Join in the holiday fun at the powerhouse this month linked to our new exhibition, Evolution & Revolution : Chinese dress 1700s to now. DON’T FORGET our other special event, the Club Med Circus School which is part of the Circus! 150 years of circus in Australia exhibition experience !

◆ Chinese Folk Dancing: Colorful Chinese dance and musical performances by The Chinese Folk Dancing School of Sydney. Dances include: the Golden stick dance and the Chinese drum dance. A feature will be the Qin dynasty Emperor’s court dance. Also included is a show of face painting for Beijing opera performances.

Sunday 29 June and Wednesday 2 July in the Turbine Hall, at 11:30 am & 1:30 pm.

◆ Australian Chinese Children’s Arts Theatre: Well-known children’s play experts from Shanghai lead this dynamic youth group. Performances include Chinese fairy tales and plays.

Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 July in the Turbine Hall, at 11:30 am & 1:30 pm.

◆ Chinese Youth League: A traditional performing arts group featuring performance highlights such as the Red scarf and Spring flower dances, and a musician playing Er Hu.

Sunday 6 to Tuesday 8 July in the Turbine Hall, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

◆ Kids Activity: Make a Paper Horse: Young children make a paper horse cut-out. (The horse is a frequent theme in Chinese painting, indicating a kind of advancement. ) Suitable for ages 8-12 years.

Sunday 28 June to Tuesday 8 July in the Turbine Hall, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.

◆ Club Med Circus School: Learn circus skills, including the trapeze, trampolining and magic. Note only for children over 5: There are 40 places available in each 1 hour session and these must be booked at the front desk, level 4, on the day.

Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 July at 11:30 am & 1:00 pm.

Enjoy unlimited free visits and many other benefits by becoming a family member of the Powerhouse. Our family memberships cover two adults and all children under the age of 16 years at the one address. Members receive powerline, our monthly magazine, discounts in the shops and the restaurants, as well as free admission to the Museum. All this for as little as $50.00 a year! Call (02)9217 0600 for more details.

1.When can you watch the Chinese drum dance?

A. On July 2.B. On July 3.C. On July 6.D. On July 8.

2.To learn the magic tricks, you can go to __________.

A. Kids Activity

B. Chinese Youth League

C. Club Med Circus School

D. Children’s Arts Theatre

3.What is required if you want to enjoy free visits to the Museum?

A. Calling (02)92170600.

B. Gaining family membership.

C. Coming for the holiday fun.

D. Paying powerline $50.00 a year.

4.What is the main purpose of the text?

A. To attract visitors.

B. To present schedules.

C. To report the performances.

D. To teach kids Chinese arts.

Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (襯墊) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.

2.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ________.

A. keep her appointment with the eye doctor

B. meet her father who was already an old man

C. join in the holiday celebration of the company

D. finish her work before the deadline approached

3.The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. avoidedB. lackedC. abandonedD. took

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Emotional Well-being

B. The Two Saddest Words

C. The Most Useful Rule

D. The Peace of Mind

Often a nickname is a shortened form of a person's name, and it can also be a descriptive name for a place or a thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help build up an identity, spread pride among citizens and build their unity. Nicknames can also be funny.

Los Angeles, California is the second largest city in population, after New York City. Los Angeles has several nicknames. One is simply the city's initials, L.A. It is also called the City of Angels because Los Angeles means "the angels" in Spanish.

Los Angeles often has warm, sunny weather. So another nickname is City of Flowers and Sunshine. New York is called The Big Apple. So Los Angeles is sometimes called The Big Orange because of the fruit that grows in that city's warm climate.

The American movie and television industries are based in Los Angeles. So it is not surprising that it is called The Entertainment Capital of the World. Many films are made in the area of Los Angeles called Hollywood. Millions of people visit the area. No trip to Los Angeles is perfect without seeing the word "Hollywood" spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.

Many movie stars live in Los Angeles. The city is sometimes called Tinseltown. This nickname comes from the shiny, bright and often unreal nature of Hollywood and the movie industry.

Another nickname for Los Angeles is La-La Land, using the first letters of Los and Angeles. This means a place that is fun and not serious, and maybe even out of touch with reality.

A good place for watching unusual-looking people is Venice, an area on the west side of Los Angeles. A system of waterways designed after the Italian city of Venice has been built there. Many people love Los Angeles for its warm sunny weather, beautiful mountains and beaches, and movie stars. That includes Randy Newman, who sings about his hometown.

On the whole, Los Angeles is growing attractive just for its rich nicknames.

1.Choose the one that isn’t the function of a nickname of a place.

A. Uniting surrounding cities.

B. Entertainment.

C. Bringing pride to the locals.

D. Establishing characteristics.

2.Which of the following can best replace the underlined sentence?

A. Seeing the big letters "Hollywood" on a hillside means you've been really to Los Angeles.

B. Not seeing the word "Hollywood" on a hillside means you haven't been to Los Angeles.

C. If you visit Los Angeles you should first pay a visit to "Hollywood" s on a hillside.

D. Your trip to Los Angeles is not complete if you miss the big letters "Hollywood" on a hillside.

3.What’s the number of the nicknames given to Los Angeles?

A. 5.B. 4.C. 7.D. 6.

4.According to the passage, the true statement is “________”.

A. Los Angeles was built after the Italian city of Venice

B. Hollywood alone adds fame to Los Angeles

C. Los Angeles is most famous for its nicknames

D. All the nicknames increase the charm of Los Angeles

Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their cars on Sunday in protest against unlicensed cars using taxi-hiring apps (打車軟件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy(補(bǔ)貼) by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.

On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.

It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators(交通管理機(jī)構(gòu)) have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.

Such regulations (規(guī)定) will cause a setback(挫折) to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.

Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China’s big cities. To be fair, these companies’ business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for business-people through the Internet and mobile phone apps.

Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.

1.Why did taxi drivers in Shenyang block the streets with their vehicles?

A. Because they wanted the authority to increase their driving allowances.

B. Because they wanted to be taught how to use the taxi-hiring apps.

C. Because they wanted to make their main complaints known to the authority.

D. Because they wanted to appeal to passengers not to hire the private cars.

2.The author’s attitude to banning internet car-hiring service is ________.

A. positiveB. negative

C. neutral (中立的)D. unclear

3.Which of the following statements is false according to the passage?

A. The problem referred to in the passage exists in all cities.

B. App-based car rental is functional to some degree.

C. The government should regulate the app-based car rental market.

D. Didi Dache is a China-foreign joint company.

To forgive is a virtue, but no one has ever said it is easy. When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your hate. However, forgiveness is possible, and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. People who forgive show less sadness, anger and stress and more hopefulness, according to a recent research.

___1.____Try the following steps:

Calm yourself. __2._____You can take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love. Don’t wait for an apology. Many times the person who hurt you does not intend to apologize. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don’t see things the same way. __3.___ Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean becoming friends again with the person who upset you.

Take the control away from your offender(冒犯者). Rethinking about your hurt gives power to the person who causes you pain. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you.

_4.__ If you understand your offender, you may realize that he or she was acting out of unawareness, fear, and even love. You may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender’s point of view.

Don’t forget to forgive yourself. ___5.___ But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don’t do it.

A. Why should you forgive?

B. How should you start to forgive?

C. Recognize the benefits of forgiveness.

D. Try to see things from your offender’s angle.

E. For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge.

F. To make your anger die away, try a simple stress-management technique.

G. If you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time.

A lady wanted a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had liked a beautiful ________, and knowing her husband could ________ it, she told him that was all she wanted. On the morning of the ________, her husband told her how ________ he was to have such a good wife, and how much he loved her. He ________ her a beautiful gift package. She opened it and ________ a Bible. ________, she raised her voice and said to her husband, “With all your money, you give me a Bible?” She was so ________ that she left him.

Many years passed and the lady was very ________ in business. She owned two large companies. She ________ her husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to ________ him. But before she could, she ________ a letter telling her that he had died, and gave all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back and ________ things.

When she arrived at his house, sadness ________ her heart. She saw the still new ________, just as she had left it years before. With ________, she opened it and began to turn the pages. A ring ________ from the Bible to the floor and a ________ could be seen. She picked it up and found it was the ring she wanted in those days. And on the card was the date of her birth, and the words “LOVE U ALWAYS”.

________ your gift is not packaged the way you want it, it’s because it is better packaged the way it is! Always appreciate little things; they usually lead you to bigger things! The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched for they must be felt with the ________.

1.A. watchB. ringC. coatD. box

2.A. affordB. likeC. designD. guess

3.A. holidayB. performanceC. birthdayD. meeting

4.A. proudB. kindC. sorryD. brave

5.A. lentB. askedC. gaveD. moved

6.A. carriedB. foundC. missedD. held

7.A. PolitelyB. LightlyC. PatientlyD. Angrily

8.A. calmB. upsetC. gratefulD. careless

9.A. failingB. lonelyC. successfulD. poor

10.A. wonderedB. hopedC. realizedD. explained

11.A. visitB. understandC. catchD. help

12.A. passedB. wroteC. sentD. received

13.A. take care ofB. pay forC. look forD. give away

14.A. coveredB. brokeC. leftD. filled

15.A. carB. BibleC. letterD. table

16.A. smilesB. laughterC. tearsD. interests

17.A. hidB. droppedC. disappearedD. made

18.A. bookB. penC. flowerD. card

19.A. IfB. ButC. AlthoughD. So

20.A. handB. eyeC. faceD. heart

Zhu De was born _1.__ December 1, 1886 to a poor farmer’s family in a town in Yilong County, a 2. (hill) and separate part of northern Sichuan Province. Of the fifteen 3. (child) born to the family, only eight survived. His Hakka(客家) family migrated from Hunan Province and Guangdong Province __ 4.__ Sichuan. _5. his family was poor, by pooling(合伙經(jīng)營) resources, Zhu was chosen to be sent to a regional private school in 1892. At the age of nine, Zhu was adopted by his wealthy uncle, 6. political influence allowed him _7. (gain) access to Yunnan Military Academy. Later, he attained the rank of Xiucai in 1906, 8.__ (make) him qualified as a civil servant. He was admitted into a Sichuan high school around 1907, and graduated in 1908. Consequently, he returned to Yilong’s primary school as a gym 9.__ (instruct). He was an advocate(倡導(dǎo)者) of modern science and political teaching, rather than the strict classical education afforded by schools, so he 10. (dismiss) from his post and entered the Yunnan Military Academy in Kunming. There, he joined the Beiyang Army and the Tongmenghui secret political society.

Last night, when watched the annual Ten People Who Moved Chinese the Most in the CCTV, I learn some deeds of helping the poor children. It makes me have a firm belief what there are still many kind but generous people around us. It is common believed that many children in the remote mountainous areas of our country have few opportunity to receive education for various reasons. Now that we have the chance receive a good education, we should treasure them. As far as I’m concerned about, if we are friendly and help each other, we can live harmonious and happy life together.

成語（Chinese idioms）是中國文化的重要組成部分，它能用簡單的詞語表達(dá)出豐富并且深刻的意義。假定你是李華，你的外國筆友James對中國成語很感興趣，向你咨詢有關(guān)中國成語的信息，請你寫一份回信，包括如下內(nèi)容：

1. 簡單介紹成語；

2. 學(xué)習(xí)成語的益處；

3. 分享自己學(xué)習(xí)成語的感受和體會。

注意：1. 詞數(shù)100左右；

2. 可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

Dear James,

I am glad that you are interested in Chinese idioms. __________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

I sincerely hope you can learn them well.

Yours,

Li Hua

Suddenly another thought went through Kate’s mind like an electric shock. An express train was due to go past about thirty minutes later. If it were not stopped, that long train, full of passengers, would fall into the stream. “Someone must go to the station and warn the station-master，” Kate thought. But who was to go? She would have to go herself. There was no one else.

In wind and rain she started on her difficult way. Soon she was at the bridge that crossed the Des Moines River, a bridge also built of wood, just like the bridge across Honey Creek. The storm had not washed this away, but there was no footpath across it. She would have to cross it by stepping from sleeper (枕木) to sleeper. With great care she began the dangerous crossing, sometimes on her hands and knees, hardly daring to look down between the sleepers into the wild flood waters below. If she should slip, she would fall between the sleepers, into the rapidly flowing stream.

At last — she never knew how long it had taken her — she felt solid ground under her feet. But there was no time to rest. She still had to run more than half a mile and had only a few minutes left. Unless she reached the station before the express did, many, many lives would be lost.

She did reach the station just as the train came into sight. Fortunately the station-master was standing outside. “The bridge is down! Stop the train! Oh, please stop it!” Kate shouted breathlessly.

The station-master went pale. He rushed into the station building and came back with a signal light. He waved the red light as the train came into the station. It was not a second too early.

1.What did Kate decide to do?

A. Stop the express train.

B. Check the signal light.

C. Meet the passengers.

D. Visit the station-master

2.Which of the following words best describes Kate’s journey?

A. Fruitless.B. Boring.C. Well-planned.D. Risky.

3.Why did the station-master turn pale?

A. He suddenly fell ill.

B. He realized the danger.

C- He discovered his mistake.

D. He became over-excited.