1. When was the National Library of St. Mark’s first designed?
A.In 1588. | B.In 1570. | C.In 1537 |
A.Being the first public library. |
B.Surviving several wars. |
C.Having the largest collection of books. |
A.In Syria. | B.In Egypt. | C.In Greece. |
A.The mystery book. | B.The detective book. | C.The poetry book. |
3 . Amy Chua is the author of “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” In the book, Chua, also a professor at Yale Law School, states her child-bringing-up method learned from her parents moving here from China years ago: no sleepovers, no television, no grades lower than an A.
“We guessed her book would cause much disagreement,” Wang Feifei, editor at CITIC Publishing House, told the reporter. “We don’t take it as a traditional parenting book, largely because it involves cross-cultural conflict.” The book has been available online since Mid-January and ranked No. 80 in sales on Joyo.com, a Chinese version of Amazon. It is to receive wider distribution (发行) at bookstores after the Feb. 3 Chinese New Year holiday.
The book has struck a nerve with Americans, especially American mothers. An article published earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal, called Why Chinese Mothers are Better, lit a strong reaction (the article now has close to 8,000 comments and most of them are critical, many of them completely unfriendly).
And that’s just what she did on Tuesday night’s show “The Colbert Report.” The host Stephen Colbert put Chua on the spot. “People have accused you of saying that the Chinese way of raising a child is better to what Western mothers do. True or false?” he asked. “Uh… false,” Chua replied, her voice uncertain. Colbert seized the opportunity to point out Chua’s inconsistency (不一致). “So you raised your children in a worse way?” Chua made a set of defensive talking points, some of them more convincing than others. Her arguments in defense of strict parenting were “I think if you give a 5-or 8-year-old free choice, I think that’s going to be video games.” Chua thinks that anyone can be what she calls a “Chinese Mother”; all you have to do is to demand hard work, determination and discipline from your children. “I think they are fundamental American values.”
1. What is Amy Chua’s method of bringing up her children like according to the passage?A.Very open. | B.Very loose. |
C.Completely scientific. | D.Very strict. |
A.The book is on sale since mid-January. |
B.In February more people will buy the book. |
C.The book is a traditional parenting book. |
D.Joyo.com is a Chinese version of Amazon. |
A.American mothers admire Chinese Mothers |
B.Chinese mothers are better than American mothers |
C.many Americans dislike Tiger mother’s method |
D.American parenting is completely different from Tiger mother’s |
A.American values. | B.Free choices for children. |
C.Hard work, determination and discipline. | D.Parenting methods. |
A.Explaining her parenting methods with American values. |
B.Taking two children’s stories for example. |
C.Talking about her own experience in raising children. |
D.Proving disadvantages of video games to children. |
How do you keep a library when you’ve got no room for your books? With rising rents and record numbers of young people having to move with their parents, it’s clear that we are a moving generation.
As a student in Leeds I moved three times in four years; in London it was seven times in three years. Regularly having to load our possessions into laundry bags and boxes takes a lot of our finance and energy, but the effect on our book collections is rarely considered.
Keeping a collection of beloved books in a damp flat with no shelves, which you’ll probably have to move out of in six months’ time, is a challenge. Deciding which books to keep and which to reject becomes increasingly difficult. Do you hold on to the books you know you’ll reread or do you keep the to-be-read pile intact (完好无损的) ?
Donating books to a charity shop or local school may be virtuous, but when you haven’t had time to read them since your last move, it becomes depressing. There’s a copy of Much Ado About Nothing I’ve been moving around with for nearly a decade because it is the only piece of Shakespeare in the marketplace.
“Just buy a Kindle!” you might argue — but for many people, books are more than just books. They offer us an emotional connection to the past, to the person who gave them to us. They are a way to brighten up a dark flat, they are a link to home; they are the hardest thing to move and the most enjoyable thing to unpack.
So what if you are already facing your second move this year and can’t bear the thought of pensioning off more of your beloved books? You start reading more. Read all the books in your current bedroom and work out if they’re worth the trip; give away as many books as you can; leave books with trusted friends to be reclaimed at a later point. Start looking at your books creatively.
1. Why has the moving generation appeared? (no more than 15 words)
2. While moving, why do people often ignore their book collections? (no more than 10 words)
3. What makes the author keeps a copy of Much Ado About Nothing? (no more than 10 words)
4. What does the underlined phrase pensioning off in the last paragraph mean? (no more than 3 words)
5. What would you do with your books when you have to move? Give a persuasive reason. (no more than 25 words)
5 . An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same tome.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor(市长)appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致)can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point ,putting all their energy
And passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultinatel was Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.
1. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?A.To invite authors to guide readers. |
B.To encourage people to read and share. |
C.To involve people in community service. |
D.To promote the friendship between cities. |
A.They had little interest in reading. |
B.They were too busy to read a book. |
C.They came from many different backgrounds |
D.They lacked support from the local government |
A.In large communities with little sense of unity |
B.In large cities where libraries are far from home |
C.In medium-sized cities with a diverse population |
D.In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached |
A.exchanged ideas with each other |
B.discussed the meaning of a word |
C.gamed life experience |
D.used the same language |
A.the careful selection of a proper book |
B.the growing popularity of the writers |
C.the number of people who benefit from reading. |
D.the number of books that each person reads. |