－Sunday is a public holiday, ___ children should get close to nature.

   －But most of them have several lessons to attend.

A. where  B. which    C. in which         D. when

 

Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5：30．and at 6：30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club．At last，the traffic was moving．She swung quickly racing to her house As she opened the door，she nearly tripped over Sheba．

    “Hey，Sheba，”she said，“I've got no time for you now，hut I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club．”Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking Obviously，she could hardly breathe．Immediately．Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet .When she got there，the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba，Dr．Sterne brought her quickly into his office．

    “Listen，doctor，I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting, can I leave her with you，and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up，and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”

    “Sure．”said the doctor

    Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes'．As she was once more entering the hallway，the phone by the door began to ring．

    “This is Dr．Sterne，”said an anxious voice．“I want you to get out of that house immediately，”said the doctor's voice．“I'm coming round right away，and the police will be there any time now．Wait outside!”

    At that moment，a police car screeched to a stop outside the house．Two policemen got out and ran into the house．Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened．Then the doctor arrived．

    “Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?”shouted Joanne．

    “She’s fine，Joanne．I took out the thing which was choking her，and she’s OK now．”

    Just then，the two policemen reappeared from the house，half-carrying a white—faced man，who could hardly walk．There was blood all over him．

    “My God，”said Joanne，“how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”

    “I think he must be a burglar．”said the doctor．“I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers”

What was Joanne supposed to do at 6：30？   

    A．To walk her dog．                   B．To see her doctor．

    C．To attend a club meeting．              D．To play tennis with her friends．

Joanne wanted to get back to her home again            ．

      A．to dress up for the meeting              B．to phone the police station

      C．to catch the badly hurt burglar     D．to wait for her dog to be cured  

From the passage，we can infer that          ．

      A．Sheba fought against the burglar

      B．the police found the burglar had broken in

      C．Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting

      D．the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog

In this passage，the writer intends to tell us that the dog is            ．

      A．clever           B．friendly         C．frightening           D．devoted

SAS Institute 2012 rank: 1 (2011 rank: 2)

Headquarters: Cary, N.C., USA

Software company SAS climbed to the top of the global list this year, edging up from the No. 2 spot it held last year. So what makes this company so great to work for? Well, for one thing, its leaders are certainly accessible. CEO Jim Goodnight hosts monthly “Conversations Over Coffee,” unscripted breakfast meetings that are open to all employees. These conversations are so popular that other division heads have begun to hold similar events for their employees.  

Google 2012 rank: 2 (2011 rank: 4)

Headquarters: Mountain View, Calif., USA

Google moved up by two spots in this year’s ranking of global workplaces. The highly desirable tech receives 61 times as many applicants as they have existing jobs, and for good reason. Google seems to be all about coaching. The company’s “CareerGuru” program makes 43 of its senior leaders available for one-on-one, confidential career coaching sessions with other Googlers.  

Engineering employees at all levels can also get advice from “EngAdvisors”, senior engineers at Google who can discuss any number of issues, like work-life balance, conflict resolution, and performance reviews.

NetApp 2012 rank: 3 (2011 rank: 3)

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif., USA

All new employees at data storage provider NetApp participate in the TOAST (“Training On All Special Things”) orientation program, which introduces new arrivals to NetApp’s senior management. The meetings are held every month and are always led by the executive team.  

Microsoft 2012 rank: 4 (2011 rank: 1)

Headquarters: Redmond, Wash., USA

As part of Microsoft’s commitment to promoting women in technology, the company established its DigiGirlz program in 2000. Microsoft hosts a series of DigiGirlz Day events where female high school students meet Microsoft employees and learn about careers in technology. In 2011, some 36 Microsoft locations across the world hosted more than 2,000 girls. Microsoft also holds DigiGirlz High Tech Camps, multi-day programs where participants get hands-on experience with technology during workshops and meet with tech executives.

1. What helped make SAS climb to the top of the list in 2012?

A. Accessible leaders.                                         B. Popular divisions.

C. Qualified employees.                                               D. Quality software.

2.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Microsoft employed over 2,000 girl workers in 2011.

B. New engineering Googlers could get advice from senior Googlers.

C. All NetApp employees had to attend a special training.

D. All leaders in SAS had the same conversations with their employees.

3.These American companies are ranked according to _________.

A. the training program each company establishes 

B. the wealth each company possesses now

C. the level of technology each of the company reaches

D. the number of people willing to work for the company

 

Approaches To Helping You Learn French

The French language, without doubt, is considered one of the most beautiful and romantic languages in the world. There are thousands of people who would love to be fluent in this popular language and be able to communicate fluently in it.   1.   

★Learn it on line

Until a while ago, the only way to learn French was to go to regular classes at a training institute. But now, one of the easiest ways to learn French is to learn it on line! There are many websites on the Internet today that offer various courses in the French language for all kinds of people, right from the beginner level to the more advanced stages.    2.    These websites will serve as a good introduction to the language. You also can choose a good-paid program to ensure that you are able to gain enough mastery of the language.

★Try to put French into practical use

It is not enough to attend a French language course and devote a little time each day to learning the language.    3.   Consciously making an effort to think and talk to ourselves in French in our heads gives us the flexibility to exercise our French muscles anywhere and at any time.

★Do your homework diligently, read French books and learn French songs

Most online courses will have daily activities or homework assigned to the learner each day.     4.    

Also, make it a habit to buy and read French newspapers and simple books that will help you to improve your vocabulary and sentence formation skills.  5.   Learning the words of the songs and singing along is a great way to learn French.

A. There are many techniques that can be followed to learn this romantic language.

B. Some people want to learn French just to be able to sing beautiful songs.

C. Some websites offer free French courses.

D. Attempt to find a French teacher online.

E. There are also lots of simple and interesting French songs that you can listen to.

F. Do them diligently, as they are a sure and fun way to learn the language.

G. Learners should also put their new-found knowledge to practical use.

 

What’s On Stage
An acrobatic show: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe (剧团) will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills will run down your spine(脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.
Time: 7:30 p.m., September 13-19
Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
Exhibitions
Joint Show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.
Time: 9:00 a. m.-5:00 p.m. until September 10
Place: Huangshicheng Art Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District
Oil paintings: The Wanfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles.
Time: 9:00 a.m. -4:00 p.m. until September 15
Place: 136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District
Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949.
Time: 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., daily
Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (Shaoyaoju area)
Concerts
Beijing rocks: “The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm.
Time: September 16
Place: The Olympic Center
Belgium orchestra：La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orehestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world in memory of the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.
Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11-14
Place: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities
【小题1】 What do you think of the acrobatic show mentioned above?

A．When you watch it, you will certainly feel cold.

B．Unexpected things will make you excited and surprised.

C．Something strange will puzzle everyone, including scientists.

D．Even the bravest ones will be too frightened to go on watching.

【小题2】The most characteristic thing about the Fashion Night of Chinese Rock is that ______.

A．it will certainly cause a rock storm throughout China

B．it is to bring thousands of rock fans out of their homes

C．it is to be held in memory of one of the greatest musicians

D．it will let the audience choose the performers and the music

【小题3】 Suppose it is September 14 today, how many activities can people choose to attend?

A．2.

B．3.

C．4.

D．5.

【小题4】On the whole, we can conclude ______.

A．we can enjoy a large variety of cultural activities in Beijing

B．people in Beijing prefer modern culture to something traditional

C．most of the cultural activities in Beijing are for foreign visitors only

D．there are usually more cultural activities in September than in any other month