Learn a new language as quickly as possible
Learn like a spy! Be mistaken for a native.
Pimsleur courses help people who need to speak another language quickly. Our courses took 40 years to develop and are now used by the FBI, CIA, and business professionals everywhere. They’re so effective; you have nothing to lose!
You will get:
•Language instruction that is proven to be effective
•No boring repetition, charts or meaningless formulas
•Eight fluency-focused lessons on four audio CDs
•Audio instruction with a 25-year history of success
•Full 30-day money-back guarantee (just in case)
•Special offers on our more advanced courses
Reasons to learn using the Pimsleur Approach:
•Speak without an accent so that you sound like a native.
•Practice what’s natural to you in English.
•Feel safe and confident. You’ll know how to deal with any situation.
•Protect your busy life. 30-minute lessons are perfect for your daily commuting, lunch break, or workout.
•Remember without trying. Material is scientifically arranged so that you learn without pain.
•Join 25 million people who have graduated with success since 1980.
The entire Pimsleur Approach is what language learning should be: quick, fun, and easy! Each lesson is the foundation for the next. You’ll keep building on what you’ve learned.What can prove Pimsleur courses to be successful ?
| A．Full 30-day money-back guarantee |
| B．Eight fluency-focused lessons on four audio CDs |
| C．25 million people have graduated with success . |
| D．30-minute lessons are perfect for your daily commuting, lunch break, or workout. |
According to the text, what does the course offer?
| A．Effective language instruction. |
| B．Language rules for you to recite. |
| C．Learning a new language by repeating many times |
| D．Opportunities to work with business professionals. |
According to the text, which of the following is NOT a reason for choosing the Pimsleur Approach?
| A．It will correct your accent. |
| B．It will build your confidence. |
| C．It will help you remember things easily. |
| D．It will teach you how to control your balance . |
It can be inferred that the text is a(n) __________.
| A．report on a new language learning method |
| B．ad of a language training organization |
| C．notice of the opening of a new course |
| D．comment on a language training organization |
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。
That our students rarely get the opportunity to use their imagination was an open secret among Chinese people. Now，a global survey has brought it to the notice of the rest of the world.
The survey covering 21 countries，conducted by International Educational Progress Evaluation Organization，showed Chinese students excelled at math，beating their peers from other countries. But when it came to using their imagination，they were tied for the last place. And in creativity，they were fifth from the bottom.
The survey results are not shocking，given the way our children are taught in schools and at home. But they are a severe reminder to our educators and parents to improve their ways.
Chinese students rarely get the time or chance to use their imagination. Right from the day they enter school they are pushed into a culture of exams and more exams. Teachers and parents teach them that education is all about passing these exams with flying colors. And to pass those exams，they are made to learn by fixed standard answers.
Teachers dare not encourage students to think outside the box. Teachers don't like students questioning them，killing the curiosity of the young minds. For children，there's hardly any room for bright ideas either in class or at home.
Israel shares the values of education with China. But there is a world of difference between the way Israeli parents treat their children and we do. Israeli parents do not mollycoddle their children. Instead，they encourage them to learn how to live independently. In contrast，Chinese parents go to extremes，allowing their children to do whatever they like to do and punishing them severely the next for committing a “mistake”．
The global study should make us swing into action and help our students to throw open their young minds to imagination and creativity. It is time our education officials and educators asked themselves what they should do to let our children's imagination and creativity blossom.Based on the passage，the creativity of the Chinese students ranks ________ among the 21 countries.
| A．the 5th |
| B．the 17th |
| C．the 21st |
| D．the 1st |
Why is the imagination of the Chinese students so poor?
| A．Their parents often improve their educational ways. |
| B．They are thought to be lacking in curiosity. |
| C．Their teachers are afraid of being questioned. |
| D．They are not encouraged to imagine both at home and in class. |
What does the underlined word “mollycoddle” probably mean in Paragraph 6?
| A．spoil |
| B．motivate |
| C．appreciate |
| D．scold |
It can be learned from the passage Israeli parents ________.
| A．lay much more emphasis on education than Chinese ones |
| B．allow their children to live in whatever way they like |
| C．focus more attention on developing their children's living ability |
| D．encourage their children to commit mistakes in lives |
Israel is introduced in the passage mainly ________.
| A．to enrich the content of the text |
| B．to support and advocate Israel education |
| C．to illustrate the disadvantages of Chinese education |
| D．to criticize the wrong behavior of Chinese parents |
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。
(2012年湖南卷，B)Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.
King's Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the master' or get more creative with paint—free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species，it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid' is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron's Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron's Pool. A couple of miles past Grant Chester in the south Cambridge shire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don't trust me, then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf—over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for________.
| A．attending the masters' class |
| B．working with local artists |
| C．learning life drawing |
| D．seeing an exhibition |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ________.
| A．common insects |
| B．impressive plants |
| C．rarely-seen snakes |
| D．wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ________.
| A．to fear pet bears |
| B．to like walking |
| C．to be a heavy drinker |
| D．to finish university in 1805 |
In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake________.
| A．surrounded by fields |
| B．owned by Lord Byron |
| C．located in Grant Chester |
| D．discovered by Virginia Woolf |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some places for weekend break. |
| B．A way to become creative in art. |
| C．The colorful life in the countryside. |
| D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University. |
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。
It was graduation day at the university where I worked a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago，as we watched the students walking into the hall，one of my colleagues turned to me and said，“Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest times of your life.”At my inquiry，he answered，“Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave.”
As years went by，my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed. When I come across naughty students，I have to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn't the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me，asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one，though I have more education and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills，he said he could get me hired. I thanked him，but declined his kind offer.
A few days before this current graduation，while working on final grades，I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class－not about math，but about life－would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading，I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now，on this sunny graduation day，as I again observed the sea of blue_hats_and_gowns，I did so with renewed dedication(奉献) and a deeper sense of satisfaction－I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time，the author ______.
| A．quite agreed with his colleague |
| B．thought it very funny |
| C．was very puzzled |
| D．was very sad |
The computer science student called up the author because he ________.
| A．wanted to inform the author of his present job |
| B．tried to persuade the author to work with him |
| C．wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction |
| D．thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher |
The underlined part “blue hats and gowns” refers to ________.
| A．university colleagues |
| B．life memories |
| C．graduates' clothes |
| D．decorations in the hall |
The author wrote this passage to ________.
| A．express his devotion to being a teacher |
| B．compare two different graduation ceremonies |
| C．talk about the meaning of graduation |
| D．give advice on how to be a good teacher |
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。
There's no better place to be than beside the seaside in the summer. And even in Britain you can still find beaches away from the crowds with golden sand.
COMPTON BAY，ISLE OF WIGHT
This wide sandy beach is on the south west coast，between Freshwater and Brook and is part of the Tennyson Heritage Coast. There are striking views of the white cliffs further along the coast. A coastal path passes behind the beach，and you can enjoy scenic cliff top walks in either direction.
Accommodation：Sandpipers Hotel (01983 758500，www.sandpipershotel.com) with doubles from ￡10pp.
KINGSGATE BAY，KENT
Around the beach round a bend in the coastal road from Ramsgate is white cliffs with Kingsgate Castle dominating the whole landscape. It is fairly isolated，with few facilities，but is perfect for summer bathing or for bracing winter walks.
Accommodation：Fayreness Hotel (01843868641，www.fayreness.com) with doubles with breakfast from ￡69.15pp.
RINGSTEAD BAY，DORSET
A picturesque 210ft crescent(弦月状的) of pebbles with clean water 
that's a perfect escape from some of the busier beaches around Weymouth. You reach it by passing through the village of Upton，then along a narrow country road. Next to the car park is a well stocked shop. The cliffs behind Ringstead Bay are an excellent place for fossil hunting.
Accommodation：Glenburn Hotel (01305 832318，www.glenburnhotel.com) with doubles from ￡79 including breakfast.
BRANSCOMBE，DEVON
Lying on the East Devon Heritage Coast，Branscombe has good facilities with toilets and a car park close to the beach，as well as a small picnic area. A well stocked shop sells the most attractive dairy ice cream. Next to the shop is the Sea Shanty restaurant－open every day until 5 p．m. during the summer.
Accommodation：The Mason's Arms，Branscombe Village (01297 680300，www.masonsarms.co.uk) with doubles from ￡65 pp with breakfast.Which beach is the best wonderful place for summer bathing?
| A．COMPTON BAY. |
| B．BRANSCOMBE. |
| C．KINGSGATE BAY. |
| D．RINGSTEAD BAY. |
In which of the following beaches will you enjoy ice cream?
| A．COMPTON BAY. |
| B．BRANSCOMBE. |
| C．KINGSGATE BAY. |
| D．RINGSTEAD BAY. |
If you want to know more information about Fayreness Hotel，you'd better refer to the following web site ______.
| A．www.masonsarms.co.uk |
| B．www.fayreness.com |
| C．www.glenburnhotel.com |
| D．www.sandpipershotel.com |
What's the purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract more tourists. |
| B．To describe some beautiful beaches. |
| C．To tell us the most beautiful places in UK are beaches. |
| D．To tell us where to spend summer. |
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。
By creating a distinctive username and reusing it on multiple websites，you may be giving online marketers and scammers a simple way to track you. Four researchers from The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) studied over 10 million usernames－collected from public Google profiles，eBay accounts，and several other sources. They found that about half of the usernames used on one site could be linked to another online profile，potentially allowing marketers and scammers to build a more complex picture of the users.
“These results show that some users can be profiled just from their usernames，” says Claude Castelluccia，research director of the security and privacy research group at INRIA，and one of the authors of a paper on the work.“More specifically，a profiler could use usernames to identify all the profiles that belong to the same user，and then use all the information contained in these sites to profile the victim.”
Those who have more unique usernames are more likely to be attacked. The INRIA researchers have created a tool that can check how unique a username is，and thus how easily an attacker could use it to build a profile of a person.
Researchers are exploring ways that the traces of data that people leave on different websites could be combined and used to track them. A 2010 paper showed that the online groups to which people belonged could be used to infer their real identity in 42 percent of cases.
Building profiles of consumers using online information has already become a major industry for marketers as well as online criminals.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Look out for online criminals |
| B．Your username may betray you |
| C．Don't leave your traces online |
| D．A unique username is more attractive |
Online marketers may use your username to ________.
| A．get a picture of yours |
| B．steal from your online account |
| C．get useful information about you |
| D．find out your interest or hobbies |
The main purpose of the passage is probably to ________.
| A．warn us of the possible dangers of a unique username |
| B．tell us how to manage our online information |
| C．advise us on how to choose a proper username |
| D．tell us the importance of a username |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．it's hard to build a profile of a person from an online username |
| B．it's better to use a more complex username online |
| C．an online username has little to do with the real person |
| D．we'd better not use the same username on different sites |
The underlined word “scammers” in Paragraph 1 most probably means ________.
| A．friends |
| B．criminals |
| C．victims |
| D．salesmen |