Tokyo, March 11, 2011

People left their houses near Sendai, northern Japan on March 11th. A man and child look out over destroyed homes after a tsunami(海啸) and earthquake. Nuclear crises(核危机) in Japan’s power plants(核电站).

Last Thursday, a young woman saved an elderly man from a burning house on Garden Road. The young woman’s name is Kitty and she works in a clothes shop. The elderly man, Daniel, lives just opposite the clothes shop. On Thursday afternoon, Kitty looked out of the window. She saw some smoke coming from Daniel’s house and rushed over to see what was happening. The house was on fire and Daniel was inside. Kitty quickly called the fireman on 999. Then, she ran into the house to save Daniel. She found Daniel in his bedroom and he was frightened. Kitty helped Daniel out to a safe place. Five minutes later the fireman arrived and they put out the fire. No one was hurt.
The next day, Daniel said,“I am so grateful to Kitty. She saved my life.”Daniel also said,“In the future, I will be more careful. I don’t want another fire in my house.”
【小题1】Kitty saved _______ from a burning house.

In the West, some people believe that personality can be predicted according to the time of the year the person was bor. From China comes the belief that the year of birth influences one’s personality. In the past century, a new belief ahs arisen: the idea that personality is related to one’s ABO blood type. People with blood type A, for example, are considered more likely to be serious, hard-working, and quiet, while people with blood type O are likely to be popular and outgoing, yet often unable to finish what they start. Though this belief continues to be strong, some people question whether it is true.
The blood-type personality theory(理论) started in Japan in 1927 when Furukawa Takehi noticed personality similarities and differences among his workers. This idea soon went out of fashion, but was brought back by a Japanese television host named Toshitaka Nomi in the 1970s. The belief is still strong in Japan and is increasingly popular in neighboring countries. Some young Koreans have taken to the theory. A recent study showed 76 percent of Koreans aged between13 and 64 believing in the blood-type personality connection. Though most Asians might believe in the blood-type theory, for many it seems harmless and not something to be taken too seriously.
Is the belief true? The scientists in Asia largely think the belief as a modern-day superstition(迷信). Most studies have failed to find any strong connection between blood and personality. Generally, scientists are against making predictions or important decisions based on this questionable theory.
【小题1】The writer uses blood type A and O as an example to explain ________.

Many years ago, an earthquake happened suddenly. A lot of buildings
collapsed(倒塌)。 It killed over 100,000 people in a few minutes. Shortly
after the earthquake, a father rushed to the school where his son studied
only to find the building had fallen down. He remembered his promise to
his son:“No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!”
The tearful father began to dig to look for his son. Some parents
felt hopeless and tried to pull him off. But he asked,“Are you going
to help me now?”And then he kept on digging. The fireman came.
They tried to pull off and said,“Danger! Leave here!” But the
father who loved his son deeply,asked,“Are you going to help me now?”
The policeman came up and said,“It’s over.Leave here!We’ll do it.”
Still he asked again and again,“Are you going to help me now?”
He went on alone because he needed to know,“Is my boy alive or
is he dead?” He dug for 8 hours…12 hours…24hours…36hours…then, in the 38^th hours, he pulled back a large stone And heard his son’s voice. He cried,“Tom!”He heard back,“Dad? It’s me, Dad! I told other kids you’d save me. I believe you would keep your promise.”“Get out, boy!”“No dad! Let the other kids out first. Because I know you’ll get me out! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”
Judge the following sentences true(T) or false(F)
1.More than one hundred thousand people lost their lives in this earthquake.
2.Other parents and fireman did their best to help the father.
3.The father knew that his son was alive.
4.The boy believed his father would let him out of danger.
5.The other kids were saved first.

A man bought a donkey at the market one day and took him home. Now the man owned several donkeys already and he knew each one’s character very well. One of the donkeys was very strong and brave. Another always wanted to make people happy by working quickly but soon got tired. One donkey was very lazy. He hated going to work in the morning and he did as little as he       possibly could all day long. When the other animals were being loaded up(装载), he always tried to be the last so that he would get the lightest load.
The man led the new donkey into the yard. For a moment the new donkey stood sniffing(闻，嗅) at his new friends. Then, without hesitation, he came up to the lazy donkey and began eating comfortably at his side.
Though it was late in the day, the man immediately led the new donkey out of the yard, straight back to the market.
“You can’t have given him a fair trial yet,” said the seller, “It is only ten minutes since you bought him.”
“I don’t need to try him any more,” replied the man, “I know just what he is like from the friend he chose for himself. Take him away and give me my money back. I can do without donkeys like him.”
【小题1】Why did the man buy a new donkey in the market?