You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience to study here.

In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.

When I first studied English, I was told to say,” I am fine” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found that people say, “I am good” or “I’m tired”.

One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made me confused . I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.

Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.

To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan(晒黑). However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter”.

I was also surprised by how hardworking US students are.  In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.

The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.

1. What does the word “confused” in the fourth paragraph mean in Chinese ?

A．困惑

B．憧憬

C．悲痛

D．后悔

2.A good US student spends his / her time ______ .

A．only in doing homework

B．on studies, sports or music and public work

C．only in working for the public

D．only on sports or music

3.Which of the following is NOT true ?

A．The writer is now in US.

B．American girls love to have white skin.

C．US students are talented and hard working.

D．The writer regrets that he gave up playing the piano.

 

Dear Dr Jackson,

My parents are never happy with me. They are always criticizing my clothes, my hair and the music I listen to. They hate my friends’ looks and they keep complaining when I go with them. I’m not allowed to stay out as late as my friends do, so I can’t have any fun. My parents only seem to care about my school grades. Although I love them, sometimes I feel we live in different worlds. If they love me, can’t they understand me? How can I make them understand me?

Angel

Dear Angel,

Your problem is common to both teenagers and parents. Don’t worry, because all this is natural. You see, your parents have grown up at a different time and they have different experiences. So, they think some things are strange, but you find the same things are all right. For example, the music you like may sound like noise to them. Your parents love you, so they feel they must stop you from doing whatever they find strange. On the other hand, you don’t want to be different from other teenagers, so you feel that your parents restrict you.

I think you should talk about this problem with your parents. Try to explain to them what you want and make them know they can believe you. And then they’ll find you are a responsible person and they will give you more freedom.

Jackson

1.Why has Angel written to Dr Jackson?

A．Because her parents make her happy.

B．Because her parents can’t understand her.

C．Because her friends don’t like her.

D．Because she is not good enough at school.

2.Angel has ________ than her friends.

A．more fun

B．less freedom

C．more freedom

D．less clothes

3.What advice does Dr Jackson give to Angel?

A．Be different from other teenagers.

B．Pay no attention to whatever her parents tell her.

C．Discuss her problem with her parents.

D．Don’t tell her parents what she wants to do.

4.What does the word “restrict” in the article mean in Chinese?

A．限制             B．保护             C．放纵             D．抛弃

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Dr Jackson thinks Angel’s problem isn’t usual.

B．Angel’s father likes the music that Angel likes.

C．Angel should show her parents that she is a responsible person.

D．Angel probably doesn’t love her parents at all.

 

We wanted to study how students at our school spend money. In order to study this, we made some questions to ask our classmates. First, we asked our classmates how much money they spent in one month. Then we asked how much money they spent on things like drinks, music, books, movies, computer games, and other things. Our math teacher helped us make a graph of our classmates’ answers.
Then we thought it would be interesting to compare these answers with our classmates’ expenses from last year. We used their answers to make another graph for their expenses last year.
Looking at the two graphs, it is easy to compare the expenses for the two years. Some of their expenses increased, but others decreased. This was a very interesting project for us.
注：⑴ graph 图表  ⑵ expense消耗，消费

 
【小题1】 What did the students spend most of their money on?

A．Books.

B．Movies.

C．Drinks and snacks.

D．Computer games.

【小题2】Which expense of the students’ stayed the same?

A．CDs.

B．Phone costs.

C．Others.

D．Transportation.

【小题3】What does the word “decrease” mean?

A．减少

B．变化

C．增加

D．删除

【小题4】What did the students spend the same money on last year?

A．Books& Others

B．CDs & Movies

C．Movies & Books

D．all the above

【小题5】Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the graph?

A．Students spent the least money on e-mail and phone costs this year.

B．Students spent the same money on movies and transportation this year.

C．The expenses on e-mails and phones increased from 10% to 16% this year.

D．The expenses on others decreased from 9% to 4% this year.

Dear Jenny,

Gary is having a potluck party after Month Exam! He invites all of us to come! Since it is a potluck party, I think I will bring some beef noodles. As I know, Lily will take care of the drinks and Gina will bring a big homemade chocolate cake. Can you ask your mom to buy us some KFC fried chicken? You know it is too far for all of us to ride a bike there, but your mom often drives there. We can pay the bill together. Just think about how surprised our classmates will feel when they see what we prepare! Isn’t it great?

The party will start at noon on March 25, so be sure to be at Gary’s place around 11:30 to prepare for the party. By the way, don’t forget to invite Amy, who is good at music. If you have any other questions, just call me or write me back.

Take care!

                                                         Leo

1.Who will take fried chicken to the party?

     A. Leo      B. Gary      C. Lily       D. Jenny

2.There will be at least(至少)__________ of them for the party, besides Amy.

     A. 5       B. 6         C. 7        D. 8

3.What does the underlined word “potluck” mean?

A. A meal cooked at home for some celebrations

B. A free meal served by a church(教堂) for children

C. A meal served in a restaurant at special time

D. A meal where guests bring food to share

4.Why does Leo ask Jenny’s mom to buy fried chicken?

     A. Jenny lives close to the restaurant    

 B. He is afraid of spending much money

     C. It is far away for them to ride to buy it.

 D. He is busy preparing for the exam

5.According to the e-mail, which is TRUE?

     A. Gina is having a potluck party.       

B. The party will start at 11:30

     C. Jenny has to pay for the fried chicken alone.  

 D. Amy was invited to go to the party.

 

I used to live in Kobe in Japan. On my way home on the bus every evening I used to look for an old man who often played his saxophone (萨克斯管) near the river. I couldn’t hear his music because the windows were closed on the bus but I imagined it to be loud and clear. I wanted to be like that man.
One night I went to Himeji, a city not far from Kobe. As I walked with my family along the river I saw a statue. It was a young man who looked just like me. He was wearing a cap and smiling. Around his neck was a leather strap (皮带) and in his hands was a saxophone. He was lifting the saxophone to his lips and he was just about to play. I stayed there for a long time by the statue dreaming of playing a saxophone on TV.
Two weeks later it was my birthday. Imagine my joy when I opened my present from my parents and found that it was a saxophone! I put it to my lips to play, but it wouldn’t make a sound. Then Dad told me to read the instruction book to find out what to do. After about 15 minutes the saxophone was ready to play. I raised it slowly to my lips as my family watched. But still there was no sound. I blew and blew but I couldn’t get the saxophone to play. I was almost crying when suddenly the saxophone made the most beautiful sound—loud and clear like I imagined the music of the man by the river in Kobe. I blew again, I moved my fingers on the saxophone and I made more sounds. I was happy because I was playing very interesting sounds. But I wasn’t playing music yet.
Then came the lessons. Night after night, week after week my teacher made me practice. Slowly I started to improve and at last there came the magic day when I started to play music. Now I’m in the TV studio with my saxophone strapped to my neck and my cap on my head. I’m always thinking of the man by the river in Kobe and the statue smiling at me in Himeiji. I’m a happy man.
【小题1】On the bus, the writer couldn’t ________.

A．find an old man with a saxophone	B．see a river
C．hear the old man’s music	D．imagine the sound

【小题2】The statue along the river made the writer think of ________.

A．having a saxophone

B．the old man near the river

C．having a cap and a saxophone as the boy

D．playing the saxophone on TV

【小题3】The writer could get the saxophone to play ________.

A．as soon as he got it

B．after he read the instruction

C．after he tried many times

D．after his father taught him

【小题4】What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The magic day.	B．My birthday present.
C．The old man and the statue.	D．My dream of playing saxophone.