About five to seven million people who lived in England spoke English at the end of the 16th century. Later in the next century, people from England overcame other parts of the world and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries. Today, more people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before.
Look at this example:
British Betty: Would you like to see my flat?
American Amy: Yes. I’d like to come up to your apartment.
So why has English changed over time? All languages change and develop when cultures meet. At first the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today. It was based more on German than the English we speak at present. Then between about AD 800 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke first Danish and later French. These new settlers improved the English language and especially its vocabulary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was able to make use of a wider vocabulary than ever before.
Finally by the 19th century the language was settled. At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English Language. The latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.
English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that time English became the language for government and education. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly.When did English begin to be spoken in many other countries?
| A．In 16th century. |
| B．In 17th century. |
| C．In 18th century. |
| D．In 19th century. |
Shakespeare could use a wider vocabulary than ever before because English_______.
| A．developed when new settlers came to Britain |
| B．was based on Germany during the 5th century |
| C．became the language for government and education |
| D．was spoken wide all over the world |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．British settlers moved to America in the 18th. |
| B．It’s easy for Chinese people speak fluent English. |
| C．English once became the official language in India. |
| D．English was influenced by Danish invaders in AD 450 . |
What showed the differences of American English spelling?
| A．Samuel Johnson’s dictionary | B．Shakespeare’s books |
| C．French ruler’s language | D．Noah Webster’s dictionary |
For what purpose does the author write the passage?
| A．To settle English in many countries. |
| B．To understand English-speaking people. |
| C．To describe the development of English. |
| D．To tell people changes of American English. |
The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
| A．Improving the quality. |
| B．Worsening the state. |
| C．Fixing the time. |
| D．Deciding the conditions. |
The passage is developed mainly by_________.
| A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
| B．giving examples |
| C．pointing out similarities and differences |
| D．describing the changes in space order |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| B．The eating habit of African elephants. |
| C．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| D．The effect of African elephants’ search for food. |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They are home to many endangered animals. |
| B．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| C．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
| D．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |
Due to the increasing number of violence acts produced in schools all over the world, more and more parents prefer to have their children educated at home rather than at school． This way they can ensure their safety and well-being, although teachers and school representatives are trying to improve the situation in schools by increasing the number of the persons in charge of the safety of the students．
The main reason for violence acts are the films and cartoons that fill the children’s time． They want to do everything they watch on TV and never think of the consequences, and they may hurt a classmate or a teacher．
On the other hand, parents are not fully satisfied with the children’s results obtained in classes and they consider private classes would have better results. When a teacher has to watch 30 students in class he can’t probably see what each of them is doing, how he is writing, or if he understands the explanations． At home the teacher can explain in details everything the child doesn’t understand as many times as he considers proper. And many times the child grows fond of the teacher at home, who becomes his best friend, and who helps him whenever he needs someone to talk to.
However, the best solution would be a mixture between the education received at school and that at home, because school makes children communicate and socialize． Keeping a child at home for fear there might happen something bad to him only makes the child’s character weak and prevents him from knowing what real life is． Staying in a crystal ball only does harm to the child．
All in all, schools have been created to help children, not to harm them, so it’s best to keep children in these special places, where they learn, laugh, have fun and make new friendsThe writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ________
| A．teach parents the ways to keep their children safe |
| B．show solutions to developing children’s character |
| C．analyze an education problem and give opinions |
| D．explain the main reason for violence acts in schools |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Classes |
| B．Who is to Blame, Parents or Schools? |
| C．Which Is Better, School Study or Home Study? |
| D．The Relationship between Teachers and Children |
What does “a crystal ball” in the passage refer to?
| A．A toy that can be used for entertainment |
| B．A safe and comfortable environment |
| C．A round object that is made of crystal |
| D．An obstacle that is hard to overcome |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．violence TV programs have bad effects on children’s behavior |
| B．the teacher at home is more patient than the teacher at school |
| C．children today are weak from lack of sense of right and wrong |
| D．there are too many students in class for a teacher to teach |
Normal bicycle safety guides usually tell you to wear you helmet(头盔) and to obey the law in order to avoid being hit on a bike. Is this advice really helpful?
Consider this for a moment: Wearing a helmet will absolutely do nothing to prevent you from getting hit by a car. Surely, a helmet might help you if you get hit, but you No.1 goal should be to avoid getting hit. Plenty of cyclists were killed by cars__________. However, if they had ridden without helmets, yet followed the guidelines listed below, they might still be alive today. So they saying that wearing a helmet is the first and last word in bike safety is, to some degree(在一定程度上), wrong.
The most common bike safety advice is “follow the law”. Ridiculously, most people are already aware that it’s stupid to race through a red light at a crossroads. As a result, it’s clear that the “follow the law” advice isn’t that helpful, either. In addition, following the law is not enough to keep you safe. Here’s an example: The law tells you to ride on the right, but if you ride too far to the right, someone started a parked car could open their door right in front of you and motorists pulling out of driveways and parking lots will be less visible. In that case you were following the law, but could still have been hit.
Then what should we remember in order to keep safe when riding a bike? I will tell you about it in the following paragraph.What does the author say about wearing a helmet in the second paragraph?(within 8 words)
_________________________________________________________________________________________Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?
However, nearly everyone knows that riding through hared traffic light is dangerous.
_________________________________________________________________________________________Please fill in the blank in the second paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.(within 5 words)
_________________________________________________________________________________________ List the two regular bike safety guides.(within 8words)
_______________________________________②_______________________________________ Translate the underlined sentence in the third paragraph into Chinese.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult I feared him and felt bitter（痛苦的） about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
| A．He was silent most of the time. | B．He was too proud of himself. |
| C．He did not love his children. | D．He expected too much of her. |
When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel .
| A．nervous | B．sorry | C．tired | D．safe |
What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
| A．More critical. | B．More talkative |
| C．Gentle and friendly. | D．Strict and hard-working. |
The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to.
| A．the author’s son | B．the author’s father |
| C．the friend of the author’s father | D．the café owner |
“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the net.”
“I often check my e-mail forty times a day. ”
“I often spend more than three hours during one time on the net.”
“I spend more time in chat rooms than with my ‘real-life’ friends.”
Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction（上瘾）called Internet addiction. Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug（毒品）use. People lose control（控制）of the time they spend on the Internet.
For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried, and they called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he was surfing the net for several days straight.
Studies show that about 6% to 10% of Internet users become addicted. And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them. They spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.
Is “surfing the net” a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms（症状）: ①You do not go to important family activities or you do not do school work because you like to spend hours on the Internet. ②You can’t wait for your next online time. ③You go out with your friends less and less. ④You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours.How does the writer describe the addicts’ use of Internet?
| A．It is something like keeping drugs. | B．It is like taking drugs. |
| C．It is a way of producing drugs. | D．It is terrible to imagine. |
Why do people worry about the teens?
| A．The teens are wasting too much money. |
| B．They used to work on the Internet. |
| C．The playing field of the teens will disappear. |
| D．More and more of the teens will become addicted to the Internet. |
The example in the passage shows that.
| A．some of the Internet users have already been seriously addicted |
| B．Internet addicts usually stay in the computer lab without sleep |
| C．Internet problems are more serious among college students |
| D．the police often help to find those Internet addicts |
What is the writer trying to tell us at the end of the passage?
| A．Do things as you have planned. | B．Go to family activities more often. |
| C．Don’t be addicted to the Internet. | D．Stay with your parents as often as possible. |