Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use

bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging

bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more

than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.

In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These

African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields

often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use.

Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered.

1. How is bamboo like grass?

A. It is thin and easy to cut. B. It grows everywhere.

C. It grows quickly after its cut short. D. It is short and green.

2. The sentence "while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across" means "Some

other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______."

A. short B. strong C. thick D. tall

3. From the text we know ____________.

A. most people call bamboo plant trees

B. a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days

C. the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows

D. a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago

4. Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?

A. Because it is cheap. B. Because it is colorful.

C. Because it drills fast. D. Because it is used by Asians.

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors.

B. Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years.

C. Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects(工程).

D. Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world.

（二）

Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy. They feel heavy pressures(压力)

from their parents. Most students are always told by their parents to study harder and better so that

they can have a wonderful life in the future. Though this may be a good idea for those very bright

students, it can have terrible results for many students who are not gifted (有天赋的) enough.

Many of them have tried very hard at school but have failed in the exams and have their parents

lose hope. Such students felt that they are hated by everyone else they meet and they don't want togo to school any longer. They become dropouts.

It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do

not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it

is the teachers' work to help their children. To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their

children to those schools opening in the evenings and on weekends - they only help the students

to pass the exams and never teach them any real sense of the world.

Many Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the students' hair to their