As an exchange student, I have been staying in a host family in Beijing for the past five months. The parents are   36   in their mid-30s and the son just turned 5. In exchange for room and board, I teach their son   37  .

Like in many of the other Chinese families, he’s an only child. And though he has   38  plastic trucks and boxes full of crayons, I don’t know   39   he has the time to play. When he’s not in the kindergarten, he’s taking after-school classes. On the weekends, the boy goes to more classes. He has one day off―Sunday.

Compared to his schedule, I feel like my childhood was   40   a waste of time. I learned how to climb trees and draw cartoons. I wasn’t learning Chinese at his age. But he and lots of other children are learning English. Both his parents dream that he will have   41   jobs, higher pay, and bigger houses.

The boy seems to take no interest   42   learning English. He doesn’t need a teacher, but a playmate. He is,   43  , only 5. When I think about my life as a 5-year-old, I know for sure I wasn’t half as   44   as he is.

In the evening, when his parents   45   him to speak with me in English, he gets   46  . He lies on the floors, hides under the table and climbs on the furniture. When he finally stops   47  , and starts talking, it isn’t in English, but it isn’t in Chinese,   48  . He speaks in his own language.

He   49   not be a very good student, but I’m not a great teacher. I just want to be his big brother   50   can speak in gibberish(胡言乱语) with him and help draw trucks, robots or spiders.

1. A. both             B. all              C. either           D. none

2.A. drawing           B. Chinese          C. English          D. playing

3. A. a hundred of     B. hundreds of      C. hundred of       D. hundreds

4. A. when             B. what             C. where            D. that

5.A. hardly            B. never            C. usually          D. almost

6. A. more             B. fewer            C. better           D. worse

7. A. with             B. in               C. for              D. on

8. A. after all        B. at all           C. first of all     D. all the time

9.A. busily            B. busiest          C. busier           D. busy

10.A. make             B. push             C. have             D. let

11. A. frustrated      B. relaxed          C. pleased          D. injured

12.A. move             B. to move          C. moving           D. moved

13.A. too              B. also             C. as well          D. either

14.A. can              B. may              C. must             D. need

15.A. who   B. whom C. whose    D. which

　 My grandfather is an eighty-year-old man. He changed, and he often says that life used to be better.

　 Families aren’t families the way they used to be．A lot of families have broke down．If husband and wife have problems with their marriage, they no longer stay together．And mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children，but now everyone’s working．No one has time to look after children at home．

And the cars! No one walks any more：everyone drives．We used to walk five miles to school every day，even in winter．But now they don’t．And in schoo1．the children don’t have to think any more．In math class，for example，we used to add，subtract, multiply and divide in our heads．Kids don’t use their heads any more；instead，they use calculators(计算器)．

Most families have computers now．In the past we didn’t have computers．We didn’t even have lights．My mother used to spend all day cooking in the kitchen．But now nobody eats home．cooked food any more．

And people don’t talk to each other any more．They are too busy to talk，too busy to eat，too, busy to think……

Life used to be simple, but it isn’t any more．

(　 )6．My grandfather thinks the 1ife　　　 ．

　　 A．is better than it used to be　 B．is worse than it used to be

　　 C．is as good as it used to be　　 D．is as bad as it used to be

(　 )7．What does the underlined word “marriage” mean in Chinese?

　　 A．生活　　 B．工作　　 C．婚姻　　 D．家庭

(　 )8．What changes have happened to some families?

　 ①There are lights at home．

　 ②People like to eat home．cooked food．

　 ③Lots of families have computers．

　 ④Lots of couples live apart because of some prob1ems．

　　 A．①②④　　 B．②③④　　 C．①②③　　 D．①③④

(　 )9．Which is TRUE according to the passage?

　 A．People have too much time to talk with each other．

　 B．Life now is very simple．

　 C．Many families have broken down because of problems between husbands and wives．

　 D. Mothers stay at home and look after their children．

(　 )10.．Which is the best title for this passage?

　 A．How life used to be　　　　 B．The better life

　 C．The changes in our life　　　 D. Hard-working students