These days, tall modern buildings are everywhere, But if you want to see how life was back in the old days, China still has many beautiful water towns to visit. And now, CNN has chosen five of the country’s most beautiful ones.

The village of Zhouzhuang in Jiangsu calls itself the “oldest water town in China”. The village was built in 1086and is crossed with canals. Taking a boat ride through town, the red lanterns might make you think of China’s romantic past.

Hongcun in Anhui is 900 years old. It was built to look like a big ox. Huangshan Mountain is the head; the town is the body and the bridges are legs. Hongcun is filled with lakes and beautiful Anhui-style buildings.

Fenghuang in Hunan doesn’t look like a bird, but is name mans “phoenix” in Chinese. The town is really as beautiful as the mythical bird. The stilted buildings on each side of the Tuojiang River make the area look like a scene from a postcard.

Huangyao in Guangxi is known for its natural fengshui. The town lies in a river bend. People say it can prevent the villagers’ good fortune from flowing away

While most water towns are in the south, Shangdong’s Tai’erzhuang stands out in the north. The town lies on the bank of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It was a busy trading center during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the town, there are ancient bridges, a canal and temples, making you think of its past glory.

1. Where are we supposed to go if we want to taste the ancient beauty of China?

A．The water towns.	B．The modem buildings.
C．Jiangsu Province.	D．North china.

2. Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．Hongcun is the oldest town in China.

B．The river bend in Huangyao can protect its villagers.

C．Most water towns are located in the north.

D．Tai’er Zhuang used to be a trading center.

3. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Welcome to China.	B．China’s Water Towns.
C．Tips for Visiting China.	D．CNN’s Choices.

An upset little boy wanted to meet God. He thought it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman sitting on a park bench alone. The boy sat next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to drink his root beer when he thought that the old lady might be hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling.

As dusk fell, the boy got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God”

Meanwhile, the old woman, also returned to her home with joy. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mom, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate potato chips with God.”

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

4. What is the right order of the story?
a. The boy shared food with the old woman
b. The boy came across an old woman
c. The boy set out to meet God
d. The boy arrived home and surprised his mother.
e. The boy hugged the old woman.

A．c-b-a-d-e	B．c-b-a-e-d
C．b-a-c-e-d	D．b-d-e-c-a

5. Which of the following best explains “underestimate” underlined in the last paragraph?

A．Forget.	B．Praise
C．Ignore	D．Support

6. What is the author’s purpose in writing this text?

A．To introduce a kind boy who helped an old woman.

B．To describe a moving story between a boy and an old woman.

C．To inform us that the boy and the woman are God.

D．To remind us that little act of kindness can make a difference.

Night owls, people who stay up late and struggle to get out of bed in the morning, are more likely to die sooner than morning larks, the first study into their death rates has found.

New research by the University of Surrey and Northwestern University in the US found that people who naturally stay up late were 10 per cent more likely to die within the six-and-a-half-year study period compared to those who preferred the morning.

Researchers say that the ongoing stress of operating in a traditional 9-5 society was having a huge effect on millions of people and could be shortening their lives.

“This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored,” said Malcolm von Schantz, a professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey. “We should discuss allowing evening types to start and finish work later, where practical. And we need more research about how we can help evening types deal with the higher effort of keeping their body clock in line with sun time.”

The research involved nearly 500,000 Brits aged between 38 and 73 and found that around nine per cent considered themselves evening people, while 27 per cent identified as morning types.

In the new study, Scientists found owls had higher rates of diabetes, psychological disorders and neurological disorders. But the team has previously shown that whether someone is an owl or a lark is half genetic and half environment, meaning there may be ways to keep body clock issues under control.

The team recommends that night owls can help themselves by trying to become exposed to light early in the morning and not at night. Keeping regular bedtimes, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and trying to do tasks earlier in the day can help to reset body rhythms.

The study was published in the journal Chronobiology International.

7. What does the underlined word “their” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Night owls’	B．Morning larks
C．Researchers’	D．Scientists’

8. What can we know from Malcolm’s words?

A．People who stay up late may die before age 7.

B．Staying up late is no longer a public health issue.

C．When people should start work will be discussed later.

D．More research is needed to help solve the problem.

9. Which of the following is not suggested by the research team?

A．Get up early.	B．Make full use of morning hours.
C．Get exposed to sunlight more often.	D．Go to bed at a fixed time.

10. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To tell the differences between two types of people.

B．To introduce readers the result of a new research.

C．To warn night owls of their bad genes and environments.

D．To argue morning larks usually live longer than night owls.

What do the world’s most successful people all have in common? The researehers found that high achievers like Robert Moses turn out to be all alike:

Busy！Busy!

    11    in a study of general managers in industry, John Kotter reported that many of them worked 60 to 65 hours per week-which translates into at least six 10-hour days. The ability and willingness to work difficult and tiring hours has characterized many powerful figures. Energy and strength provide many advantages to those seeking to build power.

    12    

The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything. And that’s what gives them the time to accomplish so much.    13    . And focus means saying “no” to a lot of distractions（分散力）.

Know what you are

Ignore weakness and keep improving your strengths. Don’t waste time exploring skill areas where you have little competence. Instead, focus on-and build on-your strengths.    14    

    15    Wiseman created a “luck school” to test these ideas-and it was a success. In total, 80 percent of people who attended luck school said that their luck bad increased. On average, these people reported that their luck had risen by more than 40 percent.

A．Just say no!

B．Ask for more time.

C．Strengths are exactly what you are good at.

D．Achievement requires concentrations（注意力）

E．This means knowing who you are and what you are good at.

F．Does applying these principle（原则）to your life actually work?

G．High achievers never stop working and they never lose a minute.