2 . Wearing sports clothes, many Chinese people will go outdoors happily with their families or friends on March 12. They are just planting trees on this special day—China’s Arbor Day (中国植树节).

When it comes to China’s Arbor Day, we can’t help thinking of Mr. Ling Daoyang. He was born in 1888. When he worked as an English teacher in Beijing, he got a chance to study forestry (林业) at Yale University. After graduating in 1914, he returned to China and became a famous expert（专家） in forestry science. In 1915, he advised that the Qingming Festival should also be China’s Arbor Day. His suggestion was welcomed by most people. In 1929, National Arbor Day was moved to March 12, the day Mr. Sun Yat-sen passed away, who did much to support forestry.

In 1979, March 12 was officially announced（正式宣布）as China's Arbor Day. Since then, thousands of trees have been planted all over China, making our country much more beautiful.

China’s Arbor Day is educational for all of us. It reminds us that we should protect our earth and thank our old generations, who planted green, hope and joy for us.

1. According to the text, people often go outdoors on March 12 to _________.

A．do sports

B．study English.

C．find jobs.

D．plant trees.

2. What was Ling Daoyang in Beijing then?

A．A farmer.

B．A student.

C．A teacher.

D．A worker.

3. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The studies of China's Arbor Day.	B．The activities of China's Arbor Day.
C．The demands of China's Arbor Day.	D．The meanings of China's Arbor Day.

4 . People in the United States honour their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day，on the second Sunday in May，and Father’s Day，on the third Sunday in June.These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents.They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens.They give love and care to their children.These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers.More mothers now work outside the home.More fathers must help with childcare.

These two special days are celebrated in many different ways.On Mother’s Day people wear carnations(康乃馨).A red one symbolizes(象征)a living mother.A white one shows that the mother is dead.Many people attend religious services to honour their parents.It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery.On these days families get together at home，as well as in restaurants.They often have outdoor barbecues(烤肉)for Father’s Day.These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.

Another tradition is to give cards and gifts.Children make them in school.Many people make their own presents.These are valued more than the ones bought in stores.It is not the value of the gift that is important，but it is“the thought that counts”.Greeting card stores，florists，candy makers，bakeries，telephone companies，and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.

1. Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for their parents？

A．Their parents bring them up.

B．Their parents give love and care to them.

C．Their parents educate them to be good persons.

D．Their parents passed away before they grew up.

2. What do you learn from the passage？

A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.

B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.

C．Not all the children respect their parents.

D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.

3. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day，________.

A．people usually have family parties.

B．everyone goes to visit the cemetery.

C．children always go to their parents’ home.

D．hand­made cards are the most valuable gifts.

4. What do you think “florists” do？

A．They sell flowers.

B．They sell special clothes for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

C．They offer enough room for having family parties.

D．They make bread or pastry(点心).

5 . BEIJING — Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners,   and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.

Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.

Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.

The government office of foreign affairs has published a book to introduce English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid confusing translations. “It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English,” an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said. Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory. It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.

Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary (烹饪的)
techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent (对应词). The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu (previously often literally translated as “bean curd made by woman with freckles”), baozi (steamed stuffed bun) and jiaozi (dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.

“The book is a benefit to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travelers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year – old employee with a Beijing-based travel agency.

It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo.com, China’s most popular micro blogging site.

1. “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show some Chinese dishes are       .

A．mistranslated.	B．hard to translate.
C．not well received.	D．not acceptable.

2. What measure has the government office taken?

A．Introducing a book on Chinese dishes

B．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits

C．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes

D．Suggesting using accurate translation for Chinese dishes

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “daunting” in paragraph 5?

A．disappointing	B．discouraging
C．inspiring	D．amazing

4. What’s the attitude of most people to the book according to the passage?

A．unconcerned	B．negative
C．divided	D．favorable

6 . A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized (强调) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don’t say!” “You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate topic (适当的话题). “Well, I’d better change the topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it..” Soon I was interrupted again by his words: “You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t request you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised. I said, “Didn’t you say you don’t say?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘really!’ It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions. Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.

1. A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because _______.

A．English idioms were not important

B．I was not careful with English idioms

C．my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance of them

D．I had no interest in them

2. At first, on hearing “You don’t say,” I thought the foreigner meant _______.

A．he was not interested in the topic

B．he was only interested in the Great Wall

C．I had talked too much

D．I had to stop talking

3. The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means _______.

A．interesting

B．important

C．terrible

D．unlucky

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage？

A．The Englishman left China without seeing the Great Wall.

B．The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it.

C．The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.

D．The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting.

7 . Many countries follow special customs when a child’s baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth.

For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie (喜鹊) can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam.

Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children’s teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children’s fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.

In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money.
1. Koreans throw a tooth onto the roof of a house in order to __________.

A．get money	B．feed magpies
C．get candies	D．get a new tooth

2. In Vietnam, if a child’s tooth falls out, he or she will __________.

A．throw it onto the roof of a house

B．feed it to a mouse

C．put it in a piece of meat and feed the meat to a dog

D．leave it to the Tooth Fairy

3. From the last paragraph, we can know that in France and the USA _________.

A．a child will put his or her fallen tooth beside the pillow

B．the Tooth Fairy takes the fallen teeth away at midnight

C．the Tooth Fairy will leave some candies to the children after taking the fallen teeth away

D．no one knows for sure what the Tooth Fairy will leave to the children after taking the fallen teeth away

4. The passage is mainly about ___________.

A．customs about fallen teeth in western countries

B．customs about fallen teeth in different countries

C．stories about human teeth

D．stories about some animals