A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk.
As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, saying "You don't say" "You don't say!" I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not a proper topic. "Well. I'd better change the topic." So I said to him, "Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?" "Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent." He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. "The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it." Soon I was interrupted again by his order " You don’t say!" I couldn't help asking, "Why do you ask me not to talk about it?" "Well. I didn't request you to do so," he answered, greatly surprised. 1 said, "Didn't you say you don't say?" Hearing this, the Englishman laughed into tears. He began to explain, "You don't say actually means really? It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms."
Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions.
65. A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because______.
A. English idioms were too difficult to master
B.I cared little about the teacher's instruction
C. my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance
D.I had no interest in English learning
66. When I first heard "You don't say!" I thought ______.
A. the Englishman was not interested in my English studies
B. the Englishman was only interested in the Great Wall
C. I had talked too much
D. I had to stop talking at once
67. Which of the following is true?
A. The Englishman was leaving China without seeing the Great Wall.
B. The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wail after 1 talked about it.
C. The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.
D. The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting.
68. After the Englishman explained the idiom, ______.
A. the Englishman made me a fool B. the Englishman made a fool of himself
C. I felt very silly D. I felt proud of my understanding
Some wonderfully creative uses of X-rays have been in the world of art．But the most impressive one is to uncover what has been covered up．Details unfolded by an X-ray of a painting can ' t be seen any other way．For example, in the past, paintings were often repaired if small pieces of paint fell off the canvas（帆布）.These repairs cannot be seen just by looking at the painting．It takes an X-ray to discover where the repairs have been made．
An X-ray of a painting is one of the best ways to tell if it was created by a famous painter or if it is a forgery．If there is a question as to whether an old master has painted a certain painting or not, X-rays are made and compared to those of paintings that are known to be original．If the brushstrokes （笔迹） , for example, are shown to be totally different than in other work done by a certain artist, then the painting is proved to be a fake copy．
Since modern paints are usually made from different materials than paints of hundreds of years ago, the image they leave on an X-ray film looks different．This is another way X-rays can be used to spot a forgery．A modern artist will try to make a forgery (伪造物) look hundreds of years old by painting dirty varnish（清漆）on it or by using artificial means to get the varnish to look cracked（破裂的）．To the naked eye the forgery may look old, but when a careful study of the X-ray image is made, the deception is obvious．
It was common many years ago for an artist to finish a painting, decide it wasn't any good, and paint a completely different picture on top of it．Or artists would paint over others' work —it was their version of recycling．Taking an X-ray is the only way to find out if there is a picture underneath the picture you see with your eyes．Sometimes museums will be more interested in the painting beneath than the one on top, and will restore the older one by having the top layer painstakingly removed．What is the main purpose of the article?
| A．To provide information to police who are looking for stolen art． |
| B．To persuade art dealers to check for fake copies before selling art． |
| C．To explain how modern technology can be applied in unique ways． |
| D．To help artists restore damaged artwork to its original appearance． |
According to the passage．X-rays are used to ______．
| A．make repairs on paintings in the past |
| B．identify the authenticity of an artwork |
| C．change the materials of a forgery |
| D．remove the recyclable paints |
In Paragraph 3, the word "deception" probably means ______．
| A．comparison | B．drawback | C．trickery | D．judgement |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．X-ray Detectives | B．Creative Uses of Technology |
| C．Forgery Studies | D．X-ray Painting Techniques |
Preliminary English Test(PET)covers all four language skills---reading, writing, listening and speaking. Each skill carries 25% of the total marks. PET has three papers:
Reading and Writing: 1 hour 30 minutes
Listening : about 30minutes
Speaking: up to 10 minutes
There are two Pass grades(Pass with merit(优秀)and Pass) and certificates are awarded to candidates who achieve these grades. Candidates who achieve a grade Narrow Fail or Fail are judged not to have reached the required standard for PET.
Exam dates
Reading and Writing (paper1) |
Saturday 15March AM Saturday 24 May AM Friday 30 May AM Saturday 07 June AM Saturday 22 November AM Friday 05 December AM |
Listening (paper 2) |
Saturday 15 March AM Saturday 24 May AM Friday 30 May AM Saturday 07 June AM Saturday 22 November AM Friday 05 December AM |
Speaking (paper 3) |
This paper is held by separate arrangement, within specified periods—contact your centre for more details. UK 07 March to 29 March 16 May to 07 June 23 May to 14 June 30 May to 21 June 14 November to 06 December 21 November to 13 December Overseas 07 March to 17 March 16 May to 26 May 23 May to 02 June 30 May to 09 June 14 November to 24 November 21 November to 08 December |
The passage is most probably taken from________.
| A．an advertisement | B．a teaching program | C．a book review | D．an exam notice |
According to the passage, altogether PET lasts about_______.
| A．90 minutes | B．130 minutes | C．180 minutes | D．210 minutes |
A candidate will receive a PET certificate if he gets_______.
①a Pass with Merit grade② a Pass grade③a Narrow Fail grade④a Fail grade
| A．①or② | B．③or④ | C．①or③ | D．②or③ |
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce(不足的), and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift--$7,000, a legacy(遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident . “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in other, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money , more than ＄3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm .
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They thrived on (喜欢) comparison shopping and would routinely(通常地) go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase .
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy——a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents ——should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors ——that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story .According to the text, the Fusses______.
| A．were employed by a truck company |
| B．were in financial difficulty |
| C．worked in a school cafeteria |
| D．lost their home |
Which of the following is true of the Hatches?
| A．They had their children during the Great Depression. |
| B．They left the family farm to live in an old house. |
| C．They gave away their possessions to their neighbors. |
| D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs. |
Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?
| A．They decided to open a store. |
| B．They wanted to save money. |
| C．They couldn’t afford expensive things. |
| D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids. |
According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were _______.
| A．understanding | B．optimistic | C．childlike | D．curious |
It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington. According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.” People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.
| A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag |
| B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags |
| C．debate over who designed the first American flag |
| D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence |
| B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag |
| C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag |
| D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag |
The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．a person who designs flags |
| B．a person who makes a living by sewing |
| C．a person who takes part in revolution |
| D．a person who creates chairs |
What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?
| A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain |
| B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag |
| C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag |
| D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag |
From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Wildcats and their stories. |
| B．Wildcats and their characters. |
| C．Varieties of animal species. |
| D．Relationship between animals and humans. |
The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to "__________".
| A．gasoline companies | B．automobile manufacturers |
| C．brands of automobile | D．names of wildcats |
Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?
| A．Wildcat congressmen. | B．Wildcat oil wells. |
| C．Wildcat banks. | D．Wildcat cars. |
It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money__________.
| A．people couldn't buy anything with the money |
| B．people complained and suffered a lot |
| C．the rich invested too much on oil wells |
| D．people didn't know how to save money |