Volunteers,asanessentialpartof-优题课

Q:
I’d like to know about fluency．What can I do to feel better when I’m talking to other people? Do you have some ways to learn it faster? Please help me!　　　—Roberto in Brazil
A:
Roberto wants to know how to become more fluent in English, and this is something you want to be able to do “fast”．
First, if you get to meet English speakers much, the important rule is to listen not just to native speakers of English, but also to very good users of English．If you don’t, then listen to the radio, TV or films in English．
The next step is to notice what it is that speakers of English do, which makes them sound fluent．The first trick(诀窍) is to probably have confidence．Some people think they might make mistakes．Don’t worry about that．Your listeners will usually try hard to understand you — a few grammar mistakes aren’t going to worry them．
What you do need to worry about is pronunciation, especially stress(重音)．When you learn a new word or expression, learn it with its stress．Notice how a native speaker says it or look it up in a dictionary．
Another good thing that speakers of English do is to have a few tricks up their sleeves(袖子) for when they need to give themselves thinking time．Sometimes they use “filler sounds” like er, um and so on．
It is also useful to know how to bring other speakers into your conversation so that you keep them interested － and this is often done by asking questions like “What do you think?” “How do you feel about this?” and so on．
So, to become a fluent speaker, you’ll need to put into practice all these kinds of things．And there’s the key: practise, practise, practise．　　　　　　　　　　　　　－Susan Fearn
56．Susan first encourages English learners to．
A．meet English speakers B．listen to very good speakers
C．talk to English speakers D．buy a radio or a TV set
57．When mentioning pronunciation, Susan pays special attention to．
A．stress B．expressions C．dictionaries D．words
58．What do the underlined words “to have a few tricks up their sleeves” probably mean?
A．To wear a lot of clothes．
B．To have a secret plan or idea．
C．To hide some tricks into their sleeves．
D．To have sleeves covering their whole arms．
59．What do we know from the passage?
A．One can only learn stress from dictionaries．
B．Grammar mistakes worry one’s listeners a lot．
C．Asking questions can make one’s conversation attractive．
D．One can become fluent if one practises one of the suggestions．

Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature．However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment．
Some sports are resource-hungry．Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water．Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses (球场) in good condition．This causes major environmental effects．For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas．
There are many environment-friendly sports．Power walking is one of them that you could take up today．You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse．Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit．If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones．Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control．
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials．But the final goal should be “green gyms”．They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers．Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces．There is no special requirement for you to start your membership．And best of all, it’s free．
49．The author thinks the golf is resource-hungry because of the following EXCEPT that_____．
A．Golf wastes large areas of countryside
B．Golf runs out of much water
C．Keeping golf court in good condition needs too much energy
D．Golf is bad for people’s health
50．According to the passage, which of the following is an environment-friendly sport?
A．swimming in the pool B．hiking in the hills
C．playing basketball in the gym D．motor racing in the desert
51．The reason why the author uses power walking as an example mainly is because _________．
A．it improves our health B．it uses fewer resources
C．it is an outdoor sport D．it is recommended by experts
52．The purpose of the author’s writing this passage is to ______．
A．show us the function of major sports
B．encourage us to go in for green sports
C．discuss the major influence of popular sports
D．introduce different types of environment-friendly sports

Since weeks ago, China has been involved in a worldwide A/H1N1 flu that has already killed more than 80 people in the middle of May, 2009, in Mexico and has turned into a global pandemic．
The central government has asked people entering China from the virus-hit countries to report flu-like symptoms(症状)to the authorities．In an emergency notice issued on Saturday night, the country’s top quality watchdog ordered the Customs to check passengers’ temperature, too．
A Beijing airport official Li said Customs officers are on a high alert(警戒)level．
“Three temperature detectors are now in operation．We’re ready with protection garments and equipment, too．Passengers flying in from Mexico and other A/H1N1 flu-hit countries are being monitored closely,” he said．
The Ministry of Health, however, said yesterday there was no evidence to suggest that a person would contract the disease by eating pork．
Hong Kong, too, has raised its alert level against the flu to “serious”．Secretary for Food＆Health, Mr．York Chow urged people to avoid visiting places from where A/H1N1 flu cases have been reported, and said the virus would be added to Hong Kong’s list of the diseases which have been noticed．
The terrible A/ H1N1 flu has been contracted by about 4000 people in Mexico, and most of the killed were aged between 25 and 45．
The virus has also infected about 5,000 people in the US．The US Center for Disease Control said this kind of virus is spreading from human to human, raising fears of a global pandemic．
53．What is the passage mainly about?
A．A/H1N1 flu killed more than 80 people．
B．A/H1N1 flu is spreading from human to human．
C．China has begun to take steps to prevent A/H1N1 flu．
D．All the people are strongly affected by A/H1 N1 flu．
54．The underlined word “pandemic” in the first paragraph probably means ..
A．death B．panic C．enemy D．disease
55．Why does the flu cause global fears?
A．Because most people in the world eat pork．
B．Because it’s spreading from human to human．
C．Because we still don’t know the cause of it．
D．Because it has infected about 5, 000 people．
56．We can infer from the passage that．
A．passengers from the United States are being monitored closely
B．a person would be infected by the virus by eating pork
C．students in the middle school are most likely infected by A/H1N1 flu
D．Mr．York Chow said that the virus had been added to Hong Kong’s list of the diseases

Most of us think that when we step under a shower we’re getting clean．We are, but we’re also giving a home to lots of tiny little creatures we didn’t even know about．
A showerhead carries thousands of bacteria (细菌) called Mycobacterium．These can cause problems like coughs and tiredness, and a general feeling of poorliness (身体不舒服)．When you turn on the water, the bacteria go from the showerhead onto and into your body．
This is a finding of Norman R．Pace and his team at the University of Colorado, in the US．The scientists investigated bacteria in all kinds of human environment, including showers．
Pace's team looked at 45 showerheads in nine American cities．They discovered that 30 percent of them had large amounts of flying Mycobacterium．
But Pace said that they pose few threats to the health．Only those with a frail (脆弱的) immune (免疫的) system might need to worry．
He told the New York Times that the bactertia are not as unpleasant as might be thought．He said that having a shower is no more dangerous than anything else we do in the morning．
But for those who feel sick about the idea of all those microorganisms (微生物), he had some advice．
Let the water run for 30 seconds before getting into the shower．Why? The number of bacteria is smaller than when the water is just turned on．If that seems like a waste of water, he added that you could also change your showerhead every few months．
But Pace had good news too．He has also been testing the air in US subways．Apart from iron particles (粒子), which are ground off the track by the wheels of trains, subway air is fresh．The reason is that a train’s movement pumps fresh outdoor air into the tunnels(隧道)．
Pace explained that he wanted to understand the natural microbial(微生物的) environments of public places．This kind of knowledge might help detect the microbes to be used in a bioterrorist (生物恐怖分子) attack．
49．According to the finding of Norman R．Pace, after taking a shower, we might ______．
A．get much dirtier B．be covered by bacteria
C．get a frail immune system D．catch a cough or feel tired
50．Pace’s research into showers shows that ______．
A．there is no reason to fear microorganism
B．shower water contains much less bacteria after being left to run for 30 second
C．having a shower in the morning is more dangerous than at other time
D．of 45 showerheads surveyed in nine cities, 30 carried large amounts of Mycobacterium
51．According to the research of Pace’s team, which of the following contributes to fresh air in US subways?
A．Train wheels． B．Iron particles．
C．The movement of the trains． D．Air conditioners on the trains．
52．The word “detect” in the last paragraph probably means “______”．
A．to discover B．to protect C．to make D．to prevent

At the end of my senior year of high school, I got a job working at a local coffee shop．I thought the job would be easy and stress-free．I pictured myself pouring the best coffees, making delicious doughnuts (炸面包圈), and becoming friends with regular customers．
I wasn’t expecting the people with enormous orders, the women who complained that the coffee was much too creamy (含乳脂的), or the men who wanted their iced coffees remade again and again until they reached perfection．I couldn’t seem to please anyone．
One rainy day, one of my regular customers came in looking upset．He said he felt like getting in bed, pulling the sheets up over his head, and staying there for a few years．I knew exactly how he felt．
Before he left, I handed him a bag along with his iced coffee．He was surprised, since he hadn’t ordered anything but coffee．I had given him his favorite type of droughnut．
“It’s on me,” I told him．“Have a nice day．”
He smiled and thanked me before heading back out into the rain．
The next day, it was still raining．I spent my afternoon hanging out the window handing people their orders．I was completely wet and freezing cold．Worse, no one was tipping that day．Every time I looked into our empty tip jar, I grew more depressed．
In the evening, the customer from the day before drove up to the window．He handed me a pink rose and a note．He said that not many people took time to care about others and he was glad there were still people like me in the world．With a friendly wave, he drove away．
I ran to the back of the shop and read the note．It read:
Christine,
Thanks for being so sweet, kind and thoughtful yesterday．It is so nice to meet someone who’s indeed nice．Please don’t change your ways! Have a great day! –Hank
After that, whenever I felt depressed or sick of coffee, I thought of Hank and his kindness．Then I would smile, hold my head up high, clear my throat and ask politely, “How can I help you?”
45．Why wasn’t the writer happy with her job at first?
A．The customers didn’t tip her enough．
B．It was difficult to make iced coffee perfect．
C．Everybody had an enormous order．
D．The job didn’t turn out as she had expected．
46．The man came to the coffee shop to ______．
A．buy his favorite doughnut B．complain to the author
C．buy a cup of iced coffee D．get out of the rain
47．The man felt thankful for the writer because ______．
A．she was indeed kind to him in a time of need
B．she knew exactly how the man felt
C．she offered him coffee and food for free
D．she comforted him by sharing his pain
48．What can we learn from the passage?
A．Don’t count your eggs until they are hatched．
B．If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path．
C．The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships．
D．A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy．

A．In the Expo Site．	B．In the host country．
C．In the Expo City．	D．In Chinese mainland．