It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers (生产商)follow certain uniform standards for various features(特征)of clothes．What seems strange，however，is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men．Take a look at the way your clothes button．Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left．Considering most of the world’s population—men and women — are right-handed，the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women．So why do women’s clothes button from the left?

History really seems to matter here．Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the l7th century，when rich women were dressed by servants．For the mostly right-handed servants，having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier．On the other hand，having men’s shirts button from the fight made sense，too．Most men dressed themselves，and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt．

Today women are seldom dressed by servants，but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them．Is it interesting? Actually，a standard，once set，resists change．At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left，it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women’s shirts that buttoned from the right．After all，women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch．Besides，some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the fight，since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts．

1.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

2.What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

3.Women’s clothes still button from the left today because _______.

4. The passage is mainly developed by ________．

It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers（生产商） follow certain uniform standards for various features of clothes．What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men．Take a look at the way your clothes button．Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s form the left．Considering most of the word’s population----men and women----are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women．So why do women’s clothes button from the left?

       History really seems to matter here．Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants．For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier．On the other hand, having men’s shirts button form the right made sense, too．Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt．

       Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning form the left is still the standard for them．Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change．At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned form the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women’s shirts that buttoned from the right．After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch．Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts．

1.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

       A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years．

       B．It is different for men’s clothing and women’s．

       C．It woks better with men than with women．

       D．It fails to consider right-handed people．

2.What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

       A．They tended to wear clothes without buttons．

       B．They were interested in the historical matters．

       C．They were mostly dressed by servants．

       D．They drew their swords from the left．

3.Women’s clothes still button from the left today because         ．

       A．adopting men’s style is improper for women

       B．manufacturers should follow standards

       C．customs are hard to change

       D．modern women dress themselves

4.The passage is mainly developed by          ．

       A．analyzing causes                  B．making comparisons

       C．examining differences            D．following the time order

I’ve changed my mind. “ I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to father for Christmas written after his schoolteacher’s father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched everyone’s heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those whom we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.

But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father there too, either in your mind and heart. I find that my parents, who died years ago, still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all my mother said was “ I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.

It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors, and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, one to give me pause.

I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword, and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know the death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live forever, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I’m sure, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.

1.. According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ________.

2.. In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us _______.

3.. What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?

4. In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is ________.

5.. What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?

Chinese sword play

Learn Chinese swordsmanship and practice Chinese sword play under the instruction of a professional in Ditan Park every Sunday afternoon.

Fee: 60 yuan(US$ 7.2)

Time/Date: 2 pm --- 3:30 pm, October 10.

Place: Meet at the south gate of Ditan Park, across the overpass north of the Lama Temple, Chaoyang District.

Tel: 8457-2772

See Lu Xun’s former residence

Visit the museum and former residence of Lu Xun, the father of Chinese modern literature, and learn about this period of Chinese history, from 1910 to the late 1930’s.

Fee: 50 yuan(US$ 6)

Time/Date: 2:30 pm --- 4:30 pm, October 16

Place: Meet in front of Lu Xun’s Museum, Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng District

Tel: 6432-9341

Hike on Heifengkou Great Wall

Heifengkou Great Wall is about one and a half hours’ drive north of Beijing. The hike starts from the village at the foot of the mountain where the Great Wall meanders to the top.

Fee: 150 yuan(US$ 18) for adults, 100 yuan(US$ 12) for kids under 12.

Time/Date: 8:30 am --- 5:30 pm, October 16

Pick-up: Meet at 8:30 am in front of the Big Easy, at the South Gate of Chaoyang Park, returning by 5:30 pm.

Contact Lucy at lucy @ highclub. cn,

or 6553-3920 for signing up.

Tai Chi class

This is a beginner’s level of Chen-style Tai Chi class, instructed by Paul Wang, who speaks excellent English and has a lot of experience teaching Westerners. He is the 12th generation master of Chen-Style Tai Chi, Tai Chi Sword, and Shaolin Temple longquan.

Time/Date: 10 am --- 11:30 am, October 12, 19

Fee: 60 yuan(US$ 7.2)

Place: In front of Jintai Gallery, inside the West Gate of Chaoyang Park, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6432-9341

Contact Gina at linshujuan@chinadaily. com. cn.

1. The underline word “residence” in the second text possibly refers to ______ .

A. a work    B. a famous person     C. a park        D. a house

2. If John wants to learn Chinese sword play, he may go to _____.

A. Ditan Park at 2 pm --- 3:30 pm, October 10

B. Fuchengmennei Dajie at 2:30 pm --- 4:30 pm, October 16

C. the South Gate of Chaoyang Park at 8:30 am

D. Chaoyang Park at 10 am --- 11:30 am, October 12, 19

3. In which section of the newspaper can you find the information above?

A. Sports.     B. Entertainment.      C. Advertisements.      D. Brief News.

A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love (早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression . The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.

The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.

Dr Marian Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesti ng school activities and spend enough time with family.

Parents should watch for signs of depression -- eating or mood changes -- and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity (成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.

1.Which of the following is more likely to have depression?

A. Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness.

B. Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions.

C. Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior.

D. Careless parents whose children are deep in love.

2. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The older a woman is，the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance.

B. Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly.

C. Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents.

D. Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression.

3.What’s the author’s attitude towa rds puppy love?

A. Confused.                  B. Disinterested.

C. Scared.                          D. Disapproving.

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Puppy love may bring young people depression.

B. Parents should forbid their children’s love.

C. Romance is a two ­ edged sword for adults.

D. Romance is good for young people.