Language is always changing. In a society where life continues year after year with few changes, the language does not change either. The earliest known languages had difficult grammar but a small, limited vocabulary. Over the century, the grammar changed, and the vocabulary grew. For example, the English and Spanish people who came to America during the sixteenth century gave names to all the new plants and animals they found. In this way, hundreds of new words were introduced into English and Spanish vocabularies. Today life is changing very fast, and language is changing fast too.
There are several major language families in the world. Some scientists say there are nine main families, but other scientists divide them differently. The languages in each family are connected, and scientists think that they came from the same parent language. About 3 percent of the people in the world speak languages that are not in these major families.The early language had ________.
| A．a lot of problems | B．words and easy grammar |
| C．words but no grammar | D．grammar but not many words |
In the next few hundred years we can expect language to _____.
| A．stay exactly the same | B．change a great deal |
| C．change only a little | D．ask more words and drop some grammar |
What this article shows is that _____.
| A．languages change fast | B．languages really don't want to change |
| C．language really with changes in society | D．Spanish and English change |
After finishing my shopping, I headed for the checkout
counter but was blocked in the narrow passage by a young
man that appeared to be about sixteen years old. I wasn’t in a
hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was
there.
After a little while, he waved his hands excitedly, in the air and shouted in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm here．Mommy, I'm here．" It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged．Suddenly, he turned and saw me standing so close to him．His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly．He turned and saw me standing so close to him. His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly. I stepped back and asked, " Hey, buddy, what’s your name? " " My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly．"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name．I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Hal．" "Hal like Halloween?" he asked．"Yes," I answered．"How old are you, Denny?" "How old am I now．Mommy?" he asked his mother as she came over from the next passage．"You' re fifteen years old, Denny; now be a good boy and let the lady pass by．" I continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer vacation, bicycles and school．I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement．
As we were talking, he suddenly ran toward the toy section．
Denny's mom thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son．She told me that most people wouldn' t even look at him, much less talk to him…I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said, " Denny is a blue rose and if I didn' t stop and smell that rose with my heart, I would miss a blessing from God．"
She looked more puzzled．I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, however, blue roses are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness （特殊之处）．Denny is such a "blue rose" in God's garden．
46．The story may happen．
A．in a school B．during the summer vacation
C．in a super market D．in the toy section
47．The boy's brown eyes dance with excitement because．
A．he was the center of someone's attention
B．Denny is a cool name
C．he is shopping with his mother
D．he likes summer vacation
48．We can infer from the passage that Danny ______.
A．was mentally challenged B．is 15 years old
C．was often very lonely and neglected D．is a ‘blue rose1’ in God's garden
49．From the passage we can learn that _______.
A．there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God’s garden
B．blue roses'are very rare and should be appreciated
C．most people wouldn’t even look at Denny
D．every person should be appreciated in our life
Let children learn to judge their own work．A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking．He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use．Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s．In the same way, children learning to do all the other things: they learn to do without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes．But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself．We do it all for him．We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to．Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not．
If it is a matter of right answer, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book．Let him correct his own papers．Why should we teachers waste time on such routine work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer．Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, and how to know what they know or do not know．According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by _____．
| A．listening to skilled people’s advice |
| B．asking older people many questions |
| C．making mistakes and having them corrected |
| D．doing what other people do |
Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?
| A．Give children correct answers． |
| B．Allow children to make mistakes． |
| C．Point out children’s mistakes to them． |
| D．Let children mark their own work． |
According to the writer, teachers in school should ________．
| A．allow children to learn from each other |
| B．point out children’s mistakes whenever found |
| C．give children more book knowledge |
| D．correct children’s mistakes as soon as possible |
The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ________．
| A．different from learning other skills |
| B．the same as learning skills |
| C．more important than other skills |
| D．not really important skills |
Laptop computers are popular all over the world．People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels．These laptops connect people to their workplace．In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms．
Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want．Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop．The laptops are part of a ＄10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college．The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet．In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families．However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs．They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!
Because of the many changes in computer technology , laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable．As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers．In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources．State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students．State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too．
At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers．The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons．As one Westlake teacher said, “ Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world．They can see everything and do everything．”The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________．
A．u se for their schoolwork |
B．access the Internet |
| C．work at home | D．connect them to libraries |
Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks（引号）?
| A．They don’t really talk． | B．They use the computer language． |
| C．Laptops have speakers． | D．None of the above reasons is correct． |
Which of the following is true about Westlake College?
| A．All teachers use computers． | B．1500 students have laptops． |
| C．It is an old college in America． | D．Students there can do everything． |
A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can ________．
| A．attend lectures on information technology |
| B．travel around the world |
| C．get information from around the world |
| D．have free laptops |
When we can see well, we do not think about our eyes often．It is only when we can not see perfectly that we come to see how 
important our eyes are．
People who are nearsighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes．Many people who do a lot of close work, such as writing and reading, become nearsighted．Then they have to wear glasses in order to see distant things clearly．
People who are farsighted face just the opposite problem．They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length．If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses too．
Other people do not see clearly because thei
r eyes are not exactly the right shape．This, too, can be corrected by glasses．Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts．Long ago these people often became blind．Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them．
When night falls, colors become fainter to the eyes and finally disappear．After your eyes have grown used to the dark, you can see better if you use the side of your eyes rather than the centers．Sometimes, after dark, you see a small thing to one side of you, which seems to disappear if you turn your head in its direction．This is because when you turn your head, you are looking at the thing too directly．Men on guard duty sometimes think they see something moving to one side of them．When they turn to look straight at it, they can not see it any more, and they believe they were mistaken．However, this mistake happens because the center of the eye, which is very sensitive in daylight, is not as sensitive as the sides of the eye after dark．We don’t know that our eyes are of great importance until ________．
| A．we think about our eyes | B．we cannot see clearly |
| C．we wear glasses | D．we have to do much reading |
According to the passage, a ________ is more likely to be nearsighted．
| A．student | B．doctor | C．guard | D．painter |
People who are farsighted ________ ．
| A．can do a lot of close work without glasses |
| B．can only see things that are very close to their eyes |
| C．have difficulty reading a book if they hold it at arm’s length |
| D．can correct their eyes by glasses |
To see a small thing at night, it is better to look ________ ．
| A．with wide open eyes | B．with half shut or narrowed eyes |
| C．straight at it | D．in a slightly different direction |
Most musicians agree that the best violins were first made in Italy．They were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago．These violins sound better than any others．They even sound better than violins made today．Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins．But they aren’t the same．Musicians still prefer the old ones．No one really knows why these old Italian violins are so special, but many people think they have an answer．
Some people think it is the age of the violins．They say that today’s violins will also sound wonderful someday．But there is a problem here．Not all old violins sound wonderful．Only those from Cremona are special．So age cannot be the answer．There must be something different about Cremona or those Italian violin makers．
Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood．The wood of the violin is very important．It must be from certain kinds of trees．It must not be too young or too old．Perhaps the violin makers of Cremons knew something special about wood for violins．
But the kind of wood may not be so important．It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way．Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully．It has to be the right size and shape．The smallest difference will cha
nge the sound of the violin．Musicians sometimes think that this was the secret of the Italians．Maybe they understood more than we d
o about how to cut the wood．
Size and shape may not be the answer either．Scientists measured these old violins very carefully．They can make new ones that are exactly the same size and shape．But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old one．Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish, which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny．It also helps the sound of the instrument．No one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish．So no one can make the same varnish today．
There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona．Their secret may be lost forever．Young musicians today hope this is not true．They need fine violins．But there aren’t very many of the old violins left．Also, the old violins are very expensive．Recently, a famous old Italian violin was sold for about US $ 300,000!This passage is about _______．
| A．making violins | B．musical instruments |
C．scientific ideas | D．the old Italian violins |
The best violins _______．
| A．are made with modern techniques | B．were lost many years ago |
| C．were made in Italy 200 years ago | D．were made by scientists． |
Some people think that modem violins ______．
| A．will sound better in the future | B．will sound worse in the future |
| C．sound wonderful naturally | D．will never be as old as those from Cremona |
Violins made today _______．
| A．look the same as the old ones |
B．sound the same as the old ones |
C．are better than the old ones |
| D．have the same varnish as the old ones |