Students in many countries are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others by themselves. A few learn English by learning the language over the radio, on TV, or in film. One must work hard to learn another language.
Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer this question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects required for study. They study their own language and math and English: Some people learn it because it is useful for their work. Many people learn English for their work. Many people learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English.People learn English _______.
| A．at school | B．over the radio |
| C．on TV | D．not all in the same way |
Different kinds of people want to learn English _______.
| A．together with other subjects |
| B．for different reasons |
| C．for their work |
| D．for higher studies at colleges |
From this passage we know that _______.
| A．we can learn English easily |
| B．English is very difficult to learn |
| C．English is learned by most people in the world |
| D．English is a useful language but one must work hard to learn |
Which of the following is right?
| A．We don’t need to learn any foreign languages. |
| B．We can do well in all our work without English. |
| C．English is the most important subject in schools. |
| D．We should learn English because we need to face the world. |
In general, people talk about two groups of colours warm colours and cool colours. Researchers in psychology think that there are also two groups of people people who prefer warm colours and people who prefer cool colours.
The warm colours are red, orange and yellow. Where there are warm colours and a lot of light, people usually want to be active. People think that red, for example, is exciting. Sociable people, those who like to be with others, like red. The cool colours are green, blue and violet. These colours, unlike warm colours , are relaxing. Where there are cool colours, people are usually quiet. People who like to spend time alone often prefer blue.
Red may be exciting, but one researcher says that time seems to pass more slowly in a room with warm colours than in a room with cool colours. He suggests that a warm colour, such as red or orange is a good colour for a living room or restaurant. People who are relaxing or eating do not want time to pass quickly. Cool colours are better for offices or factories if the people who are working there want time to pass quickly.
Researchers do not know why people think some colours are warm and other colours are cool. However, almost everyone agrees that red, orange, and yellow are warm and that green, blue and violet are cool. Perhaps warm colours remind people of warm days and the cool colours remind them of cool days. Because in the north the sun is higher during summer, the hot summer sunlight appears yellow.Which of the following colours belong to cool colours?
| A．Yellow, green. | B．Blue, violet. |
| C．Black, blue. | D．Brown, white. |
Which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Sociable people like warm colours. |
| B．Warm colours can make people excited. |
| C．People who like to be with others don’t like red. |
| D．Where there are warm colours, people want to be active. |
Which is the right colour for different rooms?
| A．Red or orange for offices. |
| B．Orange for dining-rooms. |
| C．Blue for bedrooms. |
| D．Red for studies. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．It shows the reason why people think some colours are warm and others are cool. |
| B．Warm colours remind people of warm days. |
| C．Cool colours remind people of cool days. |
| D．People have an agreeable opinion of warm colours and cool colours. |
You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists（拳头）. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead!
Of course he isn’t really dead. With any luck he isn’t even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars of even catch fire, are professionals（专业人士）. They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen（替身演员）. That is to say, they perform tricks.
There are two sides to their work.They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress(床垫). Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar!
But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntman’s success depends on careful timing（时间测量）. For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion（爆炸）just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff（悬崖）a thousand feet high. His parachute failed to open, and he was killed.
In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action. For nowadays there are stunt-girls too!Stuntmen are those who
| A．often dress up as actors |
| B．prefer to lead dangerous lives |
| C．often perform seemingly dangerous actions |
| D．often fight each other for their lives |
Stuntmen earn their living by
| A．playing their dirty tricks | B．selling their special skills |
| C．jumping out of high windows | D．jumping from fast moving trains |
Usually when a stuntman falls from a high building
| A．he needs little protection |
| B．he will be covered with a mattress |
| C．his life is endangered |
| D．his safety is generally all right |
What can be inferred from the author’s example of the Norwegian stuntman?
| A．Sometimes an accident can occur to a stuntman. |
| B．The percentage of serious accidents is high |
| C．Parachutes must be of good quality. |
| D．The cliff is too high. |
When you are visiting New York City with kids，there are numerous things to do which will entertain their spirits and feed their minds.
•The Whispering Gallery
Make your way to the Whispering Gallery. The Whispering Room's architecture allows for a phenomenon that usually sparks a lot of giggles. Once inside the gallery，place one person facing the corner at one end of the room and then place another person facing the corner at the opposite end. Ask one of the participants to whisper a phrase or a quick sentence or two and the person at the opposite end will be able to hear every word that was said.
E．42nd St.
New York，NY 10017
2127715322
grandcentralterminal.com
•American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History was founded in 1869.In addition to its impressive exhibits，permanent attractions bring the cool feeling to kids. They can enter the Fossil Halls and take in the impressive dinosaur skeletons. And the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life educates kids on the fragility of the ocean.
Central Park West at 79th St.
New York，NY,10024
212—769—5606
amnh.org
•The Scholastic Store
Most parents want their children to read，and moreover，to enjoy reading. The Scholastic Store helps to make that wish a reality by publishing engaging，well written stories that appeal to children. With classics such as Clifford the Big Red Dog，The Magic School Bus，and Harry Potter，the Scholastic Store will delight your children.
557 Broadway
New York,10012
212—343—6100
scholastic.com
•Ellen's Stardust Diner
The restaurant is a place where each person in your family can find something to eat .At Ellen's Stardust Diner，a diverse menu will whet everyone's appetite. Arugula salads，grilled cheese，burgers and meatloaf are all on this varied menu. The hall of beauty queens，a drive-in theatre and wait staff that sing to you can add to the unique dining experience.
•1650 Broadway，corner of 51st St.
•New York，NY 10019
•2129565151
ellensstardustdiner.com Once children visit the Whispering Gallery they'll find it ________.
| A．interesting | B．splendid | C．disappointing | D．frightening |
Which of the following websites helps the kids learn about the ancient ocean life?
| A．ellensstardustdiner.com | B．grandcentralterminal.com |
| C．amnh.org | D．scholastic.com |
You would like to get your children interested in reading so you can bring them to visit ________.
| A．the Whispering Gallery | B．the Scholastic Store |
| C．Ellen's Stardust Diner | D．American Museum of Natural History |
In addition to your favorite food in Ellen's Stardust Diner you can also ________.
| A．make some good friends |
| B．see many beautiful queens |
| C．receive the first—class service |
| D．enjoy some entertaining programs |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．Tips for travelling around New York City |
| B．Children would like to travel in big cities |
| C．Things to do with kids in New York City |
| D．Entertaining activities in the United States |
Playing basketball isn’t ladylike. That’s what Jewell Chapman’s high school headmaster told her in 1961 when he was against the girls’ basketball program.
“We were very discouraged, ” said Chapman, a forward（前锋）for her high school team of Des Moines.
Nearly 50 years later, Chapman is back on the playground. She’s 62 and plays for “Hot Pink Grannies”, joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black trousers and hot pink socks. They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League.
It’s one of dozens of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have arisen across the country. For some, it’s a chance to exercise and meet people; for others, it’s a once – refused chance to make up.
“You see more and more elderly women’s teams taking part in state and national competitions,” said Michael Rogers, a professor in sports studies at Wichita State University. “In the future it will be something common to have leagues like this.”
Yearly surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association show the number of women aged 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 ten years later.
The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good – natured but competitive when game time comes.
“I think I’m tough” says Colleen Pulliam, 69, showing off her strong arms at her challengers in a game against “Strutters”, known for their bright yellow socks.
Granny Basketball Leagues and similar groups spread quickly through much of the country, including California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.Which is right about Chapman?
| A．She thinks playing basketball isn’t ladylike. |
| B．She is now 62 years old and feels discouraged. |
| C．She plays basketball again about 50 years later. |
| D．She is a forward in the Hot Pink Grannies. |
The underlined sentence “it’s a once – refused chance to make up” in the fourth paragraph means .
| A．it is chance to realize their old dream |
| B．it is chance to take part in sports |
| C．it is chance to earn a reputation |
| D．it is chance to compete for medals |
Who is probably a player of “Hot Oink Grannies”?
| A．Des Moines. | B．Colleen Pulliam. | C．Michael Rogers. | D．Strutters. |
Which of the following statements is true?
A．Some elderly women play basketball with the purpose of getting wealthy.
B．Granny Basketball Leagues have spread all over the USA.
C．The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good – natured and less competitive.
D．The number of women aged 55 and older who play basketball has greatly increased.From the passage we can infer .
| A．in the 1960s, playing basketball wasn’t considered as a girls’ sport |
| B．the color of the socks is of great importance to granny players |
| C．more and more granny players are confident about getting higher scores |
| D．Jewell Chapman’s high school headmaster has already changed his attitude |
“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 |