Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the language of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about three thousand languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.
There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present-day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago.
Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time, some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago, English was a little known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.
If a language has a number of speakers, or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of people. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can’t understand speakers from other parts.The first paragraph mainly tells us that_______.
| A．most people in the world speak Chinese |
| B．there are thousands of languages in today’s world |
| C．man has much knowledge about languages |
| D．some people know several languages |
Most European and Indian languages_______.
| A．will soon die out completely |
| B．were once a relative of English |
| C．are no longer spoken |
| D．come from the same family of language. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Chinese is the language with the most speakers. |
| B．English was a well-known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe. |
| C．A language has many speakers, but there may be no differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. |
| D．Speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can understand speakers from other parts. |
It is considered a most difficult thing for one to learn to speak Chinese because_______.
| A．there are great differences between the dialects of Chinese |
| B．Chinese and many foreign languages are not of the same family |
| C．Chinese is a very old language |
| D．there are great differences between the old Chinese and the present-day Chinese |
The underlined word “dialect” in the last paragraph means_______.
| A．a special language spoken by Chinese |
| B．the sign used by Chinese people in a special area |
| C．the difference between the old and today’s Chinese |
| D．the form of a language used in one part of the country |
In Britain, when people meet each other for the first time, they talk about things like family, work, school,or sports. They ask question like “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” “Where do you work?” “What school do you go to?” and “Do you like sports?” They also ask questions like “Where do you come from?” and “Where do you live?” These are polite questions. They are not personal or private. But some things are personal or private, and questions about them are not polite. People don’t ask questions about a person’s salary(薪水). They don’t ask how much or someone is paid for something. It is not OK to ask people questions about politics, party(政党) or religion(宗教) unless you know them very well. People don ’t ask unmarried people “Why are you single?” and they don’t ask a married couple with no children “Why don’t you have any children?”Which is a polite question in Britain when people meet?
| A．How’s your family? |
| B．You’re not married, why? |
| C．What do you think of the Labor Party? |
| D．How much does your boss pay you each week? |
The British usually don’t ask questions about a person’s _______.
| A．interest | B．work | C．religion | D．family |
It’s not polite for a person to show interest in the ______ life of others.
| A．school | B．private | C．hard | D．happy |
In Britain, which of the following questions is NOTpolite?
| A．Where are you from? |
| B．Do you like play football? |
| C．Which subject do you like best? |
| D．You look much older than your husband. How old are you? |
This passage is mainly about ______.
| A．school life | B．politeness | C．working | D．sport |
The big red American car was much too wide for an English country road. When Jack saw it running towards him, he stopped his own car at the side of the road to make room for it to pass. The American car went slowly past, so close that he could see the driver’s face clearly.
“Where have I seen that face before?” he though. “Wait a minute! I remember now. It was in the newspaper!” He took all the newspapers from his bag and turned quickly to the middle page. There was a picture of the face in it. Yes, it had a large mouth and small eyes, and his eyes were behind dark glasses.
“Wanted by the police,” read by Jack. “The city Bank will give a lot of money to anyone who helps the police to catch this man.”
“Call the police at once,” he said to himself. But a few minutes later, he was sad. “This man was caught this morning,” answered the police. The story happened _______.
| A．in England | B．in America |
| C．in a bank | D．in a police station |
Why did Jack stop his car?
| A．Because he wanted to see the driver. |
| B．Because he didn’t want to pass by first. |
| C．Because it was good for drivers to stop to let others go first. |
| D．Because the road was not wide enough for the two cars to pass at the same time. |
What did Jack do when he had read the newspaper again?
| A．He drove to the city bank. |
| B．He drove to the police. |
| C．he made a telephone call. |
| D．He stopped the American car. |
What would the person get if he caught the man the police wanted?
| A．A lot of English cars. |
| B．A lot of money. |
| C．A lot of American cars. |
| D．A lot of newspapers. |
Who caught the man with large mouth and small eyes?
| A．The American. | B．The police. |
| C．Jack. | D．the driver. |
You may know the saying: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A recent study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong has discovered another saying: An apple a day keeps old age away.
The study involved fruit flies(g果蝇), as they share many genes(基因) with humans. Researchers gave one group of fruit flies normal food, and another group of fruit flies got the same food including apple.
The results showed that flies that ate apple lived an average of 55 days longer than the flies that didn’t eat apple. The study also found that apple-eating flies were more able to walk, climb and move about as they became old, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports.
The researchers believe that the antioxidants (抗氧化剂）found in apples are good for health.
In another experiment, researchers studied the diets of thousands of women. They found that those women who often ate apples were 20 percent less likely to have heart disease.
Scientists have recently discovered the apple’s genetic code(基因代码). This allows scientists to make new kinds of fruit that are healthier. Researchers are already using this information to grow apples with added antioxidants. Antioxidants help to keep eyes and joints (关节)healthy and protect against heart attacks and cancer.
Apples that help people lose weight may be in supermarkets in just four or five years. They are said to be “extra healthy” apples that can stop people from overeating.Fruit flies were used in the research because_______________ .
| A．they love to eat apples |
| B．they share similar genes with humans |
| C．they are easy to catch |
| D．they can live longer |
By studying the diets of many women, researchers ___________ .
| A．proved apples were good for people’s health. |
| B．found they are healthier than men |
| C．helped them to lose weight successfully |
| D．discovered the genetic code of the apple |
From the story, we can infer(推测) that _________________.
| A．women like to eat apples more often than men |
| B．people who eat apples are easier to have heart disease |
| C．scientists are studying a new type of apples |
| D．apples’ genetic code is similar to other fruits |
You may find the passage in ____________ .
| A．a science magazine | B．a guidebook |
| C． a picture show | D．a storybook |
Today, an increasing number of people are always looking at their mobile phones with their heads down. These people are called the “Heads-down Tribe”(低头族). Are you a heads-down tribe member? Heads-down tribe members now can be seen everywhere.
Using mobile phones may cause accidents and even cost a lot of money. Also, more and more interesting and strange facts happen to the “Heads-down Tribe”. Let’s have a look at an interesting TV report. A man in America kept using his mobile phone on his way home. As a result, he bumped into a big lost bear on the street. When he lifted his eyes from the phone，he was so scared that he turned around and ran away as quickly as possible. Another fact is that we can often see people in the restaurant eating face to face but looking at their own mobile phones. It’s strange that they don’t talk to the ones who sit opposite to them during the meal. Some of them even have fun communicating with others on the phone.
Mobile phones are helpful and necessary tools for modern life. Are mobile phones good or bad? It depends on how people use them. Let’s be “healthy” users and try to be the “Heads-up Tribe”.Where did the American bump into the bear?
| A．In the forest. | B．At a zoo. |
| C．On the street. | D．At a park. |
According to the passage, what do the “Heads-down Tribe” do when they eat in a restaurant?
| A．They enjoy their meals. |
| B．They take photos of their meals. |
| C．They don’t talk to the people who sit opposite. |
| D．They talk to the strangers who sit next to them. |
What do we know about the “Heads-down Tribe”?
| A．They are cool children. |
| B．They are dangerous driver. |
| C．They are good at using the Internet. |
| D．They are always looking at their mobile phones. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Let’s try to be the “Heads-down Tribe”. |
| B．We should use mobile phones properly. |
| C．Mobile phones are not good for people. |
| D．Mobile phones are helpful and necessary. |
A boy without ears was often laughed at at school, so he often asked his parents to graft(移植) a pair of ears for him.
One day a doctor said to the boy’s father that he could graft a pair of ears for his son, if they could be offered. Two years went by. Then, “You are going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret,” said the father.
The operation was a brilliant success. Later the boy married and entered the diplomatic service（外交部）. “But I must know who gave so much to me. I could never do enough for him.” “But the agreement was that you are not to know… not yet,” said the father. The years kept their secret, but the day did come… one of the darkest days that ever passed through his son. Slowly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to show… that the mother had no ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?”
Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what that can be seen, but what that cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what that is done but not known.Why was the boy laughed at at school?
| A．Because he was very short. | B．Because he was very foolish. |
| C．Because he has no eyes. | D．Because he has no ears. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “donate”?
| A．喜欢 | B．捐赠 | C．破坏 | D．生长 |
Which is the right order according to the story.
①The boy married and entered the diplomatic service.
②The boy knew who gave him the ears.
③The boy asked his parents to graft a pair of ears for him.
④The boy’s operation was successful.
| A．③④①② | B．②①③④ |
| C．①③④② | D．③①④② |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Real beauty lies in the heart. |
| B．Real love lies in what that is done but not known. |
| C．The passage mainly tells us how the boy succeeded. |
| D．The love of mother is great. |