The official home to the US president is Capitol Building.（)

21. Herewith please find enclosed a check for US $ 5,000 in payment of your invoice No. 2771.

22. We take the liberty of writing to you with a view to building up business relations with your firm.

23. To step up trade between us , we trust you would allow us a higher rate of discount.

24. Are your valuables protected from burglary？

25. Since this is our first order , we hope you will do everything possible to ensure punctual shipment.

a. Our lines are mainly textiles and handicrafts.

b. We are now pleased to send you our official receipt.

c. Let us here at Home Safe , Inf. help you make sure your family and home are fully protected.

d. We assure you that we shall effect shipment on the specified date in your order.

e. Since this is our first transaction with you , we decide , as an exception , to cut the price by 2%.

prices in urban areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles being higher than the state average it is almost impossible for not just the poor but also the lower middle class workers to afford decent housing and no possibility of home ownership. The majority of the population lacks a college education, and the median home price was determined to be $723,790, requiring an upper middle class income which only roughly 20% of all households in the county boast. Such fluctuations in local markets are however not considered in the Federal poverty line and thus leave many who live in poverty-like conditions out of the total number of households classified as poor.

A.Many sociologists and government officials have argued that poverty in the US is understated.

B.The poverty line lost all connection over time with current consumption patterns of the average family.

C.The issue of understating poverty is especially pressing in the states with both a high cost and a high poverty rate such as California.

D.The official poverty line today is essentially what it takes in today's dollars to purchase the same poverty-line level of living half a century ago.

f Education estimates there are 250,000 to 350,000 home-schooled children in the country. Home school advocates put the number much higher at about a million.

Home school advocates take a harsh attitude toward home schoolers, perceiving their actions as the ultimate slap in the face for public education and a damaging move for the children. Home schoolers harbor few kind words for public schools, charging shortcomings that range from lack of religious perspective in the curriculum to a herdlike approach to teaching children.

Yet, as public school officials realize they stand little to gain by remaining hostile to the home school population, and as home schoolers realize they can reap benefits from public schools, these hard lines seem to be softening a bit.

Public schools and home schoolers have moved closer to tolerance and, in some cases even cooperation. Says John Marshall, an education official," we are becoming relatively tolerant of home schoolers. The idea is, let's give the kids access to public school so they'll see it's not as terrible as they've been told, and they'll want to come back." Perhaps, but don't count on it, say home school advocates.

Home schoolers oppose the system because they have strong convictions that their approach to education--whether fueled by religious enthusiasm or the individual child's interest and natural pace--is the best. "The bulk of home schoolers just want to be left alone.” Says Enge Cannon, associate director of the National Center For Home Education. She says home schoolers choose that path for a variety of reasons, but religion plays a role 85 percent of the time.

Professor Van Galen breaks home schoolers into two groups. Some home schoolers want their children to learn not only traditional subject matter but also "strict religious doctrine and a conservative political and social perspective". Not incidentally, they also want their children to learn--both intellectually and emotionally--that the family is the most important institution in society." Other home schoolers contend "not so much that the schools teach heresy, but that schools teach whatever they teach inappropriately." Van Galen writes. "These parents are highly independent and strive to take responsibility for their own lives within a society that they define as bureaucratic and inefficient.

Which of the following statements is true？

A．Home schoolers engage private teachers to provide additional education for their children.

B．Home schoolers don't go to school but are educated at home by their parents.

C．Home schoolers educate their children at home instead of sending them to school.

D．Home schoolers advocate combining public education with home schooling.

still widely practiced at modern Chinese weddings on the wedding day，either at home or at the banquet.It is an official ritual to introduce the newlyweds to each other’s family，and is also a way to show respect and appreciation (感谢) to their parents. Tea is likely served also because it is the national drink of China.

When the tea itself is served，the newlyweds kneel in front of their parents，serving tea to both sides of parents，as well as elder close relatives. Parents give their words of blessing and gifts to the newlyweds. During tea presentation，a “good luck woman” would say lucky phrases to bless the newlyweds and the parents. This “good luck woman” should be someone who is blessed with

a good marriage，healthy children and husband，and living parents.

Newlyweds also present tea to each other，raising the tea cups high to show respect before presenting to each other.

依照文章判断正误(对的写T;错误写F)

() 1. Tea ceremony is a way to show respect and appreciation to the newlyweds’ parents. () 2. Tea ceremony is only practiced at the banquet.

() 3. The “good luck woman” must be the one with a good marriage，healthy children and

husband，and living parents.

() 4. During tea presentation，the newlyweds will receive gifts from their parents.

() 5. Tea ceremony tradition has a long history of several hundred years.

What are baseball fans？ Baseball fans wear their official team T-shirts and jackets everywhere, sometimes even to work. Then, whenever the team offers a free item, the fans rush to get it. In addition, baseball fans cover the walls of their rooms with their favorite players’ pictures. When they go to a game, which they do as often as possible, the true baseball fans put on their team colors, grab their team flags, pin on their team buttons. At the game, these fans form. a section, constantly encouraging their favorite players and enthusiastically responding to every cheer flashed on the electronic scoreboard. Baseball fans, in addition to behaving crazily, are also extremely interested in things of small importance. Every day, they turn to the sports page of the newspaper and study last night’s statistics. Their bookshelves are full of books and newspapers with information of their team. They delight in remembering such unimportant facts as who is left-handed and what food their favorite player likes. Last of all, baseball fans are extremely loyal to the team of their choice. This strong loyalty makes fans dangerous, for anyone who dares to say to a loyal fan that some other team is better could be risking physical damage. Incidents of violence on the baseball field have increased in recent years and are a matter of growing concern. From mid-October through March, baseball fans are like any other human beings. They pay their taxes, take out the garbage, and complain about the high cost of living or the latest home repair. But when April comes, the colors and radios go on, the record books come off the shelves, and the devotion returns. For the true baseball fan, another season of craziness has begun. What does the word “loyal” in Paragraph 3 probably mean？

A、devoted

B、crazy

C、friendly

D、reasonable

oo hot today. They say it is 35 degrees, but who believes them？"

Mr. Wang, a retired worker, was echoing the feelings of thousands of Beijing people as summer entered its hottest stage.

Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far, with the temperature officially reported as 36 degrees. But many people believe the government understates the real figure because regulations (条例 ) passed in the 1950s allow workers to stay at home for all or half day if the temperature is higher than 38 degrees.

" It was at least 40 degrees on Thursday, " said Liang Guojun, a middle school teacher. " It was unbearable. But the newspaper said only 36 and forecast rain. Of which there was none.

In Beijing, visitors to Daguanyuan Park in the southwest of the city said the ground temperature reached 55 degrees on Thursday.

The Beijing Evening News reported yesterday that more than 3 , 000 people had been admitted to hospitals suffering from heat stroke (中暑) , while local power companies were struggling to meet the demand for electricity.

A heat wave is sweeping much of the mainland, with temperatures in parts of Beijing, Shandong and Hebei provinces reaching as high as 39 degrees. Xinhua said the average temperature in Beijing on Thursday was 36 degrees but in the northern part of Tanghe Kou it was 39 degrees.

Hundreds of people suffering fevers were treated at hospitals. The Chaoyang hospital in northeast Beijing reported 55 such cases on Wednesday. They said most were caused by the difference in temperature between air-conditioned areas and outdoors.

Mr. Liang said the regulation on stopping work when the temperature reached 38 degrees was passed in the 1950s when Beijing had no air-conditioning and depended on fans—either handheld or electric.

"But in those days the temperature rarely reached 38 degrees, so the rule was not actually used. Now we have had years of global warming and industrial pollution and the summers get hotter each year, which means that the temperature is often higher than 38.

But an official from the Beijing Meteorological Observatory (北京气象台) said they had no knowledge of any such regulation.

Whom does the underlined word "they" (Paragraph 1) refer to？

A．Bus drivers.

B．Weather reports.

C．Newspaper editors.

D．Passengers on the bus.

________ is the official name of Britain.

A.the United Kingdom

B.England

C.British Isles

D.Great Britain

Earth Day is not an official government holiday in many countries.()

Now, English is used as the first language and official language in Singapore.()