Why do Chinese people refuse to cut their hair during the first month of the lunar (阴历) year?
1.. Tradition says that doing so will cause your mother’s brother die. Although it’s not true, some people still believe it.
So, after a month’s wait, people usually flock (蜂拥而至) to cut their hair on Dragon Head-Raising Day – the second lunar month. 2.. People always had to wait for a long time to get their hair cut.
Dragon Head-Raising Day fells on Feb 24 this year. 3.. Ancient people believed that after this day, rainfall would increase because the rain-bringing Dragon King would wake up from his winter sleep. So that day is the start of spring and farming.
A well-known saying goes, “On the second day of the second month, the dragon lifts his head.”
4.. For example, people eat food with “dragon names”. People call noodles dragon’s beard. (龙须). Dumplings are dragon’s ears and spring rolls (春卷) are dragon’s scales (龙鳞).
A.It is an important traditional Chinese holiday
B.Because people believe that it is the best to cut hair on Dragon Head-Raising Day
C.It was once tradition to line up outside of barber shops (理发店) on this day
D.Besides cutting their hair, there are also other ways to celebrate this holiday
E.This is because people believe that getting a haircut during the first lunar month is not a good idea
Are kids getting too much praise? Too much praise may be doing kids more harm than good.
A cover story in Scholastic Instructor magazine asks whether kids today are over-praised. The worry is that while trying to build up kids’ confidence (自信), parents are paying little attention to kids’ real goals and achievements. In a recent study, eighth graders in Korea and the United States were asked whether they were good at math. Among the American students, 39 percent said they were excellent at math, compared to just 6 percent of the Korean eighth graders. But the reality was kind of different. The Korean kids scored far better than the over-confident American students.
The disadvantage of too much praise is that kids may start to focus on the reward (奖励) rather than what they are learning. Worse, when a student fails, whose confidence comes from a blind sense of achievement rather than his or her real abilities, the result can be devastating (毁灭性). This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t praise our kids or that teachers shouldn’t try to build up their students’ self-confidence. But self-confidence should be the result of good grades and real achievements instead of empty praise from others.
Last month, Cognitive Daily reported that parents and teachers should be specific rather than general when they offer praise. An example of general praise is telling a child, “You’re smart.” Specific praise would be to say, “You did a good job on reading...”, or “You did great on your math test.” Kids who receive general praise about their abilities probably show “helpless” behavior when they meet with problems with learning, compared with kids who receive specific praise about their achievement on a task. The reason: a child who knows she’s a smart girl feel defeated (挫败的) if she has trouble reading a sentence. But a child who has been told she is a good reader will probably have confidence in that specific ability and work a little harder to deal with a more difficult book.
1.The study of the eighth graders in Paragraph 2 shows that ________.
A.Korean students are over-praised so they got higher scores
B.American students are over-confident but they achieve less
C.American students are really good at math
2.According to Paragraph 3. kids’ self-confidence should come from ________.
A.teachers’ love and support
B.what they are able to do well
C.a blind sense of achievement
3.Which of the following is the best example about specific praise?
A.Mr. Miller told her daughter “You are a fantastic girl”.
B.The headmaster wrote to one of his students, saying “I am so proud of you”.
C.Your English teacher said to you, “Your writing has improved a lot because of practice.”
4.Kids getting general praise will ________ in the face of problems with learning.
A.probably give up easily
B.encourage themselves to try again
C.work harder than before
5.The writer of the passage means to prove that ________.
A.too much praise may be doing kids more harm than good
B.Korean students are less confident than American students
C.Achievement lies in self-confidence
There can be no doubt about Sherlock Holmes or Indiana Jones. They are surely invented character. But Robin Hood: fact or fiction (虚构)? That question has many answers.
It depends on what you mean by a “real person”. If we mean, “Was there a man called Robin Hood, who did all the things we can read about?” then the answer is NO. But if we mean, “Was there a man who lived in the Middle Ages, and is remembered in the legends (传说) of Robin Hood?” then YES.
The legend of Robin Hood is a very old one, and it is certainly based on reality.
According to one story Robin was really an Anglo-Saxon nobleman (贵族), perhaps called Robin of Huntingdon, or Robin Fitzooth, and he was a rebel against England’s Norman rulers. After William conquered (征服) England in 1066, England was ruled by Norman kings and Norman barons (男爵). Most of the common Anglo-Saxon people accepted their new masters, but some didn’t. Robin was one of them. He took money from the Normans (who were rich compared to common people), and gave it to poor Anglo Saxons. That’s why he became the enemy of the Norman barons.
Other stories said that Robin lived in Yorkshire. And later stories had him living in Sherwood Forest, Nottingham. In Nottingham, Robin is now a very popular character. Visitors to the city can learn all about him at the “Legends of Robin Hood” exhibition (展览), where Robin and his experiences are brought to life.
Maybe Robin never lived at all in the past, but that would be too bad! His spirit is certainly alive today.
1.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.Someone created a role called Sherlock Holmes in his story.
B.There was a man called Indiana Jones in people’s real life.
C.Robin Hood was the real name of a hero in the history of England.
2.What does the underlined word “rebel” mean in Paragraph 4?
A.同盟 B.造反者 C.下属
3.From this passage, we can learn that Robin Hood in different stories ________.
A.is a real person who conquered England in 1066
B.is the enemy of the Anglo-Saxon poor people
C.has got different names and different birth places
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Many Norman barons might want to help Robin Hood.
B.At the “Legends of Robin Hood” exhibition, people can enjoy lifelike pictures of Robin Hood.
C.Fewer and fewer people are encouraged by Robin's spirit.
5.What’s the best title for this passage?
A.A Legend of Robin Hood
B.Robin Hood: Fact or Fiction?
C.The History of Robin Hood
Spring break is here! Tom and Jack are also on vacation from work all week. They want to plan all kinds of fun things to do, like biking, hiking (远足), fishing, swimming, and tennis. They are hoping for some warm, enjoyable weather. However, they just can’t decide which day to do each activity. So they decide to check the weaker forecast (预报) in the newspaper before making some final plans.
THE FIVE-DAY FORECAST
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
a beautiful day with no clouds, high temperature of 32℃ |
partly cloudy with a 80% chance of rainstorm; high temperature of 27℃ |
heavy rain until noon; then clearer and cooler with a high temperature of 21℃ |
partly sunny with a high temperature of 16 ℃ |
partly cloudy with a high temperature of 18 ℃ |
1.Which days will be the best for hiking?
A.Monday and Tuesday B.Tuesday and Wednesday C.Thursday and Friday
2.Tom and Jack are going out on Tuesday, what will they most probably take?
A.An umbrella. B.Sunglasses. C.A sweater.
3.What can we infer from the information above?
A.They must be very pleased with the weather forecast
B.They will wear jeans and jackets on Monday.
C.They can make the final plans according to the weather.
15-day American study tour | |
Time | July |
Activities | Go to the museums Visit the universities Take classes with American students Visit Universal Studios Hollywood |
Total fees (费用) | 3,000 dollars |
Call Miss Lin at 810-38497 for more information. |
1.The study tour doesn’t include a visit to ________.
A.a museum B.Hollywood C.Disneyland
2.Which is NOT mentioned in the table?
A.The study tour to England will last 15 days.
B.You have to pay 3000 dollars for the tour.
C.Miss Lin can provide more information about the tour.
When I was small, I used to visit my grandparents in the countryside, far away from the city. My grandpa was a ______ farmer. Though he passed away many years ago, I still remember a lesson Grandpa taught me one summer.
Grandpa looked after the sheep and ______ them from wolves and other wild animals in the forest. One morning, when Grandpa gathered (聚焦) the sheep, we set out. As we were guarding (看护) the sheep, Grandpa said to me, “Nick, ______ yourself to be a sheep farmer. What will you do if one of the sheep is lost? Will you go to look for it?”
“Of course,” I replied. “As a sheep farmer, I should ______ every sheep. If one sheep is lost, I will do whatever it takes to ______ it back.”
Grandpa shook his head and said, “You have a kind heart, ______ I don’t think you are wise enough.”
At that time, I didn’t ______. Then, Grandpa continued, “Remember, no matter what happens, you must keep your cool. If you don’t, you won’t be able to make right ______. If one of these sheep is lost and we go to look for it, what will happen to the other sheep? They might get ______, too. What’s worse, they might be eaten up by wolves.”
The more I thought about Grandpa’s words, the more I realized how ______ it was!
From then on, I always remembered to keep my cool no matter what happened.
1.A.chicken B.cotton C.sheep
2.A.avoided B.protected C.borrowed
3.A.doubt B.imagine C.encourage
4.A.take away B.take part in C.take care of
5.A.bring B.call C.give
6.A.so B.but C.because
7.A.hear B.understand C.wait
8.A.wishes B.mistakes C.decisions
9.A.lost B.sick C.lucky
10.A.true B.easy C.surprising
