Learning English is one of the few things I have been doing consistently over the past 16 years. Like most Chinese students, I started learning English because it was a compulsory (必修的) course in my middle school. More importantly, English was a central subject for the college entrance exam.
At that time , studying English was not a pleasant experience for me . There was no fun in the process of learning . The focus of our English education was getting a good mark in exams . And nobody told me that the real meaning of studying mother language was communication.
When I became a university student , I spent nearly half of my time on English . In fact , more than 90 percent of the job offer ads in Shanghai list “ proficiency (精通) as a main requirement.
How did I improve my English ? People told me that TOEFL was very helpful and useful. As a result, I took a TOEFL training course and studied like mad. After six months’ preparation, I took part in the exam and got a high score . Later on , I had a chance to further my study in Britain . I soon discovered that all of my past English learning had been futile (没用的) . When I first went shopping in a local supermarket , I really could not understand what the cashier was saying at all.
It was then that I realized I had totally missed the point . Instead of just passing exams , the main function of learning English or any other language is communication . What is more , lanuage does not exist independent of culture. Hence , mechanical memorization helps very little in communication. That’s why I was still unable to freely express myself after learning English for many years . By no means am I talented in any foreign language . I am still learing English . Why ?
First and foremost , my job requires me to use English everyday . Secondly , English helps me to have access to more information . Thirdly , as a bookworm , English gives me a chance to dive into the huge pool of inspiring English books . Last but not least , it is such a great experience to write in another language . Indeed , English has become part of my life . How did the writer find English when he was a student?
| A．He was interested in it . |
| B．He studied it because it was compulsory course. |
| C．He thought it funny to study English. |
| D．He often recited something when he studied English. |
What is the purpose of studying English according to the writer’s idea ?
| A．To get high marks in exams. |
| B．To prove that Englsih is very important. |
| C．Studying Eglish well can ehlp you get a good job. |
| D．To use English for communication with others. |
According to the text , how is my English ?
| A．I am good at English. |
| B．I can speak Englsih like natives. |
| C．I can master it but I can’t use it correctly. |
| D．I continued to study Englsih. |
How can we master Englsih well ？
| A．We need more mechanical memorization. |
| B．We should read and recite more books. |
| C．We should study Englsih as well as its culture and use it more . |
| D．We can study hard in classrooms and houses and get high marks in exams . |
The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness. People believe that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold, and it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.
In the Second World Was prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp, naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.
At the Common Cold Research Unit England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be dipped with cold water, and them stood about dripping wet in wind. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
In the cold we have nothing to do with catching colds. Why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and painkillers such as aspirin, but all they do is to relieve the symptoms(症状).
1. Besides the experiments in England, the writer offered more examples to support his argument.
A、3 B、4 C、5 D、6
2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?
A、The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.
B、Colds are not caused by cold.
C、People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.
D、A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.
3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when .
A、they are working in the inolated arctic regions
B、they are writing reports in terribly cold weather
C、they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions
D、they are coming into touch again with the outside world
4. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit .
A、suffered a lot B、never caught colds
C、often caught colds D、became very strong
第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Many people often say there is more stress (压力) in today's society than in years past. In fact, these people are comparing our lives with that of the cave man, who didn't have to worry about the stock market or the atomic bomb. They forget that the cave man worried about being eaten by a bear while he was asleep, or about dying of hunger--things that few people worry much about today.
Actually stress is a normal state of affairs, and it's important that people understand what they are talking about when they speak about stress. Whenever anyone experiences something unpleasant, for lack of a better word they say they are under stress. Yet there is such a thing as pleasant stress--as in the case of the Olympic winner at the moment of his glory, or a conductor as his orchestra(乐队) performs particularly well. They are just sending out excitement, and they are giving off all the stress hormones(荷尔蒙)exactly the same as if they were in low spirits or had just heard of a death in the family. We call the pleasant or healthy kind "eustress” and the unpleasant or unhealthy kind "distress".
Then how can people deal with stress? The secret is not to avoid it but to "do your own thing". It implies doing what you like to do and what you are made to do at your own speed. For most people, it is really a matter of learning how to live and how to behave in various situations, to decide: “Do I really want to take my father's business or be a musician?” If you really want to be a musician, then be one.
1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A. Modern people experiences more stress than the cave man.
B. The cave man experienced more stress than modern people.
C. People don't suffer more stress today; it's just that they think they do.
D. Modern people have the same worries as the cave man did.
2. In which of the following situations will you feel "eustress"?
A. Your favorite football team has lost an important game.
B. You have failed an important examination.
C. You are informed of an accident of your best friend.
D. You have won the first prize in an English competition.
3. The purpose of writing the passage is to let us know
A. stress does not necessarily refer to unpleasant experience
B. distress is what people call the pleasant kind of stress
C. an Olympic winner feels the same stress as one who loses a family member
D. people will feel eustress and distress at the same time
4. According to the passage, how can people deal with stress?
A. Do things that you really want to do.
B. Do whatever you're expected to do.
C. Try to do things successfully.
D. Refuse to do whatever you're told to.
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that men and animals possess, if they are properly used. If fire did not hurt when it burnt, children would play it until their hands were burnt away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear did not, a child would burn itself again and again, because fear would not warn the child to keep away from the fire that had burnt him or her before. A really fearless soldier-and some do exist –is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which men and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. Even in your house you are not absolutely safe: a plane may crash on your house, or ants may eat away some of the wood in your roof, and they later may fall on you, or you may get cancer !
The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight toward you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is OK.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent a plane from crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no plants. In this case, fear has given you its warning; you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of this particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.
1. Children would play with fire until their hands were burnt away if _______.
A. they were given no warning beforehand
B. they didn’t have any sense of pain at all
C. they had never burnt themselves
D. they felt afraid of the fire
2. A really fearless soldier _______.
A. is of a little use to his army
B. is not afraid of battles at all
C. is nothing but a dead soldier
D. is easy to get killed in a battle
3. People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding dangers because _______.
A. they are warned of the danger and take quick action
B. they are quick both in mind and in action
C. they are calm in face of danger
D. they have gained much experience
4. It is implied but not stated that _______.
A. fear is always something helpful
B. too much fear is harmful
C. fear should be used as a servant and guide
D. fear is something strange and particular
Scientists are working to develop crop plants that can reduce the amount of water used for agriculture. Almost sixty percent of the world’s freshwater withdrawals from rivers, lakes and other water resources go toward irrigating fields.
Scientists are using biotechnology as well as traditional breeding methods to develop water-saving crops to feed a growing world.
Thomas “Tommy” Carter is a plant scientist in North Carolina. He works for the Agricultural Research Service in the United States Department of Agriculture. He leads Team Drought, a group of researchers at five universities. They have been using conventional breeding methods to develop and test soybeans that can grow well under dry conditions.
Tommy Carter started working on drought-resistant soybeans in 1981. His research has taken him as far as China, where soybeans have been grown for thousands of years.
Farmers in the United States, however, have grown soybeans for only about a century. Tommy Carter says the soybeans they grow are for the most part genetically similar. More differences could better protect crops against climate changes that can reduce production. Those changes include water shortages which could increase from global warming.
The Agriculture Department has a soybean germplasm(胚质) collection, a collection of genetic material passed from one generation to the next. Members of Team Drought studied more than 2,500 examples from the collection.
They looked at ones from the home of soybeans, Asia. They searched for germplasms that could keep plants from weakening and wilting (凋谢)during hot, dry summers in the United States.
Tommy Carter says they found only five. But these slow-wilting lines, he says, produce four to eight bushels（英斗）more than normal soybeans under drought conditions. The yield depends on location and environment.
Scientists are also working on other plants that either use less water or use it better, or both. For example, companies like Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta have been developing corn with reduced water needs. Monsanto expects to be ready in a few years to market its first corn seeds genetically engineered to resist drought.
1. According to the passage, scientists try to find out how to _______.
A. grow crops with less water
B. increase crop production
C. feed a growing world
D. save the world’s water resource
2. Why did Tommy Carter come to China?
A. He likes traveling.
B. China has a long history.
C. He’s doing research into soybeans.
D. He works for the Agricultural Research Service.
3. What’s inferred from the passage?
A. Climate changes lead to global warming.
B. Water shortages contribute to global warming.
C. Genetically different soybeans need much water to grow.
D. Genetically different soybeans help to fight against damaging climate changes.
4. What do we know about slow-wilting plants talked about in the passage?
A. They yield big profits.
B. They can grow in almost any climate.
C. They seem to be drought-resistant.
D. They need much water for their growth.
At least 115 Chinese miners have been pulled alive from a flooded coal mine after more than seven days trapped underground.
Rescuers cheered and some shed tears as the latest survivors emerged alive Monday after more than a week trapped in a flooded mine in north China's Shanxi Province. Officials were also relieved as their round-the-clock rescue mission prevented one of the country's worst mining disasters.
The head of the province's Work Safety ministry, Luo Lin, was among thousands of relatives waiting desperately for news at the pit entrance after rescuers said they had heard voices deep within the mine shaft over the weekend.
It is a miracle in China's mining rescue history, Luo says. He thanked the rescuers for their effort as he counted the miners leaving the entrance.
By late evening Monday, 115 miners had been pulled out alive, China's state media said. They were led to waiting ambulances with their eyes covered to prevent the glare from lights. All are said to be in a stable condition after being trapped in water for nearly nine days. They were able to breathe during their ordeal thanks to air pockets.
Three-thousand rescuers dug and pumped water for seven days to reach the miners at the Wangjialing Coal Mine, which is considered a modern facility.
The first survivors were brought to the surface shortly after midnight on Monday. Attempts to reach the 38 who remain trapped are continuing.
153 people were believed to be trapped underground. But families say this is an underestimate, claiming many more were working in the mine at the time of the flooding.
A preliminary investigation last week found that officials had ignored reports of water leaks prior to the accident.
China relies heavily on coal to fuel its booming economy. But it has some of the most dangerous mines in the world, with many mine bosses ignoring safety concerns to meet demand and chase profits.
The government has sought to improve safety in recent years by clamping down on illegal mines and this seems to have prevented many deaths.
According to official figures, 2,631 coal miners died in 1,616 mine accidents in China in 2009 – down 18 percent from the previous year.
1. Which is the best title of the passage?
A. The Flooded Coal Mine
B. Miners Trapped were Saved
C. The Worst Coal Mine Accident
D. 115 Miners Rescued, 38 Still Missing
2. The underlined word “round-the-clock” in Para 2 most probably means “_______”.
A. finishing before a particular time
B. changing the time shown by clock
C. all day and all night without stopping
D. from the beginning to the end
3. Which of the following is True according to the passage?
A. Coal plays a decisive role in China’s economy.
B. Mine accidents have been increasing in recent years.
C. 115 miners were working underground when the flooding happened.
D. About 3200 coal miners died in mine accidents in China in 2008.
4. At least 115 coal miners were rescued _______.
A. on the day the accident happened
B. after more than 7 days trapped underground
C. after working underground for 9 days
D. 10 days after the accident happened