Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is why it’s possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally lived in Canada came from the US, there is little difference in American and Canadian English. Similarly, Australian English and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony (罪犯流放地) and New Zealand was not. New Zealanders were more attached to the Received Pronunciation of the upper class in England, so their dialect is considered closer to British English.
British colonialism (殖民主义) has spread English all over the world, and it is still popular in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution. However, only 3% of the country’s 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants (后代) of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.
India became independent from Britain in 1947. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the “isn’t it?” tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages all influence the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, “use to” means usually, and no articles are used before occupations.Why can people become a US citizen without speaking English?
| A．They can learn English there. |
| B．Different languages are spoken in the US. |
| C．The US doesn’t have an official language. |
| D．They can speak their own language there. |
What do we know about South Africa?
| A．English is its only official language. |
| B．It has 11 different official languages. |
| C．English is becoming less important there. |
| D．20 percent of its population are native English speakers. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The Indians are good at English grammar. |
| B．People in Singapore often misuse count nouns. |
| C．Singaporean English is similar to Indian English. |
| D．English is a required subject in Singaporean schools. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．British colonialism. |
| B．The wide use of English. |
| C．English around the world. |
| D．The history of the English language. |
Foreign attacks on U． S． soil
1812 ---- During the War of 1812, British forces（军队） burned the new capital at Washington, D． C． They also attacked Baltimore and New Orleans and captured（占领） Detroit, which at the time was a remote military outpost (前哨基地)．
1846 ---- A brief invasion（入侵）by Mexican troops across the Rio Gande began the U． S． - Mexican War in 1846． But the remaining action in that conflict（冲突） occurred in California, New Mexico and in Mexico． California and New Mexico belonged to Mexico at the time．
1916 ---- Mexican revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa attacked the town of Columbus, N． M．, on March 9, 1916．
1941 -- Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec． 7, 1941, killing nearly 2,400 people and forcing America into World War II．
1993 ---- Terrorists（恐怖主义者） blew up a truck bomb in the basement of the World Trade Center in February 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000．
2001 ---- Terrorists hijacked(劫机) several planes on Sep．11, 2001． Two ploughed into（撞入） New York’s World Trade Center (WTC), toppling the two highest buildings in the city; a third seriously damaged the Pentagon（五角大楼）． The fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania． Several thousand people were killed in the attacks．During the War of 1812, British forces did the following except that _____．
A．they captured Detroit
B．they attacked Baltimore and New Orleans
C．they attacked the town of Columbus, N． M．
D．they burned the new capital at Washington, D． C．During the September 11th terrorist attacks, _____．
| A．terrorists hijacked three planes |
| B．destroyed the Pentagon completely |
| C．killed six people and injured more than 1,000 |
| D．two planes knocked into New York’s World Trade Center |
The underlined word “toppling” in the last paragraph means _____．
| A．reaching the highest point of | B．causing to fall |
| C．knocking into | D．building |
How many foreign attacks mentioned in the passage did the US have?
| A．5 | B．6 | C．7 | D．8 |
Do you love holidays but hate the increase weight that follow? You are not alone.
Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
Don’t miss meals. Before you leave home for a feast (宴会),have a small, low-fat snack. This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods.
Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables.
A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full.
Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
Better not have high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them.
Choose lean meat. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
If you have a sweet tooth, try mints(薄荷)and fruits. They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate.
Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20 minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess calories.Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may ______.
| A．bring weight problems |
| B．bring you much trouble in your life |
| C．make you worried about your foods |
| D．make you hate delicious foods |
In order to really enjoy your holidays without putting on weight, you d ‘better ______.
| A．drink much water and have vegetables only |
| B．not eat too much food in high fat |
| C．not accept invitations to feasts |
| D．turn away from delicious foods |
According to the passage, ____ is a necessary part to stop you from putting on weight.
| A．vegetables | B．water |
| C．calorie of energy | D．physical exercise |
Many people can’t help putting on weight after the holidays because they _____.
| A．can’t control themselves |
| B．go to too many feasts |
| C．enjoy delicious foods |
| D．can’t help turning away from the foods |
Excess calories can be found in your body in the form of _________.
| A．energy | B．fat |
| C．food | D．something invisible |
At a day care center in Texas, children were playing outside. One of the children was Jessica McClure. She was only 18months old. Her mother, worked at the day care center , was watching the children . Suddenly Jessica fell and disappeared. Jessica’s mother screamed and ran to her.
A well was in the yard of the center. The well was only eight inches across and a rock always covered it. But children had moved the rock. When Jessica fell, she fell right into the well.
Jessica’s mother reached inside the well, but she couldn’t feel Jessica. She ran to a phone and dialed 911 for help. Men from the fire department arrived. They discovered that Jessica was about 20 feet down in the well. For the next hour the men talked and planned Jessica’s rescue.
“We can’t go down into the well, ” they said. “It is too narrow. So, we’re going to drill a tunnel across to Jessica. When we reach her, we’ll bring her through the tunnel and up through our hole.”
The men began to drill the hole at 11a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 1987. The men had a difficult job; they were drilling through solid rock. During her days in the well, Jessica sometimes called her mother, sometimes she slept, sometimes she cried and sometimes she sang.
All over the world, people waited for news of Jessica. Everyone worried about her.
At 8 p.m. on Friday, October 16, men reached Jessica and brought her up from the well. Then paramedics rushed her to the hospital. Jessica was dirty, hungry, thirsty and tired. Her feet and forehead were badly injured. But she was alive.
After Jessica’s rescue, one of the rescuers made a metal cover for the well which wrote, “To Jessica, with love from all of us.”Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to Jessica?
a. People talked and planned Jessica’s rescue.
b. Jessica’s feet and forehead were badly injured.
c. Jessica fell into a well in the yard.
d. People began to drill a hole and a tunnel.
e. Someone moved the rock on the well.
f. she was bought up from the well.
g. Jessica sometimes called or slept or cried or sang.
h. Her mother reached inside the well
| A．e, c, b, g, a, d, h, f |
| B．c, b, a, d, g, f, h, e |
| C．c, e, g, a, d, h, f, b |
| D．e, c, h, a, g, d, f, b |
Jessica stayed in the well at least ____.
| A．45 hours | B．46 hours | C．57 hours | D．58 hours |
The best title of the passage is ______.
| A．An Unluckily Girl | B．An Unpleasant Experience |
| C．Everybody’s Baby | D．Mother’s Fault |
New findings show that musical training affects（影响）the structure and function of different brain areas, how those areas communicate during the creation of music, and how the brain interprets and combines sensory(感官) information. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. These views suggest potential new roles for musical training including training plasticity（可塑性）in the brain, offering an alternative tool in education, and treating a range of learning disabilities.
Today’s new findings show that long-term high level musical training has a broader effect. Researchers found that musicians have a better ability to combine sensory information from hearing, touch, and sight. The age at which musical training begins influenced brain structure and its function. Beginning training before the age of seven has the greatest effect.
Even older adults who took music lessons as children but haven’t actively played an instrument in decades have a faster brain response(反应) to a speech sound than those who never played an instrument, according to a study appearing November 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The finding suggests early musical training has a lasting, positive effect on how the brain deals with sound.
“Playing a musical instrument is a multi-sensory and motive experience that creates emotions and movements—from finger tapping to dancing — and engages pleasure and reward systems in the brain. It has the potential to affect brain function and structure when done over a long period of time,” said Gottfried Schlaug, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, press conference speaker, also an expert on music.
“As today’s findings show, musical training brings about new processes within the brain, at different stages of life, and with a range of effects on creativity, cognition(认知), and learning,” he added. From the first paragraph, we can see musical training can .
| A．affect one’s communication with others |
| B．help musicians create better music |
| C．provide new treatment of mental diseases |
| D．offer an alternative tool in education |
Why does the author mention “Even older adults … a speech sound.” in Para. 3?
| A．To suggest how new roles for musical training work. |
| B．To prove early musical training affects the function of the brain. |
| C．To explain how the brain interprets sensory information. |
| D．To show how the brain areas communicate in music training. |
Which of the following best describes the function of early musical training?
| A．Difficult but interesting. | B．Painful but effective. |
| C．Lasting and positive. | D．Important and necessary. |
According to the passage, we learn that .
| A．musical training causes new processes within the brain |
| B．Gottfried Schlaug thinks it hard to learn music |
| C．playing a musical instrument is a single -sensory experience |
| D．people having music lessons as children respond slowly |
The best title of the passage should be .
| A．Older People and Musical Training |
| B．Musical Training Affects Brain Structure and Its Function |
| C．Long-term High Level Musical Training |
| D．Brain Interprets and Combines Sensory Information |
When I was a kid, I was close to my dad, but as I grew older, my dad and I grew further apart. We always had totally different opinions. He thought that college was a waste of time, but for me it was important to finish college. He wanted me to work my way to the top as he had done in his field, but I wanted a different life. There was a time when we did not talk with each other.
A few months ago, I heard that my 84-year-old dad was in poor health. When he called and asked whether I could move from Colorado back to Tennessee to help him, I knew he was seriously ill. I am his only child and so it was time to meet my father’s requirement.
Two weeks after moving back, we bought a boat and started fishing again. Fishing was one of the few things that we did while I was young and that we both enjoyed. It is strange but true that as we are fishing we are able to put things that have kept us apart for so many years behind us. We are able to talk about things that we have never talked about before. Fishing has been healing the old wounds that have kept us apart
It is not important how many fish we catch. It is about enjoying the relationship that we have not had for years. I’m 62 and he is 84. When we are on the lake fishing, it is like two kids enjoying life. It is far better to find a way to put the unhappy past behind. I am so lucky to spend the happy time with my father in his last years. Now my heart is filled with love. A smile always graces my lips.The author and his father became further apart because______________.
| A．they had different views on things |
| B．they lived very far from each other |
| C．they only communicated by phone |
| D．they seldom went to see each other |
What made the author come back to Tennessee?
| A．Because his father invited him to go fishing. |
| B．Because he decided to live in a different city. |
| C．Because his father is ill and needs caring. |
| D．Because he regretted being rude to his father. |
For the author, fishing with his old father ___________ .
| A．helps cure his father’s disease |
| B．is a good way to get close to nature |
| C．makes him realize the importance of exercise |
| D．offers a chance for them to communicate |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer’s car is always breaking down. |
| B．Father intended me to be a fisherman. |
| C．I was unwilling to come back. |
| D．Father used to think it was useless to attend college. |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Forgiving Is Difficult | B．Fishing Brings Us Together |
| C．Memories of Old Days | D．My Beloved Father |