If you speak to Benjamin K.hammer on the phone, you would think you were talking to a person who had lived in a Chinese-speaking environment since childhood, as he uses Mandarin’s four tones correctly.

But Hammer started learning Mandarin when he was a high school senior in San Jose,California. Since there were no Chinese-related courses at his high school in the 1990s, Hammer studied Mandarin in a community school’s night classes.

“In the United States, people are curious about Eastern culture, such as the culture of religion, Kung fu and traditional Chinese medicine,” Hammer said.

Hammer is one of the US citizens who show a great interest in Chinese culture.In addition to Mandarin, he learned Kung fu from a Chinese teacher when he was a student at American University in Washington.He got his Chinese name, Meng Weilong, from his Kung fu teacher.

At American university, Hammer majored in (專業(yè)主修) international relations, and selected Chinese as his foreign language without any hesitation. From then on, Hammer spent more time and effort in learning Chinese than he did on his major.

“Chinese and English belong to different language families. Learning Chinese is a great challenge, but I do like it. It’s rare that a Western foreigner can speak Chinese very well. I believe learning Chinese, rather than Spanish, can make me stand out from my friends. That makes me fel so great,” he said.

Hammer received his master’s degree in Chinese Classical Philology(中國古典文獻(xiàn)學(xué)) at Shandong University and spent another four years getting his doctorate(博士學(xué)位) in the same major from Peking University.

Now the 37-year-old man works as a teacher at the Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies of Shandong University in Jinan. He is also the assistant editor of the English version of the Journal of Chinese Humanities.

【1】Hammer is a foreigner who was born and grew up in China, isn’t he?

_______,______________________________________________________

【2】Where did Hammer first start to learn Mandarin as a high school student?

____________________________________________________________

【3】What Eastern culture attracts Hammer and some other US citizens?

___________________________________________________________

【4】Why do many westerners find it difficult to learn Chinese?

___________________________________________________________

【5】What does the phrase “stand out” in paragraph 6 probably mean?

__________________________________________________________

【6】What kind of impression has Hammer left on you? Please find the proofs from the passage.

I think ________________________________________________________

【1】Sometimes watching TV can open our __________(頭腦) and eyes.

【2】There wasn’t __________(任何人) there.

【3】We live in the twenty-first __________(世紀(jì)).

【4】My little brother is a Young __________(先鋒). He enjoys doing good things.

【5】He __________(解決) the problem alone yesterday.

【1】hero, they, become, my

____________________________________________.

【2】showed, invent, he, an, me

____________________________________________.

【3】be, in a city, my, born, friend

____________________________________________.

【4】help, my, with, Tom, English, me

____________________________________________.

【5】you, one, can, people, aid, give

____________________________________________?

Saint Mary’s School Library

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4;30pm

Resources:

12,000 books

6 net-worked computers

Newspapers (Guardian,starts,Times)

Magazines(focus,digest,New Scientist)

Borrowing

Students can borrow up to 2 books at a time.

Students on the Learning Support List can borrow 5 books a a time.

Students may renew books by bringing them to the Library.

Teacher may borrow up to 20 books at a time.

Using the library

Teachers are welcome to book the Library for classes .Book Boxes for topics for use in the classroom can be prepared if it is not convenient to visit the Library.

Small groups of pupils (at most 6)may be sent to the Library during the lesson to borrow/return books or to ressearch a topic.

Library Rules

Students must leave their schoolbags in the bag store in the Library entrance.

Food ,sweets,drink are not allowed in the Library.

Students are expected to behave nicely and respect other stufents’ need to study quietly.

Library services

The Library has a photocopier for staff and students use.Costs are:

5 pence for A4 sheet

10 pence for A3 sheet

【1】We can know the passage it is ____.

A.an advertisementB.a piece of newsC.an introductionD.an instruction

【2】The Library is open to students and teachers_____.

A.every dayB.only at weekendC.eight hours a dayD.after school

【3】which of the following resources is not provided by the Library?

A.Books and magazinesB.Video and CDS.C.Newspapers.D.Online resources.

【4】Ulike the students ,teachers can borrow ____books at most.

A.2B.3C.6D.20

【5】We can conclude that this Library is_____.

A.In need of money because the use of a photocopier is not free of charge

B.Traditional because there is no signs of morden technology to support learning

C.Helpful because it encourages students and teachers to make good use of it

D.Strict with the students because they have to obey many unreasonable rules

With smiling eyes, quick minds and good humor, Jia Ling seems like a natural crosstalk performer（相聲演員）.

Jia Ling was born on April 29th, 1982 in the city of Xiangyang, Hubei Province. Having studied acting since she was 11, Jia Ling was admitted to the nation’s top drama college —The Central Academy of Drama when she was 19, but she c【1】 to learn crosstalk there.

Jia Ling is not an overnight success. After graduation in 2003, she was living in a basement that was just eight square meters and without a bathroom. However, Feng Gong, who is one of the top crosstalk performers in China, opened the door to her success. He provided her with o【2】 to perform. Jia Ling seized(抓住) the chances she was offered and worked hard to improve her skills.

As an excellent performer, the young lady first took part in the Spring Festival Gala in 2010. W【3】 her unique（獨(dú)特的） style and great sense of humor, Jia Ling is loved by many people. Since her crosstalk is unique, fashionable and attractive, she becomes more and more p【4】.

Besides performing as a crosstalk performer, Jia Ling is also a talented actress. She has s【5】 acted in several TV series. “My acting experience has given my crosstalk more creativity and inspiration,” Jia Ling said.

Now, Jia Ling has become one of the top crosstalk performers in China. She is trying so hard that crosstalk can s【6】 to more people. She has founded her own club called New Laughter Inn. There people can enjoy traditional or m【7】 crosstalk performances. She hopes it can influence her generation and even the next generation and let more and more people fall in love with crosstalk.

Jia Ling is proud of being a crosstalk performer and she says she is positive about the future of crosstalk because people will always want to laugh.

Every year,our school has a dance for all the students.It’s a little funny seeing friends in clean shoes and trousers or colorful dresses,instead of the usual school uniform.

Most of us think the dance is great fun--even the teachers enjoy being there._________,two weeks ago someone said that there would be no live band this year----only CDS.

“I don’t believe it!’Amy cried out during the lunch break.’Someone said the school couldn’t _______a band,and they think it’s too noisy anyway.’added Daniel.

“Well,I don’t think it’s good enough without a band!said Angela,’and I’m going to see what can be done”

Angela was as good as her word.In the afternoon she went_______to see the school headmaster who agreed to give the situation some more thought.And he suggested that one possibility for having a band was to increase the price ticket from$5 to$10.Angela had to find out whether the students would like to do that.

“I need all of you to help me,” she told our group before school the next day.

“Mr.Berry gave me a list of all the names,and suggested we ask each other their_______ about the band and the extra cost.”During the day we asked around as Angela suggested,and wrote down people”s feelings about the band and the cost.

We were amazed how much support there was for the band and_______agreed to pay the extra $5.”I’m surprised”smiled Mr.Berry,when we gave him the results.’I really thought that only a few people wanted their band and that the cost would be too high.OK.Angela,your next task is to find a good band and line them up for the dance.’

Angela jumped_______and broke the news to Amy and Daniel.’You’re amazing,’smiled Daniel to Angela as he thought how close they came to having a less than perfect dance.

【1】A.BesidesB.HoweverC.ThereforeD.Finally

【2】A.affordB.fromC.helpD.book

【3】A.regularlyB.quietlyC.immediatelyD.Slowly

【4】A.taskB.abilityC.opinionD.experience

【5】A.everyoneB.anyoneC.someoneD.no one

【6】A.in horrorB.with joyC.in surpriseD.with anger

【1】The old man is____ (die).A doctor must be sent for.

【2】Remember____(call) us when you get there.

【3】Wearing red can help you make a____ (decide).

【4】Heilongjiang is a ____ (north) city of China.

【5】Now Mom feels much better after taking the ____ (medical).

【1】Today I feel much_________ （good）．

【2】Please be quiet．The baby is__________ （sleep）．

【3】He came into the room very__________ （quiet）．

【4】He felt__________ （terrible）sorry for what he said．

【5】Do you have anything__________ （speak）at this meeting？

【1】My brother seldom put his toys in the right place.(改為反義疑問句）

My brother seldom put his toys in the right place, ______ _______?

【2】Millions of people visited the website to purchase things at the shopping gala.(改為被動(dòng)句）

The website_____ ______ by Millions of people to purchase things at the shopping gala

【3】Michael borrowed 3 books from the school library last week(保持句意基本不變）

Michael ____ ______ 3 books from the school library for a week

【4】We can make cartoon faces come to life by giving them different expressions. (對(duì)劃線部分提問）

______ ______ you make cartoon faces come to life?

【5】The thief finally said that he stole the valuable necklace from the lady. （保持句意基本不變）

The thief finally ____ _______ the valuable necklace from the lady.

【6】Did Maggie fly to New York on her own? He wondered.(合并兩句為一句）

He wondered if Maggie ___ _______to New York on her own.

【7】with, books, are, pictures, welcome,always , kids among, young(連詞成句)

___________________________________________________________.

B:

A.That’s all right.B.Are you kidding?C.Don’t mention itD.All right.