The number of speakers of English in Shakespeare’s time is estimated(估计) to have been about five million. Today it is estimated that some 260 million people speak it as a native language, mainly in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard varieties of English found in these areas, there are a great many regional and social varieties of the language as well as various levels of usage that are employed both in its spoken and written forms.
In fact, it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate(足够的) working knowledge of English in addition to their own languages. The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.
The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present-day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.
1.What would be the best title for this passage?
A. The Difficulties of Learning English B. International Communications
C. The Standard Varieties of English D. English as a World Language
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.
B. There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.
C. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.
D. People learn English for a variety of reasons.
3.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?
A. It was popular during Shakespeare’s time. B. It is used in former British colonies.
C. It serves the needs of its native speakers.
D. It is a world language that is used for international communication.
4.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?
A. The ability to read a newspaper.
B. It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.
C. Being a multilingual.
D. Being a native speaker.
5.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?
A. Those geographically close to the United States.
B. Those interested in the culture of the United States.
C. Former colonies of Great Britain.
D. Countries where international conferences are held.
A teenage girl is fighting for her life today after being struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms swept across Britain. The girl was one of four teenage girls from London who were hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park during a storm. Earlier, Joseph Wharton, 14, died as he was struck by lightning while camping in his friend’s backyard in the West Midlands.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the girl remained in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. She had stopped breathing by the time the first paramedic (护理人员) arrived on the scene just two minutes after the strike at 5:40 p.m. yesterday.
The other three girls hit by the bolt all had injuries, and were taken to University College Hospital. Their conditions were not serious, the spokesman added.
The strike lifted the girls into the air and then dropped them to the ground, a witness reported.
A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said paramedics risked their lives to treat the girls. “The storm was still overhead and lightning was still coming down while they were treating the patients,” he said. “All staff involved acted very professionally in providing fast treatment to these patients in very difficult circumstances.” Scotland Yard said the incident was being looked into by officers from the Royal Parks’ Operational Command Unit.
Joseph Wharton of Byland Way, Bloxwich, was hit during the extended thunderstorm which struck the region yesterday morning. He was pronounced dead at Walsall Manor Hospital.
He had been sleeping in a tent while staying with school friend Michael Lees at a house on nearby Cresswell Crescent.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were called at 7:50 a.m. and unsuccessful attempts were made to revive（使苏醒）the sports-mad teenager. A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said four or five people die each year as a result of lightning strikes in the UK.
1.All four girls________.
A. were killed by the lightning B. were seriously injured
C. were being treated at the same hospital D. were lifted up and dropped to the ground
2.The underlined word “bolt” probably means “________”.
A. thunder B. rain C. storm D. lightning
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The boy was killed after the four girls had been hit.
B. The paramedics began to treat the girls after taking them to the hospital.
C. First-aid was given to the girls during the storm.
D. The boy was hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park.
4.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. many British people die from lightning strikes every year
B. the writer blames the government for the accident
C. the paramedics could also have been hit by lightning while aiding the girls
D. Joseph had been playing in the open air before the strike
5.This passage is probably taken from a ________.
A. magazine B. newspaper C. science fiction D. weather report
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为16-25的相应位置上。
On December 19th , 2006, an airbus took off on time from the capital airport of Saudi Arabia. After about an hour’s1.. (fly), something strange happened in the plane.
The passengers2.. (enjoy) themselves when a small rat stole out from the bag of a young man ,which make the young woman nearby3.. (alarm)with loud screaming. Then more and more rats came out of the bag. All the passengers became out of order, especially the women and the children. The steward（机长）managed to get in touch with4.. control center on the ground. With the order from the ground, the plane5.. (succeed)landed at the nearest airport.
As soon as the plane on the ground, all the passengers got off. Then seven specialists got on 6._____(catch)these small creatures. Many means had been tired but7.. of them were good enough to catch the rats.
At last they tried to fill in the plane8.. carbon-dioxide,9.. poisoned all the eighty rats by the poisonous gas.
It 10._ (report)that the young man wanted to carry these rats to another city and sell them as pets but no one had expected that theses small creatures succeeded in escaping from the bag.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意．然后从1—15各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Teaching my first child, Danae, to share her toys was the biggest challenge. To 1this, we started inviting other children to play, which could help Danae discover that it’s fun to share with others — a lesson I needed to 2myself as well, as it 3.
One evening Danae had 4a friend, Natalie, to play with her. Their favorite was a children’s card game called Go Fish. That evening, after Natalie left, Danae came to me and said, “Mommy, I’d like to give these to Natalie tomorrow. They’re her favorites.”
She held up three cards from the Go Fish game. I tried to 5that I didn’t want her to give them away because then our 6wouldn’t be complete. “But I really want her to have them!” Danae 7. I thought perhaps she didn’t understand that when she gave something away, it was gone 8. So I tried again, saying, “Once you give the cards to her, you can’t 9them back tomorrow.”
A look of 10came over Danae’s face. For a moment I was happy that she seemed to 11. But then she smiled and said. “Well, that’s okay; I want her to have them anyway.”
What could I say to that? I sat 12for a moment and then I realized I had been trying for so long to ask her to share. Did it 13that our Go Fish set would be 14? What mattered was that my daughter was learning the 15of giving, that she was thinking about others instead of herself, and that she was trying to make her friends happy. Isn’t that what life is all about?
1.A．achieve B．apply C．receive D．get
2.A．design B．know C．create D．review
3.A．turned up B．turned away C．turned to D．turned out
4.A．begged B．encouraged C．invited D．found
5.A．explain B．suggest C．respond D．teach
6.A．thing B．card C．set D．toy
7.A．insisted B．recommended C．announced D．cried
8.A．surely B．suddenly C．forever D．indeed
9.A．ask for B．call for C．look for D．care of
10.A．surprise B．concern C．delight D．satisfaction
11.A．understand B．accept C．refuse D．doubt
12.A．sadly B．angrily C．quietly D．slowly
13.A．work B．mean C．remind D．matter
14.A．incomplete B．lost C．limited D．gone
15.A．content B．usefulness C．way D．joy
假设你是李华， 你在英国的笔友Tommy最近为自己发胖感到苦恼。请你根据所给提示，给他发一封电子邮件。
邮件内容包括：1.可能造成发胖的原因 (如饮食、锻炼……) 至少写出两条
2.简述你自己相关的健康生活方式。
注意：邮件开头和落款已经为你写好，只把正文写在答题卡上。
Dear Tommy,
I am really feeling bad that you are being troubled by overweight these days.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
It was a Sunday morning, and I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”
“No! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.
My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and went. I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.
When I reached the hospital, my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911, thank God! If he had moved Daddy, there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib(肋骨) might have pierced(穿透) a lung....”
My mother may have said more, but I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear anything except those terrible words: Leave me alone. My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more. How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?
It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.
“Daddy... I am so sorry....”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay.”
“No,” I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”
My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly. He looked at me and said, “Sweetheart, I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though.” He managed a weak smile.
My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.
1.The author was in bad mood that morning because ______.
A. his father had a terrible accident
B. he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends
C. his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema
D. his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends
2.Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?
A. Because he didn’t go along with his father.
B. Because he was rude to his father that morning.
C. Because he failed to come earlier after the accident.
D. Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital.
3.The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that___.
A. he had a poor memory B. he didn’t want to forgive his son
C. he just wanted to comfort his son D. he lost his memory after the accident
4.What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?
A. Don’t treat your parents badly.
B. Don’t hurt others with rude words.
C. Don’t move the injured in an accident.
D. Don’t be angry with friends at small things.
