In 1985 I visited China.I thought many Chinese parents put much pressure on only high school students.But in the following years, I found the pressure came to primary school children, then those of pre?school age, and finally newborn babies and pre?born children.

In order to succeed, one or two years before entering kindergarten (幼稚园) they must study English, drawing, singing, and dancing, and the three years of kindergarten are mostly spent to build up an early lead in primary school performance.

What if parents let their 3 or 4 years old child enjoy free time on Saturday and Sunday, after five days in nur?sery? They would be thought to be wasting their kid's early life.As others do, so must they do.

　　　 Yet children have not only the right, but the need to play.Kindergartens should not be a school.There should be no classroom, no lesson, no homework, and especially no exams.Instead, playing should be the first thing for children.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

They need to play with others and also to play on their own, as playing is good for learning in a lively way. Children can discover numbers while playing games and the alphabet (字母表) through songs.Some Chinese cha?racters can become familiar to them by being used in games.But the problem with kindergartens is very serious.Chinese parents think studying is more important.Children work hard while having less and less time to play.What these parents fail to realize is that they are following the examples of how not to raise a kid.

(　　)6.What's the situation of children in China now?

　　 A.They have much pressure.　　　 B.They play too much.

C.They have no pressure.　　　　　 D.They work hard but happily.

(　　)7.Why don't parents let their 3 or 4?year?old kids enjoy free time? Because ________.

　　 A.kids don't want to play　 　　　　B.they have to do what other people do

C.the government ask them to do so　 D.the grandparents ask them to do so

(　　)8.According to the author, what should a kindergarten be like?

A.A school with lessons.　

B.A class with exams.

C.A place where children can play freely.

D.A place where children only play games.

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

A.Only middle school students spend much time in studying.

B.Studying is the most important for children.

C.Children have much time to enjoy themselves.

D.Raising kids doesn't mean making them study.

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

A.Chinese Education Has Some Problems

B.How to Raise a Child

C.Children Need Time to Play

D.Family Education Is Very Important

Learning English for 2008 Beijing Olympics

Yang Zhenhua has been a taxi driver for years．He knows every comer of the city．His work usually wins him thanks except when he meets foreigners，for Yang doesn’t know any English．

“Now I study English in my free time，”said Yang in his 40s．He pulls an English textbook from the toolbox．“I study English to help with Beijing Olympics，”he said proudly．Yang is just one of the millions of common people in Beijing who started to learn English when Beijing became the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games．Learning and speaking is hot among the people of this 3,000 - year - old city．From schools to factories，men and women，old and young are studying their“ABC”．Books teaching useful expressions for everyday communication are the most popular．

Some people，such as taxi drivers，bus conductors and the policemen，are asked to learn basic English．Nearly 3,000 students from 50 universities in Beijing went to the streets last August as volunteers to teach English to the people of this city．They taught common and useful sentences， such as greetings and asking and answering simple questions．Official figures show that about 15% of Beijing citizens can speak English．It is said that it will rise to 70% or 80% during the following years．Besides，the government encourages the use of English in many places．The city underground railways give messages by radio in both English and Chinese．English，not Chinese， is used as the most important working language for the Olympic Committee．Nearly all the committee members can speak English freely．Many are good at the language．

1．Yang zhenhua can hardly win himself thanks from foreigners because       ．

A．he isn’t polite to them at all         B．he is a common taxi driver

C．he can’t speak English             D．he doesn’t know the city well

2．According to the passage，the English beginners in Beijing like to learn        best．

A．the letters A，B and C．            B．everyday English

C．English texts                      D．English news

3．Nearly 3,000 students from 50 universities in Beijing went to the streets last August to      ．

      A．practice their spoken English         B．show their love of Beijing

      C．tell people the importance of English   D．teach the Beijing citizens English

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

      A．All the people in Beijing are asked to speak English．

      B．Beijing citizens are encouraged to use as much English as possible．

      C．All the taxi drivers in Beijing must speak English．

      D．Beijingers study English to take part in the Beijing Olympics．

5．The passage is about                   ．

A．the importance of English

B．how to learn English well

C．the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games．

D．more and more people are learning English in Beijing．

完形填空

My birthday was a few days ago. Now I’m 24 years old and I’m  1  with teaching. I didn’t remember my birthday until the morning of the 1st. It was just like an ordinary day, no presents, no party, no cake... When I was  2   , I always felt sad that almost nobody remembered my birthday, not even my family. But now I don’t    3  any more, especially this year, from my birthday to next day, not much     4 . This month I have several foreign students   5   Chinese with me. I give lessons privately, so I need to do quite a lot of work before each lesson. So far I’m getting more    6   in teaching foreigners Chinese, and I think it’s a very cool job. When I was at  7 , I wanted to follow these native English speakers. They can   8  to foreign countries and get teaching jobs easily almost anywhere even though they’re not real teachers. I complained Chinese people didn’t have as many chances as people from the West. But now things are  9  . As China is becoming stronger, Chinese is becoming more and more    10  and maybe in the future I can get teaching jobs in foreign countries. I’ll study more and get ready.