BEUING (Associated Press 美联社) —China has a growing middle class, a tradition (传统) of expecting education and 21 million new babies every year. Selling educatioinal toys should be easy.

    While China may be the world’s biggest toy?maker, many of the best are exported (出口). Department stores here do not have enough high quality toys. It is said that the demand for educational toys is low.

A US company, BabyCare, is trying to change that with a new way to sell toys in China.

    BabyCare works basically together with doctors in Beijing hospitals.  People who join the company’s "mother club"can get lectures and newsletters on baby and child development at no extra cost, if they agree to spend 18 dollars a month on the company’s educational toys and child?care books.

"We want to build a seven year relationship with those people," said Matthew J. Estes, BabyCare’s president. "It starts during pregnancy (孕期), when the anxiety and needs are highest." BabyCare works on a one to one basis. Doctors, nurses, and teachers paid by BabyCare advise parents, explain toys that are designed for children at each stage (阶段) of development to age six.

BabyCare opened its first store in China last June in a shopping center in central Beijing and another near Beijing Zoo. It plans to have 80 stores in China within six years.

    It is a new model for China and develops a market in young children’s education and health that no other companies are in.

What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?

A. Educational toys and foreign toy markets.

  B. Problems with China’s toy market and education.

  C. Reasons for pushing sales of educational toys in China.

  D. Baby population and various kinds of toys made in China.

Which of the following is a fact according to the passage?

  A. Club members buy BabyCare products for free child?care advice.

  B. Doctors in Beijing help in making BabyCare products.

  C. Parents are encouraged to pay $ 18 for club activities.

  D. BabyCare trains Chinese doctors at no extra cost.

BabyCare is developing its business in China by.

A. opening stores in Beijing hospitals

B. offering 18?month courses on child?care

C. setting up children’s education centers

D. forming close relationships with parents

Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

  A. Mother’s Club in China.       B. BabyCare and Doctors.

  C. American Company Model.        D. Educational Toys in China.

Eight-year-old Bethany and seven-year-old Eliza are having a great time jumping around in the orchard of their home in a village near Penrith. They can play any time they like because they don't go to school. Instead, they are educated at home by their parents, Paul and Veronika Robinson. But they don't have lessons, have never used a timetable and learn only what and when they want to learn. .www..com

“I want my kids to have freedom in their childhood, not spend it in an institution," says 37-year-old Veronika, "School is all about control and following the rules." Veronika and her 56-year-old husband Paul have never experienced the daily rush to get dressed and out of the door that is common in most households with school-aged children. "We get up at our leisure - usually around 8:30," says Veronika. "We might visit a friend, or go to the library, and on Tuesdays we shop at the market. In summer, we spend most of our time outside and the girls entertain themselves a lot.” .www..com

New research due to be published this spring reveals a very different picture of Britain's home educators. "Out of 297 families, 184 said that they never use a timetable,” says Mike Fortune-Wood of Home Education UK. "Ninety per cent never or rarely use textbooks, and nearly all said that happiness, contentment and self-fulfillment were more important than academic achievement. Only 15% felt that planning what to learn was very important.” .www..com

So far, so good. But what, you might ask, are the children actually learning?

"It wasn't important to me that the girls could read by a certain age, but they both picked it up for themselves at around seven," says Robinson. "Weighing cooking ingredients uses maths, and making a shopping list teaches them to write. Observing five hens has taught the girls about survival of the fittest. "

But what about when the children grow up? Can they go to university? The home educators' answer is they can if they want to. There are a variety of routes into higher education, but probably the most common is to join a local college. This is what Gus Harris-Reid has done. "I was educated at home all my life. I'd never had a lesson or been inside a classroom until I started GCSEs," says the 18-year-old. "I'm now studying for 4 A-levels at Exeter Colle ge. I've had no problem with the work or with fitting in." When asked to reflect on his experience of home education, his considered response is, "Like a permanent holiday, really!" Not a bad start for someone who plans to take a mechanical engineering degree next year. .www..com

What is the topic of this article?

　　A. New ways of learning to read and write   B. Problems with UK schools

　　C. Home education in the UK                    D. Wild, undisciplined children

According to the article, in homes with school-going children, ______.

　　A. mornings are rushed and stressful.

　　B. the children hardly ever go outside.

　　C. the family wakes up around 8:30am.

　　D. the children must ask permission to go to the toilet.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A. Most home educators believe that happiness is more important than good grades.

　　B. Most home educators believe that planning is important.

　　C. Most home educators do not follow a timetable or use textbooks.

　　D. Most home educators are not worried about when their children learn to read and write.

What does the article say about home-educated children getting into university?

　　A. They learn so many useful skills at home that universities are happy to accept them.

　　B. They can get into university if they have 4 A-levels.

　　C. They can go to school later and get the qualifications they need in order to enter university.

D. Home education is so relaxed that they are likely to experience problems when faced with the pressures of a degree course.

Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly(均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.

     "We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said. "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth."

     According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.

     The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of. expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.

     It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. "The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said. "Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less."

     In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.

 

1.The discovery shows that Westerners      .

    A. pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth

    B. consider facial expressions universally reliable

    C. observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways

D. have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions                                     

2.What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. The participants in the study.        B. The researchers of the study.

C. The errors made during the study.    D. The data collected from the study.                    

3. In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to         .

A. do translation more successfully       

B. study the mouth more frequently

C. examine the eyes more attentively      

D. read facial expressions more correctly  

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

    A. The Eye as the Window to the Soul

B. Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions

C. Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills

D. How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding                                              

 

It is the first report that home-grown food has been contaminated by radioactivity, largely Iodine(碘)-131, since the ministry ordered radiation( powerful and harmful rays that are sent out from radioactive substances) tests on food and water at the end of March in 14 mainland regions including Beijing, Tianjin, and some coastal provinces.

Sample inspections conducted on Tuesday found low levels of radioactive iodine in spinach( a kind of green vegetables) planted in Beijing, Tianjin and Henan province --- about 1-3 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg), the statement said.

"The contamination level detected is too low to be harmful to public health," it said.

According to health experts, radioactive iodine can accumulate in humans once ingested in high concentrations and increases the risk of thyroid cancer. But it decays naturally within weeks.

Leafy vegetables grown in the open like spinach, lettuce and leek are among the first foods to be tainted by radioactive deposits.

Raw milk is also susceptible to radioactive contamination as livestock feed on grass.

Tests carried out in March showed spinach and milk taken from farms near Japan's nuclear-stricken area had exceeded(go beyond) government-set safety limits for radiation.

No cases of tainted water or milk have been reported in China but the ministry vowed to further strengthen monitoring.

Wang Zhongwen, a researcher at the China Institute of Atomic Energy's radiation safety department, told China Daily on Wednesday that currently China only had the means to conduct food radiation tests in a few regions.

The statement also said that recent rain in Beijing and Tianjin meant radioactive substances could have fallen on vegetables.

Chen Jicang, a vegetable dealer in Beijing, said on Wednesday that concerns are growing among consumers, businesses and governments across the world.

"We have yet to see any impact on our business from the radiation, but we will keep a close eye on how the issue develops," he said.

He added that most vegetables consumed in Beijing are produced locally, and he might switch to other varieties if spinach sales suffer.

Yang Guoshan, a researcher of radiation medical science at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, said people could safely eat products that contain low levels of Iodine-131.

"The radiation level is so low that residents don't need to spend any extra effort on cleaning them," he said.

Gao Jie, a 52-year-old resident in Tianjin said she is deeply worried because spinach is a staple part of her family's diet.

"If spinach is radioactive, is there any possibility that other types of vegetables are safe?"

Trace levels of radioactive isotope cesium-137 and -134 were detected in the air in 21 provinces and regions on Wednesday, up from 17 on Tuesday, according to China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee.

What does the underlined word mean in para 1?

A. protected  B. contained   C. polluted by dangerous substances   D. tested

Why are the spinach and milk taken from nuclear-stricken area not safe?

A. Because tests have been carried out there.

B. Raw milk is sensitive to radioactive contamination as livestock（家畜）feed on grass.

C. The amount of radioactive substances goes beyond the safe limits for radiation.

D. Japan is a nuclear-stricken area.

Where do you think this passage comes from?

A. a magazine   B. CCTV news  C. a journal   D. a novel

What is not mentioned in the passage?

A. Consumers became concerned about the safety of vegetables.

B. People need to clean vegetables completely before cooking because of radiation.

C. Food and water have to be tested since the end of March in 14 mainland regions

D. Low levels of radioactive iodine has been found in spinach in Tianjin

What do you think is mainly talked about in the passage?

A. How the radioactivity came into being

B. What we should do in face of radioactivity.

C. Radioactivity has no side effect on human being.

D. Home-grown food has been affected by radioactivity.

The tragic death of celebrity Wang Bei has made people aware of the risks of cosmetic surgery, which is becoming increasingly popular．

         A survey on the reaction to Wang's death, conducted by Tencent, which runs China's most popular instant-messaging service, received more than 600,000 responses, as of press time Monday．Forty-one percent of respondents expressed sorrow over her death, saying, "It's a pity she died at such a young age．" Some 31 percent said she should have been more cautious and less vain, while 10 percent were enraged at the hospital that conducted the surgery．The remaining 18 percent were indifferent．

         A common thread of online discussion is why someone considered beautiful was so dissatisfied with her looks．Some netizens said Wang was a victim of society's unrealistic ideal of beauty: double eyelids, an aquiline nose and the pointed chin typical of Western celebrities．Others said her death underscores the limits to which people will go to achieve fame and fortune．Young people, see cosmetic surgery as the key to wealth and love．

         "They want to improve their appearance to find better opportunities at work and in marriage," says Ding Xiaobang, a plastic surgeon with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital．"We're living in a highly competitive society．People regard appearance as a weapon and a means of empowerment…Most of them tell me, 'I don't care how much I spend, just make me look beautiful'．" In the past decade, Ding says he Has seen a growing number of patients, like Wang Bei, who are young and naturally good-looking．The surgeon attributes this trend to people becoming richer, the standards of beauty changing, competition and frustration．

         "Some are frustrated with life and use surgery as a way to try and recover," lie says．

         The surge in demand for plastic surgery has resulted in a rise in the number of unauthorized business establishments and surgeons conducting such procedures．

         Meanwhile, experts say, young and beautiful people who still seek plastic surgery need to address their self-awareness issues and be more accepting．

         “They’ve built their identity around the admiration of others and fail to establish a system to assess themselves," says Zhu Wenbo, a psychologist with Blue Bay Psychological Consulting Center in Chengdu．"People's opinions always change, so this is not a reliable way to evaluate oneself．"

1.Most people are       toward the death of Wang Bei according to the survey.

         A．sympathetic       B．indifferent C．enraged     D．not mentioned

2.Why is there such a trend of having medical cosmetic surgery according to Ding Xiaobang?

         A．People become richer.

         B．The standard the beauty always changes.

         C．People suffer fierce competition and frustration now and then.

         D．All of the above.

3.What kind of people is regarded as a beauty nowadays?

         A．a person with single eyelid, an aquiline nose and a  pointed chin

         B．a person with double eyelids, an aquiline nose and a pointed chin

         C．a person with double eyelids, a snub nose and a pointed chin

         D．a person with double eyelids, a snub nose and a chubby chin

4.The purpose of the text is to           .

         A．inform us that cosmetic surgery becomes popular.

         B．emphasize that young people should re-evaluate themselves rationally.

         C．raise concerns about the risk of medical cosmetology industry.

         D．state that people’s standard of beauty always changes.