Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with people from around the world. This means that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed and the dialect （方言）of London became the standard. In 1604, the first English dictionary was published.
The numbers of words in Early Modern English and Late Modern English differ. Late Modern English has a lot more words because of two main factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600, the English colonization(殖民地化)of North America resulted in the creation of American English. Some English pronunciation and words froze when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that the British call “ Americanisms” are in fact original （原先的）British expressions that were preserved (保存) in the colonies but were lost in Britain. Spanish also had an influence on American English, with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English is the most influential(有影响力的). But there are many other kinds of English around the world, including Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English , Indian English and Caribbean English. They have differences.What can we know from Paragraph 1?
| A．The dialect of London became the standard in the year 1604. |
| B．Vowels were pronounced longer towards the end of Middle English |
| C．The first English dictionary was published in the early 17th century. |
| D．Many new words entered English because many people moved to Britain. |
From Paragraph 2, we know that the Industrial Revolution __________.
| A．required spelling and grammar to be fixed |
| B．required a greater number of English words |
| C．caused many old English words to be useless |
| D．led to the English colonization of North America. |
The underlined word “froze” in Paragraph 3 shows that some English words in America___________.
| A．became longer | B．greatly changed | C．a little changed | D．stayed as they were |
What will the paragraph following this passage most probably discuss?
| A．The development of Modern English |
| B．How the English vocabulary became larger |
| C．Differences among the different kinds of English |
| D．Differences between Middle English and Modern English |
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage. (15%)
A
The Olympic flame:
The Olympic flame is a symbol carried over from the ancient Olympics, where a sacred (神圣的) flame burned at the altar（神坛）of Zeus throughout competition. It was finally reintroduced at the 1924 Amsterdam Games, and again burned in 1932.
Carl Diem, chairman of the organising committee for the 1936 Berlin Games, proposed that the flame be lit in Greece and transported to Berlin via a torch relay. The idea was adopted, and continued at every Olympic Games since 1952.
The flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by the natural rays of the sun reflected off a curved mirror. It is lit at a ceremony by women dressed in robes resembling those worn in ancient times, who then pass it to the first relay runner.
Olympic motto:
“Citius, altius, fortius” is a Latin phrase meaning “swifter, higher, stronger”, which Baron de Coubertin borrowed from Father Henri Martin Dideon of Paris. Dideon was headmaster of Arcueil College, and used the phrase to describe the athletic achievements of students at the school. He had previously been at the Albert Le Grand school, where the Latin words were carved in stone above the main entrance.
Olympic oath(宣誓)
“In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.”
Written by Baron de Coubertin, the oath is taken by an athlete from the host nation while holding a corner of the Olympic flag. The athletes’ oath was first taken by Belgian fencer Victor Boin at the 1920 Antwerp Games. A judge from the host country also speaks the oath, with slightly different wording.
66. The Olympic flame was first burned at _______ in modern times.
A. the 1920 Games B. the 1924 Games
C. the 1932 Games D. the 1936 Games
67. From the passage we can learn ________.
A. before 1936, no flames burned at the Olympic Games
B. the first torch relay was held at the 1936 Berlin Games
C. Carl Diem proposed that flames should burn at the Olympic Games
D. The Olympic torch has burned since 1924
68. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. There was no athlete’s oath in the 1896 Olympic Games.
B. The 1920 Olympic games was held in Amsterdam.
C. The judge from the host country takes the same oath as the athletes does.
D. Dideon wrote Citius, Altius, Fortius for the Olympic Games.
第二卷(两部分，共35分)
第四部分任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最适当的单词。
注意：每空一词。
Boys do worse in English when there are girls in their class, a research student said. This finding disagrees with the widely held belief that girls always have a good influence on boys in school.
Boys do best with as few girls as possible in English lessons at primary and secondary schools, Steven Proud, a research student at Bristol University, told the Royal Economic Society’s conference.
But when it comes to math and science, both boys and girls at primary schools achieve up to a tenth of a grade higher when there is a greater percentage of girls in the class, Proud found.
Proud kept a record of boys’ and girls’ test results at the ages of 7, 11, and 16 in 16,000 schools in England. He studied the test scores to see whether the percentage of girls made a difference to the results of both boys and girls in math, science and English.
Boys always perform worse when the number of girls they study English with increases, which is especially the case at primary schools. Proud also found that girls are unaffected by the number of boys in their English class.
Proud said boys may do worse in English when there is high proportion of girls in their class because they think that the girls are better than them. It could also be that teachers use teaching styles more appropriate to girls when there more girls than boys in the class.
Proud argues that his results show boys should be taught English in single—sex classes.
However, Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said, “Boys may be discouraged by how well girls are doing in English, but you can’t say that it means boys and girls should be separated. It has very little practical importance to schools.”
| Theme |
Boys may do ___71____ in English in a class with a higher percentage of girls. |
|
| Widely held _____72_____ |
Girls always have a good influence on boys in school. |
|
| Proud’s _____73_______ |
when there are more girls |
both boys and girls at primary schools perform better in math and _____74_____. |
| when the number of girls ____75_______. |
boys perform worse in English |
|
| When the number of boys changes |
Girls are ___76____ in an English class. |
|
| Possible ____77____. |
Boys think that the girls are better than them. Teachers use ____78____ styles more appropriate to girls. |
|
| Proud’s suggestion |
Boys and girls should be taught English in ___79_____ classes. |
|
| Alan’s opinion |
Don’t ________ the boys and girls. |
Here’s a quick reminder to all of you when you get stuck in a moment. Yesterday I skipped breakfast because I got up late. Because of the busy school work, I forgot my lunch. When I was finally thinking of buying my lunch, a person in need asked me if I could spare him some cash, so I decided to give him some money.
Then later in the evening, I was heading home anxiously for dinner. However, I got a call from my mom. She said that she had to work late and wouldn’t be able to prepare dinner for me. Even though there was no food in the house, I told my mom not to worry as I would surely find myself something to eat.
While I was still processing this sudden set of changes in my food choice for the day, I passed a young man with a broad smile handing out samples of crackers(薄脆饼干) at the gate of a supermarket. He gave me a packet and then said, “How about you taking some more for school tomorrow?” In response to that, I returned a warm smile to him and opened up my bag. He gladly filled it. I was excited.
Whether you call it luck or fate, I just wanted to say that somewhere out there somebody came along carrying a pocket of hope in his heart and shared a piece of with me! Somebody out there will one day do the same for you.!
1. The author anxiously went home for dinner in evening because __________.
A. his mother was waiting for him to have dinner
B. his mother promised to prepare dinner for him
C. he hadn’t had breakfast or lunch
D. he didn’t like food in restaurants
2. What’s the time order of the following events that happened to the author?
a. Gave money to person in need
b. Learn he had to organize his own dinner
c. Went home hurriedly for dinner
d. Got a lot of crackers
A. b—d—a—c B. a—c—b—d C. a—d—b—c D. d—c—a—b
3. The purpose of the passage is to _________.
A. advise us to study hard at school. B. show that life is full of unexpected things
C. suggest that people take three meals every day D. tell us there is always hope
Photographs are everywhere. They decorate (装饰) the walls of homes and are used in stores for sales of different goods. The news is filled with pictures of fires, floods, and special events. Photos record the beauties of nature. They can also bring things close that are far away. Through photos, people can see wild animals, cities in foreign lands, and even the stars in outer space. Photos also tell stories.
Reporting the news through photos is called photojournalism. At times photojournalists tell their stories through a single picture. At other times, they use a group of pictures to tell a story. Each picture is like a chapter in a book, which can do more than record the facts. It can also be a strong force for social change.
Jacob Riis was among the first photojournalists. He took pictures of parts of New York City where the poor lived. Riis believed that poverty(贫穷) caused crime, and he used photos to help him prove his point. A few years later, the photos of small children working in factories by Lewis Hine shocked the public. Hine’s pictures helped bring about laws to protect such children.
Hundreds of pictures may have to be taken in order to get one or two really good photos. It takes science to have the photo come out clearly and art to make a photo that has a good design and expresses feeling. Photojournalists make an actual record of what they see. A photo, however, can be both a work of art and an actual record. It can record an important event as a beautiful or exciting picture.
As historical and artistic documents(文献) ,photos can become more important over time. Today photojournalists still have their pictures appear in newspapers and magazines. They also publish(发表) them in books and on the Internet.
1. The underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refers to .
A. beauties B. photos C. goods D. events
2. The photos of the small children by Hine show us that photos .
A. are also works of art B. are popular ways of reporting news
C. often shock the public D. can serve as a force for social change
3. What can we learn from the passage?
A. News with pictures is encouraging. B. Photos help people improve
C. News photos mean history in a sense. D. People prefer reading news with pictures.
4. The text is mainly about .
A. telling the story through picture B. decorating the walls of homes
C. publishing historical papers D. expressing feeling through pictures
Liam Fitzptrick
Liam Fitzptrick was born in Hong Kong and educated at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a First in Modern History. He wrote for several regional and international publications before joining Time in 2003. he edits Global Adviser for Time Asia, and is also Time Asia’s senior writer. Liam is married with two daughters and lives in Hong Kong’s New Territories.
Ling Woo Liu
Ling Woo Liu grew up in California, where she was a self—employed writer for Asian—American print and broadcast media. She worked as a television reporter in Beijing and California before earning graduate degrees in Journalism and Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2006, Ling moved to Hong Kong to report for Time Asia.
Bill Powell
Prior to his current post, a senior writer for Time in Shanghai, Bill Powell was Chief International correspondent for Fortune based in Beijing and then New York. He also served as Newsweek bureau chief in Moscow, Berlin and Tokyo. Bill is married to Shanghai native Junling Cui. They have one daughter and live in a house they recently purchased in suburban（郊区）Shanghai.
Austin Ramzy
Austin Ramzy grew up in Iowa. In 1996 he studied Mandarin in Harbin, China, and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Asian Studies in 1997. after working as a newspaper reporter in Washington state, he completed journalism school at the university of California, Berkeley has been a reporter for Time Asia in Hong Kong since 2003.
1.The passage is mainly written to ____________.
A. advertise Time Asia B. introduce the publishers of Time Asia
C. introduce the development of Time Asia
D. introduce some of the authors and writes of Time Asia
2.It’s ___________ who majored in History but worked as a writer.
A. Bill Powell B. Liam Fitzpatrick C. Ling Woo Liu D. Austin Ramzy
3.It’s clear that __________ graduated from the same school.
A. Liam Fitzpatrick and Ling Woo Liu B. Bill Powell and Austin Ramzy
C. Ling Woo Liu and Austin Ramzy D. Liam Fitzpatrick and Bill Powell
4.Which is TURE about Bill Powell?
A. He lives in Hong Kong with his family B. He is Time Asia’s senior writer
C. He once studied Mandarin in Northeast China
D. He once worked for Newsweek bureau in New York