A lesson in caring
It was a cold evening. My daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora    36    . She wasn’t even four, but she   37    at my coat and said, “That man’s cold. Daddy, can we take him home?”
I don’t remember my   38    . But I do remember a sudden   39    feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her   40     , whether it was     41    flying or children playing. But now she was noticing   42    and beggary.
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and   43     it to an elderly person. It was quick and easy. I signed us up. Nora was   44    about it. She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how   45    our job was. When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to    46    myself to leave the house to fetch the food package. On my way to the school, I fought an urge (强烈愿望) to turn    47    . The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home. Why do this?   48    , we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed. She   49    us right over.
The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed.   50     inside, I saw that the department belonged to someone poor. Our hostess showed us some photos. Nora played and when it came time to say goodbye, we three hugged. I walked home    51    .
Professionals call such a(n)   52    “a volunteer opportunity”. They are opportunities and I’ve come to see. Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something    53     that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and   54     clothes for the homeless. Yet, as I’ve    55     her grow over these past four years, I still wonder—which of us has benefited more?

C
　　This summer vacation,Xiaokai,a high school student in Guangzhou,planned to spend his time surfing the Internet,playing basketball and watching TV.
　　But Xiaokai's parents tried to make him read some classics at home.In their yees,reading the classics would do his son much more good than other activities.
　　Though his room was full of the classic books,he had just finished reading one of them,The Old Man and the Sea.
　　"I picked up the book just because it was not very thick,"he said."Nothing impressed me at all after reading."
　　Xiaokai is not alone in today's China.Now most of the teenagers are fond of reading martial arts stories,cartoons and popular magazines.Theose classics cannot get them interested at all.
　　Parents areworrying about this phenomenon(现象).They always tell their chilren to read the classsics,which is supposed to help their children improve their academic studies.
　　Ms Li made a classics reading plan for her daughter,but her daughter refused to carry it away.She just finished less than 10 pages of the Dream of Red Chamber(阁楼) during the whole summer vacation. Ms Li sighed,"What's wrong with the children today?"
　　It is the same with teachers.One middle school Chinese teacher once prepared a chart(图表) of Interpersonal relationship in the best-known novel Dream of Red Chamber for his students. They were asked to remember how the characters are related to each other while preparing for the final exam.
　　To improve the situation in which the fastfood culture (快餐文化) seems to be winning over teenagers,parents are expected to understand their children's interests, and guide them to read the books instead of forcing them,according to some experts.It is not necessary for the kids to read the classics in their childhood.They can read classics after having their own life experience.
　　64.Xiaokai read only one classic book because _______.
　　A.he didn't have more
　　B.he wasn't interested in the classics
　　C.it took him a lot of time
　　D.he just acted on his parents' advice
　　65.When the writer says"Xiaokai is not alone",she means that ________.
　　A.many others don't like classics either
　　B.some parents and teachers support Xiaokai
　　C.Xiaokai is not the family's only child
　　D.Xiaokai often reads together with others
　　66.Which belong,or belongs,to the fastfood culture according to the article?
　　A.The old Man and the Sea.
　　B.The Dream of Red Chamber.
　　C.Martial arts stories.
　　D.The books filling up Xiaokai's room.
　　67.Who would be more likely to stand on the side of that Chinese teacher?
　　A.The students.    B.The parents.      C.The experts.     D.The writer.

Charles Blackman: Alice in Wonderland

An Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria （NGV）, Australia

10 June—12 August 2009

Venue（地点）   The Ian Potter Centre

Admission     Free entry

Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful painting of dreams. In 1956, he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland — the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole, meets a lot of funny characters and experience all kinds of things .At that time, Blackman’s wife was suffering form progressive blindness. The story of Alice moving through the strange situations, often disheartened by various events, was similar to his wife’s experiences. It also reflected so much of his own life. All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.

Illustrator Workshop

Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration. The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques, workshop exercise and group projects.

Dates  Sunday 17 June &Sunday 5Aug.10am—1pm

Venue  Gas Works Arts Park

Wonderful World

Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day, including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit.

Date  Sunday 24 June, 11am—4pm

Venue  Exhibition Space, Level 3

Topsy- Turvy

Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box. Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened.

Dates　Sunday 8,15,22,29 July ,and Tuesday 24—Friday 27 July ,12noon—3pm

Venue Theatre, NGV Australia

Drawing Workshop

Distortions of scale (比例失真) can make artworks strange but interesting.Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world, then experiment with scale in your own drawings. More information upon booking.

Date  Friday 27 July, 10:30am—3pm

Venue　Foyer, Level 3

Charles Blackman’s paintings come from _______.

A. his admiration for Lewis Carroll                    B. his dream of becoming a famous artist

C. his wish to express his own feelings               D. his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness

Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?

A. Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World

B. Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop.

C. Wonderful World and Topsy –Turvy.

D. Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop.

To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings, you should go to _______.

A. Exhibition Space. Level 3                             B. Gas Works Arts Park

C. Theatre, NGV Australia                                D. Foyer, Level 3

Activities concerning children’s books are to be held _______.

A. on June 24, 2009                                         B. on July15, 2009

C. on July 27, 2009                                              D. on August 5, 2009

C

　　This summer vacation,Xiaokai,a high school student in Guangzhou,planned to spend his time surfing the Internet,playing basketball and watching TV.

　　But Xiaokai's parents tried to make him read some classics at home.In their yees,reading the classics would do his son much more good than other activities.

　　Though his room was full of the classic books,he had just finished reading one of them,The Old Man and the Sea.

　　"I picked up the book just because it was not very thick,"he said."Nothing impressed me at all after reading."

　　Xiaokai is not alone in today's China.Now most of the teenagers are fond of reading martial arts stories,cartoons and popular magazines.Theose classics cannot get them interested at all.

　　Parents areworrying about this phenomenon(现象).They always tell their chilren to read the classsics,which is supposed to help their children improve their academic studies.

　　Ms Li made a classics reading plan for her daughter,but her daughter refused to carry it away.She just finished less than 10 pages of the Dream of Red Chamber(阁楼) during the whole summer vacation. Ms Li sighed,"What's wrong with the children today?"

　　It is the same with teachers.One middle school Chinese teacher once prepared a chart(图表) of Interpersonal relationship in the best-known novel Dream of Red Chamber for his students. They were asked to remember how the characters are related to each other while preparing for the final exam.

　　To improve the situation in which the fastfood culture (快餐文化) seems to be winning over teenagers,parents are expected to understand their children's interests, and guide them to read the books instead of forcing them,according to some experts.It is not necessary for the kids to read the classics in their childhood.They can read classics after having their own life experience.

　　64.Xiaokai read only one classic book because _______.

　　A.he didn't have more

　　B.he wasn't interested in the classics

　　C.it took him a lot of time

　　D.he just acted on his parents' advice

　　65.When the writer says"Xiaokai is not alone",she means that ________.

　　A.many others don't like classics either

　　B.some parents and teachers support Xiaokai

　　C.Xiaokai is not the family's only child

　　D.Xiaokai often reads together with others

　　66.Which belong,or belongs,to the fastfood culture according to the article?

　　A.The old Man and the Sea.

　　B.The Dream of Red Chamber.

　　C.Martial arts stories.

　　D.The books filling up Xiaokai's room.

　　67.Who would be more likely to stand on the side of that Chinese teacher?

　　A.The students.    B.The parents.      C.The experts.     D.The writer.

　　That had made me ___1___ my childhood. I, too, had ___2___ a violin, but we didn't have the money. Even though life was ___3__ then, I couldn't wait any longer to ask, “Daddy, ___4__ I have a violin of my own?” Daddy looked sad. But a few weeks later, Daddy came home with a case, saying, “Mary, I found this ___5___ violin for seven dollars.”

　　The day I carried my ____6___ to school for my first lesson, no one could know the bursting in my ____7__. I practised, joined the school orchestra and gave ___8__ Several years seemed to pass more quickly then and I found ___9___ in the first violin chair. More years passed. My violin made every move with me, and was carefully put ___10__.

　　Now here I am ___11___ the newspaper want ad. I took out my violin and put it on the table. Then I picked up the ___12__, walked to the telephone and dialed the number 8432526.

　　Later, in the day, a man in his thirties knocked on the door. “I've been ___13___ someone would ___14___ my ad. My daughter wants a violin so badly,” he said, ___15___ my violin. “How much are you ____16__?”

　　Any music store, I knew, would offer me a higher pay. But now I heard my voice answer, “Seven dollars.”

　　“Are you ____17___?” he asked and caused me to think so much of my ___18___.“Seven dollars,” I ___19___ and added, “I hope your little girl will ___20___ it as I did.”