American teenager Thomas Cheatham had planned to study Latin during his sophomore year at Hebron High School in Texas. But when he learned that the school district was going to offer a Mandarin class, he quickly changed his mind. "I thought it (Mandarin) would be more beneficial than Latin," said Cheatham, who is now in his second year of studying the language. He speaks Mandarin to order food at Chinese restaurants and can read Face book posts from his Chinese-speaking friends. While it'a difficult language to master, the high school junior, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be a valuable thing in his career. "Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power," he said. Many experts agree that proficiency in a language spoken by a billion people worldwide will give American students an edge in the global economy. "People are looking at China as our next economic competitor, and interest in Mandarin is growing,'' said Marty Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. ''We're seeing it in all parts of the country." The number of students studying Mandarin in public schools nationwide in grades 7 through 12 grew from 20,000 in 2004-2005 to 60,000 three years later, according to the council's most recent survey. Abbott estimates that as many as 100,000 students are now studying Mandarin, in public and private schools, throughout the nation. She said the US government has considered Mandarin to be an "important needs" language and provides professional development programs for teachers. "Our government wants to increase our language ability for national security and economic competitiveness," Abbott said. At the same time, the Chinese government is spreading knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes established in many states. The Confucius Institute at the University of Texas in Dallas, founded in 2007, opens Confucius Classrooms at 11 local public and private schools where more... What does the passage mainly talk about? A) An increasing number of students in America are learning Mandarin. B) Confucius Institutes have been established in many states in America. C) Latin is less popular in America now. D) China now is becoming a growing power.
A
(Question)
The Parthenon in Athens is a building with a long and complex history. Built nearly 2,500 years ago as a temple celebrating the Greek goddess Athena, it was for thousands of years the church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque , and finally a ruin. The building was changed and the sculptures much damaged over the centuries. By 1800 only about half of the original sculptural decoration remained. Between 1801 and 1805, Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire , which controlled Athens, acting with the full knowledge and permission of the Ottoman authorities,removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and from the building itself. Lord Elgin loved Greek history and transported the sculptures back to Britain. The arrival of the sculptures in London had a huge effect on the European public, greatly increasing interest in ancient Greek culture and influencing contemporary artistic trends. These sculptures were gained from Lord Elgin by the British Museum in 1816 and since then they have all been on show to the public, free of charge. Since the early 1980s, however, the Greek government has argued for the return of all the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum. They have also challenged the British Museum Board of Trustees' legal title to the sculptures. The British Museum, however, insists that it exists to tell the story of cultural achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day. The museum considers itself an important resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its collection allows the world public to re-examine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected world cultures. It also says that, within the context of this unparalleled collection, the Parthenon sculptures are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilization. Each year millions of visitors admire the artistry of the sculptures and gain insights on how ancient Greece influenced --... What can we learn about Lord Elgin from the passage? A) He is greatly admired in Greece. B) He worked for the Ottoman Empire. C) He saved the Parthenon sculptures from being destroyed. D) He had a deep interest in Greek culture.
(Answer)
D
Ques: Du Kun,a Chinese boy is called"the youngest writer in the world."He has written three books till now.Du Kun was born in Jiangsu in 1994.When he was 7 months old.his parents started working in over 30 different cities,such as xi'an and Shenzhen.This kind of life gave him things to think and write about.When he was 9 months old,he could speak and at the age of one,he could say five to six hundred words.At three,he could look up words in the dictionary.At four,his father taught him how to learn by himself.His parents like reading very much.So does he.At the age of 5,he began writing fairy tales.At the age of 6.he wrote a novel about his life in different cities with his parents.His fairy tales are all from his life.One day,he found many mice in the house.They not only ate their food but also hurt his mother's hand.So he thought,"If we give mice the stomach of cows,they will eat grass and they will be helpful to people."This was his first fairy tales Change Stomach for Mice.Now he studies well in a middle school. He has written his third book.The novel called Eyes of Children.He says," _ ,I just wrote several books." Du Kun began to use a dictionary, _ . A) when he wrote fairy tales B) before his father taught him how to learn something C) after he went to school D) after his mother taught him how to learn something
Ans: B
Question: The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the earth. On 17 July, a piece of 4 kilometers wide comet enters the Earth's atmosphere with a massive explosion . About half of the piece is destroyed, but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the seabed. Huge waves are created and spread outwards form the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned . Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina. Earthquakes and volcanoes ash set off in the Andes Mountains. The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes. Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead, but the north won't escape for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. The sun won't be seen again for many years. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later, no more than 10 million people remain alive. Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn't live through the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the same end? By giving the example of dinosaurs, the author tries to prove _ . A) animals could not live in the cold climate B) what happened 65 million years ago was an invented story C) the human beings will die out in 2094 D) the Earth could be hit by other objects in space
Answer:
D