. the reason why he chose to live in the center of Rome

    B. the reason why the hotel he booked was the right choice

    C. what transport they chose to travel in their Italian trip

    D. the reason why the mistress gave them some advice

Which of the following questions has NOT been answered in the passage?

    A. Why did the author decide to go to Italy for a holiday for the first time?

    B. Why did the author decide not to follow a travel agency?

    C. How did the author prepare for his trip?

    D. What tools did the author use for his traveling?

From the text we can know the author

    A. enjoys traveling everywhere in the world

    B. likes being accompanied by tour guides

    C. advises us to arrange trips by ourselves