Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today.
During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors" Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus. For his play "Macbeth", Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information. Shakespeare might have borrowed f
rom other writers, but the intensity（强度）of his imagination and language made the plays his own. While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on.
Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays. His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city’s tradesmen. Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear. His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people.
It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare’s works have influenced the world culture. But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language. During his time, the English language was changing. Many new words from other languages were being added. Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones. For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer” and "eyeball". Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance（装腔作势）"from "Othello", "full circle（绕圈子地）" from "King Lear", etc. The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless. From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world.
Shakespeare became a wellknown writer during a golden age of theater. His years of hard work paid off.What can we infer from the passage？
| A．Many of Shakespeare's works were influenced by earlier writings. |
| B．Shakespeare was hardworking when he was a student. |
| C．The experience of living in London helped a lot with Shakespeare's works. |
| D．Shakespeare became rich later because of the popularity of his works. |
Shakespeare might have learnt some information from ancient Roman works in .
| A．"King Lear" | B．"The Comedy of Errors" | C．"Macbeth" | D．"Othello" |
Why could Shakespeare's works survive his time？
| A．Because there were so few people writing plays in his time. |
| B．Because he produced too many works that nobody else could do. |
| C．Because he was a rich and influential person of his time. |
| D．Because his works were rich in imagination and language. |
Shakespeare's greatest influence should be on .
| A．the English language | B．paintings | C．television | D．music and dance |
The passage is mainly about .
| A．an introduction to Shakespeare’s life and his works |
| B．the main features and styles of Shakespeare's plays |
| C．how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture. |
| D．Shakespeare’s greatest influence on the world culture. |
Think of London and you will probably remember t
he bright red double 
decker buses. Think of Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, and the noisy tuk-tuks may come to mind. Think of San Francisco and you might see the city’s cable cars .
Imagining what these cities would look like without those is difficult. They are symbols of these cities that make them different. However, these city sy
mbols are not always so well loved by their city leaders. C
ity leaders want wh
at is best for their city, which often means the most modern transport.
In Bangkok, city leaders have banned (禁止) tuk-tuks because they consider them noisy and polluting. However, the ban has largely been unsuccessful as it has not changed Thai people’s love for the cheap tuk-tuks over taxis.
In London the city’s first ever mayor (市长) removed the red double decker buses, which he thought were old fashioned. His plan worked, but Londoners were unhappy to lose the nice old buses they believed represented the best of their city. They made their unhappiness felt when the mayor came up for re-election. Most Londoners voted for his competitor, who promised to bring the bus back.
As for San Francisco, several cable cars are still in use but mainly as tourist attractions. They are too slow to be used for anything other than scenic trips.
City transport symbols may have a place in their city people’s hearts, but it seems they are increasingly out of step with the modern world. As Londoners have proved, their continued life depends on people’s willingness to fight for their survival.
64．What’s the purpose of writing the first paragraph?
A. To introduce some city transport symbols.
B. To explain why some cities are popular.
C. To talk about modern transport in some cities.
D. To attract more tourists to visit some cities.
65．The London double decker bus is returning mainly because__________.
A. the new mayor loves it
B. Londoners fought for it
C. it is an improved transport
D. it is popular with tourists
66．Which proves the old city transport symbols are not loved by city leaders?
A. Only a few cable cars are still in use in San Francisco.
B. Bangkok city leaders tried to remove the cheap tuk-tuks.
C. The mayor who sold double decker buses lost the re-election.
D. The new mayor will bring back improved double decker buses.
67．What can we infer from the passage?
A. Modern cities should remove old city transport symbols.
B. The writer thinks highly of the old city transport symbols.
C. Old city transport symbols face the problem of survival.
D. Tourist cities will lose their attraction without the symbols.
The Festival of Cultures
August 11 – 14
City Park
The Festival of Cultures is a yearly event to celebrate the wide range (范围) of cultures found in our great state. People representing 40 cultural groups will share their traditions and customs. Here are just a few of the festival’s many activities.
Crafts(手艺): See the fine art of basket weaving from Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Watch the delicate art of making paper umbrellas from Thailand and the decorative craft of paper picado, or paper cutting, from Mexico. All craft demonstrations (示范) provide a first-hand view of how things are made. You will appreciate the process involved in making these products.
Music and Dance: Experience musical instruments that you have never heard before. Listening to the music of a sho from Japan, a bull-roarer from Australia, a sitar from India, and a chakay from Thailand. You will also be entertained by folk dances from around the world, such as the troika from Russia and the mayim from Israel. From 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on August 14, special folk-dancing classes for children will be offered. Children ranging in age from 6 – 8 can learn the kinderpolka from Germany. Children ranging in age from 9 – 12 can learn the raspo from Mexico.
Storytelling: Listen for hours as professional (专业的) storytellers charm you with captivating tales. Fables, folktales, and ballads from various countries will be told. By popular demand, Gwendolyn Washington, a famous African American storyteller, is back.
Food: Enjoy delicious foods from countries, such as gyros from Greece, seafood paella from Spain, crepes from France, and tandoori chicken from India. These tasty dishes will be difficult to pass up.
Tickets August 11 - 13
Adults $3
Ages 13 – 18 $2
Ages 6 – 12 $ 1
Ages 6 and under Free
The festival of Cultures is organized by the World Marketplace. For more information about the festival, call (800) 555 – 0199.
60．Which of the following are from Mexico?
A. The paper picado and the raspo.
B. The kinderpolka and sitar.
C. The paper cutting and the troika.
D. The mayim and the gyros.
61．A couple with two children at the age of 8 and 16 are going to the festival on August 12. How much money will they pay for the festival?
A. $5. B. $6. C. $8. D. $9.
62．What do we know about the festival?
A. Children will have a chance to learn different folk-dancing.
B. Storyteller Gwendolyn is invited to the festival for the first time.
C. People will be offered opportunities to play musical instruments.
D. Visitors can make paper umbrellas from their first-hand experience.
63．What’s the purpose of writing this passage?
A. To advertise (做广告) for the World Marketplace.
B. To introduce a wide range of cultural traditions.
C. To explain the great importance of popularizing the festival.
D. To persuade (说服) readers to attend the festival held in the City Park.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
English is fast becoming the language of science around the world, but what is its future among everyday speakers? One expert points out that the percentage(比率) of native English speakers is declining(降低) globally while the languages of other rapidly growing regions are being spoken by increasing numbers of people. But English will continue to remain widespread and important.
However, British language scholar David Graddol says English will
probably drop in dominance(主导) by the middle of this century to rank, after Chinese, about equally with Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu. “The number of people speaking English as a first language continues to rise, but it isn’t rising nearly as fast as the numbers of many other languages around the world, simply because the main population group has been largely in the less developed countries where languages other than English have been spoken,” he sa
ys.
In a recent article in the journal Science, Mr. Graddol noted that three languages that are not near the top of the list of the most widely spoken now might be there soon. These are Bengali, Tamil, and Malay, spoken in south and Southeast Asia.
David Crystal, the author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, says about 1.5 billion of the world’s six billion people speak it as a second tongue compared to the 400 million native speakers. But another expert on the English language says Mr. Graddol underestimates (低估) the future of its dominance
. “Nobody quite knows what’s going to happen because no language has been in this position before. But all the evidence (证据) suggests that the English language snowball is rolling down a hill and is getting faster,” he said.
56. In David Graddol’s opinion, English will _______.
A. remain widespread and important
B. be more important than any other language
C. lose its dominant position
D. die away in the near future
57. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph implies that ______.
A. snowballs will roll down faster than language balls
B. the English language snowball is rolling down faster than any time in the past
C. English language will soon drop in dominance
D. more and more language users will choose English
58. How many experts does the passage mention who express their ideas about the future of English?
A. 2.B. 3. C. 4. D. 5.
59. What should be the best title for the passage?
A. English Remaining the Dominant Position
B. The Future of English? Who Knows?
C. Opinions from Different Experts
D. The English Language Snowball Rolling Down
Do your kids like plastic toys? Well, I guess it’s time for them to play with wooden toys.
I have always liked kids’ wooden toys since I was five. I always ran along on the back of a hobby horse pretending to be a cowboy from the West when I was a little boy. Now I’m a dad and I still like buying these timeless natural wooden toys. They will never be out of style. My daughter has a child’s rocking horse, and my two sons hav
e wooden trains and cars. The great thing about this type of toys is that they will last generations if they are treated kindly. Even if they break, most of the time they can be repaired using spare parts bought from wooden-toy makers, and if the part is not too complicated(复杂的), you yourself can make the part from a piece of wood.
What if they do break and can’t be repaired? Well, at least they can be d
ealt with without having any bad effects on the environment. They can be turned into wood chippings and used for pathways in the country or play areas for kids. Even if the wooden toy is buried as rubbish, which is very rare these days, it will not harm the soil or the environment.
I like all types of wooden toys. There is such a wide variety of wooden toys today and the choice is getting bigger day by day. As an alternative(替代品) to plastic toys, wooden toys can’t be beaten. I’m sure in the near future wood will no doubt become the number one material for making toys, as plastic becomes more and more expensive because of rising oil prices and the environmental issues concerning plastic. Plastic toys might harm kids’ health, too.
67. According to the author, wooden toys which can’t be repaired will _______.
A. be taken back by the makers B. need a lot of money to deal with
C. not harm the environment D. be collected by collectors
68. From the last paragraph, we can learn that _______.
A. plastic will be used up sooner o
r later
B. plastic toys will not be allowed to be sold very soon
C. wooden toys will become more popular in the future
D. wooden toys will become more and more expensive
69. Which of the following is NOT the reason why plastic toys will be less popular in the future?
A. That plastic has bad effects on the environment.
B. That plastic toys might harm the health of children.
C. That plastic toys offer children few choices.
D. That oil prices are getting higher than before.
70. We can infer that this passage is written to _______.
A. tell us the disadvantages of plastic toys
B. advise parents to buy wooden toys instead of plastic ones
C. tell us how much the author and his children like wooden toys
D. advise toy makers to make wooden toys rather than plastic ones
The oldest stone buildings in the world are the pyramids. They have stood for nearly 5,000 years, and it seems likely that they will continue to stand for thousands of years yet. There are over eighty of them scattered along the banks of the Nile, some of which are different in shape from the true pyramids. The most famous of these are the “Step” pyramid and the “Bent” pyramid.
Some of the pyramids still look as much alike as they must have been when they were built thousands of years ago. Most of the damage suffered by the others has been at the hands of men who were looking for treasure or, more often, for stone to use in modern buildings.The dry climate of Egypt has helped to keep t
he pyramids in good condition, and their very shape has made them less likely to fall into ruin. These are good reasons why they can still be seen today, but perhaps the most important one is that they were planned to last forever.
The “Step” pyramid had to be on the west side of the Nile, the side on which the sun set. This was for spiritual reasons. It also had to stand well above the level of the river to protect it against the regular floods. It could not be too far from the Nile, however, as the stones to build it needed to be carried in boats down the river to the nearest point. Water transport was , of course, much easier than land transport. The builders also had to find a rock base, which was not likely to crack under the great weight of the pyramid. Finally, it had to be near the capital, or better still, near king’s palace so that he could visit it easily to personally check the progress being made on the final resting place for his body.
63. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the “Step” pyramid?
A. It is unlikely to fall into ruin in the near future.
B. It was built on the sands along the Nile.
C. It
is the oldest building on earth.
D. It is the most famous of the true pyramids.
64. The most important reason why some pyramids remain in good condition is that _______.
A. people have taken care of them
B. it doesn’t rain often in Egypt
C. they were well designed
D. the government has protected them from damage
65. Most of the damage to the pyramids has been caused by _______.
A. the regular floods B. the dry climate of Egypt
C. people searching for gold D. people in search of building materials
66. Why did Egyptians build the pyramids along the banks of the Nile?
A. Because they believed in their god.
B. Because it was difficult to find a large rock base far from the Nile.
C. Because the river helped a lot in the transport of building materials.
D. Because it was not easy to choose a suitable place for the pyramids.