Studying too much?

Most people work or study from Monday to Friday. The weekend is usually a time of rest. But today’s Chinese teenagers can hardly rest during the weekends.

According to a survey, 24% of the Grade 8 students in Beijing have classes at the weekend．Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours’ sleep each night because of study.

And this doesn’t happen only in Beijing. Ji Chunying is a Grade 9 student in Guangzhou. The 14-year-old girl has to get up at 6:45am on Saturday. Then she has classes all the day. On Sunday, she goes to extra（额外）classes for math and physics. But Ji doesn’t complain. She says her classmates all work very hard．

Finding time to have fun

Zhao Ming, 13, is from Zhanjiang, Guangdong. Zhao’s weekend is less busy. But he still spends Saturday in school. On Sunday, after finishing homework, he plays basketball. “I feel happy because I still have time to do the things I like,” he said．Some students are much luckier. Ding Yi, a Grade 8 student from Laiwu, Shandong, is one of them. During the weekend, Ding usually gets up at 8:00am. Then she spends some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV. “My teacher said I don't need to push myself too much. Learning well at school is enough,” Ding said．“I feel pretty lucky.”

1．Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours’ sleep each night because of ___________.

  A．playing computer games              B．playing with friends

C．watching TV                       D．busy study

2．How many students are mentioned（提及） in this passage?

  A．2.               B．3.              C．4.              D．5.

3．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A．Some middle school students can enjoy their weekend．

   B．All the students in China are busy studying at the weekend．

   C．Every student in China has to go to extra classes at the weekend．

   D．No student complains about his busy weekend．

4．The passage mainly tells us that _____________.

   A．Students should do more homework at the weekend

   B．All the students in China must have classes at the weekend

   C．Students should have more time to take a rest at the weekend

   D．No student can play with his friends out of classes

5．The above passage may be a _______.

A．story of science   B．school notice     C．short play        D．news report

Being shy keeps many Chinese people from getting to know westerners. You may feel nervous about making language mistakes in front of a native English speaker.
But remember, westerners living in Asia know how it feels to try to communicate in a foreign language. They have made many mistakes when speaking Chinese!
So don’t worry about speaking imperfect English. The important thing is just to communicate. Start talking, and make some foreign friends!
Many westerners value(注重) their privacy(隐私). Don’t be surprised if your new friend doesn’t want to include you in everything he does. This may seem strange to Chinese who worry about that their friends will get lonely.
Chinese people often expect their good friends to give advice and take care of them in many ways. If you expect this kind of care from westerners, you may be disappointed. Why? Because most westerners value independence. They feel insulted(侮辱的) if others think they can’t take care of themselves. They will assume(假设) you feel the same way.
Of course, these tips(小提示) are just rules of thumb(经验之谈) and may not apply(适用) to all westerners. Each person you meet will have his or her own ideas about friendship. When you get confused(不明白), don’t be shy and worry to ask questions. Your new western friends may also have many questions about Chinese culture, and they may be hesitant(犹豫) to ask. So encourage them to ask questions, too.
Be honest and open to your friends. Respect each other’s differences. The friendships you make can be lifelong treasure both for you and your new friends.
【小题1】Why do many Chinese people feel worried to speak to the foreigners?

Wang Jiaming from Beijing Chenjinglun High School says he is a lucky boy. He’s happy that he’s sitting the senior high school entrance exam (中考) in 2014 instead of 2016.
On Oct 22, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (北京市教委) announced that, from 2016, the English scores in the senior high school entrance exam will be reduced from 120 to 100. Of the 100 points, the listening ability scores will increase to 50. Meanwhile, the points for Chinese will increase from 120 to 150.
“The change won’t affect me. I feel so lucky because English is my strongest subject,” said Wang.
Why such a change? It places the importance on Chinese in our study, and reduces students’ pressure, said Li Yi, spokesman of the commission.
“The change will also push us to pay attention to the practical usage of English,” said Li. “ Students will be encouraged to learn to understand English menus and read English news on mobile phones.”
There isn’t news that other cities will have the same change. But several places are making changes to English tests in the college entrance exams.
For example, Shandong is considering taking out the listening part of the English exam in its gaokao.
But, “being tested for less points doesn’t mean the subject can be taken lightly.,” Bai Ping wrote in China Daily.
English has long been the world’s most commonly used language. Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji once said: “In a globalizing economy, if you cannot interact with foreighers, how can one be part of the world economy?”
Wang Jiaming said he understood the change. “Chinese, not English, is our mother tongue,” he said. “But still, I think English is both interesting and useful.”
【小题1】 In the Beijing senior high school entrance exam of 2016, __________.