The fourth-graders at Chicago’s McCormick Primary School are unaware of the difficulty in learning Chinese. For most, who speak Spanish at home, it’s becoming their third language. They’ve been learning and using Chinese words since kindergarten, and it’s now second nature to give a hearty “ni hao” when strangers enter the classroom.
The classroom scene at McCormick is unusual, but it may soon be a common fixture(固定物) in American schools, where Chinese is rapidly becoming the hot new language. Government officials have long wanted more focus on security—useful languages like Chinese, and pressure from them—as well as from business leaders, politicians, and parents—has driven a quick growth in the number of programs.
Chicago itself is home to the largest effort to include Chinese in US public schools. The program here has grown to include 3,000 students in 20 schools, with more schools on a waiting list. Programs have also spread to places like Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and North Carolina. It’s true that the number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French.
Advocates see knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as a help in a global economy where China is growing in importance. “This is an interesting way to begin to engage with the world’s next superpower,” says Michael Levine, director of education at the Asia Society, which has started five new public high schools that offer Chinese. “Globalization has already changed the arrangements in terms of how children today are going to need to think about their careers… The question is, when not whether, the schools are going to adjust.”
In Chicago, the trend extends beyond schools with high numbers of Asian students. “The fact that my students are 98% low income and 99% Latino(拉丁美洲人) and they are succeeding in this, tells me everyone should have a try at learning languages,” says Virginia Rivera, principal at McCormick. “We want to give our young people opportunities to advance… and Chinese is a great opportunity to survive in today’s economy,” says Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago.
小題1:The underlined word “Advocates” in the text probably means”              .
A．SupportersB．ObjectorsC．TeachersD．Learners
小題2: How many languages are mentioned in this passage?
A．Six.B．Two.C．Three.D．Four.
小題3:In the last paragraph, the underlined word “this ”probably refers to _____.
A．the competition between Latino and Asian students
B．the global economy
C．the interesting way to engage with China
D．the Chinese learning
小題4: What CANNOT be learned from this passage?
A．Most students at McCormick can speak three languages.
B．Chinese is gaining its popularity in all schools in Chicago.
C．French has far more speakers than Chinese does in Chicago.
D．Globalization in a way makes it necessary to learn Chinese.
小題5:Which of the following is mainly about in this passage?
A．The Chinese learning in Chicago.
B．The ways to learn Chinese.
C．McCormick Primary School.
D．Globalization and Chinese learning.

小題1:A
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:B
小題5:A

試題分析：文章通過(guò)介紹了芝加哥人學(xué)習(xí)中文的情況，說(shuō)明在一定意義上，全球化（進(jìn)程）使得學(xué)習(xí)中文成為一種必然。
小題1:猜詞題：根據(jù)Advocates see knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as a help in a global economy where China is growing in importance.可猜出“Advocates”意思是支持者，故選A。
小題2:計(jì)算題：通過(guò)閱讀文章可知，文章一共提到了三種語(yǔ)言， 故選C。
小題3:詞義猜測(cè)題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第2段的語(yǔ)境（即談?wù)撜Z(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)）再結(jié)合全文的話題（即中文學(xué)習(xí)）即可以推斷這里this 所指的是中文學(xué)習(xí)。故選D。
小題4:推理判斷題。根據(jù)第1段第2句“For most, who speak Spanish at home, it’s becoming their third language.”可排除A項(xiàng)；根據(jù)第2段最后一句“It’s true that the number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared with how many study Spanish or French.”可排除C項(xiàng)；根據(jù)第3段第1句得知，對(duì)全球經(jīng)濟(jì)，中文學(xué)習(xí)有著積極的作用，所以“在一定意義上，全球化（進(jìn)程）使得學(xué)習(xí)中文成為一種必要”這種觀點(diǎn)是成立的，可排除D項(xiàng)；而B(niǎo) 項(xiàng)在文中沒(méi)有明顯依據(jù)，故選B。
小題5:主旨大意題。全文主要介紹了芝加哥人學(xué)習(xí)中文的情況，故選A。
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