1 . While English is getting more important in our schools, Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. But Chinese can be more difficult to learn. At least 16-year-old Piao Chenglong thinks so. “English is easier for me. Chinese characters (汉字) have too many strokes (笔画),” said Piao. “But I want to learn it. I want to study at Beijing University when I grow up.” Piao is from Korea. He came to China in 2008.
In Korea, there are more than 300, 000 Chinese learners like Piao. Some Korean students begin to learn to write the language on their first day at school. To help students learn Chinese, Korea holds speaking competitions for high school students every year.
Chinese isn’t just popular in Korea. People from all the world want to learn it. The Ministry of Education of China says that nearly 130 million people from 85 countries are learning Chinese. This number will be increasing to 800 million in the coming years.
In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. Some American middle schools have Chinese classes. Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots (中国结). Some even try to write and draw in the Chinese way!
People want to learn Chinese because China is becoming such an important country. Foreign countries want to understand China better to help them with business. The Chinese government is also helping the world learn Chinese. It has sent more than 200 Chinese teachers to more than 60 countries in the world. Many more Confucius Institutes (孔子学院) will be set up in the world. These institutes will teach Chinese to foreign students.
1. Which of the following is the topic sentence for the text?| A．Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. |
| B．Chinese can be more difficult to learn. |
| C．In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. |
| D．Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots. |
| A．China. | B．America. | C．Korea. | D．Spain. |
| A．making jiaozi |
| B．writing and drawing in the Chinese way |
| C．tying Chinese knots |
| D．singing Chinese songs |
| A．Because Chinese is getting more important in their schools. |
| B．Because Chinese characters have too many strokes. |
| C．Because the number of people learning Chinese will be 800 million. |
| D．Because China is becoming more and more important in the world. |
2 . Earth's forests are emptying.
Half of their inhabitants(栖息动物) have disappeared in the last 40 years, according to a latest report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The report tracked populations of 268 species of forest-dwelling birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles worldwide between 1970 and 2014(the most recent year for which data is available). The results show that forest animal populations have declined by 53% worldwide, and humans are to blame.
More than 80%of all land animal, plant, and insect species call forests home. However, a combination of habitat destruction, hunting, the spread of invasive species, climate change, and diseases are killing off forest animals, the researchers said.
Without those animals, forests can't perform the functions we rely on, since animals pollinate(授粉) forest plants, spread seeds, and nourish the soil with their waste.
“Forests depend on a complete animal world to perform. functions essential to life,” Susanne Winter, a program director at the WWF, told Eco Watch.
One of the most critical roles forests play is in easing climate change. Trees suck enormous amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air and embed (吸纳) the carbon in their wood and the soil. A recent study found that planting new trees over an area the size of the US could suck away two-thirds of all the carbon dioxide emissions that humans have pumped into the atmosphere.
“Without animals, it is harder for forests to absorb carbon, as tree species important for protecting the climate could be lost without animals,” Winter said. Without them, those trees would have difficulty reproducing and forests would lose their best carbon-storing trees.
“Forests are our greatest natural ally in the fight against global warming,” Winter said. “If we want to reverse the worldwide decline in biodiversity and prevent the climate crisis, we need to protect the forests and the species living there.”
1. What do we know from the passage?| A．Half of earth's forests have emptied. |
| B．268 forest-living species have died out. |
| C．The number of forest animals has decreased. |
| D．80% of forest animals have lost their homes. |
| A．Five. | B．Four. | C．Three. | D．Two. |
| A．Nourishing the soil. | B．Producing carbon dioxide. |
| C．Pollinating forest plants. | D．Easing climate change. |
| A．Forests will disappear eventually. |
| B．We can't reverse the decline in biodiversity. |
| C．Forests can suck away all the carbon dioxide emissions. |
| D．Animals are vital to forests when it comes to reproducing. |
3 . There is a very long list of rules for the New York City subway. Don’t put your feet on a seat, don’t carry open cups of coffee or soda, don’t take more than one seat... Those are just a few of the rules. There are hundreds more.
With so many rules, why is it still unpleasant to ride the subway?
Some people think that the problem is that no one enforces the rules. Other passengers sometimes try to enforce rules. But you can’t rely on them because New Yorkers have unwritten rules against talking to strangers and making eye contact with strangers. How can you tell someone to take her shopping bags off the seat and throw away her Coke without talking to her or looking at her? It is difficult.
There are other New Yorkers who think that the subway is unpleasant because there are not enough rules. One rider wrote a letter to The New York Times a couple of weeks ago suggesting a few more subway rules. Here are some of the rules that she would like to see:
—Don’t lean on the poles. You prevent other people from holding on. They can fall down.
—Talk quietly. The trains are already too noisy.
—Give your seat to elderly passengers or to parents with small children.
If those unwritten rules of etiquette are written down, will the rude people be more likely to follow them? It doesn’t make sense to make more rules that no one will enforce.
The real problem is that we are forgetting how to be nice to each other. It is embarrassing that we need a rule to tell us to give our seat to elderly passengers. Nobody should need to be reminded to do that.
I say we stop talking about the rules and try to remember our manners. Let’s be nice to each other not because a police officer might tell us to get off the train, but because it is the right thing to do. Then New York City would be more civilized —both above ground and below.
1. Don’t make eye contact and don’t talk to strangers are examples of .| A．New York subway rules | B．personal preferences on the subway |
| C．behavioral habits in New York City | D．unpleasant experiences on the subway |
| A．manners | B．phenomena | C．festivals | D．moods |
| A．The authority should set stricter rules. |
| B．The government should employ more police. |
| C．The citizens should ride the subway less. |
| D．Everyone should take better care of their behavior. |
