City College

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All high school graduates and anyone 18 years of age or older, with or without a high school diploma, are suitable for admission. Individuals under the age of 18 who possess a high school diploma are also suitable for admission.

HOW TO ENROLL IN CREDIT COURSES

New and readmitted students must complete and submit(提交)a credit admissions application form available online at www.ccsf.edu.

BEFORE YOU REGISTER:

●Learn about your skill level in English and Math through our assessment service;

●Attend an orientation(新生报到会)to hear about support services

●Meet with a counselor(adviser)to select your courses;

●Find out if you qualify for being free from the entrance examinations.

HOW TO ENROLL IN NONCREDIT COURSES

Courses in Noncredit Programs are free of charge(no enrollment fee). For information on how to enroll in noncredit courses, click here.

PARKING

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use public transit. Click here for Parking Regulations.

SERVICES

City College services include a bookstore, cafeteria, health center, tutoring center, career and transfer center, counseling, financial aid, library, learning resource center, student government offices, campus police, disabled students programs and more.

21. Which kind of the following people could not be admitted to City College?

   A. A high school graduate

   B. A sixteen boy without a high school diploma

   C. An adult without a high school diploma

   D. Anyone who possesses a high school diploma

22. What do we know about the entrance examinations from the passage?

  A. All new and readmitted students must take the examinations.

  B. Those who are poor in English and Math must take the entrance examinations.

  C. Not all the new students are required to take the entrance examinations.

  D. The entrance examinations are free of charge.

23. Where can this passage be found?

   A. In a college news report                B. In a newspaper advertisement

   C. In a tour guide                              D. On an education website.

Opera is an art form that celebrates the human voice. No other art form creates excitement and moves the heart in the way that opera does, especially when performed by a great singer. Opera is an important part of the Western classical music tradition. It uses music, words, and actions to bring a dramatic story to life. Opera started in Italy at the end of the 16th century and later became popular throughout Europe. Over the years, it has responded to various musicals. In recent decades, much wider audiences have been introduced to opera through modern recording technology. Some singers have become celebrities thanks to performing on radio, on TV, and in the cinema.

However, in recent years, opera has been facing serious challenges. One current challenge to opera is economic. The shortage of money raises the broader question of how much should be paid to support opera singers and other artists. Society seems to accept the large salaries paid to business managers and the multi-million-dollar contracts given to sports athletes. But what about opera singers? Somehow, people have the idea that artists can be creative only if they suffer in poverty, but this is unrealistic. If artists, including opera singers, lack the support they need, valuable talent is wasted.

Not only the shortage of money, but also the way money is managed in the opera world has led to hardships. Principal singers are generally paid performance fees once they complete a show. They typically receive nothing during the many weeks of rehearsal (排练) before a show starts.

Another problem faced by opera is how to meet the demands of audiences who are influenced by popular entertainment. Pop singers are often judged as much on the basis of how they look as how they sound. These demands may be unrealistic and possibly harmful. Opera singers simply cannot make a sound big enough to fill a large theater or concert hall without a microphone if their body weight is too low. Emphasizing physical appearance over singing ability may cause audiences to miss out on the human voice at its best.

There are no easy solutions to opera's problems and there are many different opinions about the value of opera. However, every year many young people register for music courses with hopes and dreams of developing their talents in this special art form. The fact that opera has survived many obstacles and continues to attract the rising generation shows that it remains a respected art form full of value.

24. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Opera singers' life stories are dramatic.

B. Opera will soon appear on TV and in films

C. Opera fans thank celebrities for performing

D. Opera develops by adapting to new conditions.

25. What can we know from Paragraphs 2 and 3?

A. Opera singers are financially insecure.

B. Opera singers waste their valuable talent.

C. Opera singers get paid before the show.

D. Opera singers perform better if they are poor.

26. What does the author try to say in Paragraph 4?

A. Popular culture has had a positive influence on opera

B. Audiences know best how opera should be performed

C. Microphones should be used to make opera more enjoyable

D. Opera singers' voices should be valued more than their looks.

27. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. The Economic Challenge to Opera

B. Opera Faced with the Difficulties

C. Opera as Part of Popular Culture

D. The Historical Context of Opera

Next time you hear a funny joke you’d better not laugh too hard. According to a paper published by the British Medical Journal, laughter isn’t always the best medicine. Sometimes it can even be harmful. Professor Robin Ferner from the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the study, found that bad things could happen to people who laughed too much. He says, “We found people with heartbeat problems which had stopped their heart, we found people who had fainted(昏倒), and we found people who’d dislocated their jaws or burst their lungs.”

It seems that laughing can be no laughing matter. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Professor Ferner says there are benefits to laughing when you want to lose weight, for example. Yes, that’s right：laugh and be slimmer! Professor Ferner explains that, “You use energy when you laugh, you move your diaphragm(横膈膜), you expand your lungs, and both those things can be helpful.”

According to the research, laughing for a quarter of an hour can burn up to 40 calories, and if you laughed all day you’d use up about 2,000 calories, which is what most people consume in a day. But don’t do that or you might end up with a painful jaw. Ouch! Or you might find people looking at you in a funny way.

But I don’t want to finish this article leaving you feeling desperate. Laughter comes naturally for most of us. Babies begin to laugh at around 3－6 months. So give in to your sense of humour and keep smiling. Life is short anyway.

28. Laughing too much may cause the following harmful results EXCEPT_________ .

A. heart stop      B. diaphragm movement     C. lung burst      D. jaw dislocation

29. The underlined phrase “doom and gloom” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________ ”.

A. hopeless       B. funny                  C. painful        D. nervous

30. How many calories can you use if you laugh for half a day?

A. About 40.       B. About 1,000.        C. About 2,000.         D. About 2,040.

31. What is the author’s attitude towards laughing in the last paragraph?

A. Uninterested.         B. Disapproving.      C. Worried.                D. Favorable.

We Chinese are not big huggers. A handshake or a pat on the shoulder is enough to convey our friendship or affection to one another. So when our newly ­acquainted Western friends reach out in preparation for a hug, some of us feel awkward.

Many questions go through our head. Where should I put my arms？Under their armpits or around their neck？What distance should I maintain？Should our chests touch?

It’s even more difficult with friends from some European countries. Should I kiss them on the cheek while hugging？Which side？Or is it both cheeks？Which side should I start on?

But it isn’t just people from cultures that emphasize a reservedness in expressing physical intimacy(亲密) who find hugging confusing. Hugs can cause discomfort or even distress in people who value their personal space.

In a recent article for The Wall Street Journal, US psychologist Peggy Drexler said that although the US remains a “medium touch” culture—“more physically demonstrative than Japan, where a bow is the all­ purpose hello and goodbye, but less demonstrative than Latin or Eastern European cultures, where hugs are strong and can include a kiss on both cheeks”, Americans do seem to be hugging more.

From politicians to celebrities, hugs are given willy –­ nilly to friends, strangers and enemies alike；and the public has been quick to pick up the practice. Public figures know that nothing projects like the ability as a good hug. US First Lady Michelle Obama has put her arms around icy foreign leaders like Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the Queen of England, on the latter occasion actually breaking the rule of royal manners.

But not all are grateful to be embraced, even by the most influential and famous. To them, any hug is offensive if it’s not sincere.

Amanda Hess, writing for US magazine Slate, says public figures should stop imposing hugs on everyone they meet. For them, a hug is rarely a gesture of sincere fellowship, compassion or affection. It’s all part of a show. Hugs are falsely intimate power plays used by public figures to establish their social dominance over those in their grasp.

Cecilia Walden, a British journalist writing for The Telegraph who lives in New York, holds the same opinion .“Power­hugging”, as she calls it, is “an offender dressed up as kindness”. It has become a fashion in the US where “bosses are already embracing their staff (either shortly before or after firing them), men and women, their friends or enemies, in a thousand cheating displays of unity”.

32. From the first four paragraphs, we can see that__________ .

A. we Chinese people don’t know how to hug

B. people from European countries often get puzzled about hugging

C. people in Western countries seldom use hugs to express their physical closeness

D. hugs can bring pressure to people when used improperly

33. The example of US First Lady Michelle Obama is given to show that________.

A. Americans hold a “medium touch” culture

B. public figures know hugging functions well in public

C. she is much liked by American people

D. hugs are forbidden in England

34. “Power­hugging” in the last paragraph actually means that _____________.

A. hugs are only used sincerely by some people with power

B. hugging is powerful to bosses in US

C. public figures sometimes use hugging just for a show of power

D. public figures can hug anyone in their grasp freely

35. What can be the best title of this passage?

A. Hugs, Vital or Not?                       B. Hugs, Tricky Affair?

C. Hugs and Public Figures                    D. Hugs and Power

How to Stay Positive

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle (奇迹). The other is as though everything is a miracle. If you choose to be positive, these ideas can be helpful.

♦ ___36___

Who in your life seems filled with positivity? Who inspires and challenges you to up your game? Consciously build a network of people who motivate you to be your best, then spend your time with them. Be that source of light for others, too.

♦ Feed yourself with positivity.

___37___ Similarly, how you fuel yourself will determine your experience as well. Read inspiring books. Watch encouraging movies. Follow positive people on social media. You can also create a physical environment of positivity.

♦ Focus on what you can control.

So much is out of our hands, isn’t it? ___38___ Determine what you can control and put your energy there. For example, you can control your responses, actions, words, and thoughts; you can be the change you wish to see in the world. You have more power than you realize. ___39___

♦ Watch your vocabulary.

Mother Teresa declined participation in an anti-war meet. When asked why, she replied that she did not want to give any attention to war, but she’d gladly participate in a pro-peace meet. ___40___ They can help you mend broken hearts and reach amazing goals.111]

Continue to feed that positive world—like Einstein said, living as though everything is a miracle—and watch life change accordingly.

A. Pay attention to your words.

B. Seek advice from positive and active people.

C. Surround yourself with positive people.

D. Focusing on that, however, can leave you feeling helpless.

E. And when you keep your focus there, that power expands.

F. Putting poor quality gas in your car will not help it run at best performance.

G. If you focus on that change, then everything will change for the better.