Can you remember the day when you spoke your first word? If you can, you are unusual. Try to imagine what first few months of your life were like. I am sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grow older, you were awake more of the time. It took your parents more time to play with you and talk to you. You watched and listened curiously. You began to know that people made certain sounds to go with certain things.
Then you began to try making the sounds you heard. And step by step you were able to make the right sound for one thing.On that day you came to understand the secret of language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. One sound might be as good as another. But it is no good as a word unless everybody agrees on its meaning. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things, can they understand each other. Then, and only then do these people have a LANGUAGE.
After you found the secret of language, you learned words. Some of the words meant things, such as BOOKS, CHAIRS and SHOES. Some words meant doing things, such as GO and SWIM. And other words describe things, such as GOOD and DIRTY. Soon you learned to put words together to express one’s idea, such as “I want to go out and play with my friends.” This is language. By means of language people can communicate. So we say languages are means of communication. When you were a little baby, you_________.
| A．made sounds to let people know that you wanted to eat |
| B．spent most of your time playing with your parents |
| C．could not hear any sound around you |
| D．spent most of your time eating, playing and crying |
The secret of language is that___________.
| A．one sound might be as good as another |
| B．people can understand each other |
| C．a certain sound is for a certain thing |
| D．there is a special sound for each person |
You could learn words__________.
| A．before you knew what the language was |
| B．after you knew what the language was |
| C．if you knew the secret of the language |
| D．when you were a baby |
The aim in using language is___________.
| A．to get everying one wants from others |
| B．to say what one wants to know |
| C．to share ideas, opinions, news, etc with one another |
| D．to make oneself understood by others |
WILD WEATHERMAN
Name: Sam Champion
Hot job: TV Weatherman
Where: WABC-TV, New York City
When you were a child, did you plan to forecast wind, rain, and snow on TV?
I wanted to be a foreign journalist．I took courses in weather science at Eastern Kentucky University, but I majored in broadcasting news．
How did you finally become a weatherman?
My first job in the early 80’s was at the local TV station in Paducah, Kentucky．I did everything from turning on the lights in the morning to writing and delivering morning news．I put together weather forecasts, and became interested in them．
Back then, how did you forecast weather?
Independent companies collected computer information that showed, for example, how a single weather system might split into snow or snow mixed with rain．The information was often opposite and the job of a weatherman was to study the information and make the best educated guess about the storm．
Has weather forecasting changed much with new technology?
Advanced computers, satellites, and Doppler radar （sound waves used to track storms） have made forecasting more exact．But we still know very little about how weather is shaped．So far, we just have theories．
Any advice for children who’d like to become weather scientists?
To me, weather is the most exciting field in the world．There are still so many more questions about weather than answers．After all, if we can’t foresee floods or hurricanes, how safe a society are we? Weather forecasting is wide open for scientists who love to solve puzzling problems．The next generation of meteorologists （weather scientists） will unlock many of Earth’s weather secrets．So get a general knowledge of Earth science, and study meteorology （weather science） in college．
Thanks, Sam．
1．Judging from the writing style, the text is ________．
A．a diary B．an interview C．a news story D．an announcement
2．As a child, ABC-TV’s Sam Champion wanted to be a ________．
A．space scientist B．weatherman C．news reporter D．meteorologist
3．Present weather forecasting technology ________．
A．has made weather report more exact than ever
B．is still not perfect
C．hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years
D．both A and B
4．The study of weather science is called ________．
A． meteorology B． forecasting C ．geography D． earth science
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog．It might understand more than you think．
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany．The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child．Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee．
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects．Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back．In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right．As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words．
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew．The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before．
The correct object was chosen in seven out of ten tests, suggesting that the dog had worked
out the answer by process of elimination（排除法）．A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive．
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog．For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed （品种）known for its mental abilities．In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months．
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say．Even if they do, they can't talk back．Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then．You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
1．From paragraph 2 we know that __________．
A．animals are as clever as human beings
B．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills
C．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children
2．Both experiments show that_____________．
A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B．Rico can recognize different things including toys
C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them
3．Which of the following statements is true?
A．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training．
B．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities．
C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects．
D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands．
4．What does the writer want to tell us?
A．To train your dog． B．To talk to your dog．
C．To be careful with your dog． D．To be friendly to your dog．
第二部分阅读理解（共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、 D和E）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Scott Langteau has this message for kids: Spend less time playing video games．
It’s a message that many a mom and dad have tried to impress upon many a youngster （and some not-so-youngsters） who spend perhaps a bit too much time with game controllers in hand．
But the 40-year-old Langteau isn’t a parent．He’s experienced at video games — one who played producer on three “Medal of Honor” games and co-founded his own game development company．
Langteau has just published a children’s book called “Sofa Boy,” which tells the story of a kid who spends too much time sitting on the couch with controller held in hand and the rather terrible consequences that follow．
It’s a fairy tale plucked straight from Langteau's own experiences as a lad with a fondness for video games and his own bouts with a bit of game addiction．But first, Langteau would like to make one thing clear: “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play video games．I think video games are great, I think they do great things for kids．Instead, Langteau says his book is all about a little something called “moderation．（克制）”
_“It’s_about_being_well_rounded,” he says．“Just like with anything else, we all need to make sure that there’s a variety in what we do．”
Video gamers can be rather bad-tempered when it comes to accepting criticism about their favorite entertainment．And understandably so．After all, most people who go around talking about the dangers of playing video games tend to be outsiders — people who don’t play video games and certainly don’t understand that they can be a valuable and healthy form of entertainment．
But Langteau and “Sofa Boy” seem to be in a unique position to deliver a message of gaming moderation that the young game-savvy masses might actually listen to．After all, this is a
man who understands what it means to be a kid with a passion for games．His early experience has taught him a lesson．
1．Scott Langteau published “Sofa Boy” to_____________．
A．share his great skills on games
B．warn kids against game addiction
C．tell about his fairy tale as a kid
D．deliver a message for games
2．We can learn from the passage that____________．
A．Langteau advises the young to play games within limits
B．Langteau advises the young not to play games
C．playing video games ruins the future of kids
D．playing video games is of no benefit to kids
3．By saying “It’s about being well rounded” Langteau thinks____________．20090506
A．games do great things for kids
B．gamers are usually fat and round
C．games should be viewed from all sides
D．gamers are to blame for their behaviors
4．What topic will be discussed in the following paragraph?
A．His idea to create “Sofa Boy”．
B．His great achievement in games as a kid．
C．His hard times to set up his game company．
D．His enthusiasm for games when he was a small boy．
A thief returned a mobile phone and thousands of yuan he had stolen from a woman after receiving 21 text messages from her, a local newspaper reported.
Pan Aiying, a Chinese teacher at Wutou Middle School in Qihe County, in East China’s Shandong Province, didn’t think her text messages would help to get her belongings(财物) back.
A young man riding a motorcycle robbed her of her bag, in which there was her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 yuan, as she was riding her bicycle home on Saturday evening.
Pan said at first she considered calling the police, but then decided to try to persuade（说服）the young man to return her bag. Pan called her lost phone with her friend’s, but couldn’t get through. So she began sending messages.
“Hey, I’m Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you.” Wrote Pan in her first text message, which got no answer. “Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To make mistakes is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything.” Pan wrote in another message.
She gave up hope after sending 21 text messages without any answer and planned to call the police the next morning. However, as she left her home on Sunday morning, Pan found her stolen bag lying in the courtyard. Nothing was lost.
“Pan: I am sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so kind even though I stole from you. I’ll correct my ways and be an honest person,” said a letter left with the bag.
1. Where was Pan Aiying robbed?
A. In the school. B. At home. C. In the courtyard. D. on her way home
2. Why didn’t Pan Aiying call the police at first?
A. Because she thought the police wouldn’t help her.
B. Because it was too late at that time.
C. Because she wanted to communicate with the thief first.
D. Because her friend asked her not to.
3. How long was Pan Aiying’s bag missing?
A. About two days. B. About 12 hours.
C. About one day and a half. D. About 24 hours.
4. From the news we can learn that ____________.
A. the young man would not steal any more
B. Pan Aiying didn’t give up hope after sending 21 text messages
C. the young man would pay a visit to Pan Aiying personally
D. Pan Aiying teaches English in a middle school in Shandong Province
Every year when the Italian artist Michelangelo’s (1475－1564) birthday comes around, computer users all over the world are filled with fear and use their computers with care. Some may even choose not to turn on their computers on March 3rd. All this fear and care are just because a deadly computer virus(病毒) is ready to cause damages on that day.
What’s a computer virus then? Why do people get so afraid of it?
A computer virus is, in fact, a little program that is put into other programs and that does something bad. It is called a virus because, like any real-life viruses such as AIDS virus, it reproduces(繁殖) itself. And when these programs are run, the virus is brought to life. It hides itself in your computer system waiting for the right moment to make damages. And at the same time it keeps producing itself by copying itself onto other programs.
The Michelangelo virus waits until the artist’s birthday comes around, and then it will wake up to do very bad things like destroying you files. So next time when you turn on your computer, look out for computer viruses!
1. The Italian artist Michelangelo_______.
A. was born six centuries ago B. was born on March 3rd, 1475
C. died six centuries agoD. died on March 3rd, 1564
2. Why are computer users full of fear on March 3rd? Because_________.
A. it is the birthday of a famous Italian artist
B. a kind of computer virus will come on that day
C. a deadly computer virus called “ the Michelangelo virus” will wake up and then cause damages to computers on that day
D. something will easily go wrong with computers
3. In fact, a computer virus is_______.
A. a program which can help the computer avoid something dangerous.
B. a kind of real-life virus
C. a kind of virus like AIDS virus
D. also a kind of program which is placed into other programs and which makes damages
4. In fact, a computer virus is ready to cause damages_________.
A. any day B. only on March 3rd
C. on Fridays D. only on some famous artists’ holidays