It can’t be truer that when in Rome do as the Romans do. So it’s necessary for you to know what you can talk with the local people in France, Australia and Switzerland, and different customs of these countries.

In France

You’ll find that conversations often turn into heated debates. Give opinions only on subjects that you are knowledgeable about. There is rarely a moment of silence, except when the topic under discussion has been exhausted, and nothing new has been introduced.

Food, art, music and current events or history are welcome topics. French believe in freedom, and you can criticize anyone, but not Napoleon, who is a symbol of French spirit and never use the standard. U.S. conversation opener “What do you do”.

In Australia

Australians tend to be enthusiastic debaters. A wide range of topics may be open to discussion, including religion and politics. The best policy, however, is to wait for Australian companions to bring up these two subjects; be prepared to hear their arguments.

Sport is a common topic of conversation in Australia and Australians tend to use sporting comparisons. Australians like to criticize themselves, but they can’t stand criticism from others. Don’t talk big；instead Australians prefer to judge your competence and abilities through your actions. People who show off their education in conversation may be subject to teasing.

In Switzerland

The Swiss may seem cold. Once you get close to them, however, you’ll find that they are honest, responsible people, who will be loyal to your interests.

They are good listeners and will remember practically everything you say to them. Sometimes they will even go so far as to take notes while you speak. The Swiss are a very private people, so you should avoid asking personal questions. They can be rather serious, so it is advisable to avoid making jokes on them.

1.Which of the following statements is TURE according to the passage?

A．There is no moment of silence when you talk with French.

B．French don’t like others asking their careers.

C．The Swiss may seem cold but humorous sometimes.

D．Australians tend to judge you by your words.

2.It is suggested during talking that ______

A．you should tell the Australians what education you have received.

B．you should not use too much sporting comparisons with Australians.

C．you should not ask personal questions from people of the three countries.

D．you should have the Australians bring up subjects first.

3.We can infer from the passage that ______

A．Australians don’t like to show off their success before others.

B．Australians like to criticize themselves and others.

C．you can talk with French about anything even if you know little.

D．you can criticize anyone in France because you have the right.

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A．Talking in western countries

B．How to argue with foreigners

C．Things that can’t be talked with foreigners

D．How to adapt to the life in western countries

5.What will the author talk about in the following paragraphs?

A．How to talk efficiently with foreigners.

B．Customs of the three countries.

C．How to choose topics in the western countries.

D．How to be a good listener.

第二節(jié) （共5小題；每小題2分，滿(mǎn)分10分）

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有2項(xiàng)為多余項(xiàng)。

Sociologists(社會(huì)學(xué)家), working in western countries, have found that a large number of women wished they had been born men. ______51_______

   “Women often wish they had the same chances as men have, and think it is still men’s world,” said Dr. James Helen, one of the sociologists who did the study.

   ______52_______ A man has to make money to support his family and to make the important decision, so it is right for men to be paid more. Some are even against their wives working at all. ______53_______ If women take full-time jobs, they won’t be able to do what they are best at doing: Making a nice home and bringing up the children.

   Some women disagree. They say they want to get out of their homes, and to have freedom to choose between work and home life. ______54______

   Anne Harper has a very good job. She also believes in  “women’s liberation(婦女解放運(yùn)動(dòng))”. I don’t wish I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish people would stop treating us like second-class people. At work, for example, we usually do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs only to men---usually they are the best ones. _______55_______ How many women scientists are there… or engineers?”

A.Many men say that they have more duties than women.

B.Many women say that they have more duties than men.

C.The member is said to be as high as 60% in Germany.

D.Men have the right of equal pay and equal chances.

E.Women have the right of equal pay and equal chances.

F.If you are a man, you have a much better chance of living a wonderful life.

G.When wives go out to work, they say, the home and children can not be taken good care of.

Cultural rules determine every aspect of food consumption. Who eats together defines social units. For example, in some societies, the nuclear family is the unit that regularly eats together. The anthropologist Mary Douglas has pointed out that, for the English, the kind of meal and the kind of food that is served relate to the kinds of social links between people who are eating together. She distinguishes between regular meals, Sunday meals when relatives may come, and cocktail parties for relatives and friends. The food served symbolizes the occasion and reflects who is present. For example, only snacks are served at a cocktail party. It would be inappropriate to serve a steak or hamburgers. The distinctions among cocktails, regular meals, and special dinners mark the social boundaries between those guests who are invited for drinks, those who are invited to dinner, and those who come to a family meal. In this example, the type of food symbolizes the category of guest and with whom it is eaten.

In some New Guinea societies, the nuclear family is not the unit that eats together. The men take their meals in a men's house, separately from their wives and children. Women prepare and eat their food in their own houses and take the husband's portion to the men's house. The women eat with their children in their own houses. This pattern is also widespread among Near Eastern societies.

Eating is a metaphor that is sometimes used to signify marriage. In many New Guinea societies, like that of the Lese on the island of New Ireland in the Pacific and that of the Trobriand Islanders, marriage is symbolized by the couple's eating together for the first time. Eating symbolizes their new status as a married couple. In U.S. society, it is just the reverse. A couple may go out to dinner on a first date.

Other cultural rules have to do with taboos against eating certain things. In some societies, members of a family group, arc not allowed to eat the animal or bird that is their ancestor. Since they believe themselves to be children of that ancestor, it would be like eating that ancestor or eating themselves.

There is also an association between food prohibitions and rank, which is found in its most extreme form in the caste (social class) system of India. A caste system consists of ranked groups, each with a different economic specialization. In India, there is an association between caste and the idea of pollution. Members of highly ranked groups can be polluted by coming into contact with the bodily secretions, particularly saliva（唾液）,of individuals of lower-ranked castes. Because of the fear of pollution, Brahmans and other high-ranked individuals will not share food with, not eat from the same plate as, not even accept food from an individual or from a low-ranking class.

1.According to the passage, who will NOT eat together?

2.In Paragraph 4, the underlined word "taboos" means _____________.

3. According to the passage, eating together indicates all the following EXCEPT         .

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

Handshaking, though a European practice, is often seen in big cities of China．Nobody knows exactly when the practice started in Europe. It is said that long long ago in Europe when people met, they showed their unarmed (無(wú)武器的) hands to each other as a sign of goodwill. As time went on and trade in cities grew rapidly, people in cities began to clap each other’s hands to make a deal or to reach an agreement. This practice was later changed into shaking hands among friends on meeting or leaving each other. “Let’s shake (hands) on it” sometimes means agreement reached.

Do the Europeans shake hands wherever they go and with whomever they meet? No. Sometimes the Chinese abroad reach out their hands too often to be polite. It is really very impolite to give your hand when the other party, especially when it is a woman, shows little interest in shaking hands with you and when the meeting does not mean anything to him or-her. Even if, for politeness, he holds out his unwilling hand in answer to your uninvited hand, just touch it slightly- There is generally a misunderstanding (誤解) among the Chinese that westerners are usually open and straightforward, while the Chinese are rather reserved (保守的) in manner. But in fact some people in western countries more reserved than some Chinese today. So it is a good idea to shake hands with a westerner only when he shows interest in further relations with you.

64．In the old days in Europe, people put out their unarmed hands to each other ______.

A．to make a deal                                 B．to greet each other

C．to show friendliness                          D．to reach an agreement

65．The first paragraph mainly tells us ______.

       A．where handshaking was first practised

B．how handshaking came about

C．a(chǎn)bout the relationship between handshaking and trade

D．a(chǎn)bout the practice of handshaking both in Europe and in China

66．According to the text. which of the following statements is true?

A．Westerners are more reserved than the Chinese.

B．Westerners are unwilling to shake hands.

C．We should make a judgement before shaking hands.

D．We shouldn’t shake hands with European women.

67．The main purpose of the text is ______.

A．to tell us some differences between the East and the West

B．to offer us some important facts about handshaking

C．to introduce us to some different customs in the West

D．to give us some advice before we travel abroad

You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABC? You may like eating bananas. But did you know there is a “banana person”? How strange! Are these people from “another Earth”? No. They are just Chinese people like you and me.

ABC means American-Born Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people call an ABC a “banana person”. A banana is yellow outside and white inside. So, when a person is a banana, he or she is white inside—thinking like a Westerner and yellow outside—looking like a Chinese.

Do you know why? Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don’t speak Chinese.

But if ABCs cannot speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are Chinese. They are overseas (海外) Chinese. These people may be citizens(公民) of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood. Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair.

But they are not Chinese citizens. They are not the people of the People’s Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist  C.N. Yang(楊振寧). He got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957. The Chinese love him, but he is an American citizen.

What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A. He wants to tell us something about “ABC”.

B. He wants to show that Chinese are well respected in America.

C. He wants to tell us some knowledge about the English language.

D. He wants to introduce the American culture to us.

Chinese in Western countries are called “banana persons” because ____.

A. their bodies are white inside but yellow outside

B. they think like Westerners but look like Chinese

C. they were born in China but go to study in America

D. they like to eat bananas

C.N. Yang is mentioned here to show that ____.

A. American Chinese are great.        B. we love American Chinese

C. The Chinese can win Nobel Prizes   D. American Chinese are not Chinese citizens

How often do you change your hairstyle or ask for new dresses? You may try to follow trends in Western countries，but your peers(同齡人)in the United States don't care as much about fashion(時(shí)尚)as you do．

A recent survey among high school students in China，Japan，South Korea and the US found that Asian teenagers care more about their looks than young people in the US．

This survey was held in 156 high schools in the four countries. More than 7,000 teenagers were questioned about their view on life and the world.

South Koreans, at 83 percent, cared most about their appearance. They were followed by the Chinese and Japanese while US students showed the least interest in fashion at only 33 percent.

“The different results show differences of cultural background,” said Sun Yunxiao from the China Youth and Children Research Centre.

He explained that in the US there are many different standards of beauty, so teens are more likely to be confident about their appearance.

US teenagers’ high self-confidence is showed in survey. About 85 percent are happy with themselves. The percentage of self-confident Chinese students stands at only 30 percent.

Strong ambition( 雄心) is seen in Chinese high schools. Only two in five high school students are satisfied with “an average living”. Koreans are next at 48 percent，Japanese come in at 66 percent and Americans are at 71．

“According to the survey，Chinese students are happy. But Chinese students need to be more independent and learn how to relax．”said Sun．

1.According to the survey，_________ cared little about their appearance．

2.Sun Yunxiao’s words means ___________.

3.The underlined word “standards’’ in the sixth paragraph means __________.

4.From the 8^th paragraph we may 1earn that __________．

5.What does the passage mainly talk about?

單詞拼寫(xiě)(每題1分,滿(mǎn)分10分)。

76. She had difficulty ___(發(fā)表) a speech before a large audience.

77. Tony got praise from his teacher  today， for he usually            （表現(xiàn)） himself at school.

78.They are all a________ workers who will be awarded for their hard work.

79.Free medical treatment kept him alive t      another year.

80.So far,since our research has not produced any answer to this problem,we need to

use a different a      to it.

81.Only when Jim made a call to say they'd already arrived safely did I feel at      (放松).

82.The earthquake left thousands of people h____.

83.The jacket was r ____ from 100 dollars to 75 dollars.

84.We must not rely on imports but on ___（出口產(chǎn)品）.

85.V ____  goods are on show at Christmas in western countries.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)

When you are waiting in front of a theater or at the train terminals, you will realize how important punctuality is. Punctuality is really a virtue, especially in a busy city.      1.      .

Punctuality is the main constituent(構(gòu)成部分)of good character.  2.   On the other hand, a person who is always late shows his selfishness and thoughtlessness and he is not worthy to be friends with.

Some people often say that they cannot always be punctual since traffic is so heavy these days.   3.     As everybody knows, we might meet an unexpected jam on the roads, so we should leave a bit earlier for the appointment to ensure that we would not be late.

   4.   . When they finally arrive, they keep on saying sorry to their friends and then explain. The excuse is not always traffic jam. Sometimes they complain that they have met a friend on the road or have helped a blind man to cross the road. Some also like to blame their watches, the clocks at home or in the office. To such people, we cannot help but say sorry that we have come too early.

Yet after all, such smart fellows will soon find that gradually their friends become fewer and fewer. Perhaps at that time, they would realize how important punctuality is.

   5.   . So when we are young, we should try to be punctual every time and never be late, for it is much more easily acquired in youth than when we are older.

A. To be or not to be punctual is a habit.

B. It is polite to be punctual when you are invited to a party.

C. Some people always have a lot of excuses for coming late.

D. I think traffic jam cannot be an excuse for being late.

E. In western countries, punctuality is very important in social life.

F. Perhaps if everybody were punctual, there would be less suffering and sorrow.

G. A person who is always on time for his appointment shows real consideration for others.

When you put down your pens at the end of the college entrance exam, 12 hard years of study will have come to an end. Forget your studies for a while. It’s time to enjoy yourselves!

There are many ways to celebrate this special month of graduation. You can have photos taken with your classmates and teachers, or dine out together and exchange gifts.

High school students in western countries such as the United States and Canada usually have party to mark their graduation. It’s to mark the time when kids turn into young men and women. After the party, teenagers either go to college or find a job. It means they will no longer depend on their parents as before.

As the party, boys usually dress in dinner jackets and bow ties, though many different types of formal clothes are worn. Girls traditionally wear formal dresses, or dress to shock or be noticed, in shiny or brightly colored materials.

Common party activities include dining, dancing, the crowing(加冕)of a ball king and queen, and just talking to friends. In some cases, high school students collect funds for their class party through the four years of their high school.

High schools in or near large cities may rent big rooms at expensive hotels or，to be unusual, on a pleasure boat．But often costs are out by simply using the school gym．Students make a lot of effort to decorate the gym to make the event special．The music played at the party will be the most popular kinds，like rock and hip-hop．

Sometimes teachers and parents also go to the party，but others like to go with friends，to whom they are soon going to say goodbye．

1.The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to         ．

2.What does the party mean, for western high school students that are about to graduate?

3.What does the underlined word“mark”in Paragraph 3 mean?

4.From the fourth paragraph，we can infer that        .

5.All the following statements are true EXCEPT that     .

Depression(抑郁癥)is a serious problem today．Depression causes workers to be unproductive，causing companies and countries to lose billion of dollars．One expert says that depression is like cancer because it is “widespread, costly and deadly”．Depression hits one person in five around the world．

   Although people have believed depression to be a problem among the rich and educated，studies show that depression is a problem among everyone．Over any six-month period, between five to seven percent of the world’s population will be suffering from a serious depression．

   Suicide(自殺)rates among people suffering from the disease in its extreme, or clinical form were 80 percent higher than in the population at large, and sufferers were four times more likely to have heart attacks．People who suffer from depression often have problems sleeping，getting up on time，and doing work productively.

   Depression, which researchers agree has its origin in the genes(基因)，brings loss of confidence and ability to concentrate, making it possible for employees and managers to work efficiently．

   Depression is made more serious in China by Chinese’s inability to face it．Many people believe that depressed people are either weak or lazy．Besides，there is no good treatment，with few specialists available．

   “Most patients in China just don’t get help,” a Chinese doctor says．“In my hospital，I have

to see 30 or 40 patients in a morning，and just have time to say ‘Hello，how do you feel ?…’”

   In Western countries，people are not afraid to admit that they have depression，but most do not tell it to their boss，because they fear that their boss would fire them．

   “In my experience，aging bosses are the most willing to admit they have it, because they feel

the most secure about themselves, ” an American doctor says．

   Hopefully，in the near future，people around the world will be able to admit that they have depression so that they can get the right treatment.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A. It is widely believed that everyone may suffer from depression．

    B. Depression brings great problems to its sufferers in their life and work．

    C. Depression is a commonly-existing problem only in rich countries．

    D. The poorer and the less educated a person is，the less he will suffer from depression．

2.Compared to normal people，depressed people are likely to be________．   

    A. very unconfident and often absent-minded  B. easy to avoid being hit by heart attacks

    C. working efficiently and productively       D. either weak or lazy

3.Depression becomes more serious in China because of_________．

    A. the understanding of the problem            B. the lack of treatment and doctors

    C. their unwillingness to tell it to their boss       D. the doctors’ careless work

4.What can we infer from the passage?

    A. People are suffering from depression because of the shortage of specialists．

    B. The aging bosses around the world dare to say they are depressed．

C. More and mote patients will turn to specialists for help

D. Western people are braver than Chinese people

When you put down your pens at the end of the college entrance exam, 12 hard years of study will have come to an end. Forget your studies for a while. It's time to enjoy yourselves!

There are many ways to celebrate this special month of graduation. You can have photos taken with your classmates and teachers, or dine out together and exchange gifts.

High school students in Western countries such as the United States and Canada usually have a prom to mark their graduation. It's to mark the time kids turn into young men and women. After the prom, teenagers either go to college or find a job. It means they are no longer as dependent on their parents as they were before.

At the prom, boys usually dress in dinner jackets and bow ties, though many different types of formal clothes are worn. Traditionally, girls give boys matching boutonnieres (a small collection of flowers they pin to their jackets). Girls traditionally wear formal dresses, or dress to shock or be noticed, in shiny or brightly colored materials.

Common prom activities include dining, dancing, the crowning (加冠) of a prom king and queen, and just talking to friends. In some cases, high school students collect funds for their class prom through the four years of their high school.

High schools in or near large cities may rent ballrooms at expensive hotels or, to be unusual, on a pleasure cruise boat.

But often costs are cut by simply using the school gym. Students make a lot of effort to decorate the gym to make the event special. The music played at the prom will be the most popular kinds, like rock and hip-hop.

The students elect the Prom Queen. She is partnered with a Prom King who is elected similarly. These are great honors that the pair takes very seriously. The two dance with each other to celebrate their election.

Sometimes teachers and parents also go to the prom. But others like to go with friends, to whom they are soon going to be saying goodbye.

If you like the idea of a prom, why don't you and your classmates organize one for your graduation?

1.What does the word “prom” probably mean in the passage?

A．a(chǎn) dancing competition.  B. a party held to celebrate graduation.

C．a(chǎn) fashion show.         D. an election.

2.Which of the following is an economical way to hold the prom?

A．renting a ballroom               B．taking a cruise boat

C．holding it in the school gym          D．wearing formal dresses

3.Which of the following clearly indicates that prom is very important to students?

A．They take pictures at the prom. B．They wear formal clothes or special clothes.

C．Music is played at the prom.   D．Teachers and parents attend it.

4.Why do some students attend the prom with their friends?

A．They want to be elected by their friends us the Prom King or Queen.

B．They don’t like to be accompanied by their parents.

C．They don’t want to depend on their parents.

D．They will part with their friends in a short time.

Take a look at the following list of numbers: 4, 8, 5, 3, 7, 9, 6. Read them loud. Now look away and spend 20 seconds memorizing them in order before saying them out loud again. If you speak English, you have about a 50% chance of remembering those perfectly. If you are Chinese, though, you’re almost certain to get it right every time. Why is that? Because we most easily memorize whatever we can say or read within a two-second period. And unlike English, the Chinese language allows them to fit all those seven numbers into two seconds.

That example comes from Stanislas Dahaene’s book The Number Sense. As Dahaene explains: Chinese number words are remarkably brief. Most of them can be spoken out in less than one-quarter of a second (for instance, 4 is “si” and 7 “qi”). Their English pronunciations are longer. The memory gap between English and Chinese apparently is entirely due to this difference in length.

It turns out that there is also a big difference in how number-naming systems in Western and Asian languages are constructed. In English, we say fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen, so one might expect that we would also say oneteen, twoteen, threeteen, and fiveteen. But we don’t. We use a different form: eleven, twelve, thirteen and fifteen. For numbers above 20, we put the “decade” first and the unit number second (twenty-one, twenty-two), while for the teens, we do it the other way around (fourteen, seventeen, eighteen). The number system in English is highly irregular. Not so in China, Japan, and Korea. They have a logical counting system. Eleven is ten-one. Twelve is ten-two. Twenty-four is two-tens-four and so on.

That difference means that Asian children learn to count much faster than American children. Four-year-old Chinese children can count, on average, to 40. American children at that age can count only to 15. By the age of five, in other words, American children are already a year behind their Asian friends in the most fundamental of math skills.

The regularity of their number system also means that Asian children can perform basic functions, such as addition, far more easily. Ask an English-speaking seven-year-old to add thirty-seven plus twenty-two in her head, and she has to change the words to numbers (37+22). Only then can she do the math: 2 plus 7 is 9 and 30 and 20 is 50, which makes 59. Ask an Asian child to add three-tens-seven and two-tens-two, and then the necessary equation(等式) is right there, in the sentence. No number translation is necessary: it’s five-tens-nine.

When it comes to math, in other words, Asians have a built-in advantage. For years, students from China, South Korea, and Japan --- outperformed their Western classmates at mathematics, and the typical assumption is that it has something to do with a kind of Asian talent for math. The differences between the number systems in the East and the West suggest something very different --- that being good at math may also be rooted in a group’s culture.

What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. The Asian number-naming system helps grasp advanced math skills better.

B. Western culture fail to provide their children with adequate number knowledge.

C. Children in Western countries have to learn by heart the learning things.

D. Asian children’s advantage in math may be sourced from their culture.

What makes a Chinese easier to remember a list of numbers than an American?

A. Their understanding of numbers.

B. Their mother tongue.

C. Their math education.

D. Their different IQ.

Asian children can reach answers in basic math functions more quickly because ____________.

A. they pronounce the numbers in a shorter period

B. they practice math from an early age

C. English speaking children translate language into numbers first

D. American children can only count to 15 at the age of four

Depression(抑郁癥)is a serious problem today．Depression causes workers to be unproductive，causing companies and countries to lose billion of dollars．One expert says that depression is like cancer because it is “widespread, costly and deadly”．Depression hits one person in five around the world．

   Although people have believed depression to be a problem among the rich and educated，studies show that depression is a problem among everyone．Over any six-month period, between five to seven percent of the world’s population will be suffering from a serious depression．

   Suicide(自殺)rates among people suffering from the disease in its extreme, or clinical form were 80 percent higher than in the population at large, and sufferers were four times more likely to have heart attacks．People who suffer from depression often have problems sleeping，getting up on time，and doing work productively.

   Depression, which researchers agree has its origin in the genes(基因)，brings loss of confidence and ability to concentrate, making it possible for employees and managers to work efficiently．

   Depression is made more serious in China by Chinese’s inability to face it．Many people believe that depressed people are either weak or lazy．Besides，there is no good treatment，with few specialists available．

   “Most patients in China just don’t get help,” a Chinese doctor says．“In my hospital，I have

to see 30 or 40 patients in a morning，and just have time to say ‘Hello，how do you feel ?…’”

   In Western countries，people are not afraid to admit that they have depression，but most do not tell it to their boss，because they fear that their boss would fire them．

   “In my experience，aging bosses are the most willing to admit they have it, because they feel

the most secure about themselves, ” an American doctor says．

   Hopefully，in the near future，people around the world will be able to admit that they have depression so that they can get the right treatment.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A. It is widely believed that everyone may suffer from depression．

    B. Depression brings great problems to its sufferers in their life and work．

    C. Depression is a commonly-existing problem only in rich countries．

    D. The poorer and the less educated a person is，the less he will suffer from depression．

Compared to normal people，depressed people are likely to be________．   

    A. very unconfident and often absent-minded  B. easy to avoid being hit by heart attacks

    C. working efficiently and productively       D. either weak or lazy

Depression becomes more serious in China because of_________．

    A. the understanding of the problem            B. the lack of treatment and doctors

    C. their unwillingness to tell it to their boss       D. the doctors’ careless work

What can we infer from the passage?

    A. People are suffering from depression because of the shortage of specialists．

    B. The aging bosses around the world dare to say they are depressed．

C. More and mote patients will turn to specialists for help

D. Western people are braver than Chinese people

When you put down your pens at the end of the college entrance exam, 12 hard years of study will have come to an end. Forget your studies for a while. It's time to enjoy yourselves!

There are many ways to celebrate this special month of graduation. You can have photos taken with your classmates and teachers, or dine out together and exchange gifts.

High school students in Western countries such as the United States and Canada usually have a prom to mark their graduation. It's to mark the time kids turn into young men and women. After the prom, teenagers either go to college or find a job. It means they are no longer as dependent on their parents as they were before.

At the prom, boys usually dress in dinner jackets and bow ties, though many different types of formal clothes are worn. Traditionally, girls give boys matching boutonnieres (a small collection of flowers they pin to their jackets). Girls traditionally wear formal dresses, or dress to shock or be noticed, in shiny or brightly colored materials.

Common prom activities include dining, dancing, the crowning (加冠) of a prom king and queen, and just talking to friends. In some cases, high school students collect funds for their class prom through the four years of their high school.

High schools in or near large cities may rent ballrooms at expensive hotels or, to be unusual, on a pleasure cruise boat.

But often costs are cut by simply using the school gym. Students make a lot of effort to decorate the gym to make the event special. The music played at the prom will be the most popular kinds, like rock and hip-hop.

The students elect the Prom Queen. She is partnered with a Prom King who is elected similarly. These are great honors that the pair takes very seriously. The two dance with each other to celebrate their election.

Sometimes teachers and parents also go to the prom. But others like to go with friends, to whom they are soon going to be saying goodbye.

If you like the idea of a prom, why don't you and your classmates organize one for your graduation?

What does the word “prom” probably mean in the passage?

A．a(chǎn) dancing competition.         B. a party held to celebrate graduation.

C．a(chǎn) fashion show.         D. an election.

Which of the following is an economical way to hold the prom?

A．renting a ballroom             B．taking a cruise boat

C．holding it in the school gym      D．wearing formal dresses

Which of the following clearly indicates that prom is very important to students?

A．They take pictures at the prom. B．They wear formal clothes or special clothes.

C．Music is played at the prom.   D．Teachers and parents attend it.

Why do some students attend the prom with their friends?

A．They want to be elected by their friends us the Prom King or Queen.

B．They don’t like to be accompanied by their parents.

C．They don’t want to depend on their parents.

D．They will part with their friends in a short time.

Take a look at the following list of numbers: 4, 8, 5, 3, 7, 9, 6. Read them loud. Now look away and spend 20 seconds memorizing them in order before saying them out loud again. If you speak English, you have about a 50% chance of remembering those perfectly. If you are Chinese, though, you’re almost certain to get it right every time. Why is that? Because we most easily memorize whatever we can say or read within a two-second period. And unlike English, the Chinese language allows them to fit all those seven numbers into two seconds.
That example comes from Stanislas Dahaene’s book The Number Sense. As Dahaene explains: Chinese number words are remarkably brief. Most of them can be spoken out in less than one-quarter of a second (for instance, 4 is “si” and 7 “qi”). Their English pronunciations are longer. The memory gap between English and Chinese apparently is entirely due to this difference in length.
It turns out that there is also a big difference in how number-naming systems in Western and Asian languages are constructed. In English, we say fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen, so one might expect that we would also say oneteen, twoteen, threeteen, and fiveteen. But we don’t. We use a different form: eleven, twelve, thirteen and fifteen. For numbers above 20, we put the “decade” first and the unit number second (twenty-one, twenty-two), while for the teens, we do it the other way around (fourteen, seventeen, eighteen). The number system in English is highly irregular. Not so in China, Japan, and Korea. They have a logical counting system. Eleven is ten-one. Twelve is ten-two. Twenty-four is two-tens-four and so on.
That difference means that Asian children learn to count much faster than American children. Four-year-old Chinese children can count, on average, to 40. American children at that age can count only to 15. By the age of five, in other words, American children are already a year behind their Asian friends in the most fundamental of math skills.
The regularity of their number system also means that Asian children can perform basic functions, such as addition, far more easily. Ask an English-speaking seven-year-old to add thirty-seven plus twenty-two in her head, and she has to change the words to numbers (37+22). Only then can she do the math: 2 plus 7 is 9 and 30 and 20 is 50, which makes 59. Ask an Asian child to add three-tens-seven and two-tens-two, and then the necessary equation(等式) is right there, in the sentence. No number translation is necessary: it’s five-tens-nine.
When it comes to math, in other words, Asians have a built-in advantage. For years, students from China, South Korea, and Japan --- outperformed their Western classmates at mathematics, and the typical assumption is that it has something to do with a kind of Asian talent for math. The differences between the number systems in the East and the West suggest something very different --- that being good at math may also be rooted in a group’s culture.
【小題1】What does the passage mainly talk about?

There are two types of twins; identical and non-identical twins. Identical twins are formed from a single egg in mother’s body which divides to from two separate babies. Identical twins look the same, and are often dressed by their parents in clothes of the same colors. It is often difficult to tell identical twins from each other, even when they are standing side by side. Non-identical twins come into being when the mother produces two separated eggs a the same time, both of which grow to form babies. In this case the twins look like normal brothers and sisters and are easy to tell one from the other.
　　In the 1970s and 1980s a scientist did some research into twins. He invited many pairs of identical twins to university and asked them to take part in a week of tests. He was particularly interested in adopted (收養(yǎng)) twins who had been separated at birth. He would give the twins different kinds of tests to study their speed of thinking, their speech, their memory, the ways they saw and heard different things, and so on. Time and time again he found separated twins who preferred clothes of the same color, used the same kind of shaving soap, wore the same shaped square glasses and the same colored socks.
　　There is a third type of twins, but it is a very unusual one. Twins which are joined together at birth are known in western countries as Siamese twins.
【小題1】It is difficult to tell identical twins apart because _______.

Customs are social habits. They have been handed down through generations (代) among groups, social classes, etc. Customs can be described as ways of doing things. They are particularly (特別) strong in social practices on the occasions (場(chǎng)合) of births, marriages and deaths.
In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs. For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is usual bridal wear in many Western countries.
Every people (民族) has special customs for New Year. The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs. And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st.
One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap (包) up their babies tightly (緊緊的).This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are usually dressed in loose garments.
【小題1】It is true that customs      .

If you are asked to name some national emblems of China, the dragon will probably be one of the famous images that pop into your head. We Chinese often consider ourselves "the descendants（后代）of the dragon." It is not unfamiliar to you that your parents hope that you "may become the dragon".  

　　As a mythical（神秘的）creature, the dragon is deeply rooted in Chinese culture. Traditionally, dragons are considered to govern rainfall. They have the power to decide where and when the rain falls. In addition, the dragon is a symbol of imperial （帝王的）power. The emperors thought they were real dragons and the sons of the heaven.  　

But the creature is regarded differently in Western countries. In the Bible, dragons represent the devil（惡人）. Western people usually see dragons as cold-blooded reptiles（爬蟲(chóng)）, like snakes and cruel killers. In their eyes, dragons are also dishonest.　　

　　Dragons in Western literature are presented as monsters（怪物）. It is a common tale for a mediaeval knight（中世紀(jì)的騎士） to kill a dragon and save a princess and her country from its evil. Even the popular boy wizard Harry Potter has to battle against a dragon.  　　

　　However, dragons are not all bad in the West. "Puff the Magic Dragon" is a well-known song. The lyrics(歌詞) tell a bitter-sweet story of the dragon Puff and his playmate Jackie Paper, a little boy. When Jackie grows up, he loses interest in the imaginary adventures of childhood and leaves Puff upset. Puff represents the innocence of a child's imagination, which is very positive for a dragon.  　　

1.The underlined word” emblems” in the first paragraph means “_______”.

2.What is a dragon presented as according to Western literature?

A wizard      B. A mediaeval knight  C. A princess           D. A monster

3.The writer gave the example of “ Puff the Magic Dragon” to show_____.

When you put down your pens at the end of the college entrance exam, 12 hard years of study will have come to an end. Forget your studies for a while. It’s time to enjoy yourselves!
There are many ways to celebrate this special month of graduation. You can have photos taken with your classmates and teachers, or dine out together and exchange gifts.
High school students in western countries such as the United States and Canada usually have party to mark their graduation. It’s to mark the time when kids turn into young men and women. After the party, teenagers either go to college or find a job. It means they will no longer depend on their parents as before.
As the party, boys usually dress in dinner jackets and bow ties, though many different types of formal clothes are worn. Girls traditionally wear formal dresses, or dress to shock or be noticed, in shiny or brightly colored materials.
Common party activities include dining, dancing, the crowing(加冕)of a ball king and queen, and just talking to friends. In some cases, high school students collect funds for their class party through the four years of their high school.
High schools in or near large cities may rent big rooms at expensive hotels or，to be unusual, on a pleasure boat．But often costs are out by simply using the school gym．Students make a lot of effort to decorate the gym to make the event special．The music played at the party will be the most popular kinds，like rock and hip-hop．
Sometimes teachers and parents also go to the party，but others like to go with friends，to whom they are soon going to say goodbye．
【小題1】The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to         ．