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　　With his standard Mandarin pronunciation, practiced skills on Chinese expressions and special humour with a Peking accent, Dashan has become a household name across China．

　　People have always wondered how the 36-year-old Canadian can be so skillful in the Chinese language even though it is considered by many as one of the most difficult languages in the world．But to Dashan, the great challenge was a piece of cake due to his deep interest, proper method and the excellent environment he created for himself.

　　“Interest is the best teacher.” That is a universal principle. Even if the 20-year-old Mark Rowswell--Dashan's real name--hadn't fully realized what attracted him to the Chinese department at the University of Toronto in Canada, he was already deeply interested in Chinese culture when he decided to have further study in Beijing.

　　Entering the Chinese department of Peking University in 1988, Dashan felt like a duck in water. Study is always a hard job, no matter how much interest you have. Therefore, effective ways are necessary to improvement. “Learn for life and learn in life”is Dashan's belief.

　　As a freshman at the University of Toronto, the student did study textbooks, which especially aimed on foreign Chinese learners. They did help him build to solid foundation.

　　However, that's far from enough to grasp the Chinese language. Starting in his junior year, Dashan began to read original Chinese novels, Chinese newspapers and even the selected works of Deng Xiaoping. “Only the material for Chinese native readers could give me a proper sense of the language,” he said．

　　The language that is the daily means of communication is the principle that Dashan always keeps in his mind．What you have really learned depends on what you can use, not necessarily your textbooks.

　　To learn in daily life requires a favourable language environment which is also necessary for improvement. Dashan admits it is hard for Chinese English learners to be brought into a good English speaking environment, but insists, “to listen and speak as much as possible does help.”

　　To help Chinese English learners develop a favourable environment, Dashan took part in a VCD programme--“Travel with Dashan”--to teach daily and up-to-date English in real-life situations.

(1)Dashan could learn Chinese very well because of ________.

[　　]

A．his interest

B．practiced skills on Chinese expression

C．his special method

D．Special humour with a Peking accent

(2)The sentence “learn for life and learn in life” here means________

[　　]

A．learn things in our daily life, otherwise it will not last long.

B．we should study in practice all our lives

C．life is difficult, so we'd better learn more to lead a better life

D．language is the necessary part of our daily life, so we must practise it frequently

(3)The main idea of the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．Dashan has become a household name across China

B．how can we master a foreign language in a short time.

C．dashan took park in a VCD programme“Travel with Dashan” to teach English in real-life situation

D．try to learn English under the direction of Dashan, and you'll succeed one day.

(4)The underlined phrase“a piece of cake” here refers to ________.

[　　]

(5)Dashan read the selected works of Deng Xiaoping because ________.

[　　]

A．he admired the former leader of the government

B．he hoped to learn more of the spirits of it

C．he wanted to give him a proper sense of the Chinese language

D．They are very popular in modern times

There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy, the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.

People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things. The pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine, the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend(or hurt) many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.

Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.

1.The phrase“sour the pleasure of society” most nearly means__________.

A.make others unhappy               B. have a good taste with social life　

C. tend to scold others openly       　　   D. enjoy the pleasure of life

2.We can conclude from the passage that__________.

A. such unhappy people are dangerous to social life  B. people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness 

C. we should pity all such unhappy people  

D. unhappy people can not understand happy persons

3.If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should ______.

A. show no respect and politeness to them    

B. prevent any communication with them

C. persuade them to recognize the bad effects

D. quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes

4.In this passage, the writer mainly________.

A. describes two types of people　　        B. laughs at the unhappy people

C.tells people how to be happy in life      D. suggests ways to help them unhappy

 

Mr. Harris used to work in Dover, but then he changed his work, and he and his wife moved to another town. They did not have many friends there, but they soon met a lot of interesting people, and after a few weeks, they often went to dinner or to parties at other people's houses.
Then Mrs. Harris said to her husband, "We've been to a lot of other people's houses, and now we must invite them to our house, mustn't we?"
"Yes, certainly," answered her husband, "A big party will be the easiest thing, won't it? Then we can start to invite people to dinner in small numbers next month."
So Mrs. Harris said, "Yes, I'll invite all our friends here to a big party on 5th December."
"How many will that be?" Mr. Harris asked. "Don't invite too many."
Mrs. Harris was beginning to write the invitations when her husband saw that she was writing, "Party: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m."
"That isn't very nice, is it?" he said. "You're telling our guests that they must go at 8:30." So Mrs. Harris just wrote "Party: 6:30 p.m."
A lot of guests came, and they all had a good time, so they did not go home at 8:30. In fact they were still there at mid-night when the door bell rang and a policeman arrived. He said, "You must stop making a noise, because someone has complained(抱怨)."
Mr. Harris said he did not want to quarrel with the policeman, so everyone went home. They were sorry to have to go.
When Mr. and Mrs. Harris were alone again, she said to him. "That was a surprise, wasn't it? Who complained about the noise?"
"I did," Mr. Harris answered in a tired voice.
【小题1】Why did Mr. Harris and his wife move to another town?

A．Mr. Harris changed his work.

B．They wanted to make some new friends.

C．They wanted to meet a lot of interesting people.

D．They enjoyed going to parties and visiting other people's houses.

【小题2】What made Mr. and Mrs. Harris hold a party at their house?

A．It was easy to hold a big party at home.

B．They could ask people to dinner in small numbers.

C．They had gone to other people's parties many times.

D．They liked making friends with others.

【小题3】How long would Mrs. Harris like the party to last?

A．From the morning till night.	B．About two hours.
C．About fourteen hours.	D．Till midnight

【小题4】When did the party end that evening?

A．At about 8:30.

B．About twelve o'clock..

C．When the policeman talked with Mr. Harris on the phone.

D．When someone telephoned the police station.

【小题5】Why did Mr. Harris telephoned the policeman about the noise?

A．Because someone rang his door bell many times at mid-night.

B．He did not want his friends to stay late that night.

C．His friends had a good time that night and also feel tired.

D．Because he hated the noise.