The national assistance system for poor college students is getting more effective as proved by fewer phone calls to the hotline of the National Center for Student Assistance Administration.

     "Poor college students and their parents are getting more satisfied with the national assistance system," said Ma Wenhua, deputy director of the administration, on Saturday. Over the past three years, the hotline received 8,488 calls. Statistics show 62 percent of the calls were made to ask about the funding policy, while 38 percent (3,200 calls) complained local colleges had failed to abide by the rules to support the students.

     Complaints were seen a year-on-year decrease from 2006 to 2008. Ma said some poor families might still overlook what they should do to get support for their child. To ensure education equality, the government has introduced a set of favorable policies to help poor students, such as scholarships, grants(助学金), student loans, tuition waivers(学费全免) and the work-study programs under which poor students are helped out in libraries, teachers' offices or service departments to earn money.

    Statistics show the government spent 29.3 billion yuan last year to aid college students, up 7.6 percent from the previous year. Around 40 million persons of college students received the national aid.

    The Ministry of Education of the government would ensure that no students drop out of colleges or universities because of poverty.

    Among the 20 million students in the country's public and private universities and colleges last year, about 20 percent came from poor backgrounds, official figures show.

1.The national assistance system is set up ___.

  A. for parents and students to complain

B. to help poor college students

  C. for poor students to get free education

 D. to help students find jobs

2.The underlined phrase "abide by" in the second paragraph probably means ____.

A. follow                 B. break               C. bear            D. agree to

3.From the passage, we know that ____.

  A. students will drop out of university because of poverty

  B. Chinese poor college students are more satisfied with national assistance system

  C. more and more parents are complaining about their local colleges

  D. college students are suffering from great economic pressure

Once again, I had run away and really did not know why. I walked out of the gate to go to school and then kept walking, and walking, and walking. I was 11years old. It was almost dark; I was tired, cold, and all alone. I had not eaten all day and was afraid to turn myself over the police. I knew I would receive another beating once I returned to the Children’s Home Society. There was nothing for me to do, except keep on walking.

As darkness fell, I entered the darkened area in a city park sat down on a wooden bench hoping to avoid the police cars. It was cold and I began to tremble uncontrollably. All was quiet except for the passing cars in the distance.

“Well, hello young man.” A voice came from behind me. I jumped, almost falling off the park bench. My heart was beating ninety miles per hour. I gasped and I could hardly catch my breath. I looked up and saw a woman standing behind me in the shadows.

“You look cold and hungry,” she said. She took off her scarf, wrapped it around my shoulders and asked me to follow her. We walked about twenty feet, and then stopped under one of the park streetlights.

She held out her hand and said, “Here, you take this letter.” Seeing nothing in her hand., I stood still.

“Reach out and take the letter from my hand,” she insisted. Slowly I reached out, acting as though I was taking something from her hand. “Now hold the paper tightly and take it to any store owner,” she instructed.

I closed my thumb and finger as though I were grasping the letter and began walking toward Five Points. Several blocks down the road, I came to a store with a woman sitting behind a counter. I opened the door, walked in, and stopped directly in front of her. Very slowly I held out my hand toward her. I watched her face to see if she might think I was crazy or something.

She reached out and as her hand touched mine, I opened my tightly closed fingers and stood there waiting. She pulled back, smiled, and looked down at her hands.

She immediately turned and walked to the back of the store. After a while, the woman returned holding a paper plate.

“Here is something for you to eat.” She smiled and signaled to me to eat. Within two or three minutes, I downed the entire plate of food and several Coca Colas.

Before I left, she held out her hand and asked me to take the letter. Again seeing nothing, I held out my hand and closed my thumb and finger as though I were taking something from her. Tightly grasping nothing more than air, I walked out into the street and headed back to the park. The old woman was still there.

“It is really magic. Can I have the letter so I can be magic too?” I asked her.

She reached out, took my hand, and opened my tightly closed fingers. Whatever was being held between my fingers, she took and placed into her apron pocket. “Would you help someone if they were hungry?” she asked me.

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Would you help someone if they were hurt, cold or scared?”

“Yes Ma’am. I would be their friend.”        

“You are a very lucky little boy. You will never need the magic letter,” she responded.

1.What can we learn about the boy?

A. Though lost in the city, he didn’t feel worried or lonely.

B. He had nowhere to go and wandered aimlessly in the street.

C. He avoided the police for the fear that he would be sent to prison.

D. He had to run away because of his bad performance at school.

2.What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A. The boy was out of breath as he did some exercises.

B. The boy felt excited at the appearance of the woman.

C. The boy was scared by the sudden voice of the woman.

D. The boy held his breath, waiting for the woman to come.

3.Why does the store owner offer the boy a good dinner?

A. Because she had great sympathy for him.

B. Because she knew the boy and his parents.

C. Because he was a kind boy who deserved it.

D. Because the woman in the park had paid for it.

4.What does the writer want to tell us through the story?

A. It's better to give than to take.

B. Kindness is a universal language.

C. Don't cry even if life cheats you.

D. Life is full of the getting over of suffering.

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. A Kind Woman.     B. A Sleepless Night.    C. A Magic Letter.      D. A Lucky Boy.

①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.

②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.

③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.

④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.

⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.

⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at eh age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.

1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?

a. He began learning music in an institution.

b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.

c. He visited the Soviet Union.

d. He met with Chinese musicians.

e. He performed for American soldiers.

A. a,e,c,d,b     B. a,e,b,c,d     C. e,a,b,c,d     D. e,a,c,d,b

2. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ______.

A. how Stern began to learn music   B. how Stern began his musical career

C. Stern’s early education          D. Stern’s achievement in music

3. Which of the following statements about Stern is TRUE?

A. He was an activist in opposing war.

B. He was active in cultural exchanges between countries.

C. He had an interest in both playing music and making films.

D. He made a lot of money from music.

4. The Underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to ________.

A. someone who supports young musicians

B. someone who wants to be a musician

C. someone who has a gift for music

D. someone who plays a certain kind of instrument

5. Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?

A.       ①                              B.       ①

↓                                         ↓

②③④⑤                                ②③④⑤⑥

↓                                         ↓

⑥⑦                                      ⑦

C. ①②③④⑤⑥                            D.    ①②③

↓                                           ↓

⑦                                      ④⑤⑥⑦