"Colour" and "color"，"favourite" and "favorite"... Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a "u"? Is it because they are lazy?
Of course not. In fact，the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists (语言学家) celebrated his 250th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War (1775~ 1783)，Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary，rather than rely on British versions (版本). He dropped the British "u" in some words. And he changed "centre" into "center" for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded.
Webster wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. In defining (定义) preposterous (unreasonable)，he wrote: "A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous."
Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom.
"He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity，"said Joshua Kendall，who is working on a biography (传记) about Webster. "He at last bonded (联合)us through our language." Which of the following would probably be the best title for the passage?
| A．The shaper of American English. |
| B．American identity. |
| C．Webster's dictionary. |
| D．Spelling differences between American and British English. |
According to the passage，when he worked on his dictionary, Noah Webster did all of the following EXCEPT .
| A．voicing his opinion | B．changing "centre" into "center" |
| C．adding local words | D．dropping "u" in all the British words |
Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster’s work?
| A．Interesting. | B．Meaningful. | C．Unfinished. | D．Boring. |
Why did Noah Webster create these differences in his dictionary?
| A．Because he wanted to make English simple and easy. |
| B．Because he wanted to show that the USA is stronger than the UK. |
| C．Because he wanted to achieve political freedom. |
| D．Because he wanted American English to have its own characteristics. |
When did Noah Webster probably begin his project of the dictionary?
| A．In 1758. | B．In 1783. | C．In 1800. | D．In 1828. |
Sydney Tower is ______ in Sydney, Australia．
| A．the busiest street |
| B．the biggest station |
| C．the most beautiful park |
| D．the highest point |
If you want to book a ticket to Sydney Tower, you can' t _______ ．
| A．email sydneytower@ hotmail．corn |
| B．fax 02 9333 9203 |
| C．search www．sydneytower．com．au |
| D．dial 02 9333 9222 |
Frank wants to go to Sydney Tower with his two children, he will pay ______ ．
| A．$60 |
| B．$90 |
| C．$120 |
| D．$150 |
I’m Mary．I have a piece of good news to tell you.My parents bought a new flat in the centre of the city．The rooms are not big, but they are all comfortable．There are more rooms than our old flat．I am excited(激动) because I have my own bedroom．In the old flat, I share the bedroom with my sister．
My favourite room in the new flat is my bedroom．I can be alone (单独) in it．It is my own small world．I can listen to music, read comics and chat with my friends on the phone．I can also look for things on the internet and send e-mails to my e-friends．
Kitchen is my favourite room, too．I like helping my mother with the cooking．She is not only a good teacher but also a good cook．She often teaches me how to make some different dishes．She lived in Sichuan when she was a child．So she likes hot food and she can cook very delicious hot food．What’s Mary’s new flat like?
| A．Big and comfortable |
| B．Small and not comfortable |
| C．Big but not comfortable |
| D．Small but comfortable |
Mary can do the following things in the bedroom except(除了)__________．
| A．play the piano |
| B．chat with her friends |
| C．send e-mails |
| D．listen to music |
Which room does Mary like best?
| A．The kitchen |
| B．Her bedroom |
| C．The sitting room |
| D．Both A and B |
What does Mary’s mother do?
| A．A teacher |
| B．A cook |
| C．A housewife |
| D．A worker |
he best way of learning a language is using it．The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible．Sometimes you'll get your words mixed up( 混合) and people will not understand you．Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can' t understand them．But if you keep your sense of humor ( 幽默感) ，you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make．Don't be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes．It's better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you ，because they don't understand what you are saying．The most important thing for learning English is ："Don't be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes."The writer thinks that the best way for you to learn a language is ____．
| A．writing |
| B．listening |
| C．using it |
| D．learning grammar |
What should you do in learning English?
| A．Be careful not to make any mistake． |
| B．Write as quickly as you can． |
| C．Laugh more often． |
| D．Speak English as much as you can． |
When people laugh at your mistakes，you should ____．
| A．not care |
| B．be happy |
| C．feel worried |
| D．be unhappy |
When you make a mistake ，you should ____．
| A．keep quiet |
| B．keep your sense of humor |
| C．be kind |
| D．get angry |
Joan is an American girl．She lives in China now．She is in my class．Her parents work in China, too, but her brother works in the U.S.A．He often writes letters to them．Joan likes Chinese class very much, and likes speaking Chinese with us after class．Her father teaches us English well．We all like his class．On Sundays, Joan goes to the People's Park with her father and mother．Sometimes she goes shopping with her mother．They like the Chinese food very much．It's a happy family．Joan is from ________．
| A．China |
| B．Japan |
| C．the U.S.A |
| D．Canada |
Joan likes speaking ________with us after class．
| A．Chinese |
| B．English |
| C．French |
| D．Japanese |
Joan's ________ is an English teacher．
| A．father |
| B．mother |
| C．brother |
| D．father and mother |
How often does Joan go to the shop?
| A．Often |
| B．Never |
| C．Every Sunday |
| D．Sometimes |
Americans like to visit the national parks．In 1996, over 250,000,000 people visited areas which are managed by the National Park Service．Experts say that by 2012, 500,000,000 people per year will visit the parks．As a result, people are trying to think of ways to protect the parks from the crowds．
The crowding of the parks has caused several problems．One is that there is not enough space for all of the people who want to use the parks．To deal with this problem, you may have to book your tickets a few months ahead of time．The Park Service may also raise entrance fees (费) ．
Another problem caused by increased park use is pollution．Some garbage and waste can be cleaned up, and the cleanup can be paid for by increased entrance fees．To cut down on noise
pollution and air pollution, the number of cars allowed in parks may be limited．If this happens, people may use buses to travel around the parks．Officials may also limit the use of jet-skis, snow-mobiles, motor-boats, and sightseeing helicopters and planes．
The parks may also be in danger because of development that is going on around them．For example, around Yellow Stone Park, many hotels, golf courses, resorts, and other tourist attractions have been built．Some of these developments have effect on areas that are used by animals．People will have to learn to agree about ways to protect the parks．If they do not, there will soon be no reason to visit these national treasures．According to experts, by 2012 the number of visitors ______．
| A．may be doubled |
| B．may rise to 50% |
| C．will reach 250 million |
| D．will go up by a second |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Visitors will pay less than before． |
| B．The parks are not big enough to hold all visitors． |
| C．Visitors may not necessarily buy tickets ahead of time． |
| D．Only buses are allowed to enter the parks． |
What is the most possible meaning of the underlined word “limited” in Paragraph 3?
| A．Enlarged． |
| B．Admitted． |
| C．Controlled． |
| D．Concerned． |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．High fees may probably keep some people out of parks． |
| B．Helicopters and planes will not be used in parks any longer． |
| C．The bus will become the only tool in parks in order to cut down pollution． |
| D．National Park Service will always welcome as many visitors as possible． |