Chinese White Collars（白领） Go Down on the Farm
The latest craze among China’s white collar workers, reported in the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph, is an online virtual agricultural game called “Happy Farm.” Virtual farmers can visit each other’s farm, trade livestock and can use real cash to buy virtual (虚拟的) items such as special tools, quality seeds, and animals. The free game is played through social networking sites like kaixin001.com, Face book or xiaonei.com.
Urban office workers can escape the pressures and stresses of everyday life and enter a peaceful virtual existence where players can grow vegetables, practice animal farming and receive satisfaction that comes with a hard-won harvest. Because most Chinese white collars have little amusement after work, Happy Farm gives them a virtual world to make their dreams come true.
Global Times, an English language daily based in Beijing, recently reported that there are more than 15 million Chinese urbanites spending more than five hours a day on their virtual “farms.”
According to the English language website of the People’s Daily newspaper, the increased interest in farming among some urban office workers has resulted in some of them becoming real hobby farmers, tending small plots of land in their free time. Mr. Liu, a white collar worker, has rented a piece of farmland for RMB 3000. Mr. Liu and his family like to drive down to their farm on the weekend and do different farming tasks such as watering, weeding, fertilizing and worming. Later on, cabins will be built on agricultural land making it possible for part-time farmers like Mr. Liu to stay on their land for two weeks enabling them to get a little taste of a farmer’s life.
It is a rather interesting social development that some of urban office workers are becoming interested in farming and agriculture, while large numbers of farmers and agricultural workers continue to move to the cities.
1.What is “Happy Farm”? (No more than 7 words)
2.Why do more and more Chinese white collars go down on Happy Farm?
(No more than 14 words)
3.List 4 farming tasks Mr. Liu and his family do on their farms. (No more than 5 words)
4.How long do Chinese urbanites spend on their virtual farms every day? (No more than 4 words)
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫） eats only one particular type of bamboo. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.
Senses to 1.___________ food
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Animals that depend on only 2. ______ sense |
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●the giant panda |
bamboo |
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●a kind of butterfly |
3. ________ |
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Animals that 4. ________ more than one sense |
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●the bear |
5. ____________ |
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●the fox |
small animals, birds and fruits |
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Humans’ diets are 6. ____________. The 7.___________for French and British people becoming overweight is that they eat foods with 8.________. |
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9. _____________ |
We should 10. _______the right food in modern life. |
Nickname: Hawaii's Island of Adventure
Size: 4,028 square miles
Population: 148,677. The most heavily populated areas are Hilo on the east side and Kailua-Kona on the west.
Temperature: Averages between 71℉and 77℉ year around (expect the mercury(水银柱) to drop at higher heights).
Beaches: 47 Golf Courts: 20 Highest Peak: Mauna Kea, 13,796 feet.
Agriculture: The bulk of Hawaii's farming products are grown and processed on the Big Island, including coffee, macadamia nuts and papaya.
Lodging: 9,655 rooms total; nightly rates range from $35-$5,000.
Airports: Hilo International Airport on the east side and Kona International Airport on the west side.
Rental Cars: All of the nationally known rental car companies have locations at Hilo International and Kona International Airports as well as many resorts. In addition, Hilo, Kona and the major resort areas are serviced by taxis.
Resources: Call (800) 648-2441 to order a video, poster, brochures and maps from the Big Island Visitors Bureau. See www.bigisland.org for updated information.
Shopping: The largest shopping centers are in Hilo, Kona, Waimea and the Kona Coast.
1._______ are mostly interested in reading the passage.
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A．Students |
B．Tourists |
C．Businessmen |
D．Officials |
2.The average population per square mile on the island is about _________.
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A．28 |
B．32 |
C．37 |
D．44 |
3.The underlined part "expect the mercury (水银柱) to drop at higher heights" means _________.
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A．Things are easy to lose weight at higher places |
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B．Dropping things from higher places is expected |
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C．Temperature is expected to be higher at higher places |
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D．Temperature is expected to be lower at higher places |
4.______ are not mentioned as traffic means to get around the Big Island.
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A．Trains |
B．Planes |
C．Rental cars |
D．Taxis |
5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
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A．You can see www.bigisland.org for updated information. |
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B．You can call (800) 648-2441 to order some food. |
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C．You can find some courts to play tennis on the island. |
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D．You may pay a high price for spending one night on the island. |
As computers become more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion. Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory (必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.
1.Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
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A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing |
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B．To Type or To Hand Write |
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C．Writing By Computer Will Replace Writing By Hand |
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D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters |
2.The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because ______.
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A．they are usually asked to e-mail their Homework and Essays |
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B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
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C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
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D．computers have become a trend and fashion in China |
3.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE of the advantages of handwriting?
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A．Handwriting contains the writer's emotion. |
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B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
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C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence. |
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D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
4.The underlined expression “taking stock in” (Paragraph 4) probably means _____.
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A．getting bored with |
B．getting dependent on |
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C．becoming crazy about |
D．getting curious about |
5.We can draw the conclusion from the passage that _______.
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A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer |
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B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day |
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C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting |
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D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality |
A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ￡100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, "Who would like to have this ￡100 bill?" The students began to put up their hands at once.
Then he said, "I am going to give this bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He then made this bill into a ball. Then he said, "Who wants it?" Hands went into the air.
"Well," he said, "What if I do this?" and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, "Who still wants it?" Hands went back into the air.
"My friends," he said, "You've learned a valued lesson today. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it didn't go down in value. It was still worth ￡100.
Many times in our lives, we're dropped, crumpled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value. You are always valuable to those who love you. Your value doesn't come from what you drop or whom you know，but WHO YOU ARE .
You are special and valuable. Don't ever forget it!
1.The story happened ______.
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A．when the teacher gave the students some advice on how to learn English |
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B．when the students were having a meeting |
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C．when the teacher gave the students a speech |
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D．when the students were discussing something interesting with their teachers |
2.Even though the money was dirty, it _______.
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A．went up in value |
B．was worth much |
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C．didn't reduce in value |
D．was still ours |
3.The underlined sentence “Hands went back into the air.” in the third paragraph
means_______.
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A．the students put up their hands again |
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B．the students put down their hands |
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C．the students agreed to what the teacher said |
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D．the students put their hands in front of them |
4.Why did the famous teacher use a ￡100 at his lesson?
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A．Because he wanted to give a lecture about money. |
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B．Because he was used to dropping a bill on the floor and stepping on it. |
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C．Because he was going to give the bill to one of the students. |
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D．Because he wanted to make the students know what the value was. |
5.What lesson can you learn from the passage?
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A．￡100 bill is worth the same no matter what you do with it. |
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B．All people love money most. |
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C．Your value doesn't change no matter what happens to you. |
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D．The value of money changes when it is made dirty. |
When I was 19，I had got a job in my local bookstore. Living in the large city，I usually saw many strange customers(顾客)，most of 1 were teenagers. They didn't come often；I forgot all the customers 2 two. One night a 15-year-old girl came in looking for a book with a boy. They seemed to find what they wanted to buy. But 3 they came to the counter（柜台），the girl found she was a dollar or two short to buy the book，and she took
4 all her money to prove it. She looked so disappointed. Just then I remembered my discount card and 5 was still active，so I told the girl 6 to worry. I put in my code（密码），being happy that I could help them with this card. With the book in her hand she gave me 7 thankful smile，and then she and the boy got out of the store happily，leaving me feeling content，too. 8 fact, sometimes a little thing can also make one's world beautiful.
