If you are looking for a day trip with the family, here's a list of festivals and fairs happening within a reasonable drive from Charlotte. Hopscotch Music Festival Where: Downtown Raleigh(various places) When: Today---Saturday Highlights: This music festival features performances by more than 175 national and international bands playing in 15 different places, all within walking distance. Music _ will include rock, hip-hop, heavy metal, dance, classical, folk and everything in between. Admission: $10--$30 Details: www.hopscotchmusicfest.com Flatwoods festival Where: 451 Peach Tree Toad, Bennett When: 10 am. Saturday--5 pm Sunday Highlights: This annual festival, which is in its 15thyear, features family fun, food and horse rides. There will also be musical entertainment and a grand parade with cars, trucks, tractors, horse-drawn vehicles, floats, farm equipment and more. Admission: On Saturday, free; on Sunday, $5 for ages 13 and under. Details: 919-548-5192; www.visitpittsboro.com NC Mountain State Fair Where: 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher When: Various times, today---Sept.16 Highlights: In celebration of the people, agriculture, art and traditions that make our region great, the fair offers performances and even a man who carves artwork with a saw. Admission:$7; $3 for kids 6---12 and seniors Details: 828-687-1414; www.mountainfair.org Where can visitors see a special kind of artwork? A) Charlotte. B) Downtown Raleigh. C) Bennett. D) Fletcher.
D


(Question)
If you have ever been sad because of failure,please remember,for often,achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing. A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house.As he was working,a couple of older boys stopped by to watch."What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors."I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly.The older boys began to laugh,telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.After a while,the boy picked up a jar.He showed it to the visitors.It was full of spiders,worms and other insects.Then he said quietly and confidently,"Even if I can't dig all the way through the earth,look what I found along the way!" The boy's goal was far too difficult,but it did cause him to dig.And that is what a goal is for--to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen,in other words,to cause us to dig! Not every goal will be fully achieved.Not every job will end successfully.Not every dream will come true.Not every love will last.But when you fall short of your aim,maybe you can say,"Yes,but look what I found along the way!Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived.And I believe it is joy in the journey that really matters. The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be   _  . A) brave B) impolite C) foolish D) warmhearted
(Answer)
C


Ques: Around twenty years ago I was going through hard times. I could not find a satisfying job. To my shame, I had to drive a school bus to make ends meet and lived in a friend's house. One afternoon, while driving through a quiet suburban   neighborhood I was so sad that I kept asking myself "Why has my life become so hard?" "What's wrong with the world?" Then I pulled over the bus to drop off a little girl and as she passed she handed me a pretty earring, saying she found it on the floor of the bus and I should keep it in case the owner came to look for it. In the evening, the owner did come to look for her earring. When I handed it to her, she got very excited and continued saying "Thanks, you're a real gentleman." I told her that she should thank the little girl who had found it. She said, "Yes, and you are a good driver, too. What a lovely world it is!" Then she left with satisfaction. I was touched by her last words. I had thought something was wrong with the world just because of my poor condition. In fact, nothing was wrong with the world. I should change my attitude towards life. I should be positive about life. At first it was hard, and then it got easier. Every day I could find things to make me happy. Then one night there was a phone call for me at my friend's house from a lady who was a manager in a large hospital. She said she had read my application form and asked me if I would like to work in the hospital. I said yes and got the job. Looking back at the experience I know the most important is to have a positive attitude towards life. What does the author want to show in this passage? A) Lost things should be returned to the owner. B) Life is usually hard for the young at the beginning. C) One should hold a positive attitude towards life. D) It is not easy to find a good job nowadays.
Ans: C


In tough economic times, school counselors   don't just wait for students to come to their offices in search of college brochures, health pamphlets or other help. These days, they are looking for at-risk kids to prevent personal or academic troubles before they arise. Nowadays, students and families need the guidance more than ever.  Counselors play a steadying role in schools as the economy weighs on families, college admission becomes even more competitive, immigration continues to reshape the population and state-testing pressures many students. They use computers to search through attendance data, grades and standardized test scores for kids who might need extra help.  Schlatter, director of guidance and counseling at Prince William County's Woodbridge Senior High School, has checked attendance records against grades and test results to start peer groups   for students who are failing classes but not skipping them. She said group counseling is another way to reach more students though it can be difficult. "Kids really do start helping and sharing with each other."  At Fairfax High School, counselors found through surveys that students who transferred   to the school after ninth grade enjoyed school significantly less than those who had been there all four years. The counseling staff set up a special program and group for new arrivals in response, said Marcy Miller, the school's director of student services. Counseling staff members also have started small study groups for students to prepare for state Standards of Learning exams, which Miller said have helped raise test scores. She said that some of the newest counselors have had some of the freshest ideas. What would the author most probably discuss in the following part? A) What assistance they can offer. B) The significance of their counseling job. C) Other approaches to counseling at-risk kids. D) The barriers of counseling the students with troubles.

C