While English is getting more important in our schools, Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. But Chinese can be more difficult to learn. At least 16-year-old Piao Chenglong thinks so. "English is easier for me. Chinese characters  have too many strokes ," said Piao. "But I want to learn it. I want to study at Peking University when I grow up." Piao is from South Korea. He came to China in 2008. In South Korea, there are more than 300000 Chinese learners like Piao. Some South Korean students begin to learn to write the language on their first day at school. To help students learn Chinese, South Korea holds speaking competitions for high school students every year. Chinese isn't just popular in South Korea. People from all the world want to learn it. The Chinese Ministry of Education says that nearly 130 million people from 85 countries are learning Chinese. This number will be increasing to 800 million in the coming years. In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. Some American middle schools have Chinese classes. Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots . Some even try to write and draw in Chinese way! People want to learn Chinese because China is becoming such an important country. Foreign countries want to understand China better to help them with business. The Chinese government is also helping the world learn Chinese. It has sent more than 200 Chinese teachers to more than 60 countries in the world. Many more Confucious College  will be set up in the world. These colleges will teach Chinese to foreign students. Where does Piao Chenglong come from? A) China B) America C) South Korea D) Spain
C


Girls can easily get sad. If your friend is feeling blue and calls you, what will you do? Here are some tips on how you can make her smile again. Listen to her. When people feel sad, they often have the feeling of needing to be heard. So, listen carefully to what she is saying and do nothing else. Your friend will surely thank you for being the shoulder she can cry on.    Once you are done with listening, you can offer some advice or remain silent and let her feel everything and let it all out by crying. As a friend, you might think you should give her some advice. But if you have no idea about what to say, just remain silent and be there for her.    In order to be able to help your friend in need, don't be sad for yourself. How can you help your friend when you are also feeling down?    A hug can make a difference in the word. It makes you feel warm and special. A hug makes you feel safe. So give your friend a hug when she needs it the most.    Spend more time with your friend who wants to be happy. Do things together like washing dishes, cleaning, or going out for fun. The more time you spend together, the stronger your friendship will become.    Sometimes, it is much better that you avoid a crying friend in your life. But by doing so, you are also keeping your friend at a distance and will make her wonder if you are her true friend. If you are there when she needs you, your friendship will be much stronger. We can learn from the passage that  _  . A) Hugging a sad friend can make you feel warm and special. B) Your sad friend may feel much better if you also sad. C) It's not a good idea to be silent facing a sad friend. D) Giving a hug to a sad friend is very helpful.
D


Q: About this time every year, I get very nostalgic . Walking through my neighborhood on a fall afternoon reminds me of a time not too long ago when sounds of children filled the air, children playing games on a hill, and throwing leaves around in the street below. I was one of those children, carefree and happy. I live on a street that is only one block long. I have lived on the same street for sixteen years. I love my street. One side has six houses on it, and the other has only two houses, with a small hill in the middle and a huge cottonwood tree on one end. When I think of home, I think of my street. Only I see it as it was before. Unfortunately things change. One day, not long ago, I looked around and saw how different everything has become. Life on my street will never be the same because neighbors are quickly grown old, friends are growing up and leaving, and the city is planning to destroy my precious hill and sell the property to contractors. It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won't be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to those people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at once I thought they would live forever. The "comings and goings" of the younger generation of my street are now mostly "goings" as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world... The writer calls up the memory of the street   _  . A) every year when autumn comes B) in the afternoon every day C) every time he walks along his street D) now that he is an old man
A: A


Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the largest cities in the world. It is also one of the world's most modern cities. Twice last century, the city was destroyed and rebuilt. In 1923 a major earthquake struck the city. Thousands of people were killed and millions were left homeless as buildings collapsed and fires broke out throughout Tokyo. It took seven years to rebuild the city. During World War II, Tokyo was destroyed once again. As a result of these disasters, there is nothing of old Tokyo remaining in the downtown area. After the war, the people of Tokyo began to rebuild their city. Buildings went up at a fantastic rate, and between1945 and 1960, the city's population more than doubled. Because of the Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964, many new stadiums, parks and hotels were built to treat visitors from all over the world. As a result of this rapid development, however, many problems have risen. Housing shortage, pollution, and waste disposal  have presented serious challenges to the city, but the government has begun several programs to answer them. What major  event(s) happened in Tokyo last century? A) Its population was doubled. B) It was twice destroyed by natural disasters and was twice rebuilt. C) Serious social problems emerged. D) It was ruined by an earthquake and a war, but was twice rebuilt.

D