My little brother is six years old, in first grade. Yesterday, he gave mum a letter from his teacher. "I got a
red flag (红旗) today. Could you please sign this note?" he said. The note showed that he had been talking during
reading time. He gets a "red flag" Only once in a while. His real worry is that he hardly ever gets top scores in his
school work. The best he gets is "OK" but often his score is "You can do better than this". My mum tells me
"You can do better than this" would mean "Very bad" in China. It's interesting, though, because teachers for little
kids in America never say anything too bad about their students; even if the students are making trouble in class
or not working bard enough. The worst they might say is "Please be nicer tomorrow". Many parents are pleased
with a B-grade for each subject.
    I've heard that things are different in Chinese schools. Expectations (期望) are very high for students. Even
from first grade, homework was quite a lot for my relatives in Nanjing. I sometimes felt that my first-grade
Chinese cousin spent more time on homework than I did when I was a 6th grader in the US (this is the same as
the 6th grade in China)! Yet his parents thought he was a bad student. But to me, he was smart, even though he
didn't meet his parents' expectations. My parents tell me that some students who live in China before coming to
this country are years earlier in maths and science!
    Do you think it's too strict in China? Or do you think that it's not strict enough in America? Maybe both are
true!

1. The writer's little brother got a red flag yesterday because he _______.

A. did something good
B. worked hard enough
C. got top scores
D. made trouble class

2. When students get, "OK" it means they get ______ scores in their schoolwork.

A. top
B. medium
C. lowest
D. the best

3. Many parents in America don't get _______ when their kids get a B-grade in their school.

A. happy
B. glad
C. angry
D. pleased

4. From the passage we can clearly see the writer thinks _______.

A. American-teachers are better than Chinese teachers
B. expectations in China are too high for students
C. teachers should be strict with students
D. Chinese teachers are not kind enough to students

5. The story mainly tells us _______.

A. about the different expectations between China and America
B. Chinese kids spend more time on schoolwork than American kids do
C. it s not strict enough in American schools
D. Chinese teachers should treat

         I am in No. 10 Middle School. At School I have a good friend. He is an English boy. His name is Tom. He is twelve. We are not in the same class. He is Class 4, Grade 7. I am in Class 2. Tom's sister is not a student. Her name is Jane. She is five. She is a nice girl.

(     )1. My friend Tom is from America.
(     )2. We are not in the same class. He is in Class 2. I am in Class 4.
(     )3. Tom has a sister.
(     )4. Tom and his sister are students.
(     )5. Tom and I are in No.10 Middle school.

     My name is Li ping. I'm 13. I'm in No. 1, Middle School. I'm in Class Four, Grade Seven. Linda
and Jenny are my good friends. We are in the same class. They are in Row Two, but I'm in Row Five.
Today Linda isn't here. I think she is at home. Mrs. Black is our teacher. Her name is Mary Black. She
is an English teacher. She looks very young. We all like her very much.

(      ) 1. Li Ping is 12. She is in Class 4, Grade 7.
(      ) 2. Linda and Jenny are in Class Two, Grade Seven.
(      ) 3. Today I'm at home.
(      ) 4. I can spell our teacher's name. M-A-R-Y Mary, R-E-A-D Read.
(      ) 5. Mrs. Black is a teacher of English.