We are well aware of the role of modern transportation in our lives. Not too long ago, people suffered great hardship in order to make a long journey. Moving heavy goods from one town to another involved hard labor. Today, we enjoy the convenience of various kinds of vehicles including ships, planes, trains, and automobiles, which allow us to go wherever we choose and make our workload much lighter.
But modern transportation, along with convenience has brought some problems. With more drivers on the road, there has been an increase in traffic jams and accidents. The exhaust from automobiles has added to our air pollution, aside from additional noise caused by trucks and cars on the road.
Like everything else, modern transportation has more than one face. Here in China, we look to our government experts to solve these problems. Scientists are working on developing modern fuel (燃料) that produces less pollution. However, we can all help reduce air pollution from automobiles by only driving when it is necessary and using public transportation when available.
Title: 1
| Convenience |
● allowing us to go anywhere ● reducing 2 |
| 3 |
● traffic jams and accidents increasing ● the exhaust 4 air pollution ● 5 caused by vehicles |
| 6 |
● 7 solving the problems ● scientists 8 ● poeple helping 9 by only driving when necessary and using public transportation when 10 |
The average person learns most of the 30 000～40 000 words whose meanings he or she recognizes by hearing them or getting familiar with them in the context or simply absorbing them without conscious(意识到的) effort. The best way to build a good vocabulary, therefore, is to read a great deal and to participate in a lot of good talks. There are relatively few words that we learn permanently(永久的)by purposefully referring to dictionaries or keeping word lists. However, even those extra few are of value, and no one will make a mistake by working on developing a larger vocabulary. Here are some suggestions of how to do it.
Read plenty of good books. When you come across a new word, or a new meaning of an old word, stop and see if you can understand it from its context. If you can't, and if you can manage without interrupting the thought of the book too much, look it up in a dictionary or ask somebody and then repeat its meaning to yourself a couple of times. If you are really conscientious(认真的), write the word and its meaning in a personal vocabulary list — preferably using it in a sentence, or you can keep a special vocabulary notebook. Go over the list from time to time. Further, try to use a new word in writing or conversation a few times over the next several days.
Listen to good talks and be alert to new words you hear or to new meanings of words you already know. Then treat them just as you treat the new words you read.
Learn and be alert to the parts of words: prefixes, suffixes and roots. Knowing them enables you to make intelligent guesses about the meaning of words.
If you are studying a foreign language, be alert to words in that language which relate to words in English. English has inherited(继承) or borrowed much of its vocabulary of 500 000～600 000 words from Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and German. When you meet a new word in reading, what should you do?
| A．Guess its meaning. | B．Ask somebody. |
| C．Look it up in a dictionary. | D．All of the above. |
According to this passage, the best way to build a good vocabulary is _______.
| A．to remember a lot | B．to read a great deal |
| C．to take part in a lot of good talks | D．both B and C |
The phrase “be alert to” in the third paragraph may best be replaced by “_______”.
| A．look at | B．pay attention to |
| C．write down | D．learn by heart |
In the fourth paragraph, the word “them” refers to _______.
| A．the parts of words | B．prefixes | C．suffixes | D．roots |
One day a teacher was giving her young students a lesson on how the government works. She was trying to explain the principle of income tax (收入税).
“You see ,” she began , speaking slowly and carefully , “each person who works must pay part of his or her salary (薪水) to the government . If you make a high salary , your taxes are high . If you don’t make much money , your taxes are low .”
“Is that clear?” she asked. “Does everyone understand the meaning of income tax?” The students nodded.
Are there any questions?” she asked. The students shook their heads.
“Very good!” she said.” “Now, I would like you to take a piece of paper and write a short paragraph on the subject of income tax.”
Little Joey was a slow learner. He had lots of problems with spelling and grammar, but this time he at least seemed to understand the task. He took his pen and after a few minutes, he handed the teacher the following composition:
Once I had a dog. His name was Tax.
I opened the door and in come Tax.The teacher was trying to explain one day.
| A．the basic principles of the income tax |
| B．how the government works |
| C．everyone should pay income tax |
| D．how much tax one should pay for his income |
After the teacher’s explanation, .
| A．all the students shook their heads |
| B．many of the students were still puzzled |
| C．Most students understood the meaning of income tax |
| D．Some students didn’t understand their teacher |
The students were asked .
| A．to say something about income tax |
| B．to answer some questions on income tax |
| C．to write a composition on “income tax” |
| D．to explain the principle of income tax |
Little Joey .
| A．was clear about the subject | B．grasped what income tax meant |
| C．wrote a paragraph about his dog | D．did as what he was told to do |
Language learning begins with listening.Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking,and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will“obey”spoken instructions some time before they can speak,though the word“obey”is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child.Before they can speak,many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties.It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight,pain,friendliness,and so on.But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate,they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language.It is agreed,too,that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment,and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store.This selfimitation(模仿) leads on to deliberate(有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people.The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
It is a problem we need to get out teeth into.The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world.Thus the use at seven months of“mama”as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father,his dog,or anything else he likes.Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself,I doubt,however whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.Before children start speaking.
| A．they need equal amount of listening |
| B．they need different amounts of listening |
| C．they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions |
| D．they can’t understand and obey the adult’s oral instructions |
Children who start speaking late.
| A．may have problems with their listening |
| B．probably do not hear enough language spoken around them |
| C．usually pay close attention to what they hear |
| D．often take a long time in learning to listen properly |
The problem of deciding at what point a baby’s imitations can be considered as speech.
| A．is important because words have different meanings for different people |
| B．is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually |
| C．is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age |
| D．is one that should be completely ignored(忽略) because children’s use of words is often meaningless |
The speaker wants to tell us that.
| A．parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds |
| B．children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak |
| C．even after they have learnt to speak,children still enjoy imitating |
| D．children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly |
The first day of school we were interested to get to know a new classmate.I looked around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.I found a little old lady with a warm smile.
She said,“Hi ! I’m Rose.I’m 87 years old.Can I give you a hug?”I laughed and I heartily responded,“Of course!”
“Why are you in college at such a young,innocent(天真无邪的)age?”I asked.
She jokingly replied,“I’m here to meet a rich husband,get married,have children, and then travel around.”
“Not seriously,”I asked.I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”she told me.We became instant friends.
Over the year,Rose became a campus icon(偶像) and she easily made friends wherever she went.She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students.
At the end of the semester,we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.Here are the secrets to staying young.You have to laugh and find humor every day.You’ve got to have a dream.When you lose your dreams,you die.Unfortunately we have many people like this walking around?”she said.
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.Anybody can grow older.That doesn’t take any talent or ability,”she added.“But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change.Have no regrets.The elederly usually don’t regret what they did,but rather things they did not do.”
One week after graduation that year,Rose died peacefully in her sleep.She taught us by example that__________________.Why was Rose in college at 87? Because.
| A．she wanted to meet a rich husband |
| B．she wanted to get married and have children |
| C．she wanted to travel around |
| D．she dreamed of having a college education |
According to the passage,Rose loved to do the following EXCEPT.
| A．dress up |
| B．enjoy the attention from the other students |
| C．play football |
| D．make friends |
According to what Rose said,we can know that to stay young you must not.
| A．laugh | B．be humorous |
| C．have a dream | D．lose your dream |
According to the last paragraph but one we know.
| A．growing older is quite different from growing up |
| B．growing older needs talent |
| C．growing up doesn’t require ability |
| D．the elderly usually have no regrets |
Which of the following can be used to fill in the blank at the end of the passage?
| A．where there is a will, there’s a way |
| B．never too late to learn |
| C．Study hard and you will be young |
| D．never too late to be all you can possibly be |
| Dear Expert: I was asked to retrieve my 14-year-old daughter from a five-day camping trip.She was suffering from such severe separation anxiety,her teacher thought she should go home.She hadn’t eaten anything and had refused to participate in any activities.The thing is my daughter is extremely bright and has many friends;she organized a few friends into a band,and it belongs to several school clubs.She’s just always had an extreme fear of being away from home.I don’t want her to miss out on other trips. Yours truly, Jonathan |
| Dear Jonathan: Sometimes kids can push through homesickness,but in other instances they become hurt mentally and develop greater anxiety around outings,which can worsen and prolong(延长) the problem.Separation anxiety can be the result of many complex interactions some genetic(遗传的) and some learned. People with high anxiety tend to be fearful and worried, ever when the sense of threat is minimum（最低程度）.Lots of talented,creative and successful people are exceedingly anxious. I believe your daughter is bright,active and popular,but simply can’t do well outside her home base.My suggestion is to take things in small steps,so your daughter can experience success,and always have a fallback(退却) plan if she needs it.For instance,she can plan an overnight with a friend,but assure her it’s no big deal to pick her up at midnight if she changes her mind. What’s important is to recognize the fear,and make plans to deal with whatever may cause distress.In other words,don’t try to talk your daughter out of her fears,equip her to master them.This way she’ll eventually gain the confidence to go on further trips. Expert |
What does the underlined word“retrieve”mean?
| A．Go with someone. | B．Take someone back. |
| C．Separate from someone. | D．Miss someone. |
Which of the following statements is TURE?
| A．Separation anxiety is the result of different reasons. |
| B．Separation anxiety is genetic. |
| C．Only creative people suffer from separation anxiety. |
| D．Separation anxiety is of the same level. |
When can’t the 14-year-old daughter function well?
| A．When organizing a band at school. |
| B．When she is not far away from her home. |
| C．When she is in a club. |
| D．When she is camping far away from home. |