As young Chinese increasingly forget how to write characters because they don't have to, using keyboards and touch screen technology on mobile phones is changing the trend.     For Yin Liang, a 26-year-old purchasing agent at a company, his embarrassment over forgetting how to write characters has gradually disappeared since he started to use the handwriting input method on his iPhone 4 a month ago.     "When you write on the touch screen, you use your finger, instead of a mouse or keyboard," Yin says.     "Actually, your finger is like a pen, writing the complicated characters that have long been spelled by pinyin, an alphabet-based input system. Whether typing on computers or texting on phones, most users in China type by phonetically  spelling out the sounds of the characters and the software then gives a menu of characters that fit the pronunciation, so users only need to recognize the character. Handwriting technology on a mobile phone touch screen has been around for years and became popular with the iPhone, which recognizes the input and offers a wide selection of characters. "It's efficient and accurate," Yin says.     Chinese characters are the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world, but as pinyin-based typing has become more widespread, youths have started forgetting how to write out characters. This was one of the main topics for debate at the first Cross-Straits Chinese Character Art Festival, held recently in Beijing, which attracted experts from Taiwan and the mainland.     According to Zhang Zikang, president of the Culture and Art Publishing House, writing with a pen on the touch screen brings handwriting into the digital age. It is even better when you write with your finger, feeling the flow of the cursive script and the grace and art of Chinese characters, he says. "Smart gadgets don't take life from the square-shaped characters, instead they offer a new and advanced platform to show the charm of Chinese characters, which are always evolving," Zhang says. The passage probably can be seen in a   _  . A) novel B) science fiction C) magazine D) fairy tale
C


(Question)
A woman renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was asked to state her occupation.She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. "What I mean is," explained the recorder, "do you have a job, or are you just a ..." "Of course I have a job," said Emily."I'm a mother." "We don't list 'mother' as an occupation... 'housewife' covers it," said the recorder. One day I found myself in the same situation.The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title."What is your occupation?" she asked. The words simply popped out."I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations." The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair. I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire. "Might I ask, "  said the clerk with new interest, "Just what you do in this field?" Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn't), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out).Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it).But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money." There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out. As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up   by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable   to mankind than "just another mother." Motherhood...What a glorious career!  Especially when there's a title on the door. Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author? A) Because the author cared little about rewards. B) Because she admired the author's research work in the lab. C) Because she thought the author did admirable work. D) Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.
(Answer)
C


Ques: Wolves travel in groups, and they perform almost all the other activities of their lives in the company of fellow wolves. This is one of the most important facts that modern science have learned about wolves and one of the things that most clearly explain their way of life. The pack is usually a family group. It is made up of animals related to each other by blood. The centre of a pack is a pair of wolves----an adult male and female that have produced young. The other members of the pack are their offspring  : young wolves ranging in age from pups to two- and three-year-olds. Most packs have 6 or 7 members, although some may include as many as 15 wolves. Relationships among creatures that live close together in groups are often very complex, and this is true of the ties that connect the members of a wolf pack. Scientific studies of captive  wolves and wolf packs in the wild have shown that many complex rules of behavior seem to govern the way that the animals relate to each other. When wolf pups are born into a pack, one of the most important things they must learn is the "language" of the group, the method by which pack members keep in touch with each other, sharing information and communicating their feelings. Scientists have discovered that wolves have a very complex system of communication. The most famous wolf sound is, of course, the howl, and it is a very important part of wolf language. When people think about howling, they usually imagine a sad, lonely sound made by a wolf sitting all alone on a hilltop in the moonlight. However, this picture in most human beings' mind is not completely true. Wolves howl at any time, not just at night, and they often howl together, not alone. Group or chorus howling is another means by which the members of a wolf reaffirm  their ties with each other and their closeness as a group. One wolf----often the male leader----will point its nose at the sky, open its mouth, and start to howl. Immediately the other members of the pack rush to stand beside him, shoulder to... When will wolves howl according to the passage? A) Only during the night. B) When separated from the pack C) When there is moonlight D) While on their way to tracking prey
Ans: B


When the famous dancer Fred was interviewed for a job by a Hollywood producer , the movie Expert  turned him down, saying,"Can't sing. Can't act. Dances a little." Here's another stupid mistake. When the great scientist Albert Einstein was at school, his teachers considered him rather dull. And a final story, the famous Polish pianist Paderewski was told by a teacher that he'd never be a success as a performer because the middle finger on each hand was too short. What lessons can be drawn from these three experiences?  First, true genius  cann't be suppressed .For some reason or other it works its way out. Second, early judgments of a person's abilities may be unfair or just wrong. Third, when there is a real determination to succeed, obstacles fall by the wayside. The famous motto "ad astra per aspera" can be translated as " To the stars through hardships". Astaire, Einstein and Paderewski proved their critics wrong. The writer of the passage thinks that the reader  _  . A) Knows that the three men were successful men B) Dreams to become like one of the men some day C) Sympathizes with   the poor teachers of the three men D) Knows that Fred Astaire was an actor famous for performing Shakespeare's plays

A