“I don’t speak English”-these are the first words I learned when I came to America. Soon I was able to pronounce the four words clearly, and said them whenever an American tried to talk to me. This answer was very effective（有效的）at ending our conversation and saving me from another uncomfortable situation, or I would have to communicate in a language that I was not familiar with.
Before coming to the States, I thought I knew English pretty well. But the truth is that the grammar and vocabulary-based English that is taught in schools overseas（海外的）is not the English people speak in America.
But fear not! Once you are in America, you can immediately begin to bridge the gap（弥补差距）between the learned English that you already know, and the spoken English that is all around you. To do this, first of all, it is important not to fear when you realize that you may not be as prepared for daily communication as you thought. For me, as soon as I stopped worrying about my accent and started speaking, I made rapid progress. Often the people didn’t notice my mistakes because they were so glad to finally be able to communicate with me.
Another good idea is to listen carefully and pay attention to the way in which ideas are expressed. For example, if you are working hard and you want to stop working and rest for a little while, you can either say “I would like to stop working and rest for a while” or “I want to take a quick break from work.” The first sentence, I quickly learned, sounds dry and too formal for any kind of communication, while the second is an idiom（成语）that is widely used in American English conversation.
Finally, use what you already know---the vocabulary, the grammar and the spelling. Try to use these into the spoken language for more impressive and accurate（精确）speaking results.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A．You’d better say “I don’t speak English” in the USA.
B．How you can improve your spoken English in the USA.
C．Idioms are widely used to express your ideas in the USA.
D．Listening is the best way to improve your spoken English in the USA.At first the writer preferred to use the sentence “I don’t speak English” to .
| A．admit he is a foreigner |
| B．save much time for himself |
| C．prevent himself from being laughed at |
| D．avoid getting upset in communicating with others |
What’s the problem with the English taught outside the English-speaking countries?
| A．It is quite different from what the natives speak. |
| B．It is taught in boring and wrong grammar. |
| C．It has nothing to do with English. |
| D．It has too small a vocabulary. |
When did the writer make rapid progress in spoken English?
A．As soon as he paid attention to the way Americans spoke.
B．The minute he found what has been learned useless.
C．The moment he got rid of the fear of speaking.
D．Immediately he arrived in the USA.All the following are tips given buy the writer EXCEPT “ .”
| A．speaking bravely | B．listening carefully |
| C．using what you have learned | D．making few mistakes |
Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftop. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is that most city people --- myself included --- usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We have television, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought, “Before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. And perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touched the moon.”The best title for the passage would be _________.
| A．Touched by the Moon |
| B．The Pleasures of Modern Life |
| C．A Bottomless well of Silence |
| D．Break away from Modern life |
The writer felt sorry for himself because __________.
| A．there was too much pollution. |
| B．he failed to see the fullest moon. |
| C．he didn’t adapt to modern inventions |
| D．there were too many accidents on the road. |
What impressed the writer most in the mountainous jungle of northern India?
| A．No modern equipment. |
| B．Complete silence. |
| C．The nice moon. |
| D．The high mountain. |
Modern things are mentioned mainly to ___________.
| A．show that the writer likes city life very much. |
| B．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life. |
| C．explain that people have less chances to enjoy nature. |
| D．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them. |
The author wrote the passage to __________.
| A．express the feeling of returning to nature. |
| B．show the love for the moonlight. |
| C．advise modern people to learn to live. |
| D．want to communicate longing for modern life. |
As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes(笔画) of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widespread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I’m writing with a pen, I find I often can’t remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don’t feel this is something to worry about. Now that it’s more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one’s thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
| A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing. |
| B．To type or to Handwrite. |
| C．Writing by Computer will Replace Writing by Hand. |
| D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters. |
The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer because ________.
| A．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and essays. |
| B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently. |
| C．they found it not easy to remember how to write a character. |
| D．computers have become a trend and fashion in China. |
Which of the following statements in NOT the advantage of handwriting?
| A．Handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. |
| B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
| C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence. |
| D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
We can draw the conclusion from the passage that _________.
| A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer. |
| B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day. |
| C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting. |
| D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality. |
What is the author’s attitude toward typing on a computer?
| A．supportive | B．proud | C．objective | D．Disapproval |
Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this 17-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.
Justin Bieber was born in Straford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007, he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then,with the help of his mother, he uploaded videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.
Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contracted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta 7 months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.
In 2009,Justin Bieber released his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album（首张专辑）.The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0”in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when ________.
| A．he met with Scooter Braun |
| B．he released his debut album |
| C．he won second place in a competition |
| D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website |
It can be inferred from the text that Justin Bieber ___________.
| A．owed his success to good luck |
| B．showed a gift for music when he was young |
| C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry |
| D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun |
What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time” according to the text?
| A．It is about love and was released in 2010. |
| B．It attracted the world’s attention after released. |
| C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. |
| D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success. |
| B．Lucky boy-- Justin Bieber. |
| C．What made Justin Bieber a singer. |
| D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s succes. |
It is common and usual to see people freak out when they face challenges in their life. We all pass in different life problems and challenges. No one is free of life problems. Only a dead man faces no problem. As long as you are alive, challenges are everywhere.
How do you face problems and challenges in your life? Problems and challenges are the building blocks of your personality. They make you who you are. Besides, whether what happened in your life builds or destructs you depends on how you look at it. If you take your problems as troubles, they will be troubles and may cause destruction. If you take them as constructive tools, you are going to be built up on them.
Problems are everywhere. No one can avoid them. And they are good too. They open up a different look and opportunity if you are willing to see. When you face troubles, do not frustrate or freak out. Just cool yourself to think in a different direction. Think in a positive way. Every problem has its own good as well as bad sides. Focus on the good one. Look at the bright side.
Besides, there is always a good person, perhaps your mom or dad, or one of your friends, right beside you who can turn everything into your best if you are willing to turn to them. No matter what happens,they will be there to help you. Trust them and they will never let you down. All you need to know is that you are loved wherever you are. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “freak out” in Paragraph 1?
| A．feel shy | B．stay calm | C．keep up | D．feel upset |
In Paragraph 2, the writer implies that______
| A．problems cause troubles | B．attitude is everything |
| C．challenges can be avoided | D．personalities are built on failures |
According to the last paragraph, when we're in trouble, we _______.
| A．can only depend on our parents | B．are not alone |
| C．should only believe ourselves | D．are not confident |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Problems and challenges may help you know more about yourself. |
| B．People are able to avoid problems. |
| C．All problems are bad and negative. |
| D．You have to trust yourself and never turn to others for help. |
What’s the writer’ purpose to write the passage?
| A．To explain | B．To compare | C．To prove | D．To encourage. |
We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming(把……按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all，it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade！
Besides, it is rather unreal to grade pupils just according to their intellectual(智力的) ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to deal with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively in order to have the ability to become leaders. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs；sometimes they work on individual tasks , and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is suitable. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work：it does not matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.We can know from the passage that the author’ s attitude towards “mixed-ability teaching” is______.
| A．approving | B．disapproving | C．questioning | D．inactive |
The underlined words “held back” in Paragraph 1 probably means “______”.
| A．drawn to their studies | B．forced to study in the lower classes |
| C．made to remain in the same classes | D．prevented from advancing |
Which of the following is NOT MENTIONED in the third paragraph?
| A．Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilities. |
| B．Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities |
| C．Group work gives pupils the chance to learn to work together with others. |
| D．Group work supply pupils with the chance to learn to be good organizers. |
The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to ______.
| A．offer advice on the proper use of the library |
| B．recommend pair work and group work for classroom activities |
| C．argue for teaching bright and not-so-bright pupils in the same class |
| D．tell us the importance of proper formal classroom teaching |