You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience to study here.

In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.

When I first studied English, I was told to say, “I am fine.” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found that people say, “I am good.” or “I’m tired.”

One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made me confused(不知所措). I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.

Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.

To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan(晒黑). However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter”.

I was also surprised by how hard-working US students are.

In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.

The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.

1.How many English classes a week were there when the writer was in fifth grade in China?

A. 4             B. 5             C. 6           D.7

2.According to the writer, textbook English is ______ everyday English.

A. quite different from    B. the same as   C. more difficult than    D. easier than

3.What did the writer do when he didn’t understand what someone greeted him?

A. He thought for a moment and smiled  B. He greeted with “What?”

C. He didn’t how to say               D. He was surprised

4.A good US student spends his / her time ______.

A. only in doing homework

B. only on sports or music

C. only in working for the public

D. on studies, sports or music and public work

5. Which of the following is NOT true ?

A. The writer is now staying in the US.             

B. American girls love to have white skin.

C. The US students are hard-working.  

D. Schoolwork is almost everything in China.

 

My father had a small business, employing(雇用)fifteen people at any given time. We sold all kinds of milk products. I had worked for my father since I was young,      did all seven kids in my family.

One day, we had a new employee, Debbie, who wanted to work in the store for the summer. She had     done this type of work before, but planned to give it her all.

On her first day, Debbie made just about every mistake in the    . She charged the wrong prices for items, she gave the wrong bag of food to the wrong customer, and she    and broke a half gallon of milk. The torture(折磨)of watching her fighting her way was too much for me. I went into my father’s office and said, “Please go out there and put her out of her misery(苦恼).” I      him to walk right into the store and let her go away from our store.

Since my father’s office was situated within view of the sales counter, he had surely      what I was talking about. He sat,     , for a moment. Then he got up from his desk and walked over to Debbie, who was standing behind the counter.

“Debbie,” he said, as he put his hand      on her shoulder. “I have been watching you all day, and I saw how you     Mrs. Forbush.”

Debbie’s face turned red and tears began to     in her eyes as she tried hard to remember Mrs. Forbush from the many women she had given the wrong change to or drop off her milk onto the floor.

My father continued, “I’ve never seen Mrs. Forbush be so      to any one of my employees before. You really knew how to deal with her. I am sure that she is going to want you to    her every time she comes in. Keep up the good work.”

In return for being a wise and kind employer, my father got a trusty and hardworking employee for fifteen years … and a friend for life.

1.A. unless                      B. neither                    C. as                  D. nor

2.A. already               B. yet                         C. never                   D. ever

3.A. vision                  B. book              C. spirit             D. position

4.A. dropped         B. lost                    C. touched        D. missed

5.A. encouraged                 B. forced                    C. expected              D. influenced

6.A. followed                B. seen                            C. guessed      D. heard

7.A. careful                  B. upset                       C. angry                     D. thoughtful

8.A. gently                      B. seriously                      C. lightly              D. directly

9.A. accepted           B. agreed                           C. treated                 D. considered

10.A. run               B. well                              C. appear                      D. rise

11.A. funny                 B. hopeless                         C. rude                        D. polite

12.A. wait on              B. look after                        C. stand for                 D. depend on

 

The nine-year-old Marc Yu is called Little Mozart. He is too short to reach the pedals (踏板) of a piano. Marc, from California, USA, says, “The problem is that my legs aren’t straight enough, so I have to get very close to the piano.”

Marc’s 34-year-old mother played Beethoven’s CDs to him when she was pregnant . Marc started playing the piano at a birthday party when he was only two. While the other children were singing “twinkle, twinkle, little star …”, he walked over to the piano and started playing the song. It astonished his mother, because that was the first time he’d been near a piano. Marc gave his first public performance, playing Beethoven, at six, the same age as Mozart. After that concert, Marc won a £225,000 university scholarship.

At present he practices the piano eight hours a day. He also studies part-time at the famous Colbum Music School in Los Angeles, and flies once a month to China for lessons at Shanghai Music School. Marc says, “I like playing the piano because it makes me have a lot of different feelings —sadness, excitement, happiness and so on. I like playing difficult pieces, especially those that my teacher says I shouldn’t.”

1.The nine-year-old Marc Yu is from       .

A.China            B.France            C.Canada           D.the United States

2.Marc played the piano at the age of        for the first time.

A.two              B.five              C.six               D.nine

3.According to the passage, the underlined word “astonished” means “     ” in Chinese.

A.使……理解                           B.使……担心

C.使……惊奇                           D.使……难过

4.At present Marc practices playing the piano        .

A.once a month                          B.eight hours a day

C.in his free time                         D.only on weekends

5.What Marc says in the last paragraph tells us that       .

A.he likes challenges                      B.he doesn’t like challenges

C.he is afraid of challenges                  D.he wants to be happy and famous.

 

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