Chinese New Year is approaching and preparations are underway around the world. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to mark the day.

London

Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London’s Chinatown is a perfectly formed little firework that knows how to see in the year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns (灯笼), previous years have seen shows with acrobatics (杂技), martial arts (武术), dance and opera nearby.

San Francisco

San Francisco’s Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the United States. The city was the main entry-point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between the Grant Avenue and the Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Bangkok

With an about 100-year-old history, the Thai capital’s Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty treats, clothes, toys and antiques. Sunday market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road.

Mauritius

Found in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation’s rich multicultural diversity. Established in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During the Chinese Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the Dragon Dances on Rue Royale when Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional Lion dances through the streets.

21. According to the text, which of the following has the longest history?

   A. London’s Chinatown.                   B. Bangkok’s Chinatown.

   C. Mauritius’s Chinatown.                D. San Francisco’s Chinatown.

22. What’s special about Bangkok’s Chinatown?

   A. It is crowded with Chinese restaurants.

B. It is well-known for its gold business.

C. It was the major entrance for the Chinese.

D. It is where you can enjoy fireworks.

23. If you want to enjoy the Dragon Dances, you can go to ______.

   A. Rue Royale in Port Louis, Mauritius.    B. the Sunday market in Bangkok.

   C. the Grant Avenue in San Francisco.     D. the Chinese community in London.

Have you ever thought of quitting your job when you feel exhausted? Maybe most of you would say “yes”. After a particularly busy period at work, I decided to get away from it all by going on a hike in the mountains in southern France.
    Before I left, I read an interesting story in a magazine. It read, “Once, while I was riding on a crowded bus, the man sitting next to me threw his cell phone out of the window when his phone rang. I was surprised. He looked at me, shrugged (耸耸肩) and looked away. I had no idea whether it was his or stolen or whether he even knew what a cell phone was or not, but he clearly wanted to be free of it, because it clearly troubled him. ”
    Billions of people across the world use cell phones. Though cell phones are a wonderful way for communication, they often do the exact opposite. Using cell phones can increase stress within families and friends.
    So when I recently returned home, I got rid of my cell phone. Now I go outside without taking my phone with me. I’ve noticed things in my neighborhood I never noticed before, such as gardens. I’ve met new people, started conversations with neighbors I didn’t speak to before and talked with some of my friends face to face instead of chatting over the phone.
    Instead of keeping me off from the world, stopping using my cell phone has helped me get even closer to my family and friends.
24. According to the story, the man on the bus threw away his cell phone because ______.

A. it didn’t work properly                 B. it was stolen from someone else

C. he didn’t like the phone’s style           D. he didn’t want to be bothered by it

25. We can learn from the passage that cell phones ______.

A. are too expensive for many people

B. are of no use to the author

C. can also get people into trouble

D. can make life more interesting

26. What can we learn about the author?

A. He wants to own a garden now.

B. He always chatted with his neighbors.

C. He used to take his cell phone when going outside.

D. He once threw away his cell phone.

27. The main purpose of the passage is to ______.

A. tell us not to let cell phones control our lives

B. encourage others to hike with him in France

C. share his experiences in France with us

D. teach us how to get along with neighbors

If you’re ever reading a book or watching a movie and get the distinct feeling you’ve come across the story before — or even better, can predict exactly what's going to happen next — there could be a good reason for that.

Researchers from the Computational Story Laboratory at the University of Vermont studied the complete text of some 1,737 fiction works available on Project Gutenberg, an online collection of more than 50,000 digital books in the public area. They discovered that English literature consists of just six kinds of emotional arcs (情感弧线) that make up nearly all of the most well-known stories. By analysing the sentiment (情感) of language used in these texts, the researchers were able to show the emotional ups and downs for the stories as a whole. They discovered that negative words like “poverty”, “dead”, and “punishment” dragged the emotion down, while positive terms like “love”, “peace”, and “friend” brought it up.

According to the researchers, those six core (核心的) emotional arcs are:

· “Rags to riches” (An ongoing emotional rise)

· “Tragedy, or riches to rags” (An ongoing emotional fall)

· “Man in a hole” (A fall followed by a rise)

· “Icarus” (A rise followed by a fall)

· “Cinderella” (Rise–fall–rise)

· “Oedipus” (Fall–rise–fall)

Interestingly, based on download statistics from Project Gutenberg, the researchers say the most popular stories are ones that use more complex emotional arcs, with the “Cinderella” and “Oedipus” arcs registering the most downloads. Also popular are works that combine these core arcs together in new ways within one story, such as two “Man in a hole” arcs stuck together, or the “Cinderella” arc coupled with a tragic ending.

28.Readers often feel familiar when reading a new story because stories have similar ______.

    A. beginnings       B. endings          C. characters       D. emotional arcs

29. How did researchers carry out their study?

A. By conducting surveys among readers.

B. By reading books borrowed from libraries.

C. By analysing works from an online collection.

D. By interviewing authors of the well-known stories.

30. Which set of works may drag emotion down?

A. Hope, fortune and riches.                B. Disease, murder and war.

C. Smile, health and beauty.                D. Cold, earthquake and spring.

31. According to the last paragraph, which kind of works are most popular among readers?

A. Works with an ongoing emotional rise.    B. Works with an ongoing emotional fall.

C. Works with a rise followed by a fall.    D. Works with more than one rise and fall.

Winston Churchill is probably the most popular British prime minister ever. Having served as a soldier and politician, he is often considered among the greatest of Britons. While his heroic stand against the Nazis is well known, there are still a few facts about the popular politician that might surprise you.

    His Cigars     

    The classic image of Winston Churchill includes a giant cigar stuck between his lips. Churchill developed his love of cigars as a young man, when he traveled to Cuba. For the rest of his life, he smoked eight or nine cigars every day. However, he almost never took a puff (吸,抽), preferring to chew on the end until it went out, then relight it and start again. To prevent the cigar from becoming soggy(湿软的), Churchill invented the “bellybando,” a strip of brown paper which could be glued around the end.

    At any given time, Churchill had 3,000 to 4,000 cigars in his house, mostly his favorite Romeo & Juliet brand. On one occasion, the president of Cuba presented Churchill with 2,400 top-quality cigars, although his security team insisted one cigar from each box be sent off and tested for poison. Perhaps the story that best shows his love of cigars occurred during World War II, when he had a special oxygen mask designed so that he could still smoke his cigar on a high-altitude flight.

His Black Dog

    Throughout his life, Churchill probably suffered from depression , which he called his “black dog. ” At times, his depression was so severe that he didn’t like standing close to a passing train or looking at the ocean from a ship because he feared he would commit suicide.

When he was depressed, Churchill would almost spend a great deal of time in bed and lose his ability to concentrate. However, when not depressed, Churchill was full of energy, usually working and talking until the early hours of the morning. He often described how “all the colors come back into the picture”.

32. Why did Churchill’s security team insist on checking the cigars?

A. To test if they were safe for Churchill.

B. To see if they were of the best quality.

C. To make sure they were Churchill’s favorite.

D. To guarantee they were not out of date.

33. Which of the following best shows Churchill’s love of cigars?

A. He fell in love with cigars at a young age.

B. He smoked many cigars every day.

C. He invented the “bellybando”.

D. He had an oxygen mask specially designed for smoking.

34. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A. Churchill became energetic again.

B. Churchill remained depressed.

C. Churchill drew colorful pictures.

D. Churchill liked to talk about colors.

35. What is probably the best title of the passage?

A. Achievements of Churchill            B. Anecdotes about Churchill

C. Personalities of Churchill               D. Hobbies of Churchill

The teenage years can be a very confusing time filled with anxiety, especially in high school. Here are some powerful tips which can help you succeed in the years.

Know yourself and pick a direction. You may be faced with too many choices in your life and it’s unwise to try everything.    36    Consider all the benefits that it brings into your life and then see how you can develop your passion into a possible career option.

Get away from the friends that offer poisonous advice and negativity. There is no place for that kind of behaviour at any stage of your life.   37   This does wonders for self-confidence and overall positivity.

Read as much as you can.    38   Stop spending hours in watching your favorite TV shows and instead use that time to invest in yourself by reading. You’ll notice in a few days how you begin to see things in a different light.

   39   I am 19 years old, so I understand just how much time can be wasted on technology, especially the Internet and cellphones. Once you spend less time doing things that add no value to your life and instead spend that time enriching yourself, your life begins to shape and turn into exactly what you want it to be.

Make mistakes. Look at a mistake you’ve made from every possible angle and take the lessons from it. Your teenage years are meant to be spent getting to know yourself.   40   It’s okay to make mistakes.

A. Try different things.

B. Just focus on your favorite.

C. Work hard to improve your scores.

D. Limit the time spent on social media.

E. You can’t achieve this by trying to be perfect all the time.

F. Pick up a book on anything that expands your knowledge base.

G. And you should value yourself highly enough to get rid of these people.