Like many languages spoken by people, Ayapaneco is dying. Only two people in the world still speak it, and they won't talk to each other.
Spoken in Mexico for centuries, Ayapaneco is one of 68 surviving languages in the mainly Spanish-speaking nation. The two speakers are Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. Though they live only 500 meters from each other in the village, the two men seldom talk to each other. Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in common,” and that Segovia can be “active” while Velasquez tends to mind his own business and stay at home.
While Segovia still speaks to his wife and son in Ayapaneco, neither of them can manage more than a few words. Velasquez hardly speaks his native tongue any more. Daniel is working to preserve the language in dictionary form before its last surviving speakers pass away. According to Daniel, Ayapaneco and the other languages began dying out with the introduction of public Spanish education in the mid-20th century. For decades, local children weren’t allowed to speak anything else. Many people to cities, starting in the 1970s, also helped the dying out of native languages.
Ayapaneco is the name given to the language; Segovia and Velazquez call it “Nuumte Oote”, which means “true voice”. Neither man, however, speaks the same language. The dictionary will contain two versions(版本) of the language when it comes out later this year. Those behind the dictionary aren’t the only ones trying to save Ayapaneco. The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.
It is thought that there are about 6,000 languages spoken on earth and that about half will disappear over the next 100 years. Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.Segovia and Velasquez seldom talk to each other in Ayapaneco because they___________________.
| A．both dislike the language |
| B．don’t get along well with each other |
| C．are too busy to talk to each other |
| D．don’t share the same interests |
Which are the main reasons why the language Ayapaneco started dying out?
a. No teacher liked to teach it. b. Local children had to speak Spanish.
c. many villagers went to live in cities. d. The surviving speakers didn’t like to use it.
| A．a, b | B．a, c | C．b, d | D．b, c |
How does the National Language Institute try to save Ayapaneco?
| A．Write a dictionary of Ayapaneco. |
| B．Let Ayapaneco be taught at school. |
| C．Introduce a public Ayapaneco education. |
| D．Ask villagers to speak Ayapaneco. |
From the text we learn that the author____________________.
| A．agrees that it is natural that Ayapaneco should die out |
| B．thinks Daniel’s effort to preserve Ayapaneco won’t work |
| C．thinks highly of Ayapaneco and wants people to learn it |
| D．hopes that Ayapaneco will not die out in the future |
Since the 1950s, most of the stars of pop music have come from Britain and America. Howver, in the last ten years, when many different kinds of music have established themselves on the pop scene, more and more stars have come from other countries.
Pop music changes all the time and new stars appear and become famous. For a musician to stay popular and still produced good, original music over a long period of time, is a sign of true star.
Most stars start their careers in a simple way---- playing in unknown night clubs or dance-hall where people want to dance to the music, not listen to it. They may have continued doing this for many years untill they get a “break”---- a chance to perform in a well –known place or get a recording contract. To become a star is the aim of every singer or musician and the dream of many a pop-crazy teenager.
However a group or star makes it to the top, they can be sure that their lives will change once they are successful. Ordinary teenagers living at home with their parents may suddenly find themselves rich enough to buy their own houses. An established superstar may be able to buy several.
Despite the large amount of money that are earned, life at the top is not easy for many stars.. The pop scene is hard work and many stars need to spend a lot of time away from home. For a lot of them, this means they have no home life and their personal relationships suffer. Despite great public success, life at the top can be very lonely.Since the 1950s,most of the stars of pop music have come from______.
| A．America | B．America and Britain |
| C．America and Europe | D．other countries |
According to the passage， a “break” may mean a chance to ______.
| A．perform in a well-known concert | B．get a recording contract |
| C．play in dance-halls | D．meet a lot of pop-crazy teenagers |
If a star becomes successful,.he ______ according to the passage.
| A．will live at home with their parents |
| B．will have an easy life because of the larger amount of money earned |
| C．may have a happy home life and good person relationships |
| D．may have a lonely life |
Jamaican sprinter (短跑选手) Usain Bolt plans to send a message to rival Tyson Gay by breaking the world 100m record in the London Grand Prix on Friday.
Bolt, who won gold in the 100m,200m and 4*100m relay in reord times at the Beijing Olympics last year, is determined to use the Crystal Palace event to crush the morale (士气) of his main rival for gold at next month’s World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The 22-year-old is slowly returning to peak form after posting 19.59 sec for the 200m in Lausanne earlier this month and clocking a time of 9.79 sec over 100m in cold, rainy conditions in Paris on Friday.
Despite Bolt’s impressive times, Gay still believes he has the beating of the Jamaican. But Bolt insists there is no one in the sport who scares him and he will prove the point in south London this weekend.
Although Bolt believes he is only running at 85 percent at the moment while he recovers from injuries suffered in a recent car crash in Jamaica, he sees no reason why he can’t break his world record 100m time of 9.69 seconds.
However he won’t get the chance to take on Gay in the 100m in London as the American is only running in the 200m, which Bolt is not competing in, so he will have to settle for underlining his own ability.
“You never know what is possible. I will give my best either way. My friends are saying I’m bringing the rain wherever I go but we will see on Friday.”
While Bolt would love to make a big impact in London, he knows the main event is the World Championships.
“The London Grand Prix will show me where I’m at and what I need to do. After, we can analyse what I need to do ahead of the World Championships.”According to the passage, Bolt competed and will compete in the following event. Which of them is arranged in time order?
a. Lausanne athletics gold league matches
b. Beijing Olympic Games
c. Paris athletics gold league matches
d. World Athletic championships
e. London grand Prix
| A．b-c-a-e-d | B．b-c-a-d-e | C．b-a-c-e-d | D．b-a-c-d-e |
What does the underlined phase “take on” mean in paragraph 6?
| A．employ | B．compete against | C．accept | D．develop |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt broke the world 100m record in the London Grand Prix on Friday. |
| B．Bolt will not compete in the 200m in London because of Gay’s impressive times. |
| C．Bolt won 3 gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games at the age of 22. |
| D．Bolt suffered a car crash in London recently. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Bolt is expecting the London Grand Prix. |
| B．Bolt thinks the world Championships is more important. |
| C．Bolt made a big difference in the London Grand Prix. |
| D．Bolt is not confident in his success in the London Grand Prix. |
China’s Ministry of Culture has recommended 10 cyber games(网络游戏) that are suitable for minors to play as part of its drive to purify the on-line environment for the young.
The 10 cyber games were selected by the ministry’s on-line games censorship committee from scores of games recommended by the Chinese public.l
The games are all domestic products. They include five role playing games (RPG), four recreation and chess games, and one educational game, such as “Warring States Ⅱ Online,” “Rainbow Island Online,” and “Wonderlands of learning and games.”
These games have made their way into the final recommendation list because they are considered “healthy” and can “enhance intelligence,” according to the ministry.
The ministry hoped the list could serve a a guidance for parents to better direct their children in the winter vacation, which usually lasts nearly two months from January to February each year.
This was the third time for the ministry to publish recommended cyber games list. The previous two were made public respectively in January 2006 and August 2005 with a total of 25 games inlisted.
In the past few years, on- line games have become the favorite pastime of young people. However, it is argued that such social problems as game addiction, juvenile delinquency (青少年犯罪) and perversion among minors by on-line violence and pornography (色情) have come from an inadequately regulated Internet.
About 9.72 percent of Chinese netizens between the ages of 13 and 30 suffer Internet addiction, said a report issued last month by the China Youth Association for Network Development (CYAND).
According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), the main Internet watchdog, China had 210million Internet users at the end of 2007 and its online population is on course to become the world’s largest at the beginning of this year.
Net users between 18 and 30 accounted for 49.9percent of the total users. Although the CINIC did not give the figure of those below 18, teenagers and youths have obviously taken up more than half of the total number of net users. And the number of users under age 18 increased rapidly last year, the CINIC noted.What do you know about the 10cyber games ?
| A．They are expected to help parents to better direct their children in the summer vacation. |
| B．They include five RPG, forty chess games and one educational game. |
| C．They are suitable for teenagers. |
| D．They are all foreign products. |
According to the passage, how many teenagers and youths become net users at the end of 2007?
| A．Mor than 105 million. |
| B．Less than 105 million. |
| C．About 210 million. |
| D．104.79 million. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．A lot of Chinese netizens suffer Internet addition. |
| B．On-line games can cause a lot of social problems such as game addition, juvenile delinquency. |
| C．Parents sometimes have trouble in directing their children about on-line games. |
| D．The ministry has recommended 25 games till now. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．How to purify the on-line environment for the young. |
| B．10 “suitable” cyber games for teenagers. |
| C．The disadvantages of cyber games. |
| D．Chinese authority lists 10 “suitable” E-games for teenagers. |
I will never forget what my old headmaster told me. Normally when you are only 15years of age you do not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was filthy, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbours could not stand the smell anymore, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
He said nothing at all: he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment(专心，敬业). We should remain true to our course, although it may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Just keep it in mind that commitment attracts wealth.Why did the headmaster tell us the story?
| A．To enjoy ourselves. |
| B．To teach us how to make money. |
| C．To tell us the importance of commitment. |
| D．To tell us not to look down upon beggars. |
According to the passage which of the following is true?
| A．The old man made a living by begging. |
| B．The old man was excited to be a millionaire. |
| C．The old man became a millionaire by begging every weekday. |
| D．The old man planned to became a millionaire. |
Why did the police officer clean the old man’s house?
| A．Because the old man hired them to do so. |
| B．Because they wanted to know how much money the old man had begged. |
| C．Because the old man wanted to live comfortably. |
| D．Because the neighbours could not bear the smell coming out of the oldman’s house. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| B．Keep the general goal in sight while tackling daily tasks. |
| C．Commitment attracts wealth. |
| D．Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. |
Empty Deserts
In the 19th century Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing the “Great American Desert in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.
The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and in TV.
In Arizona, man made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.
There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.
In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130 degrees. There is less than two inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---- 925 meters below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.
Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Small insects, snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live under ground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water. When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant colors.In the 19th century, Americans moved from the east to the west because they ______.
| A．enjoy the trip | B．wanted to make their home there |
| C．wanted to find new grassland there | D．had no water to drink |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______.
| A．the western desert is a good place for people to live in |
| B．there is little water but there are many trees in the desert |
| C．the desert is dangerous but it is full of life |
| D．till now, people know little about the desert |
If you want to find some old native American pictures painted on the rock you must go ______.
| A．on foot | B．by boat | C．by car | D．by plane |
In the 1800s many travelers died in Death Valley because of ______.
| A．illness | B．high temperature |
| C．cold weather | D．poisonous water |
In the desert, animals will die ______.
| A．if they move about | B．if they cannot make holes underground |
| C．if they come out at night | D．if they drink much water |