Wang Jiaming from Beijing Chenjinglun High School says he is a lucky boy. He’s happy that he’s sitting the senior high school entrance exam (中考) in 2014 instead of 2016.
On Oct 22, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (北京市教委) announced that, from 2016, the English scores in the senior high school entrance exam will be reduced from 120 to 100. Of the 100 points, the listening ability scores will increase to 50. Meanwhile, the points for Chinese will increase from 120 to 150.
“The change won’t affect me. I feel so lucky because English is my strongest subject,” said Wang.
Why such a change? It places the importance on Chinese in our study, and reduces students’ stress, said Li Yi, spokesman of the commission.
“The change will also push us to pay attention to the practical usage (运用) of English,” said Li. “Students will be encouraged to learn to understand English menus and read English news on mobile phones.”
There isn’t news that other cities will have the same change. But several places are making changes to English tests in the college entrance exams. For example, Shandong is considering taking out the listening part of the English exam in its college entrance exams.
But, “being tested for less points doesn’t mean the subject can be taken lightly,” Bai Ping wrote in China Daily.
English has long been the world’s most commonly used language. Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji once said: “In a globalizing economy (全球经济), if you cannot communicate with foreigners, how can one be part of the world economy?”
Wang Jiaming said he understood the change.
“Chinese, not English, is our mother tongue (母语),” he said. “But still, I think English is both interesting and useful.”
1.In the Beijing senior high school entrance exam of 2016, _____.
A. the English scores will be cut down to 100
B. the English listening ability scores will be lowered
C. the points for Chinese will be reduced by 30 points
D. the points for chemistry will increase by 20 points
2. The underlined phrase “can be taken lightly” in this sentence “being tested for less points doesn’t mean the subject can be taken lightly,” is closest in meaning to “_____________”.
A. can be taken out
B. can be paid less attention to
C. can be taken a close look at
D. can take the place of Chinese
3.What is the main purpose of the change?
A. To encourage students to learn how to order meals in English.
B. To make students learn to read English news on mobile phones.
C. To ask students to prepare for the college entrance exam.
D. To make students pay more attention to learning Chinese.
4.What does Bai Ping think of the reforms (改革)?
A. They make students spend less time on English.
B. They make it harder to get a high score.
C. Studying English is still important for the students.
D. English is both interesting and useful.
This is Yoga! (瑜伽) Experience this for yourself.
How do you feel when you leave a yoga class? Do you feel relaxed, full of energy, prepared and ready to face anything and everything? Do you feel better than when you walked in? If you have answered “No”’ to these questions then you are NOT doing yoga.
After walking out of the class, do you feel that you have been pushed through, that the class was hard，that you have less energy at the end of the class, that you have not got any energy, or that you are still tight and full of stress? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you are NOT doing yoga.
Are you forced (被迫) into positions(姿势) beyond what you can? Do you know why you are doing the actions in the “yoga” class you attend?
Satyananda Yoga Center teaches YOGA. We know and understand yoga and YOU. We teach yoga with this knowledge a
nd understanding.
You are not forced into positions not suitable for you, or too early for you. You will leave Satyananda Yoga Center yoga classes feeing relaxed, free from stress, energized, and ready for whatever life brings to you.
With regular attendance and practice, the quality of your life improves with better health, and stress-free mind. Your family and friends will notice the difference. You will feel the difference for better. This is because you are doing yoga.
Yoga for Everyone!
Yoga is a science. You are the scientist, and you are the one in the science of yoga.
New Saturday morning class from September — 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas.
To sign up, call:2669862, or email: keepfitwithyoga@yahoo.com
1.At which time can people learn yoga according to this passage?
A. At 10:00 on Sunday in September.
B. At 22:00 on the first Saturday in October.
C. At 9:00 on Saturday in September.
D. On everey Saturday afternoon in September.
2.The passage suggests but doesn’t tell directly (直接地) that ______________.
A. only Satyananda Yoga Center teaches yoga
B. there’s no better place to learn yoga than Satyananda Yoga Center
C. some yoga centers are not teaching yoga in the right way
D. you have to be a scientist before you take up yoga
3.Which is NOT true if people follow the right ways to do yoga?
A. In the class you will practise some positions.
B. You will feel very different after practisin
g once.
C. You will feel new and fresh after practising yoga.
D. You will feel great if you keep on practising it for a few months.
A small boy at summer camp received a bag of cookies in the mail from his mother. He ate a few, and then put the rest under his bed. The next day, after lunch, he went to his tent to get a cookie. T
he box was gone.
That afternoon a camp leader saw another boy sitting behind a tree. He was eating the stolen cookies! “That young man,” he said to himself, “must be taught not to steal.”
He returned to the group and found the boy whose cookies had been stolen. “Billy,” he said, “I know who stole your cookies. Will you help me teach him a lesson?”
“Well, yes. But aren’t you going to punish him?” asked the puzzled boy.
“No, that would only make him hate you,” the leader explained. “I want y
ou to call your mother. Ask her to send you another box of cookies.”
The boy did as the leader asked. A few days later, he received another box of cookies in the mail.
“Now,” said the leader, “the boy who stole your cookies is down by the lake. Go down there. Share your cookies with him.”
“But he’s the thief!” protested (抗议) the boy.
“I know. But try it – see what happens.”
Half an hour later, the camp leader saw the two come up the hill, hand in hand. The boy who had stolen the cookies was trying to get the other to accept his jackknife (大折刀). He wanted to pay for the stolen cookies. The other boy was just refusing the gift from his new friend. He said that a few old cookies weren’t that important anyway.
1.When might the cookies be stolen?
A. At noon that day. B. The next noon.
C. The next afternoon. D. A few days later.
2.Which of the following is NOT the camp leader’s intention (意图)?
A. To teach the boy not to steal.
B. To punish the boy for stealing.
C. To teach Billy to forgive others.
D. To teach Billy to share with others.
3.After the incident, the boy who stole the cookies might ______.
A. steal again
B. hate Billy
C. make friends with Billy
D. give Billy a bag of cookies
Imagine climbing the three highest mountains in Britain. Now, imagine climbing all three in 24 hours. That’s what Rebecca Shedden, a British schoolgirl did and she’s only eight years old. She is one of the youngest people who have arrived on top of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, the three highest mountains in Britain.
Rebecca and her dad finished the climb, a total of about 11,000 feet (3
,353 metres), in 23 hours and 15 minutes. That includes the time spent driving to each mountain: a distance of 500 miles!
Climbing isn’t new to this schoolgirl. She took her first trip up a mountain in her dad’s backpack when she was just six months old!
“One of the best parts about this climb was Scafell Pike,” said Rebecca. “I’ve never walked in the dark before, and it was fun seeing all the sheep eyes as they ran around in the dark.”
Rebecca brought along food, water, a medical kit (药箱), a hat, a map, a lamp, a camera to take photos and even a mobile phone in case (万一) something went wrong. Along the way, she and her dad had fun by making up mountain songs.
“All my friends like to stay inside playing computer games, but I like being outdoors best,” says Rebecca. Rebecca also enjoys swimming and skiing.
The young climber doesn’t plan to stay on flat land for long. She wants to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. “And I would like to climb Mount Qomolangma one day, too,” she said.
1.What is the distance up and down all these three highest mountains in Brit
ain?
A. 500 miles B. 24 hours’ walk
C. 11,000 feet D. 23 hours and 15 minutes’ drive
2.Why did Rebecca like climbing Scafell Pike best of the three trips?
A. Because the Scafell Pike was the darkest part.
B. Because it is the highest mountain in Britain.
C. Because she likes being outdoors best.
D. Because she saw all the sheep eyes in the dark.
3.Rebecca likes climbing probably because ______.
A. she doesn’t get along well with her friends
B. her dad has a great influence on her
C. she likes making up mountain songs
D. she wants to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you do, be, and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.
Successful people how their life should be and set lots of goals. By setting goals you are taking control of your life. It’s like having a to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are drivers. One has a destination（目的地）in mind (her goal) which can be found on a map. She can drive straight there without any wasted time or wrong turns. The other driver has no goals or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, she drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas (汽油). Which driver do you want to be?
Winners in life set goals and follow through on them. They decide what they want in life and then get there by making and setting goals. people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren’t difficult to set—and they aren’t difficult to reach. It’s up to you to find out what your goals really are. You are the one who must what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.
Research tells us that when we write a goal down, we are more to achieve it. Written goals can be regularly, and have more power. Like a contract（契约） with yourself, they are harder to forget. Also you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself continuously aware of situations that will bring you nearer to your goal.
1.A. imagineB. discussC. experienceD. show
2.A. guideB. friendC. mapD. sign
3.A. twoB. suchC. someD. both
4.A. orB. andC. butD. so
5.A. plansB. moneyC. friendsD. maps
6.A. LuckyB. YoungC. CommonD. Unsuccessful
7.A. practiseB. changeC. acceptD. decide
8.A. willingB. stressedC. likelyD. worried
9.A. improvedB. reviewedC. provedD. reached
10.A. althoughB. untilC. whenD. before
— Have you been wasting time on cartoons again?
— __________. I’ve been working all the time and I need a break.
A. I couldn’t agree more B. No way
C. Not really D. That’s all right.
