The Festival of Cultures

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　August 11-14

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　City Park

　　The Festival of Cultures is an annual event to celebrate the wide range of cultures found in our great state. People representing 40 cultural groups will share their traditions and customs. Here are just a few of the festival’s many activities.

　　Crafts: See the fine art of basket weaving from Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Watch the delicate art of making paper umbrellas from Thailand and the decorative craft of paperl picado, or paper cutting, from Mexico. All craft demonstrations provide a firsthand view of how things are made. You will appreciate the process involved in making these products.

　　Music and Dance: Experience musical instruments that you have never heard before. Listening to the music of a sho from Japan, a bull-roarer from Australia, a sitar from India, and a chakay from Thailand. You will also be entertained by folk dances from around the world, such as the troika from Russia and the mayim mayim from Israel. From 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on August 14, special folk-dancing classes for children will be offered. Children ranging in age from 6-8 can learn the kinderpolka from Germany. Children ranging in age from 9-12 can learn the raspa from Mexico.

　　Storytelling: Listen for hours as professional storytellers charm you with captivating tales. Fables, folktales, and ballads from various countries will be told. By popular demand, Gwendolyn Washington, a famous African American storyteller, is back.

　　Food: Enjoy irresistible foods from other countries, such as gyros from Greece, seafood paella from Spain, crepes from France, and tandoori chicken from India. These tasty dishes will be difficult to pass up.

Riding a London subway, a person from other countries will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times. That’s not rudeness ― people are just too busy to bother looking．

　　Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet thinking．Nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．

　　Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（使用月票上下班者）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40, 000 ― yes, 40, 000 “apps” have been designed．

　　Commuters love them because they are the perfect time - fillers. One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination. iSteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the “steam” on your phone screen．

　　For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction (消遣) of choice. It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music － iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．

　　And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied, then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV shows or films on the way to work．With all these distractions, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train．

1.Those who want to save time to reach where they go can download ________ to their iPhones

A. iShoot                         B. Tube Exits         C. iSteam               D. iPod

2.People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because ________．

A. they are going to work and have no time to communicate with each other

B. they love reading books and do not want to be disturbed

C. they feel sleepy because of getting up early

D. they’re busy playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films

3.The underlined word “apps” in the third paragraph means ________．

A. computers

B. programs downloaded for the iPhone

C. computer companies

D. fortune from London commuters

4.The main idea of the passage is that ________．

A. London commuters are unfriendly to strangers

B. Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40, 000 apps

C. technology is changing how London commuters spend their traveling time

D. riding a London subway is a must when visiting London

阅读理解

　　Right now in schools across the country children are busy selling Pepsi-Cola in the name of education. They are part of Pepsi's “Learn and Earn Project” —a competition set up by Pepsi once a year that encourages students to sell the soft drink at parties, basketball games and other school functions.

　　Then, each spring, the students write up their Pepsi-selling success stories for a chance at national prizes: shares of stock(股份) in the Pepsi-Cola Company.

　　According to materials the company sends the teachers, the project declares “help strengthening students' broad understandings of business, particularly its broad marketing and management aspects. ”

　　Whether it fufills this objective or not, it does succeed in selling Pepsi .

　　The “Learn and Earn Project” is just one example of the hundreds of ways food companies encouraging the buying ad their products in schools. Particularly in the fields of nutrition and hams economics, companies send numerous “teaching aids”: highly Professional films, shiny workbooks and pamphlets (小册子) , all available to teachers at well commercial rates or free.

　　For example, the Savennach Sugar Refining Corp puts out a book for students called “Sugar through the Ages” which includes statements such as “Scientists have found that generous amounts of sugar are a valuable part of well-balanced diets for growing children.”

　　By far the largest supplier of nutrition-education materials to schools is the National Dairy Council, which provides all sorts of pamphlets addressing questions ranging from “How am I doing socially?” to “How am I doing physically?”These materials are full of things about dairy(乳) Products, daily calcium (钙)requirement , etc . Drink milk ,the message seems to be, and you too can be popular.

　　But nutrition and home economics are rat the only areas where companies have found a lucrative(获利) form of advertising.

1．What is NOT true of Pepsi's “Learn and Earn Project”?

[　　]

A．Students selling Pepsi-Cola successfully will become stock holders in the company.

B．Students may gain a better understanding of a business project.

C．It is carried out every year.

D．The Pepsi Company gains much profit out of it.

2．The main idea of the passage is that ________.

[　　]

A．students learn much knowledge of nutrition and home economics through their practice of business

B．Pepsi's “Learn and Earn Project ”helps strengthening the students' broad understanding of business

C．many big companies provide money for schools successfully by carrying out their “Learn and Earn Project”

D．various types of companies extend the selling of their products to schools

3．What do you think is the author's attitude toward such approaches (探讨) to education?

[　　]

A．The author doesn't show his like or dislike for them.

B．The author doesn't think highly of them.

C．The author doubts if those companies can fulfill their objectives .

D．The author takes a denifite(明确的) attitude towards them .

4．The underlined word “generous” most probably means ________.

[　　]