Two years ago, Wendy Hasnip, 47, experienced a brain injury that left her speechless for two weeks. When she finally recovered, she found herself talking with what seemed to be a French accent. “I phoned a friend the other day, and she spent the first ten minutes laughing,” Hasnip said at the time. “While I have nothing against the French.”
Hasnip suffered from foreign accent syndrome (外国口音综合症), a rare condition in which people find themselves speaking their own language like someone from a foreign country. The condition usually occurs in people who have experienced a head injury or a stroke(中风) — a sudden loss of consciousness, sensation, or movement caused by a blocked or broken blood vessel (血管) in the brain.
The condition was first identified during the Second World War in a Norwegian woman whose head was injured during an attack by the German military. The woman recovered but was left with a German-sounding accent, to the horror of fellow villagers who avoided her after that.
Researchers have discovered that the combined effect of the damage to several parts of the brain makes victims lengthen certain syllables, mispronounce sounds, and change the normal
pitch (音高) of their voice. Those changes in speech add up to what sounds like a foreign accent.
Another researcher, a phonetician (语言学者), says victims of the syndrome don’t acquire a true foreign accent. Their strangely changed speech only resembles the foreign accent with which it has a few sounds in common.
When an English woman named Annie recently developed foreign accent syndrome after a stroke, she spoke with what seemed to be a Scottish accent. However, Annie’s Scottish coworkers said she didn’t sound at all like a Scot.
49. According to the passage, people may have foreign accent syndrome.
A. whose parent has experienced a head injury
B. who have lived in a foreign country for a long time
C. who have lost their consciousness owing to a stroke
D. who have learned foreign language from their coworkers
50. All of the following are the causes of seeming foreign accent EXCEPT .
A. a softer voice B. change in length of syllables
C. mispronounced sounds D. changed pitch of voice
51. If a person suffers foreign accent syndrome, .
A. his coworkers will be afraid of him and avoid contacting with him
B. he has more chance of suffering stroke again
C. he will speak a fluent foreign language like native speakers
D. his speech only has a few sounds in common with the foreign accent
52. Writing this passage, the writer’s main purpose is to .
A. introduce foreign accent syndrome and some related information
B. warn people not to be at the risk of experiencing a stroke
C. make it clear that foreign accent syndrome can be cured
D. tell a story of an injured woman during the Second World War
Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people at your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging (抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles (粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change your clothes’ color or pattern.
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk, and it knows the milk is old. In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2025, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli, “it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example—what will be the next?We can learn from the text that in the future ________.
| A．people will never get old |
| B．everyone will look the same |
| C．red will be the most popular color |
| D．clothes will be able to change their pattern |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Milk will be harmful to health. |
| B．More drinks will be available for sale. |
| C．Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
| D．Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
Which of the following is mentioned in the text?
| A．Nothing can replace the Internet. |
| B．Fridges will know what people need. |
| C．Jacket sleeves can be used as a guide. |
| D．Cars will be able to drive automatically (自动的). |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Food and clothing in 2035. |
| B．Future technology in everyday life. |
| C．Medical treatments of the future. |
| D．The reason for the success of new technology. |
In Greek mythology(神话), fire is a gift form God, stolen from Zeus(宙斯) by Prometheus and handed over to humans suffering from cold. What could be more natural than sitting around a beautiful fire on a winter night, at a campsite in the Berkshires?
Hard as it may be to believe, the fireplace—long considered a trophy(奖杯), particularly in a city like New York—is acquiring a social shame. Among those who desire to be environmentally responsible, it is joining the ranks of bottled water and big houses.
Sally Treadwell, a 51-year-old public relations executive in Boone, N.C., said nothing makes her happier than building a fire on a cold winter night. But most of the time she doesn’t, because she feels too guilty about the damage it may do to the environment. Every time she builds a fire, it causes “inner conflict,” she said. “It’s a guilty pleasure”.
“The smoke from a fire smells very nice,” said Diane Bailey, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “But it can cause a lot of harm. The tiny particles(颗粒) can cause illness, and can cross into the bloodstream, causing heart attacks as well as worsening other conditions.”
Growing concerns about the air pollution and health problems caused by smoke from wood fires are urging a number of areas across the country to pass laws regulating them. Idaho offers a tax cut to people who replace uncertified(不合格的)wood stoves with “greener” ones; San Joaquin County in California forbids selling a home unless its wood stove is replaced with an E.P.A. certified one；and Palo Alto and other governments in California forbid wood-burning fireplaces in new construction.
Certainly, many think otherwise. In any case, most fireplaces are used far too infrequently to cause any real damage to the environment, said Stephen Sears, the vice president of the Brick Industry Association, voicing an opinion shared by some.
Perhaps not coincidentally, sales of wood-burning equipment dropped to 235,000 in 2009 from 800,000 in 1999, according to the Brick Industry Association. It also reports that approximately 35,000 fireplaces were installed in the United States in 2009, compared to 80,000 in 2005. Certainly those numbers reflect the economic slowdown, but the may also be affected by growing mixed feelings to wood fries.We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that ________.
| A．big houses are not considered environmentally friendly |
| B．bottle water is a good companion for a fire place |
| C．a fireplace is viewed as a sign of success |
| D．people in New York are laughed at for their tradition |
Sally’s “inner conflict” in the 3rd paragraph resulted from ________.
| A．her love for the fireplace |
| B．the damage to the environment |
| C．the concern about her health |
| D．her mixed emotion fro the fireplace |
In terms of the regulations about wood fires we can learn from the passage that_______.
| A．uncertified fireplaces are forbidden in Idaho |
| B．some people are against the woodfire controlling regulations |
| C．only energy-efficient wood stoves can be used in the US |
| D．all the people support measures taken to control the use of fireplaces |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To urge people to burn less wood |
| B．To discuss wood-burning’s impact |
| C．To throw light on the causes of the fireplace’s decline |
| D．To indicate the cooling love for the fireplace |
Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?
Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, releasing some strong smell chemicals.
The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.
Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.
The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.
Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.This passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．current scientific knowledge about faults |
| B．the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults |
| C．the causes of faults |
| D．the New Madrid fault in Missouri |
The New Madrid fault is __________.
| A．a vertical fault |
| B．a horizontal fault |
| C．a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault |
| D．responsible for forming the Mississippi River |
This passage implies that _________. .
| A．horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults |
| B．Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults |
| C．The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive |
| D．A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today |
Part I: _________________________
If you are hunting a chance to improve yourself in English, TOP ENGLISH CITY will be a smart choice．We are members of "the International Language Workshop" and enjoy both of the good honor in English teaching and high quality of our teaching team．We provide affordable, excellent English training programs for those who want to improve both their English knowledge and their language skills．
In TOP ENGLISH CITY, you will be a top English-speaker among your competitors and enjoy the advantage that your competitors have not．You will be proud of being a member of TOP ENGLISH CITY．
Courses designed:
Basic Studies：Sat．8:00-10:00 a.m.
Intermediate（中级）Spoken English: Sun．8:00-10:00 a.m.
Standard Spoken English: Sat．8:00-10:00 a.m.
Basic Business English: Sun．8:00-10:00 a.m.
Intermediate Business English: Sun．7:00-9:00 p.m.
TOEFL Super Studies… Sun．7:30-9:30 p.m.
Children's Weekend: Sat．&．Sun．8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact:
Room 807 American Plaza Tianhexi Rd, 510150 Guangzhou
Tel: 86668888-8807
Part II : ENGLISH SALON
A place for you to practise your English, to exchange your English learning experiences, to know more about the culture of English-speaking countries, to make more friends who can speak very good English．
You will have free talks, famous English films and songs appreciation, English lectures and games; all are for you to improve yourself in English in the special, full-of-fun Salon．
How to Join:
We are a group with membership system, so if you want to join our group, please make an application to the Tianhe Office of Top English City, filling in the applying forms．You will be given a salon ID card, and becomes our member．
The Qualifications:
You must be fluent in English-speaking or / and an English lover．Those who are now learning English in the Top English City will be advantageous．
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Jiu Chan at: 47129198 English Salon, your best friend! Join Right Now!Which of the following can be the best title for Part I?
| A．Top English, your smart choice! |
| B．If you want to learn English, we can teach you! |
| C．Top English, the best English! |
| D．We have what you want! |
Which of the following courses can be learned by the same person________?
| A．Basic Studies and Standard Spoken English． |
| B．Intermediate Spoken English and Basic Business English． |
| C．Standard Spoken English and TOEFL Super Studies． |
| D．Intermediate Business English and TOEFL Super Studies． |
If you work in a foreign firm, you probably take the course______.
| A．Standard Spoken English |
| B．Intermediate Business English |
| C．TOEFL Super Studies |
| D．Children's Weekend |
If you want to join the English Salon, you should at least________．
| A．be a university graduate |
| B．be a student learning English in the Top English City |
| C．make more friends and know more about the culture of the English |
| D．be an English lover or can speak English well |
Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. "Father!" Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room.
"Father! What's that sound? Hassan screamed, his hands outstretched toward Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed and lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by rapid sharp sounds of gunfire. "They're hunting ducks." Ali said in a hoarse voice. "They hunt ducks at night, you know." Don't be afraid.
A siren(汽笛) went off in the distance. Somewhere glass broke and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, jolted from sleep and probably still in their pajamas, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness.
We stayed huddled that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. The end came when Russian tanks were rolling into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting.
Just before sunrise, Baba's car peeled into the driveway. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the doorway and I saw something on his face. Something I didn't recognize right away because I'd never seen it before: fear. "Amir! Hassan!" He cried as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. "They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn't work. I was so worried!"
We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night.Who is the author of the passage?
| A．Hassan | B．Ali | C．Baba | D．Amir |
By saying “they are hunting ducks”, Ali ___________.
| A．told the children the truth |
| B．tried to calm the children |
| C．played a joke on the children |
| D．cheered the children up |
We can infer from the passage that__________.
| A．there were thunderstorms that night |
| B．Afghan children were used to the war |
| C．that night was the end of people’s peaceful life |
| D．people on the street shouted and broke the windows |
From the last sentence of the passage, we know_________.
| A．the author was glad to see his father come home safe |
| B．there was a chance that a world in peace was to come |
| C．what happened that night seemed nothing to the author |
| D．Baba’s arms gave the author temporary comfort and joy |