In Japan, “what’s your type?” is much more than small talk; it can be a more important question in everything from matchmaking to getting a job. By type, the Japanese mean blood type, and no amount of scientific debunking (揭穿) can kill a widely held belief that blood tells all.

In the year that just ended, four of Japan’s top 10 best-sellers were about how blood type determines personality, according to Japan’s largest book distributor, Tohan Co. Taku Kabeya, chief editor at Bungeisha, thinks the appeal comes from having one’s self-image confirmed; readers discover the definition of their blood type and “It’s like ‘Yes, that’s me!’“

As defined by the books, type As are sensitive perfectionists but overanxious; type Bs am cheerful but weird and selfish; Os are curious, generous but stubborn; and Abs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable. All that may sound like a horoscope(占星), but the public doesn’t seem to care. Nowadays matchmaking agencies provide blood-type compatibility (兼容性) tests, and some companies make decisions about assignments based on employees’ blood types. Children at some kindergartens are divided up by blood type, and the women’s softball team that won gold at the Beijing Olympics used the theory to customize each player’s training.

Blood types, determined by the proteins in the blood, have nothing to do with personality, said Satoru Kikuchi, associate professor of psychology at Shinshu University. “It’s simply false science, “he said, “The idea encourages people to judge others by the blood types, without trying to understand them as human beings. It’s like racism.” This use of blood-typing has disreputable (名声不好的) roots. The theory was imported from Nazi race ideologues (空谈家) and adopted by Japan’s militarist government in the 1930s to breed better soldiers. The idea was abandoned years later and the craze faded. It resurfaced in the 1970s, however, as Masahiko Nomi, a supporter with no medical background, gave the theory mass appeal. His son, Toshitaka now promotes it through a private group, the Human Science ABO Center, saying it’s not intended to rank or judge people but to smooth relationships and help make the best of one’s talents.

1. That many Japan’s best-sellers were about blood type implies ____________.

A. this topic is used by many people in small talks

B. Japanese attach great importance to blood type

C. people don’t want to have confirmed self-image

D. the definition of blood type leads to arguments

2. According to the passage, ________ may face more pressure while performing a task.

A. type As   B. type Bs    C. type Os    D. type ABs

3. Kikuchi compared blood type determinism to racism because ______________.

A. both blood type and race are determined by the proteins in the blood

B. neither blood type nor race is related to our character and personality

C. both of them judge people without considering their individualities

D. blood type determinism believes human abilities are decided by race

4. Who introduced the blood type theory to Japan?

A. Nazis from Germany.                                  B. Japan’s militarist government.

C. A supporter called Masahiko Nomi.         D. Human Science ABO Center.

There are some highlights in April in Shanghai.
Live Music – Late Night Jazz
Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player. He’s coming with his new 7 – piece band, Herbie’s Heroes. Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don’t expect to get much sleep. This is Herbie’s third visit to Shanghai. The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly.
Place:  The Jazz Club          Dates:15 – 23 April           Price:￥80
Time: 10:00 p.m. till late!        TEL:6466 – 8736 
Scottish dancing
Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop. Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn. Instructors will demonstrate the dances. The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent.
Place:  Jack Stein’s     Dates: every Monday   Price:￥60 including one drink
Time: 7:00 – 00:00 p.m.   TEL:6402 – 1877
Exhibitions – Shanghai Museum
There are 120,000 pieces on show here. You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof. It’s always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition. There are lots of mummies and more gold than you’ve ever seen before. Let us know if you see a mummy move!
Place: Shanghai Museum           Price:￥30（￥15 for students）
TEL:6888 – 6888                 Dates: daily
Time: Monday – Friday 9:00 a. m. – 5:00 p. m., Weekends 9:00 a. m. – 9:00p.m.
Dining – Sushi chef in town
Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai. In Japan, it’s become an art form. The most famous Sushi ‘artist’ is Yuki Kamura. She’s also one of the few female chefs in Japan. She’ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month.
Place: Sushi Scene in the Shanghai Hotel  Dates: all month          
Price: ￥200                        Time: lunchtime TEL: 6690 – 3211 
For a full listing of events, see our website.
【小题1】From the text we may learn that Sushi is         .

It is not only experts in China who are arguing over whether women should work after marriage or not. Worldwide this question is being discussed as an interestingly large number of married women enter the workplace. Take the United States for example. Since 1960, the percentage of married women in the work force has jumped from 31.9 per cent to 59.4 per cent.
American women first moved into the paid labour force during the World War II, when men left their jobs to fight. In the last fifty years, more and more women have worked outside the home. And over these years of developing, Americans have changed their social values as a result. In 1975, women aged 35 and above made up half of all working women. And by 1980, 60 per cent were women at the age of 45 and above.
Now in Japan, women’s work group is M-shaped with middle-aged women and those aged 20-25 at the two peaks. According to statistics(统计)， 37.7 per cent of Japanese women at childbearing age(25-29) still engaged themselves in work in 1980. and the number reached 50 per cent the next year.
Being a housewife has always been regarded as a “graceful occupation” in Japan. Some young Japanese women believe it is good to be a “ professional housewife”. However, old attitudes have been changing everywhere, and sometimes just out of economic necessary. In recent years, a great number of city housewives have poured out of homes to take part time jobs. Even the UN has given its support.. The 34^th Congress of the United Nations in 1979 put forward the decision for formal agreement on the getting rid of discrimination(歧视) against women.
So far, most UN members have agreed on it, but some still haven’t,  including the United States.
【小题1】From the first passage, we can learn that ________________.

There are some highlights in April in Shanghai.

Live Music – Late Night Jazz

Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player. He’s coming with his new 7 – piece band, Herbie’s Heroes. Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don’t expect to get much sleep. This is Herbie’s third visit to Shanghai. The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly.

Place:  The Jazz Club          Dates:15 – 23 April           Price:￥80

Time: 10:00 p.m. till late!        TEL:6466 – 8736 

Scottish dancing

Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop. Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn. Instructors will demonstrate the dances. The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent.

Place:  Jack Stein’s     Dates: every Monday   Price:￥60 including one drink

Time: 7:00 – 00:00 p.m.   TEL:6402 – 1877

Exhibitions – Shanghai Museum

There are 120,000 pieces on show here. You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof. It’s always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition. There are lots of mummies and more gold than you’ve ever seen before. Let us know if you see a mummy move!

Place: Shanghai Museum           Price:￥30（￥15 for students）

TEL:6888 – 6888                 Dates: daily

Time: Monday – Friday 9:00 a. m. – 5:00 p. m., Weekends 9:00 a. m. – 9:00p.m.

Dining – Sushi chef in town

Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai. In Japan, it’s become an art form. The most famous Sushi ‘artist’ is Yuki Kamura. She’s also one of the few female chefs in Japan. She’ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month.

Place: Sushi Scene in the Shanghai Hotel  Dates: all month          

Price: ￥200                        Time: lunchtime TEL: 6690 – 3211 

For a full listing of events, see our website.

1.From the text we may learn that Sushi is         .

2.Which is not true about the ads?

3.Where are the ads available to people?

The people below are all looking for entertainments to amuse themselves in March in Shanghai. After the description of these people, there is information about six advertisements of activities A-F. Decide what activities would be most suitable for the person mentioned in questions 1-5 and then mark the correct letter (A-F) on your answer sheet. There is one extra paragraph about one activity which you do not need to use.

____ 1. Raymond, a foreign student studying history in Shanghai Fudan University, is planning for his weekend in the first week of March. As he has a phone from his father from home, he is surely to return to his dormitory before 8:pm.

____ 2. Vanessa, has been working in Shanghai for a couple of months and has got a number of friends, who are interested in western music and dance. What they want to do is to amuse themselves and learn something new.

____ 3. Jack and his friends usually enjoy their joyful weekend by attending late night activities. As they are music fans, they would like to listen to a live concert.

____ 4. Smith is interested in a variety of music and he is free in early March. He would like to amuse himself by attending concerts, no matter what price they might be.

____ 5. Alice, a French girl of 26, is returning home in 2 days. She and her companions want to do shopping in the evening and bought some presents for their family and friends back home.

This March is a busy month in Shanghai. There's a lot to do. Here are the highlights.

A. Brightman’s Solo Concert

Brightman, the versatile singer who shifts freely between opera, musicals, trip hop and folk songs, is to give a solo concert in Shanghai in March. The event will be part of a global tour promoting her new album "Harem".

　　Her concert in Shanghai has outrageously high ticket price between 2,500 and 380 yuan, but "hardcore" fans have bought tickets worth 2 million yuan in just one week.

B. Raffles City Shanghai

         Positioning the mall in the middle and middle upper income group, the target consumers of 20-35 age groups. Each floor presents a specific theme like popular young fashion, casual wear and beauty gallery, lifestyle, food and kids, international collections, health and fine dining, etc.

C. Exhibitions - Shanghai Museum

There are 120,000 pieces on show here. You can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof. It' s always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition. There are lots of mummies and more gold than you've ever seen before. Let us know if you see a mummy move!

D. Dining - Sushi chef in town

Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai. In Japan, it' s become an art form. The most famous Sushi 'artist' is Yuki Kamura. She' s also one of the few female chefs in Japan. She' ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month.

E. Live Music - Late Night Jazz

Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player. He's coming with his new 7-piece band, Herbie' s Heroes. Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don't expect to get much sleep. This is Herbie' s third visit to Shanghai. The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly.

F. Scottish dancing

Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop. Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn. Instructors will demonstrate the dances. The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent.