A story from the Bible tells of old Babylon, where the men decided to build a tower that would touch the sky. But God was unhappy, and he made them speak different languages. They couldn’t understand each other, so their dream never came true.
Yet the dream remains alive: if all men speak the same language, they can do anything. L. L. Zamenhof from Poland was among the men who pursue this dream. He developed Esperanto（世界语）between 1877 and 1885.
As the most successful man-made world language, it is spoken by over two million people around the world. Last month, the World Esperanto Congress（大会）, dealing with language rights, ended in Sweden. Most Esperanto speakers are in Central and Eastern Europe and in East Asia, particularly Chinese mainland.
Esperanto has two advantages. First, it’s easy. Each letter has exactly one sound and there are just 16 basic grammar rules. The second advantage is that it belongs to no one country. But Esperanto has only reached a small number of people compared with natural languages widely used around the world---such as English or Chinese. While these languages are deeply connected with their nations and cultures, Esperanto doesn’t have this background.
Will Esperanto really become a global language? It remains a question.
72. The writer tells us a story at the beginning to___________.
A.explain why men have been making the effort to create a language shared by all
B.explain why men now speak different languages
C.show the relationship between man and God
D.prove that language is very important
73. Wha
t does the underlined word “pursue” in the second paragraph mean?
A.“realize”. B. “work for”. C.“be against”. D. “follow”.
74. What is the basic difference between Esperanto and other natural languages?
A.More people speak English than Esperanto.
B.Esperanto words are easier to spell.
C.Esperanto has fewer grammar rules.
D.Esperanto is not supported by any country or culture.
75. What does the story mainly talk about?
A.Advantages and disadvantages of Esperanto.
B.Man’s dream of sharing the same language has come true.
C.The most successfully planned language---Esperanto.
D.Comparison of Esperanto and other languages like English and Chinese.
Why does the writer introduce so many animals from different places to us?
| A．To frighten us in the zoo. |
| B．To make us lovely in the zoo. |
| C．To attract us to the zoo. |
| D．To show that animals can do everything. |
How much does Mr. Smith have to pay if he visits the zoo with his two-year-old son?
| A．￥3. | B．￥4. | C．￥5. | D．￥6. |
At which of the following time can we visit the zoo?
| A．8:30 a.m. Wednesday. | B．9:30 a.m. Friday. |
| C．3:00 p.m. Sunday. | D．5:00 p.m. Tuesday. |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.
| A．alone | B．with his wife | C．with his friend | D．with an Italian |
One night he went out for _______ alone.
| A．a ride | B．a walk | C．a drink | D．rest |
Suddenly he found his_______ was gone.
| A．watch | B．money | C．book | D．ring |
Who was robbed of the watch?
| A．The Frenchman was. | B．The Italian was. |
| C．Both of them was. | D．Neither of them was. |
People say teenagers are no good. They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive carelessly up and down America’s main streets. And at least some of the time those things are true.
But we shouldn’t forget that there are hard moments in the life of a teenager too.
I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman’s funeral which happened in a church. A teenage grandson stepped forward. Softly he began:“I want to share a few values that Nana taught me. She never failed to see light in any situation. When our family dog would attack her, what would Nana say? Oh, what beautiful markings that dog has.” That was Nana.
“She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful businessman in this city. But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for Grandpa’s career,” he said, with a voice now trembling. “That was Nana’s way.”
Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, “Nana taught me courage. She put up a fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life. That was Nana’s way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner.”
There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the first time. The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learned to be controlled. When that boy rose to speak about the woman who had been his dearest friend, his honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide. I was moved and learned a lot.Accordingtothefirstparagraph,______.
| A．peopledon’tthinkhighlyoftheteenagers |
| B．youngpeoplearelivingahardlife |
| C．peopleshouldn’tforgetyoungpeople |
| D．youngpeopleshouldkeepquietbeforethepublic |
Fromtheboy’sspeech,weknowhisgrandmother______.
| A．hadgreatinfluenceovertheboywhenshewasalive |
| B．likeddogsverymucheveniftheyoftenattackedher |
| C．couldseeeverythingaroundherthoughshewasold |
| D．wasaweakwomanlivingintheshadowofhisgrandpa |
Wecaninferfromthepassagethattheboy______.
| A．wasfilledwithsadnessandgaveupfinishinghistalk |
| B．wasalwaysverygoodatexpressinghimself |
| C．practicedalotinordertogiveamovingspeech |
| D．hadgreatdifficultyinacceptingthelossofNana |
Thewriterwantedtotellthereaders______.
| A．theyoungpeopleweretooweaktofacecertainfacts |
| B．theyoungpeoplehavelearnedtocontrolthemselves |
| C．theadultscouldlearnsomethingvaluablefromtheyoung |
| D．theadultsshouldteachtheyounghowtodealwiththedeath |
Jean-Michael Lourdis was a promising young pianist. But when the young man played, it seemed to him, as if his hands were iron. He worried so much about his playing that he became oversensitive (过度敏感的) to the comments of his playing. Unfortunately, in those days, a critic(批评家) was not considered a critic, unless he found something wrong. This attitude of the critics would often leave the young man ready to give up his dream and return home.
He was invited to play in Helsinki. The rich, the famous, the leaders of State were all there. Jean-Michael had one of those days when everything went wrong. That night as he played, he felt as if it were the worst concert of his young life. The next day, in the newspapers, some of the comments were so unkind. The young musician was painful.
That day, as he sat in his hotel room in total despair(绝望), there came a knocking at his door. He had a visitor.The famous Finnish composer(作曲家) Jean Sibelius had come by to congratulate the young pianist on his performance. Jean-Michael asked how he thought of that and began to quote some of the newspaper critics. “ Hands of iron. No imagination. Little skill. No joy. Don't you hear what they say?” he asked.
Jean Sibelius looked at young Jean-Michael and said, “Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have erected a statue(雕像) for a critic.”According to the passage, Jean-Michael Lourdis _______.
| A．was a bad pianist |
| B．cared too much about what the critics had said |
| C．refused to play in Helsinki |
| D．was praised highly by the critics |
A critic in those days usually _______.
| A．found fault with musicians' performances |
| B．said kind and encouraging words to musicians |
| C．helped musicians become famous |
| D．asked more people to go to concerts |
The young musician was painful because _________.
| A．he was very strict with himself |
| B．he didn’t trust himself |
| C．some of the comments were so unkind |
| D．he felt lonely in his hotel room |
Jean Sibelius came to visit the young musician because ________.
| A．he wanted to tell the young man the critics were right |
| B．he wanted to tell the young man not to lose his temper at that time |
| C．he wanted to tell the young man his performance was great |
| D．he wanted to tell the young man to respect the critics’ opinion |
Goldie’s Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. “We’re moving house.” “No space for her any more with the baby coming.” “We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present.” People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner’s. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down, always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That’s why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn’t hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. “We didn't know what had happened to her,” said the woman at the door. “I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared.” “She must have tried to come back to them and got lost,” added a boy from behind her.
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I’ve learnt a good lesson: not to judge people.How did the author feel about Goldie when Goldie came to the house?
| A．Shocked. | B．Sympathetic. | C．Annoyed. | D．Upset. |
In her first few days at the author's house, Goldie ______.
| A．felt worried | B．was angry | C．ate a little | D．sat by the fire |
Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she ______.
| A．saw her puppies | B．heard familiar barking |
| C．wanted to leave the author | D．found her way to her old home |