With so much free time on our hands during lockdown， many of us have entertained the idea of knowing more about the world． Learning a foreign language is a good choice． Here are a few examples， in order of time it takes people to learn them．
Latin languages （about 600 hours）
The popular Latin languages ﹣ Italian， French， Spanish and Portuguese ﹣ require about 600 hours to learn． Of these， Spanish and Italian are the easiest for English speakers to learn． They are followed by Portuguese and finally French．
Latin languages share many words with English．However，those shared words look or sound similar， but have different meanings over time．
Greek （1，100 hours）
Modern Greek is maybe the easiest language to learn that uses a different alphabet（字母表）．It is also a language that has contributed many words to English． Indeed， the president of Greece once gave two speeches at an international meeting that included just Greek loan words（外来词） as well as the unavoidable basic English．
Japanese （2， 200 hours）
Counting objects in Japanese depends on whether they are long and thin （like "roads"）， small and round （like "apples"）， thin and flat （like "sheets of paper"）， and hundreds more examples．
What Japanese you speak also depends on your gender（性别）． There's a "rough" language for men and a more "ladylike" language for women， but you must understand both．
Chinese （2， 200 hours）
Each Chinese written word is hardly understandable when spoken between a Mandarin （普通话） speaker in Beijing and a Cantonese speaker in Guangdong． If you think that's strange， consider our number system： the symbol "2" is widely understood but it's pronounced "two" in English and "duex" in French．
（1）For an English speaker， which of the following is the easiest to learn？
A． Japanese．
B． French．
C． Greek．
D． Italian．
（2）What can we learn from the passage？
A． The same word in two languages always has the same meaning．
B． The English language and the Greek language use the same alphabet．
C． Objects are counted differently in Japanese according to their shapes．
D． A Mandarin speaker and a Cantonese speaker write Chinese differently．
（3）The purpose of this passage is to tell English speakers ．
A． how to learn some foreign languages
B． why they must learn a foreign language
C． some information on the difficulty of foreign languages
D． not to choose an Asian language to learn as it is too hard
Every day when I enter the classroom, I will take a look at the wall beside my seat. You will find nothing special about this old wall if you just look at it. But for the students in my class, it is a special wall. Take a good look at it, and you will get to know the real feelings and thoughts of us, the 9th graders.
In the middle of the wall, there is a big “VICTORY”. It was written in pencil. I guess it must have been written by someone who got a good mark in an exam.
A little higher above the formulas, there is a poem. It only has two sentences. It reads: All those sweet memories have disappeared. Like tears dropping in the heavy rain.
Oh! It must have been written at the end of the last semester in middle school. Classmates had to leave school and good friends had to part. What a sad poem!
If you look at the wall more carefully, you will find many other interesting things, like a crying face, or a happy face, and other patterns(图案). There are still some patterns and letters that I can’t understand, but they all show the feeling of the students who drew them.
For years, the wall has witnessed(目睹) all the things that have happened in the classroom. I don’t know how it will be next year, two years from now, or even ten years from now. But I hope more smiling faces will be drawn on it.There is ____ special on this wall.
| A．something | B．anything | C．nothing | D．everything |
What was the “VICTORY” written in?
| A．Chalk | B．Pencil | C．Pen | D．Brush |
When has the poem been written?
| A．At the beginning of the last semester. | B．At the end of the year. |
| C．At the end of the last semester. | D．At the beginning of the last month. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word?
| A．部分 | B．分离 | C．和好 | D．聚集 |
What’s the title of the passage?
| A．The Pictures of the Wall | B．The Feelings of the Students |
| C．The Patterns of the Classroom | D．The Hope of the Writer |
Two magazines recently listed the best cities to live in. Here are two of the cities listed as “the world’s best.”
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA The city has comfortable weather all year round (15℃ to 26℃). Housing is not very expensive in San Jose. Also, many of the city’s older neighborhoods are very beautiful and have small hotels and cafés.Beautiful mountains are around the city. Lots of people go sightseeing there every year. But air pollution is a problem in the city center.
HONG KONG, CHINA This lively city—once a small fishing village—is today an international business center. It is an interesting mix of East and West, old and new. Modern tall buildings are next to small temples (庙宇). Popular nightclubs are close to traditional teahouses. Busy people fill the streets at all hours of the day. But outside the city, there are parks for walking or relaxing. Hong Kong is famous for its wonderful native dishes. There’s also food from Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia. However, this small city has a large population of nearly seven million! That’s why housing is often very expensive. Traffic and air pollution are also a problem.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about San Jose?
| A．The weather. | B．The mountains. | C．The air. | D．The traffic. |
What makes Hong Kong the world’s best according to this passage?
| A．The lively city and the wonderful dishes. |
| B．The large population and the traffic. |
| C．The expensive housing. |
| D．The beautiful temples. |
The writer thinks housing in Hong Kong is expensive because ________.
| A．it is a small fishing village | B．it is a mix of East and West |
| C．it is a beautiful city | D．there are too many people in the city |
What do the two cities have in common?
| A．They both have beautiful mountains. | B．They both have a large population. |
| C．Air pollution is a problem in both. | D．They are both crowded. |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．San Jose and Hong Kong are the only two cities of the world’s best |
| B．San Jose has more natural sights than Hong Kong does |
| C．the weather in both cities is fine |
| D．San Jose used to be small fishing village |
There are many different kinds of cars in the world. My aunt thinks this is because cars are like their drivers. She says, “Rich people have expensive cars, big people have large cars, and old people drive old cars.” But I don’t agree with her.
My neighbor, Mrs. Hill, is 82 years old. She drives only on Tuesday, and then she drives only to the bank. She never drives more than 30 kilometers an hour. Do you think Mrs. Hill has a very old and small car? No! Her car is new. It’s very large, and it can go 200 kilometers for each hour!
My friend Mike is an artist. He draws beautiful pictures with lots of colors. But his car is black! Mrs. Bates has a very old car. It often has engine trouble. Does she drive that kind of car because she is poor? No, she has four factories and two million dollars in bank. My aunt Mary has a very small car. Every Sunday, she drives to the country with her husband, her three children, her mother and their dog.
Now, you have read about my friends and their cars. Do you agree with my aunt? Maybe you have a car. Does it say something about you?What does the writer’s aunt think about cars and their drives?
| A．Big people drive small cars. | B．Old people drive new cars. |
| C．Poor people have expensive cars. | D．Rich people have dear cars. |
What kind of car does Mrs. Hill have?
| A．A fast new car. | B．A fast old car. |
| C．A slow old car. | D．A fast small car. |
What kind of person is Mike?
| A．A person who is good at driving. | B．A person who does well in drawing. |
| C．A person who likes drawing. | D．A person who is good at writing. |
How many people go out from Mary’s car on Sunday?
| A．Five. | B．Six. | C．Seven. | D．Eight. |
What does “Does it say something about you?” mean?
| A．Does someone tell you something about your car? |
| B．Does your car say something to you? |
| C．Does your car show other people something about you? |
| D．Do you tell other people something about your car? |
Mr Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "If anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."
"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn’t remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt(烧) it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."
The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?"
"Burnt yesterday evening."Mr Brown told his son that _____.
| A．he would be away from home for four days |
| B．he would be back in seven days |
| C．he would be back in a month |
| D．he would be back in a week |
Mr Brown wrote the words down on ______.
| A．the wall | B．the door |
| C．a piece of paper | D．the picture |
A man came to visit the boy’s father on ________.
| A．the fifth day | B．the third day |
| C．the fourth day | D．the second day |
The man was very surprised because _____.
| A．he thought the child’s father was dead |
| B．the child didn’t ask him to sit down |
| C．the child gave him a cup of tea |
| D．the child gave him a cup of coffee |
What was burnt? ________.
| A．The piece of paper | B．Mr. Smith |
| C．The visitor | D．the son |
All around the world, people drink tea. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have very different ideas about drinking tea.
In China, for example, tea is always served when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at homes or in teahouses. They like their tea with nothing else in it.
Tea is also important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea called a tea ceremony(仪式). It is very old and full of meaning. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes.
Another tea drinking country is England. In England, the late afternoon is teatime. Almost everyone has a cup of tea. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with milk and sugar. They also eat cakes, cookies and little sandwiches at teatime.
In the United States people often drink tea for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. In summer, many Americans drink cold tea—“iced tea”. Sometimes they drink iced tea from cans, like soda(梳打).How many countries are there in the text to drink tea?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
The Chinese always drink tea with _______ in it.
| A．nothing | B．sugar | C．coffee | D．milk |
The _______ have a special way of serving tea called a tea ceremony.
| A．Chinese | B．Americans | C．Japanese | D．English |
What time is the teatime in England?
| A．The morning. | B．The afternoon. |
| C．The evening. | D．The late afternoon |
The text mainly tells us about _______.
| A．tea drinking customs | B．people like drinking |
| C．tea is important | D．different countries |