1 . Think of the Mississippi Delta. Maybe you imagine cotton fields and blues music. It has been all that. But for more than a century, the Delta has also been a popular destination for immigrants. Recently, I was assigned to learn more about one immigrant group in particular: the Chinese in Greenville, a small city along the Mississippi River. There I met Raymond Wong, whose family has long been part of the community.
The first wave of Chinese immigrants came to the Mississippi Delta soon after the Civil War, and the pace picked up by the early 1900s. The Chinese originally came to pick cotton, but they quickly started opening grocery stores, mostly in the African-American communities where they lived. The stores sold meat, fresh vegetables, canned goods, anything you might need. Nothing Chinese about them, except the owners.
“On my street alone, there were at least four grocery stores. I’m talking about a small street,” Wong recalls. “I was raised in a grocery store. All my family — six of us — lived in a couple of rooms at the back of our store. As soon as I could count money I had to work in the store.”
In 1968, Wong’s father opened a Chinese restaurant called How Joy in Greenville, one of the first in the town. At the time, nobody knew what Chinese food was. “But the restaurant existed for 40 years. I worked there, too,” Wong says.
Wong remembers a time of big excitement when he was young: The family finally could afford to buy a house in a white neighborhood. Then suddenly, that conversation stopped.
“When people found out that we were moving in, they started throwing bottles in the driveway,” Wong says. “We ended up building a house directly behind the grocery.”
And the future? It’s probably not in the Delta. Wong remembers the question his son asked when he was still in high school: “Dad, do you want me to take over the store when you retire?” Wong’s response was immediate: “No. I want you to do better than me.” That’s the story of the typical Delta Chinese.
1. What did the Delta Chinese originally do shortly after the Civil War?| A．Working in cotton fields. | B．Running restaurants. |
| C．Importing Chinese food. | D．Opening grocery stores. |
| A．Raymond Wong had a fun and carefree childhood. |
| B．The store owners’ children were very talented in math. |
| C．There was intense competition among the grocery stores. |
| D．The Wongs was the most successful family in Greenville. |
| A．the house owner raised the price | B．their business failed unexpectedly |
| C．they did not have enough money | D．the white people did not accept them |
| A．Excited. | B．Insecure. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Optimistic. |
2 . There are some special traditions in Hawaii. People are very friendly and always welcome visitors. They give visitors a lei, a long necklace of beautiful fresh flowers. Men wear bright flowered shirts, and women often wear long flowered dresses. There are traditional Chinese, Japanese and Filipino holidays and all the holidays from the United States. They call Hawaii the Aloha State. Aloha means both hello and goodbye. It also means “I love you”.
Usually when people from different countries, races and traditions live together, there are serious problems. There are so many people living in Hawaii, but in general, people have learned to live together in peace.
Hawaiians get most of their money from visitors, and most of the visitors come from the mainland and from Japan. There are so many people living in Hawaii now that there are residential areas(住宅区) where there used to be farms. Some of the big sugar and pineapple companies have moved to the Philippines, where they do not have to pay workers as much money. The families of the first people who came from the U.S. mainland own the important banks and companies. Japanese are also buying or sharing businesses here.
1. The author wants to show that_________.| A．all the people in the world have to go to Hawaii |
| B．it is possible to learn to live together in peace |
| C．it is not possible to live together in peace |
| D．Hawaii is the only place where there is peace |
| A．Modem industry | B．The bank | C．The airline | D．Tourist trade |
| A．Hawaii, the Aloha State | B．The Businesses of Hawaii |
| C．The Flowers of Hawaii | D．The Problems of Hawaii |
3 . Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.
In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st or January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne（香槟）at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh（重新）.
Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them！
1. Which of the following can be the best title of the text?| A．Several different New Year traditions |
| B．The meaning of "Happy New Year!" |
| C．What to eat on New Year's Day |
| D．Why people dress up nicely on New Year's Day |
| A．Different cultures celebrate the beginning and ending of a year in the same way. |
| B．The Western people celebrate the New Year only by watching the sunrise. |
| C．People around the world celebrate the New Year at different times. |
| D．People hold parties, wear new clothes and drink champagne for a whole day. |
| A．To bring good luck. |
| B．To forget everything. |
| C．To avoid bad luck. |
| D．To plan for the next year. |
| A．Families make big dolls filled with old clothes |
| B．Friends tell something special to each other |
| C．Some people get up early to watch the sunrise |
| D．Europeans eat 365 grapes on New Year's Day |
4 . Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, "The British are the only people who like to be told how bad things are." This is definitely true of British comedy. Most people think humor is about happy things, but for the British, the opposite is true. We love to use our cruel sense of humor to complain and be negative.
British comedy, for example, draws a fine line between comedy and tragedy（悲剧）. BBC's The Office is a TV show, famous for its dry humor. The main character, David Brent, is a foolish man, and the show's comedy comes from his delusions. For example, he often tells himself that he is loved by everyone but the viewer can see that everyone hates him.
Stupid characters for the audience to laugh at are an old tradition in Britain. In Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, the character Malvolio is an old man whom people play tricks on. The audience will laugh away, although the reality is that this man is a truly tragic individual.
This side of British humor is reflected in friendships as well. At university, my friends and I would always laugh at one another. I had an American friend who actually found this sarcasm（挖苦）quite upsetting. She didn't realize that in Britain, the better friends you are with someone, the more you laugh at them.
This approach—laughing at everything—may sound rather depressing（让人郁闷的）, but our strange humor played a big part in British history. In World War II, along with a stiff upper lip（坚定沉着）, the British got through it by laughing. What else was there to do?
There is a saying in English: "Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone." If you are ever on the receiving end of British sarcasm, you may feel like crying, but it's best to just laugh it off!
1. How is British humor special?| A．It is often surprising and boring. |
| B．It is often about negative things. |
| C．It often laughs at happy people. |
| D．It often makes happy things depressing. |
| A．British people will not laugh at their good friends |
| B．there is a great difference between comedy and tragedy |
| C．stupid people are often treated well in Shakespeare's plays |
| D．British humor used to give people courage in face of sufferings |
| A．Keep silent. |
| B．Cry as you like. |
| C．Don't take it seriously. |
| D．Try to hold back your laughter. |
5 . According to the UN’s World Happiness Report for 2016, Denmark is officially the happiest country on Earth.Here is a list of reasons behind the happiness：
A different view of money
Danes tend not to be concerned with “keeping up with the Joneses”.
An enjoyable job climate
The importance placed on human communication fosters a belief in one’s neighbors and a trust that if something bad were to happen, the community would come to help them. 94% of Danes report that they have somebody they could rely on in time of need.
A clean environment
The government encourages green policies，such as bicycling in cities, in order to cut down on harmful emissions. Like bicycling, many of these measures also have other benefits.
| A．Somebody to lean on |
| B．Somebody to seek advice from |
| C．Danes have lower unemployment rates than most countries in the world |
| D．Instead, they view money as a kind of means to connect with other people |
| E．Cities where bicycling is common have less traffic, less noise, and healthier citizens |
| F．Looking over all these factors, it becomes apparent that almost anybody would love living in Denmark |
| G．Parks, neighborhoods, and cities can be enjoyed without worry of pollution－related illnesses like asthma or allergies |
Where do you think the world’s happiest people live? Somewhere hot with sandy beaches? A country with a tradition of the fine food and culture? Not according to a recent study by the university of Leicester. Who are the happiest people on Earth?
Let’s start with all that tax they pay. The Danish government provides its people with one of the finest education and health systems in the world. It spends more on children and elderly people per capital than other country.
And there’s another advantage to those high taxes. Because a shop assistant’s final salary is not that much less than someone who works in a bank, for example, Danes don’t choose their careers based on money or status as people in other countries do. They choose the job they want to do. There’s a philosophy in Denmark known as “Jante-lov”, which translates as “you’re no better than anybody else.”
Money doesn’t seem as important in Denmark. It has been called a “post consumerist” society.
| A．In a list ranking countries by the happiness of their citizens, it pm tropical Fiji 50 places below freezing Iceland. |
| B．The street sweeper can hold his head up high as he proudly does his job. |
| C．Danish people aren’t as suspicious as many other nations. |
| D．Most Danes are used to seeing between 50-70% of their salary going to the government! |
| E．Those 5.5 million people who call Denmark their home. |
| F．People have nice things in their houses, but they’re not mad about shopping and spending. |
7 . Nzulezo in Jomoro district of western Ghana has coexisted with nature for many centuries. Here, all of life’s chores (家常杂务) from the preparation of meals to children going to school take place on water.
The first people in Nzulezo came from Mali in the 15th century. Many centuries after, people in Nzulezo still live in wooden buildings. Every family in modern Nzulezo has its own street, and every street is named after the head of that family. Every family member also owns a boat. It’s the only way of travelling there.
People in Nzulezo have kept their traditional way of living for many centuries, but they have introduced certain modern comforts such as clectricity, which means they no longer depend on kerosene (煤油) and lanterns to power up.
They also hope to build a 24-hour healthcare center. The locals have to travel five kilometers by boat to see a doctor.
Being on water also makes it hard to find teachers to teach Nzulezo children. Cudjoe, a teacher in Nzulezo, says that there aren’t enough payments to make teachers stay. Though there are glaring challenges, some of Cudjoe’s students have left Nzulezo for further education, including university, and they are thriving, he says. “I have a lady, she’s now a nurse, and I have a man who is now in university. Plenty of them are now in senior high outside the village. They are doing well.”
But while people in Nzulezo are open to satisfying some modern needs, they still feel strongly about keeping their traditional lifestyle. “Our life here is very comfortable for us. We cook here, we enjoy ourselves, we entertain ourselves, the children also. We prefer to stay,” says a local elder, John Arthur.
1. What does Paragraph 2 focus on?| A．The rise and fall of Nzulezo. | B．Nzulezo’s dependence on boats. |
| C．The origin of streets in Nzulezo. | D．Nzulezo’s traditional way of living. |
| A．Suffering. | B．Succeeding. |
| C．Returning. | D．Researching. |
| A．Village over the River Coming to Shore |
| B．Nzulezo Giving Way to Modern Comforts |
| C．Floating Village Balancing Traditions in Modern World |
| D．Nzulezo Drawing Attention to Traditional Floating Life |
8 . In less than 60 years the people of my tribe have gone from being an independent nation, to cultural prisoners, to welfare recipients. Is it any wonder that there are so many problems facing indigenous（土著的）Australians today?
When I was growing up in Kowanyama there were 15 people in my class, I am the only one who has gone to university. I'm also the only girl in my class who did not have a child at 15. Of the boys in my class, seven have been incarcerated, two for murder, five for robbery and rape. Only three of us are not alcoholics. Four of my classmates have committed suicide.
Life as a young aborigine is not easy, in any setting. The story of my fellow students is a lesson in the magnitude（严重性）of the problems that young indigenous people in Cape York face.
The two issues that are central to changing this story are education and health. There is a huge gap between what we get in communities and what other kids get in cities.
One of the problems facing education in remote indigenous schools is that teachers tend to be just out of training and stay for only a year or two. Not one teacher stayed for the whole of my nine years at school—not even the principals. This seeming lack of commitment makes you feel they don't care.
We need to review the curriculum（课程）in these communities because it is pitched at a very low level. I have had to draw the conclusion that governments and educationalists see us as less than white people.
Education should be uplifting, not serve to reinforce lack of self-esteem（自尊）and the heart-wrenching low expectations that our race suffer from.
We need a massive reassessment of, education policies and an equally massive investment in education. We have spent so long listening to some white fellows telling us we are stupid, lazy no-hopers that the majority of my people actually believe it.
The relationship between poor education and poor health is clear. People whose self-esteem and pride have been destroyed by a substandard education system and a social system that creates an addiction（上瘾）to passive welfare have little reason to live healthy lives. Our health is getting worse.
The policies that determine the delivery of health services are deeply flawed by a bureaucracy（官僚作风） that does not want to hear our voices. Health services are often confined（局限于）to the clinic.
It is problems and challenges such as these that led me to stand in last October's ATSIC election. ATSITC is more than the board of commissioners and the Canberra bureaucracy. ATSIC is also people who are from community and work hard for community.
We recognize that governments cannot solve our problems for us. As young people we are trying to take responsibility for our future. I ask the Prime Minister, not that he fixes these problems for us but that he and his Government see us as equal partners in the huge task of rebuilding our families, communities and Cape York Peninsula.
He demonstrated his commitment by engaging his Government at the family and domestic violenc（e家庭暴力） summit. My view is that the level of domestic violence and child abuse sums up all that has been wrong with Aboriginal policy.
We need a new relationship to address this frightening reality in our lives. Aboriginal people are reluctant to admit that young girls and women are being raped by their own people because of the blanket of shame. I am asking you to help lift that blanket.
I stand here as a proud Aboriginal woman, a Kokoberra woman as well as a criminologist, and I thank you for your time and attention.
Tania Major，22，is an ATSIC regional councilor and a trainee manager at her home community of Kowanyama on Cape York．
This is an edited version of an address she is scheduled to give at a meeting between the Prime Minister and Cape York leaders (full text at smh.com.an)
1. The underlined word " incarcerated " in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .| A．criticized | B．killed |
| C．dismissed | D．imprisoned |
| A．teachers work in indigenous schools temporarily because they are poorly paid |
| B．the curriculum in indigenous schools is easier otherwise the students would fail |
| C．the undereducated aborigines are considered to be lazy and dependent on welfare |
| D．a good education can help the aboriginal people make good use of welfare |
| A．Aboriginal people. |
| B．Teachers and principals. |
| C．Young boys and girls in Kowanyama. |
| D．The prime minister and the Cape York leaders. |
| A．ATSIC doesn't serve the people because of its incompetence and bureaucracy. |
| B．The aboriginal people can learn to be responsible for their future if treated equally. |
| C．The government adopted new policies to provide health services to the aborigines. |
| D．The biggest problems facing the aborigines are domestic violence and child abuse. |
9 . Small talk is a good way to make friends. If you travel to other countries or have friends from abroad, do you know how to use small talk to make conversation?
In Britain, the best topic is the weather. British weather is changing all the time.
Besides weather, it's good to talk about gardens with British. You could say "Those roses look really beautiful, don't they?'*
In America, people like to talk about sports news, such as American football and basketball.
| A．English people love their pets. |
| B．Americans also talk about clothes. |
| C．Politics or religion is not a good topic. |
| D．Only a few topics are not used for small talk. |
| E．There are also a lot of topics to avoid during small talk. |
| F．You can start chatting by saying "It's a lovely day today, isn't it?" |
| G．Friends are important to us all, but how to make friends is a problem. |
10 . Frequently, we speak about people being “color-blind” but very few of us are. Even those who describe themselves as color-blind are normally just color lack. A strongly, color-blind person will still be able to tell 20 different colors, compared to the 100 or so that normal-sighted people see.
Pingelap, a tiny island in the Pacific, is a beautiful spot but one that has a genetic trouble. It is known as Color-blind Island because so many people who live on this remote island can only see black and white.
Not being able to see colors is bad enough. But one islander, Herrol, who’s a fisherman, also struggles in full sunlight because all he sees is a painful burnt-out image. “I find it difficult to go outside in the sun,” he says, “because when it’s sunny I cannot see to do my work.”
But if being truly color-blind is rare, why is it that around 10% of the population of Pingelap live in a totally black and white world?
Well, we know that in 1780 the population of Pingelap was all but wiped out by a tsunami (海啸). As few as 20 people survived, one of whom was the king. It’s believed he had a genetic fault that causes colour-blindness and he passed this fault on to his many generations.
There is one advantage. Herrol can see well, really well, in the dark. So when it gets dark, Herrol and his friends get in their boats and hunt flying fish. They hang up flaming torches and the fish are attracted to the flames. “This type of fishing is fun,” Herrol says, “especially if we catch plenty. So even though it's hard work we enjoy it.”
1. What makes Pingelap special?| A．A mentally troubled island. | B．A beautiful island. |
| C．A colour-blind island. | D．A tiny island. |
| A．He doesn’t live in Pingelap any more. |
| B．He likes taking photos very much. |
| C．He is interested in burnt-out images. |
| D．He may stay at home when it’s sunny. |
| A．the king’s genetic fault played a role |
| B．the king had an unlucky marriage |
| C．the king made a serious mistake |
| D．Pingelap often suffers from tsunamis |
| A．The advantage of color blindness | B．The island of color blindness |
| C．The disadvantage of Herrol | D．The history of Pingelap |
