One of the latest trend（趋势） in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs. Au Pair in Stamford, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from aero to around 4,000 since 2004. And that’s true all across the country.
“I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age” Joseph Stocke, the managing director of s company, says of his 2-year old son. “I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future,” After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says.
Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China. She didn’t want her children to miss out on their roots.” Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接触) the language and culture.” she says.
“Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom,” says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children.”But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders. Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or 12.”
The popularity if au pairs from china has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children who want their children to learn Chinese. It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years.
1.What does that term” au pair” in the text mean?
A. A mother raising her children on her own
B. A child learning a foreign language at home
C. A professor in language education of children
D. A young foreign woman taking care of children.
2.Li Drake has her children study Chinese because she wants them ______.
A. to live in China some day
B. to speak the language at home
C. to catch up wit other children
D. to learn about the Chinese culture
3.What can we infer from the text?
A. Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America,
B. Educated woman do better in looking after children
C. Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills.
D. Children can learn a foreign language well in six months.
Since the first Earth Day in 1970,American have gotten a lot “greenter” toward the environment . “We didn’t know at that time there even was an environment,let alone that there was a problem with it,”says Bruce Anderson,president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people,political leaders, university professors,and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many ,many times,”says Gaylord Nelson,the fromer govermor from Wisconsin,who thought up the first According to US government reports , emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9 .Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with , the world is a safer and healthier place .A kind of “Green thinking ” has become part of practices .
Great improvement has been achieved .In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs ,; today in 1995 there are about 6,600 .Advanced lights ,motors , and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution .
Twenty –five years ago , there were hardly any education programs for environment .Today , it’s hard to find a public school , university , or law school that does not have such a kind of program .” Until we do that , nothing else will change! ” say Bruce Anderson .
1.According to Anderson , before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___
A. the social movement
B. recycling techniques
C. environmental problems
D. the importance of Earth Day
2.Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?
A. The grass –roots level
B. The business circle
C. Government officials
D. University professors
3.What have Americans achieved in environmental protection ?
A. They have cut car emissions to the lowest
B. They have settled their environmental problems
C. They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.
D. They have reduced pollution through effective measures .
4.What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph ?
A. Education
B. Planning
C. Green living
D. CO reduction
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband ,Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people.We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.
1.What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
A.Go shopping
B.Find a house
C.Join his family
D.Take his family
2.The girl’s parents got Rashid’s phone number from_______.
A.a friend of his family
B.a Sydney policeman
C.a letter in his papes
D.a stranger in Sydney
3.What does the underlined word“restored”in the last paragraph mean?
A.Showed
B.Sent out
C.Delivered
D.Gave back
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.From India to Australia.
B.Living in a a New Country.
C.Turning Trash to Treasure.
D.In Search of New Friends.
Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were the first people to climb the West Face of the Siula Grande in the Andes mountains. They reached the top _______, but on their way back conditions were very _______. Joe fell and broke his leg. They both knew that if Simon _______ alone, he would probably get back _______. But Simon decided to risk his _______ and try to lower Joe down the mountain on a rope（绳）.
As they _______ down, the weather got worse. Then another _______ occurred. They couldn’t see or hear each other and, _______, Simon lowered his friend over the edge of a precipice（峭壁）. It was _______ for Joe to climb back or for Simon to pull him up. Joe’s _______ was pulling Simon slowly towards the precipice. _______, after more than an hour in the dark and the icy cold, Simon had to _______. In tears, he cut the rope. Joe _______ into a large crevasse（裂缝）in the ice below. He had no food or water and he was in terrible pain. He couldn’t walk, but he _______ to get out of the crevasse and started to _______ towards their camp, nearly ten kilometers _______.
Simon had _______ the camp at the foot of the mountain. He thought that Joe must be _______, but he didn’t want to leave _______. Three days later, in the middle of the night, he heard Joe’s voice. He couldn’t _______ it. Joe was there, a few meters from their tent, still alive.
1.A. hurriedly B. carefully C. successfully D. early
2.A. difficult B. similar C. special D. normal
3.A.climbed B. worked C. rested D. continued
4.A. unwillingly B. safely C. slowly D. regretfully
5.A. fortune B. time C. health D. life
6.A. lay B. settled C. went D. looked
7.A. damage B. storm C. change D. trouble
8.A. by mistake B. by chance C. D.
9.A. unnecessary B. practical C. important D. impossible
10.A. height B. weight C. strength D. equipment
11.A. Finally B. Patiently C Surely D Quickly
12.A stand back B take a rest C make a decision D hold on
13.A jumped B. fell C escaped D backed
14.A. managed B. planned C. waited D. hoped
15.A. run B. skate C. moveD. march
16.A. around B. away C. above D. along
17.A. headed for B .traveled to C. left for D. returned to
18.A. dead B .hurt C. weak D. late
19.A. secretly B. tiredly C. immediately D. anxiously
20.A. find B. believe C. make D. accept
—What did you do last weekend?
—Oh，nothing________.
A. much B. else C. ever D. yet
Henry was away from home for quite a bit and _______ saw his family.
A. frequently B. seldom C. always D. usually
