It's time to remind myself what I love about life here in California,USA, to remember what I desperately miss when I go home.

Real radio

In the USA there are so many radio stations that those iPod tuner things don’t work at all. There is, simply, no dead air. It took me a while to discover the USA's many pub­lic radio stations, which don't broadcast any advertisements. KCRW is my favorites station, for its blend of indie music and current affairs. But I also listen to KJAZZ and KPCC. But before you feel jealous — it’s all online. My favorites: American life Snap Judgement and Henry Rollins live every Saturday night. Take listen online for free News? Well, there's not a lot of news from South Africa, and when it is, it's bad and full of fear, so I ignore it. But I care about any place I live in, and that includes the USA. And on public radio, the USA is covered in depth, from the perspective of individual stories rather than statistics.

The festivals

I’m jealously watching tweets and Facebook boasts and reviews from SXSW — seems like half the people I used to work with in South Africa are there,meeting Grumpy Cat and watching bands they’ve always wanted to see live. It’s great to know that these 1000s of festivals are so close, and that one day,if film school schedule ever allows me to leave campus for more than a few days, I can go to one or two of them. I have already ex­changed my much loved Ford Mustang for a bigger, less sexy car — a car spacious enough to sleep in — so that next year I can be there, not just dream of it.

The famous people

When I go back to SA, I'm often asked if I’ve spotted any famous people. It's awkward for me. I feel the the same way about it as I feel when an American asks me if there are lions in the streets. Except yes, I have. No,not lions. I have met some famous people. I chatted to RJ Mitte from Breaking Bad outside a dub in West Hollywood. Many of my professors are famous directors. The problem is, once you meet these famous people, they're just people, FFS. This feels disappointing at first, like you're missing a Jesus mo­ment of some sort. But if you think about it, it's inspiring. What it means, is that I, litlle me (right now, also "just a person") could be a famous just-a-person person one day, and get to make all the films I just dream of now.

1.The underlined sentence "There is,simply, no dead air." probably means____.

A. there is no useless radio programmes in the USA

B. there is no useful radio programmes in the USA

C. there is no polluted air in the USA

D. there is no advertisements from the radio programmes in the USA

2.There are so many festivals that_____.

A. I often leave campus for more than few days

B. I often attend some of them in person

C. I bought a bigger Ford? Mustang

D. I can share many reviews and performances online with my friends in South Africa

3.The author thinks the famous people in the USA _____.

A. are just Like lions????????????? ???????????? B. are well-known but ordinary

C. are disappointing????????????? D. are inspiring

4.The author is most likely to be _____.

A. a director in America????????????? ?????????? B. a professor in South Africa

C. a student in America????????????? ???????? D. an actor in South Africa

For millions of Chinese Internet users, the penguin is more than a flightless bird from the Antarctic. To them it is the symbol of QQ, the instant-messaging service marking its 10th anniversary.

QQ’s creator, Ma Huateng, 38, is a lover of stargazing, and describes himself as a combination of idealist and realist. “ I’m introverted. My friends believed I was too shy to find a girlfriend,” Ma said. He found a girlfriend, now his wife, through chatting online on QQ. Born in Hainan province, Ma loved watching stars and dreamed of becoming an astronomer. He moved to Shenzhen, along with his parents, in southern Guangdong province when he was in his teens. Ma was impressed by the slogan “ Time is money, efficiency is life” found all over the city. It was the most famous slogan born in Shenzhen, representing China’s reform and opening. The pioneering city provided chances for Ma to watch burgeoning reforms. He saw people carry big bags of cash to buy stocks after China launched a capital market in Shenzhen and Shanghai in the late 1980s. When he graduated from Shenzhen University in 1993, Ma designed a stock exchange software system and sold it for 50,000 yuan ($ 7,3000). He then worked as an IT engineer for five years.

It was in 1998 that Ma realized Internet would transform China and the world, and launched his own company, Shenzhen Tencent Inc. A unit of Tencent, Tencent Holdings Ltd, went public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. “ China’s reform and opening provided me with a chance to grow the company,” Ma said. The country had only 3 million Internet users when QQ made its debut in 1999, but now China has around 300 million Internet users, Ma said. Hu Qiheng, chairwomen of the Internet Society of China(ISC), said reform and opening not only improved people’s living standards, but also gave them a chance to explore the outside world and a chance for the Internet to boom in the country.

It was in the late 1990s that China’s major Web portals mushroomed, including Sina, Sohu, 163, Tencent and Alibaba. That boom came to sa sudden halt when the internet bubble burst in 2000. “We were under great pressure when the Internet bubble burst. Things have only recovered since 2005,” Ma said. The IT sector was among the first batch of industries in China to experience zero-tariff treatment, meaning that the nation’s Internet sector had to face challenges from international peers.

QQ, with around 450 million users, provides services such as chatting, music, games and QQ currency-an indispensable currency in china’s virtual community. “ Chinese websites have survived the competition with foreign peers over the past ten years, but it will be the next ten years that decide Chinese Internet enterprises’ fate,” Ma said. Domestic enterprises have to compete with international companies on services, innovation and core technology, he said. One of Ma’s favorite films is March of the Penguins-a French documentary directed by Luc Jacquet. He said: “Penguin is a lovely animal to me. It is a combination of love, courage and adventurism.”

1.Which of the following is true about the founder of QQ?

A．Creating an IT company of his own had always been his dream since childhood.

B．He constantly moved from place to place when he was in his teens.

C．The instant-messaging service he created brought him not only money but also a family.

D．He worked for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange after graduation.

2.China’s reform and opening led to the following results EXCEPT_________.

A．a rise in the living standards of Chinese people

B．an opportunity for IT companies to grow

C．potential industrial competition from other countries

D．a chance for people to invest in overseas stock market

3.Which of the following events did actually take place?

A．QQ suffered from a sudden decrease in  the number of users when the Internet bubble burst in 2000.

B．QQ heped China’s Internet take flight.

C．QQ was equipped with the most advanced technology in the world when it made its debut in 1999.

D．QQ went public on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the late 1980s.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Sina and Sohu will develop services like chatting, music and games in order to survive the future international competition.

B．For the sake of domestic enterprises, the tariff needs to be adjusted to a higher value.

C．Ma Huateng views penguin as a lovely animal because it processes the characteristics that he does not.

D．The 50,000 yuan Ma earned from selling the stock exchange software system might be a part of his initial investment in Tencent.

This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers（young people aged from 13 —19）from all over the world will spend about ten months in U. S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.

Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. The school was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully^① when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.

       Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.

       “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”

       At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize^② American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

Notes:

respectfully  adv. 尊敬地，谦恭地

criticize  vt. 批评，责备

Choose the best answers according to the above:

This year       __ teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.

A. twenty-three hundred       B. thirteen hundred

C. over three thousand   D. less than two thousand

The whole exchange programme is mainly to        __.

A. help teenagers in other countries know the real America

B. send students in America to travel in Germany

C. let students learn something about other countries

D. have teenagers learn new languages

What is particular in America schools is that        __.

A. there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.

B. there are a lot of outside activities

C. students usually take fourteen subjects in all

D. students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car

After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought        __.

A. a better education should include something good from both American and Germany

B. German schools trained students to be better citizens

C. American schools were not as good as German schools

D. the easy life in the American school was more helpful to students

目前，越来越多的中学生利用暑假上各种各样的培训班或请家教。对于这一现象，存在两种不同观点。请你根据下表提示，以Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?为题，写一篇短文，反映表中内容，并简要阐述自己的观点。

注意：（1）层次清晰，连贯流畅；表达灵活，但不要逐字逐句翻译；

（2）词数：150 词左右（文章开头已给出，不计入总词数）；

（3）参考词汇：巩固—strengthen (vt.) 独立—dependence (n.)

Is a Training Class or Family Teacher Necessary?

More and more middle school students are going to all kinds of training classes or having family teachers during the summer vacation. There are two different opinions about it.

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