It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, such moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to stop at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don't worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn't really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King's famous speech---"I have a Dream", you may notice that he stumbles(结巴) over his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don't remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.
People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-though-out speech that expresses the speaker's ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker's attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don't worry about being perfect. Once you free you mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.
56. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How to Be a Perfect Speaker B. How to Make a Perfect Speech
C. Don't Expect a Perfect Speech D. Don't Expect Mistakes in a Speech
57. The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______.
A. be smarter than you B. notice your mistakes
C. do better than you D. know what you are talking about
58. You don't remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ______.
A. your attention is on the speaker’s message B. you don't know what the speaker plans to say
C. you don't fully understand the speech D. you find the way of speech-making more important
59. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. giving a speech is like giving a performance
B. one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad
C. the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made
D. the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be.
Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm. How surprised he must have been!
What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.
When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners (吸尘器), collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people.
Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down.” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as commo
n as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky. What is this passage about?
| A．A sad story. | B．Australia’s northern part. |
C．A rain of fish. |
D．The damage done by floods. |
Fish-falls occur in Australia __________.
| A．quite often | B．on large farms |
| C．only in winter | D．when the air is calm |
The underlined word “infinite” is closest in meaning to “__________”.
| A．easy | B．difficult | C．countless | D．dangerous |
A sign can be found in the front yard of a house in the US. The people living here want to let their dog play outside and ensure it won’t run into the street. So, they hire a company to set up an “invisible fence”, an electric wire buried in the ground around the yard. The dog wears a special collar and when it walks near to the “fence”, the wire will send out a small shock. The dog quickly learns to stay away from the edge of the yard. As it says at the bottom of the sign, the fence will keep your dog “safe” (away from the street) and “at home” (contained inside the yard).
The small word “BRAND” printed in blue means that “Invisible Fence” is registered as the company’s brand name. Similarly, the “TM” printed after “your dog safe at home” stands for “trade mark”, a slogan registered specifically to one company. The people set up an “invisible fence” _________.
| A．to let their dog play outside their house |
| B．to keep their dog away from the edge of the yard |
| C．to keep their dog inside their yard |
| D．to warn others not to enter their house |
Which is NOT true about the “invisible fence”?
| A．The fence does not exist at all. |
| B．The “Invisible Fence” is the name of a company. |
| C．Without the special collar, the fence won’t work on the dog. |
| D．Science and technology play an important part in it. |
Imagine living locked inside a closet.You can’t choose when and what to eat or how you will spend your time.You can’t even decide when the lights go on and off. Think about spending your whole life like this.
This is the life of lab animals.
Now consider the needs of these animals.Chimpanzees(黑猩猩),in their natural homes,are never separated from their families.They spend hours together every day.But in a lab,chimpanzees are put in cages alone.There are no families,only cold,hard cages,and loneliness that goes on for so many years that most of them lose their minds at last.
Worse yet are the experiments.Animals are given diseases they would never normally get.Experimenters force-feed(给……强行喂食) chemicals to them,conduct repeated surgeries(手术),and much more,Think of what it would be like to put up with these and then be thrown back into a cage,usually without any painkillers.Often animals see other animals being killed right in front of them.
Hundreds of thousands of animals are poisoned,blinded,and killed every year in product tests for shampoos,skin creams and new cancer drugs.Although more than 500 companies have stopped testing on animals,some of them still force chemicals into monkeys’ stomachs and rabbits’ eyes.
Although some facilities are better than others at caring for animals—not every lab worker kills a mouse by cutting off its head with scissors—there are no happy animals inside laboratories.Will the lab life end? When will it end?The passage mainly tells us about.
| A．animals’ lives in laboratories | B．cruel experiments on animals |
| C．the needs of animals in labs | D．facilities used to care for animals |
Animals in a lab.
①are very cold,and in separate cages
②feel lonely locked inside a cage
③aren’t fed anything but chemicals
④are forced to undergo cruel tests
⑤are forced to eat chemicals
| A．①③④ | B．②③⑤ | C．②④⑤ | D．①④⑤ |
We can infer from the passage that _________.
| A．some companies have found ways to replace animal tests |
| B．animals normally get no strange diseases |
| C．animals are happy in labs with better facilities |
| D．painkillers can change the results of experiments |
The author’s attitude towards the future of animals for experiment can be described as _______.
| A．positive | B．worried | C．satisfied | D．disappointed |
In the last few years the Internet has become a widespread phenomenon(现象) around the world.People have started to use the computers just like they used to watch TV. Whenever we get hungry,we simply order a pizza through the Internet and while we are waiting for the food,we can send an important business e-mail concerning some sales for tomorrow.It is,in fact,very comfortable to just simply sit down and have a chat with somebody from South Africa about fishing and get some important advice.Sometimes when you are sad and are feeling lonely,if you go o
n the Internet,you can find good entertainment that will keep you busy.
To make a long story short,we just don’t have the time to communicate with people in person anymore.Besides,there is so much information easy to get on the Internet that when we start surfing,we find it hard for us to get away from the computer.There are a lot of people who are addicted(沉溺于) to TV and watch it 5 to 7 hours a day,while recently addiction to the Internet has become a very serious problem.You might think that these kinds of things could never happen to you,but it is not really true.To prevent yourself from getting addicted,the most important thing is to make sure that you are not spending too much time in front of the screen.Although it might seem to be easy to pull yourself away from the Web,it is simply not the case.You might have to make an effort to place some limits(限制) on yourself.The first paragraph of the text mainly tells us that.
| A．it is nice to have a Net friend from South Africa |
| B．the Internet can help us to do business |
| C．some people prefer surfing the Internet to watching TV |
| D．the Internet can make our life more convenient |
To avoid getting addicted to the Internet,we should.
| A．watch TV more hours a day instead |
| B．limit our time in front of the screen |
| C．communicate with people face to face |
| D．entertain ourselves in other ways |
From the passage,we can infer that the writer.
| A．has once been addicted to the Net |
| B．is completely against surfing the Net |
| C．knows how to surf the Net efficiently |
| D．thinks the Net brings bads and goods |
The text is most probably taken from.
| A．a health book | B．a geography magazine |
| C．a life magazine | D．a computer technology book |
Taking the train is a wonderful way to see America.In the 19th century,train routes appeared from coast to coast,carrying both people and goods Today,a long-distance Amtrak train trip is a different way to experience the United States.
The long-distance Amtrak trains have lots of room.Coach seats have lots of leg room and wide aisles(走
廊),sightseeing lounges(休闲室) have large windows,and sleeping areas can provide a good night’s rest.On a train trip,there’s time to talk,play cards or board games,and read to one another.On a car trip,parents have to drive while on a train,parents can sit back and watch the scenery go by.Unlike an a
irplane,traveling by train is not the quickest way to arrive at your destination;the train is the destination in itself.
Amtrak manages long-distance trains that run through the United States.Routes have different names,such as Empire Builder,California Zephyr,Sunset Limited and Southwest Chief.The long-distance trains have double-decker cars(Superliners), sightseeing lounges, and a real dining car.On shorter trains,such as from New York to Washington.DC,the cars are single level and only have a snack bar.In the Superliner trains,the sightseeing lounge is lined with windows on the second level while on the lower level a snack bar and tables can be found.In the evening,videos are shown in the lounge car—either entertaining movies or documentaries.
Tip:As delays are common on Amtrak trains,always call the station before you go there.Otherwise,you may be cooling your heels(脚后跟) for hours.What’s the advantage of seeing America by train?
| A．There are more services on the train than any other |
| B．Traveling by train is the quickest way to reach your destination. |
| C．Traveling by train gives people more time to see and do things. |
| D．The trains like Amtrak allow people to enjoy the journey cheaply. |
Which of the following can be found on short-distance Amtrak trains?
| A．Sleeping areas. | B．Snack bars. |
| C．Sightseeing lounges. | D．Coach seats. |
.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．You will have to wait. | B．You make your heel cool. |
| C．You will have no place to stand on the train. | D．Your feet will be hurt on the train. |
.Which of the following about Superliners is true?
| A．There are lines of windows on the lower level. | B．The snack bar is on the higher level. |
| C．A sightseeing lounge is on the upper level. | D．Both levels are equipped with videos. |