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 |
I hear many parents saying that their teenage children are rebellion（反叛的）. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are all taking the same way of showing that they degree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own, most of them are trying to seize at one another’s hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon(蚕茧) -----into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly opened up a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award（奖励） high narks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come-----with the people who respect you for who you are. That’s the only kind of popularity that really counts.The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to tell_______.
| A．readers how to be popular in the world |
| B．parents how to control and guide their children |
| C．teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves |
| D．people how to understand and respect each other |
According to the writer, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but, in fact, most of them______.
| A．are not sure of themselves |
| B．have much difficulty in understanding each other |
| C．dare not do things |
| D．are very much afraid of getting lost |
During the teenage years, one should learn to_____.
| A．become different from others in as many ways as possible |
| B．find one’s real self |
| C．get into the right reason and become popular |
| D．rebel against parents |
For over one hundred and fifty years, Americans of all social classes have worn blue jeans．Whether they are worn for work or for fashion today．Strauss' invention continues to be popular not only among Americans but also among people around the world．
Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829．He grew up in Kentucky before moving to New York in 1847．Before becoming an American citizen and moving to the West in 1853, Strauss worked in his brother's dry goods business．This gave him a chance to produce his famous invention．After the gold rush of 1949, Strauss decided to move to the West to seek his fortunes．
Strauss did not want to be a person who searched an area for minerals．Instead, he knew he could make a good living by selling supplies to the miners．At first, he planned to sell sewing supplies and cloth．When he heard miners complaining that their clothes were easily broken or they usually tore their pockets during mining, he decided to use a special fabric to make pants for the miners．These pants proved so popular that he quickly ran out of materials to make more．
In 1873, Strauss received a letter from a Jewish tailor named Jacob Davis who had invented a process of connecting pockets with copper rivets（铆钉）．This made the pants last a long time．Because Davis did not have the money to patent his idea, he offered to share it with Strauss if Strauss would agree to pay for the patent．．
The business has been growing ever since and Levi Strauss' company is now one of the largest clothing companies in the world．
By the time Strauss died in 1902, he had made a great contribution to American fashion．
| A．As a young boy, he moved with his family to the United States． |
| B．Nobody knew what kind of material was suitable． |
| C．He did and Levi jeans have been made with metal rivets ever since． |
| D．However, he did not get much business for those products． |
E．He also made a great contribution to America's clothing industry．
F．Since they were invented by Levi Strauss, they have become a symbol of American consumer culture．
G．As the business grew, Strauss got much money from it．
Apollo For lovers of the arts, Apollo is a truly necessary magazine. Covering the ages and the great civilizations of the world, Apollo brings you well-illustrated yet academic articles by internationally famous scholars, as well as information on exhibitions and sales. Experience five monthly issues for as little as £5 each.
The Guardian Weekly gives you a global view with articles from four of the world’s most respected newspapers. Read the news from different views and draw your own conclusions on the stories shaping (影响) our world. Try it for 3 months for just £15.55. Plus get a free copy of The Guardian Year 2004.
New Internationalist Full of excellent writing and photography, the NI covers one key subject each month, from Terrorism to Poverty to Climate Change. Reporters from around the globe provide you with a comprehensive world view. PLUS: masses of fresh reports and stories to keep you up-to-date on world affairs. 3 months free and free World Map.
The Week is the only weekly summary giving you the best of the British and foreign newspapers in just 35 pages. Designed to be read in just 1 hour, it provides you with everything you need and want to know. Try The Week now with 13 issues for just £13.75. If you decide it’s not for you, just tell us within the first 6 weeks and you can get your money back.Which of the following magazines will probably provide you with articles about music and paintings?
| A．Apollo | B．The Week | C．New Internationalist | D．The Guardian Weekly |
It is possible that most of the readers of the four magazines are ________ .
| A．men | B．women | C．children | D．grown-ups |
Which of the following would you most probably read if you want to get information from the world’s most popular newspapers?
| A．Apollo & The Week |
| B．Apollo & New Internationalist |
| C．The Guardian Weekly & The Week |
| D．The Guardian Weekly & New Internationalist |
Cao Min couldn’t believe she was experiencing exactly what she had seen years ago in the film “Titanic”.
Cao and her two children from Anhui Province were traveling on board the “Liaoludu 7” on February 22. They were among the first people on the ship who were rescued by lifeboats. Cao’s one-year-old son was the youngest passenger on board.
The “Liaoludu 7” was traveling in the Bohai Straits from Lvshun in Liaoning Province to the port city of Longkou in Shandong Province. It suddenly lost its power at 2:30 pm and tilted(倾斜) on its side. With 81 people on board, the ferry began to sink.
“I was so scared that my legs couldn’t move forward. They kept shaking even when I was asked to jump onto a lifeboat,” Cao recalled.
Upon receiving the mayday appeal (紧急呼救), China Marine Search and Rescue Centre immediately informed the State Council. The center sent eight lifeboats to the fishing boats.
After more than four hours of fighting strong winds and freezing ocean water, the passengers were recovered. All but four survived. These four died after spending too long time in the freezing waters, according to a spokesperson for the Beijing-based center. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The film “Titanic” had been on show again in Shanghai. |
| B．Cao Min and her children experienced the terrible accident. |
| C．“Liaoludu 7” with all passengers on board were saved. |
| D．The ferry began to sink on the way to the port of Liaoning. |
From the passage we can infer that .
| A．China Marine Search and Rescue Centre quickly carried out the rescue task |
| B．the center sent eight lifeboats and asked for help from the United Nations |
| C．the passengers were fighting strong winds and freezing ocean water for one hour |
| D．the ferry sank into the sea immediately it tilted on its side at 2:30 pm |
According to the passage, ________ passengers on board were still alive.
| A．four | B．seventy-seven | C．eight | D．eighty-one |
In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of (不赞成) these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality (质量) of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They saw that people should be allowed to die with dignity (尊严) and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite (明确) answer.The best title for this passage is ___________.
| A．The Right to Live | B．The Right to Die |
| C．The Doctor’s Duty | D．Life Is Better Than Death |
In recent years, people can live longer than in the past. It’s because of ___________.
| A．the development of medical technology | B．big hospitals |
| C．good doctors | D．good living conditions |
According to some people, whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is up to (该由) _____.
| A．the doctors | B．the surroundings |
| C．his or her family | D．the patient himself or herself |
In the writer’s opinion ______________.
| A．death is better than life | B．life is better than death |
| C．neither death nor life is good | D．None of the above |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Most of the medical workers join in the argument. |
| B．The argument has ended in favor of the patient. |
| C．The argument hasn’t ended yet. |
| D．The quality of life is not as important as life itself. |