| A．taking a taxi | B．travelling by train | C．taking a bus | D．entering the college |
| A．a bus driver | B．a university student |
| C．a teacher in a college | D．a middle school student |
| A．cities | B．colleges | C．universities | D．companies |
| A．sell it |
| B．phone Lilian |
| C．use it for travelling |
| D．give it back to any Stagecoach driver |
| A．Lilian's age | B．the price | C．the card number | D．the time limit |
Is learning a foreign language ever easy? Yes. If you are five and move to another country, you will quickly pick up the language. But what about for the rest of us who are no longer five, and need to be polite when traveling for business or for pleasure? I think that answer is also yes. Language learning can be easy if you don’t want or need to learn too much.
The key to successful language learning in my mind is not to set the goal too high. It is rather like running. Even if you run twice a week, you don’t necessarily want to be able to run a marathon (马拉松). You might just want to keep a level of fitness. I think the same can be true for language learning.
Let’s get back to the goal. If you decide to learn ten words in a foreign language before visiting the country, you know that you will be sure to do this. However, if you decide to talk to people with great fluency (流利), unless you are quite a talented person, you will probably fail and give up in half-way.
It is also far easier to start learning a foreign language than to finish. In other words, the better you are, the slower it can be to improve, because you will not be able to move further because of grammar, making sentences, learning less common words, etc. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and sentences, you will enjoy faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time.
The idea of learning only a few hundred words in a language, and then stopping, isn’t the usual way to language learning, but it can be a very meaningful and enjoyable activity. In the writer’s opinion, it is easy for adults to learn English if _______.
| A．they are especially talented people |
| B．they don’t want or need to learn too much |
| C．they have to spend a lot of time on it |
| D．they have a chance to go abroad |
The writer believes that if you want to be good at a foreign language, you will probably _______.
| A．forget your own goals |
| B．become a talented language learner |
| C．get tired of learning it |
| D．reach your learning goal |
The best title of this passage would be _______.
| A．Easy Language Learning | B．Hard Language Learning |
| C．Fluency in a Foreign Language | D．A way of Language Learning |
Rent(出租)a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger (房客) earn you some money, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax (税) on the first ￡4,500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis (基础). If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money. Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Use your roof (屋顶)
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment (around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier (供应商), which could prevent you from changing the roof.If you earn ￡5,000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ________.
| A．￡300 | B．￡500 | C．￡4,500 | D．￡5,000 |
If you want to use energy free, you have to ________.
| A．sign an agreement with the government |
| B．pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment |
| C．sell the roof to some energy companies |
| D．keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years |
Who would most like to read the passage?
| A．Lodgers. | B．Advertisers. |
| C．House owners. | D．Online companies. |
A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill. He was very worried. He telephoned the vet (兽医).
“What’s the problem?” The vet asked him when he arrived.
“My cow is ill.” the farmer said. “I don’t know what’s the matter with her. She’s lying down and won’t eat. She’s making a strange noise.”
The vet looked over the cow. “She’s certainly ill, ” he said, “and she needs to take some very strong medicine.”
He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, “The pills should make her better.”
“How should I give them to her?” the farmer asked.
The vet gave him a tube (管子) and said,“Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow. That’ll make it.”
The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked more worried.
“How’s your cow?” the vet asked.
“No change,” the farmer said. “and I’m feeling very strange myself.”
“Oh?” the vet said. “Why?”
“I did what you said,” the farmer answered. “I put the tube in the cow’s mouth and then put two pills down it.”
“And?” the vet asked.
“The cow blew first.” the farmer said.The farmer asked the vet for help when his cow ________.
| A．couldn’t make any noise | B．didn’t eat the pills |
| C．was ill | D．couldn’t lie down |
The vet taught the farmer how ________.
| A．to blow the tube | B．to make the cow take the pills |
| C．to take the medicine | D．to put the tube in his mouth |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The farmer ate the pills himself. |
| B．The cow got better after taking the medicine. |
| C．The vet came to help farmer change the cow the next day. |
| D．The farmer waited for the vet outside his house the next day. |
Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The program works because everyone’s eyes are different. So in the future you won’t have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You’ll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are.
The eye-recognition(眼睛识别) program is already being tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain and France. Soon, this technology(技术) will change all other ways of finding out who people are.
However, scientists are working on other systems. Machines will soon be able to know you from the shape of your face or hands or even your smell! We already have machines that can tell who you are from your voice or the mark made by your fingers.
Eye-recognition is better than other kinds because your eyes don’t change as you get older, or get dirty like hands or fingers. And even twins have different eyes, so the program can be up to 94％ correct, depending on(依靠) how good the technology is. Some programs may only be right 51％ of the time. In Britain, it was found that 91％ of people who had tried it said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition.
In the future your computer will be looking at you in the eye. So smile! What is the advantage of using the eye-recognition program?
| A．You needn’t use a machine. |
| B．You needn’t remember a number. |
| C．You needn’t look at the machine. |
| D．You needn’t take some money with you. |
How does the eye-recognition program work?
| A．You type in your number. | B．You show your ID card. |
| C．You look at the machine. | D．You say your name. |
Why can the eye-recognition program be up to 94％ correct?
| A．Because eyes hardly change. |
| B．Because hands or fingers can get dirty. |
| C．Because people like the idea of the program. |
| D．Because the program is widely used around the world. |
Which recognition program has been already in use?
| A．Remembering eyes. |
| B．Remembering smells. |
| C．Remembering fingerprints. |
| D．Remembering the shape of faces. |
| Driver wanted ①Clean driving licence ②Must be of smart appearance ③Aged over 25 Apply to(申请): Capes Taxi, 17 Palace Road , Ruston. |
| Air Hostesses(空姐) for International Flights Wanted ① Applicants(申请者) must be between 20 and 33 years old. ②Height 1.6m to 1.75m. ③Education to GCSE standard. ④Two languages, must be able to swim. Apply to: Recruitment office, Southern Airlines, Heathrow Airport West, HR 37KK. |
| Teachers Needed For private language school, teaching experience unnecessary. Apply to: The Director of Studies, Instant Languages Ltd, 279 Canal Street, Ruston. |
Why can’t John, an experienced taxi driver, work for Capes Taxi?
| A．Because he doesn’t have college education. |
| B．Because he likes doing sports. |
| C．Because he is unable to speak a foreign language. |
| D．Because he was punished for speeding and wrong parking. |
Tom, aged 22, has just graduated from a college. Which job may be given to him?
| A．Driving for Capes taxi. | B．Working for Southern Airlines. |
| C．Teaching at Instant Languages Ltd. | D．None of the three. |
Why can’t Lucy, aged 27, become an air hostess?
| A．Because she can speak only Japanese | B．Because she is 27 years old. |
| C．Because she can swim. | D．Because she likes junk food. |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the three advertisements?
| A．Marriage. | B．Male or female. | C．Education. | D．Working experience. |