Bursting into the classroom from recess(学生的课间休息), 15 children take their seats and face the woman they know as Ms. Yang.
“What day is it today?”she asks, in Mandarin(普通话的旧称) Chinese.
“Confucius’ birthday!”the fifth graders shout in Mandarin.
“Why do we celebrate Confucius’ birthday?”
“Because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China!”exclaims a brown-haired girl. She too is speaking Mandarin.
English is rarely heard in Lisa Yang’s class at the Chinese American International School(CAIS), despite the fact that few students are native speakers of Mandarin.
The United States is actively trying to increase the group of students in“critical languages”such as Mandarin. The students at CAIS are way ahead in such a trend.
Mandarin explosion in America
Founded 25 years ago, this small private school in San Francisco, USA, does what few other American schools do: It produces fully fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese, by far the most commonly spoken language in the world.
Mandarin Chinese is suddenly hot in American schools. As China becomes the world’s leading economy sometimes this century, schools in the U.S. are scrambling to add Mandarin to their roster of foreign languages or expand Chinese programs already in place.
“It really is almost unprecedented(无前例的). People are looking at China as a force to be reckoned with…And to ensure that the U.S. has the ability to conduct trade, and to work with the Chinese, certainly having an understanding of Chinese language and culture is an advantage,”said Marty Abbott of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL)(美国外语教学协会).
Cultural differences in teaching styles
To develop Chinese-language programs has not been smooth. A shortage of trained teachers has made it difficult for some schools to join the race. When schools do get teachers, they often hire them straight from China, and the teachers usually suffer culture shock when they come to the U.S.
Robert Liu remembers his first two years in an American classroom. It was not an easy adjustment. “In China, students respect their teachers,”he said. Liu found that American students, however, expect an active teaching style. He had to use games to engage them rather than lectures.
To avoid many of the problems with foreign teaching styles, the CAIS has been working with the Chinese government to improve training of teachers who are sent to the U.S.
【小题1】Which of the following is the best title?

Bursting into the classroom from recess(学生的课间休息), 15 children take their seats and face the woman they know as Ms. Yang.

“What day is it today?”she asks, in Mandarin(普通话的旧称) Chinese.

“Confucius’ birthday!”the fifth graders shout in Mandarin.

“Why do we celebrate Confucius’ birthday?”

“Because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China!”exclaims a brown-haired girl. She too is speaking Mandarin.

English is rarely heard in Lisa Yang’s class at the Chinese American International School(CAIS), despite the fact that few students are native speakers of Mandarin.

The United States is actively trying to increase the group of students in“critical languages”such as Mandarin. The students at CAIS are way ahead in such a trend.

Mandarin explosion in America

Founded 25 years ago, this small private school in San Francisco, USA, does what few other American schools do: It produces fully fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese, by far the most commonly spoken language in the world.

Mandarin Chinese is suddenly hot in American schools. As China becomes the world’s leading economy sometimes this century, schools in the U.S. are scrambling to add Mandarin to their roster of foreign languages or expand Chinese programs already in place.

“It really is almost unprecedented(无前例的). People are looking at China as a force to be reckoned with…And to ensure that the U.S. has the ability to conduct trade, and to work with the Chinese, certainly having an understanding of Chinese language and culture is an advantage,”said Marty Abbott of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL)(美国外语教学协会).

Cultural differences in teaching styles

To develop Chinese-language programs has not been smooth. A shortage of trained teachers has made it difficult for some schools to join the race. When schools do get teachers, they often hire them straight from China, and the teachers usually suffer culture shock when they come to the U.S.

Robert Liu remembers his first two years in an American classroom. It was not an easy adjustment. “In China, students respect their teachers,”he said. Liu found that American students, however, expect an active teaching style. He had to use games to engage them rather than lectures.

To avoid many of the problems with foreign teaching styles, the CAIS has been working with the Chinese government to improve training of teachers who are sent to the U.S.

1.Which of the following is the best title?

2.What kind of problem is the most difficult to adjust in teaching Chinese in America?

3.The meaning of the underlined word“scrambling”is similar to      .

4.It can be inferred from the passage that       .

Bursting into the classroom from recess(学生的课间休息), 15 children take their seats and face the woman they know as Ms. Yang.
“What day is it today?”she asks, in Mandarin(普通话的旧称) Chinese.
“Confucius’ birthday!”the fifth graders shout in Mandarin.
“Why do we celebrate Confucius’ birthday?”
“Because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China!”exclaims a brown-haired girl. She too is speaking Mandarin.
English is rarely heard in Lisa Yang’s class at the Chinese American International School(CAIS), despite the fact that few students are native speakers of Mandarin.
The United States is actively trying to increase the group of students in“critical languages”such as Mandarin. The students at CAIS are way ahead in such a trend.
Mandarin explosion in America
Founded 25 years ago, this small private school in San Francisco, USA, does what few other American schools do: It produces fully fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese, by far the most commonly spoken language in the world.
Mandarin Chinese is suddenly hot in American schools. As China becomes the world’s leading economy sometimes this century, schools in the U.S. are scrambling to add Mandarin to their roster of foreign languages or expand Chinese programs already in place.
“It really is almost unprecedented(无前例的). People are looking at China as a force to be reckoned with…And to ensure that the U.S. has the ability to conduct trade, and to work with the Chinese, certainly having an understanding of Chinese language and culture is an advantage,”said Marty Abbott of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL)(美国外语教学协会).
Cultural differences in teaching styles
To develop Chinese-language programs has not been smooth. A shortage of trained teachers has made it difficult for some schools to join the race. When schools do get teachers, they often hire them straight from China, and the teachers usually suffer culture shock when they come to the U.S.
Robert Liu remembers his first two years in an American classroom. It was not an easy adjustment. “In China, students respect their teachers,”he said. Liu found that American students, however, expect an active teaching style. He had to use games to engage them rather than lectures.
To avoid many of the problems with foreign teaching styles, the CAIS has been working with the Chinese government to improve training of teachers who are sent to the U.S.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is the best title?

   1. A.
      Mandarin speaks to a growing audience in America
   2. B.
      Chinese-language programs
   3. C.
      Mandarin Chinese
   4. D.
      The Chinese American International School(CAIS)
2. 2.

   What kind of problem is the most difficult to adjust in teaching Chinese in America?

   1. A.
      To adapt to the life there.
   2. B.
      To communicate with the American students.
   3. C.
      To get along well with the American students.
   4. D.
      To be fit for the cultural differences in teaching styles.
3. 3.

   The meaning of the underlined word“scrambling”is similar to      .

   1. A.
      climbing
   2. B.
      rushing
   3. C.
      changing
   4. D.
      beating
4. 4.

   It can be inferred from the passage that       .

   1. A.
      the students in Lisa Yang’s class usually speak Chinese
   2. B.
      there are few American students in Lisa Yang’s class
   3. C.
      we celebrate Confucius’ birthday because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China
   4. D.
      in America the students don’t respect their teachers

It’s a nightmare for Huazhong University of Science and Technology （HUST）: within a week，two students committed suicide by jumping off dorm buildings．对于整个华中科技大学来说，这简直就是场噩梦：一周之内，两名学生在宿舍跳楼自杀。
Officials from the university are reluctant to give interviews．校方官员们不愿接受采访。
“We had a hard time calming down students who were shocked at the suicides,” said Zhang Jingyuan，one official of HUST．
“Media coverage may arouse some students’ negative emotions again．Suicide can be contagious,” Zhang said．他说，“媒体的报道将会再次引发学生的消极情绪，自杀是会传染的。”
The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23．对于今年10月23号发生的第一起自杀事件，华中科技大学迅速做出应急措施。
Advisors and class leaders conducted dorm-to-dorm checks to find students suffering depression．Then psychologists offered one-on-one counseling to them．辅导员和班长们走访了每个宿舍，找出遭遇抑郁的学生。然后，心理咨询师会为这些学生提供一对一的心理咨询。
Notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers’ mental problems and offering help were set up in front of dorm buildings．Leaflets carrying similar information were handed out to each dorm．宿舍楼前竖起一些布告栏，为同学们普及关于如何发现身边人遭遇心理问题并提供帮助的小贴士。印有类似内容的小册子也被分发给每个寝室。
However，the second suicide came seven days later．然而，七天后，第二起自杀事件发生了。
Both students were described as men of few words．Their schoolmates didn’t see anything to indicate suicide．据周围人描述，这两名学生都很少言寡语。他们的同学都没有觉察到任何自杀前的征兆。
Zhang revealed that the two students had been bothered by mental disorders．But the school didn’t know this until the students’ close friends outside school and their parents unveiled the truth after the suicides．章劲元透露，这两名学生曾经饱受心理疾病的困扰。但是学校对此并不知情，他们校外的好友和家长也是在自杀事件发生后才说出实情。
According to Zhang，there are only three full-time counselors working in the university’s counseling center for its 60,000 students．He complained: “It’s unrealistic to rely only on counselors to detect students’ mental problems．”据章劲元说，全校共有六万名学生，但学校的心理咨询中心只有三位全职心理咨询师。他抱怨说：“仅仅依靠心理咨询师来察觉学生的心理问题，这是不现实的。”
Effective prevention comes from long-term education for life instead of temporary intervention to meet an emergency，said Hu Yi’an．Hu delivers a course of lectures on life and death at Guangzhou University．He worries that universities have paid little attention to education for life．有效的预防来自于长期的生命教育，而并非遭遇紧急状况时的临时干预，胡毅安（音译）说。他在广州大学教授以生命和死亡为主题的课程。他为各大高校给予生命教育的关注少之又少而担忧。
“Education for life helps students respect and love life so they won’t resort to ending their lives when they have difficulties,” said Hu．“生命教育可以帮助学生尊重、热爱生命，这样一来，当他们遇到困难的时候就不会选择结束生命了,” 胡毅安说。
According to Hu，the principles can be incorporated into everyday teaching．胡毅安还表示，这些观念可以融入到日常教学中去。
Hu is also concerned that some universities are conveying discriminatory message that will hold back students from seeking help．胡老师也很担心一些大学传递出带有歧视性的信息会使得学生们不愿去寻求帮助。
When HUST conducted the dorm-to-dorm examination，students with poor academic performance were paid special attention．In March，Peking University also released a controversial policy，which required teachers to have a chat with students “with biased thinking”．当华中科技大学校方挨个宿舍进行走访时，学习成绩较差的学生也被给予了特别关照。三月份，北京大学也推行了一项备受争议的政策，该新规要求教师们要找那些学生中的“激进分子”谈话。
However，Hu suggested that students step out of their comfort zone to seek real-life communication．
【小题1】The underlined word “reluctant” in paragraph 2 probably means “       ”．

John Philips在青岛博爱中学任教期间，工作相当出色，最近他获该市“友谊”奖章。为此，China Daily准备刊登他的照片。请你就下表中所列的内容，写一篇120个单词左右的文字说明，简要介绍他的情况。