Before you hit ‘Enter’ on MSN, read this
It is often said that the language we use online is less formal than that we use in a letter, or in direct speech sometimes. This is true, but it can also make us in trouble sometimes.
The thing about online communication is that you have no idea what the person who is reading your messages is feeling. For this reason, it is always a good idea to be polite and cautious when writing e-mails or messages to your friends.
Chinese can be a direct language, but in English, people often talk about a subject in another way. So instead of saying “Please meet me here” or “Do this for me now”, English speakers usually go for indirect phrases like “Would it be possible”, “if you have time” or “It would mean a lot to me if…”
If you have a close friend, you may still run into trouble because of your jokes. If you have asked someone to do something and they need a bit more time, you might joke with him: “What? You still haven’t done it yet? What’s wrong with you?” While this seems funny to you, your friend may feel unhappy.
If you have foreign friends in different countries, the time difference can also be a factor. While you are waking up for class on Friday morning, they may be having a party on Friday night. You will be serious and they will, probably, be excited. So don’t be angry if they seem not to care about you. Just try to message them at the proper time.
【小题1】 According to the passage, we learn that our letters are more ______ than the e-mails.

Expert(专家) say that students usually need eight to ten hours’ sleep at night, but most Chinese students do not get enough sleep. Some Chinese parents are usually glad to see their children studying late. They will think their children work very hard, but not all parents are happy about this. Once a mother told us that every morning her 10-year-old boy put up one finger (手指) with his eyes still closed, begging(请求) for one more minute to sleep. Like thousands of students “early birds” in China, he has to get up before six every morning.
A report shows that without a good night’s sleep, students seem to be weaker (虚弱) than they should be. Many students have fallen asleep during class at one time or another. Too much homework is not the only reason why students stay up late. Some watch TV or play the computer games late into the night.
Experts have ever said that the students should develop good study habits. So some clever students never study last, they are able to work well in class.
【小题1】The 10-year-old boy begged for more minute to sleep because__________
A. he didn’t have enough sleep   
B. it wasn’t time for him to get up
C. he didn’t want to go to school  
【小题2】In this passage we know if students don’t get enough sleep, they may________
A. become too weak to sleep     
B. not work well in class
C. go to bed early              
【小题3】In this passage “early birds” means “persons who ______________”
A. get up early      B. get up late      C. sleep less  
【小题4】“Stay up late” here means “_____________”
A. study late    B. watch TV late     C. not go to bed until late 
【小题5】According to the passage, which of the following is right?_________
A. If you want to study better, you must work hard at night.
B. Sleeping less means working hard.
C. Some clever students are able to work well in class because they have good study habits.

You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABC? You may like eating bananas. But do you know there is such a thing a “banana person”? How strange! Are these people from “another earth”? No, they are just Chinese people like you and me.
ABC means American-born Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people call an ABC a “banana person”. A banana is yellow outside and white inside. So, when a person is a banana, he or she is white inside-thinking like a Westerner and yellow outside-looking like a Chinese.
Do you know why? Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don’t speak Chinese. Also, they are not interested in Chinese politics.
But if ABCs can not speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are Chinese. They are overseas Chinese. These people may be citizens (公民) of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood. Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair. But they are not Chinese citizens. They are not people of the People’s Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist, C.N.Yang(杨振宁). He got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen.
【小题1】“ABC” in this passage means “     ”.

Having a teenager at home can be a real headache. Many teenagers smoke, wear strange hairstyle and even fight. Basically (基本上) , they are often taking risks.
Earlier studies have shown that teenagers are more likely to make irrational decisions than people from any other age group, including children and adults. Is it that teenagers are too young to tell right from wrong? Not really. So what’s the reason?
According to Laurence, a teacher from a US university, the reason is that teenagers care a lot about how their peers (同龄人) view them—that is “peer influence”.
As children enter their teenage years, they spend more time with their friends and classmates, and also they care more about what they think of them. This makes teenagers make decisions without thinking about the costs.
In a test, a group of teenagers were asked to play a video driving game. When they played with their friends watching around them, they took more chances and drove more carelessly because that would increase their possibility of winning. But when they played alone, they drove more safely.
Why do peers have such a big influence on teens’ behavior?
As Laurence sees it, a teenager’s brain is like a car with a good accelerator (油门) but a weak brake (刹车). The “accelerator” is fully developed by teenage years while the “brake” is still not fully developed. When teenagers are watched by their peers, they usually push hard on the accelerator. With their weak brake, it is likely that they are going to end up in an accident. But the good news is that a violent (暴力的) teenager doesn’t necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it. “They get more self-controlled.”
【小题1】What does the underlined word “irrational” in the 2nd paragraph mean?

Expert(专家) say that students usually need eight to ten hours’ sleep at night, but most Chinese students do not get enough sleep. Some Chinese parents are usually glad to see their children studying late. They will think their children work very hard, but not all parents are happy about this. Once a mother told us that every morning her 10-year-old boy put up one finger (手指) with his eyes still closed, begging(请求) for one more minute to sleep. Like thousands of students “early birds” in China, he has to get up before six every morning.

  A report shows that without a good night’s sleep, students seem to be weaker (虚弱) than they should be. Many students have fallen asleep during class at one time or another. Too much homework is not the only reason why students stay up late. Some watch TV or play the computer games late into the night.

   Experts have ever said that the students should develop good study habits. So some clever students never study last, they are able to work well in class.

1.The 10-year-old boy begged for more minute to sleep because__________

A. he didn’t have enough sleep   

B. it wasn’t time for him to get up

C. he didn’t want to go to school  

2.In this passage we know if students don’t get enough sleep, they may________

A. become too weak to sleep      

B. not work well in class

C. go to bed early               

3.In this passage “early birds” means “persons who ______________”

A. get up early       B. get up late       C. sleep less  

4.“Stay up late” here means “_____________”

A. study late     B. watch TV late      C. not go to bed until late 

5.According to the passage, which of the following is right?_________

A. If you want to study better, you must work hard at night.

B. Sleeping less means working hard.

C. Some clever students are able to work well in class because they have good study habits.