When Webster was young ,he was a teacher .But he quickly became tired of the books he used in class .They were all about the English people and places .Since he wanted books that would be interesting to the American children ,he wrote three books with many American examples .
Webster worked hard to change the spellings of American English .He wanted words to be spelled in the same way they were pronounced .For example ,he thought the word laugh should be spelled laf.And he tried many ways to ask people to help him to do this .
One day he walked into a print shop and gave the boy there a piece of paper .Young man ,he said ,when you print any book in the future ,please don’t spell the words like the English people do .For example ,when you see these words :theatre ,centre ,colour ,and labour ,please always print them as theater ,center ,color ,and labor .The boy studied it and answered ,OK,but I must ask my boss first.
With the money he made from his books ,Webster could start his great work ,which took him more than twenty years to finish .In 1828 ,the first American English dictionary was born .And today, Webster’s dictionary is thought to be most important American English dictionary in the whole world .
1．Webster didn’t like the books used in American schools because________.
A．he was born in America
B．there were too many mistakes in them
C．American children were not interested in them
D．they were too difficult for American children to understand
2．In Webster’s opinion ,the word“colour”should be spelled as “color”according to its________.
A．meaning B．use C．pronunciation D．wording
3．What’s the printer’s attitude（态度）towards Webster’s advice？
A．He was for it. B．He was against it .
C．He had no idea about it . D．He thought it impossible
4. The best tittle foe this passage should be_______
A. webster
B. webster and His Dictionary
C. The first English Dictionary
D. The Differences between American English and British English
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. The lead story in tonight’s news concerns the fire which destroyed the major part of Columbia College at 4 a.m. this morning. In only five minutes, more than six hundred girls came out of their dorms to watch their college burn to the ground in the freezing December weather. Fortunately, there were no injuries resulting from the fire. According to the college president, plans are already made to raise more than three million dollars to rebuild the college.
Here is the news from Washington. President Clinton says he is troubled by a scientist’s desire to clone a human and is urging Congress to pass a ban (禁令) on such experiments for at least five years. In his weekly radio address, Clinton noted Chicago-area physicist Richard Seed’s announcement that he is ready to set up a clinic to clone human babies. President Clinton said that the need for passing laws that would ban human cloning for at least five years is more urgent than ever.
A brief look at the weather for the weekend tells us to expect light showers on Saturday and Sunday. The high Saturday will be in the lower 40’s. On Sunday, we can expect the high to be about 65. That’s this evening’s news. Good night from Channel 9 news. Your better news station, and from Alan King, your reporter.
1. When did the fire at Columbia College take place?
A. In December. B. In March.
C. In November. D. In April.
2. What does President Clinton hope Congress do?
A. To pass a ban on doing experiment in labs.
B. To ban cloning humans forever.
C. To pass laws to support cloning babies.
D. To pass a ban on human cloning quickly.
3. What will the weather be like on weekend?
A. There will be a strong wind. B. The weather will be fine.
C. It will be freezing cold. D. It will be rainy.
For many years, no one could communicate with people who had been born without hearing. These deaf people were not able to use a spoken language.
But, beginning in the 1700s, the deaf were taught a special language. Using this language, they could share thoughts and ideas with others. The language they used was a language without sound. It was a sign language.
How did this sign language work? The deaf were taught to make certain movements using their hands, faces, and bodies. These movements stood for things and ideas. People might move their forefingers across their lips. This meant, “You are not telling the truth.” They might tap their chins with three fingers. This meant “my uncle.”
The deaf were also taught to use a finger alphabet (字母). They used their fingers to make the letters of the alphabet. In this way, they spelled out words. Some deaf people could spell out words at a speed of 130 words per minute.
Sign language and finger spelling are not used as much as they once were. Today, the deaf are taught to understand others by watching their lips. They are also taught how to speak.
1. The deaf “talked” to other people __________.
A. by moving their hands, faces and bodies
B. by shouting and singing
C. without using any letters
D. without using any language
2. The deaf could spell out words __________.
A. by reading them aloud
B. by going here and there
C. by expressing the letters with their fingers
D. by watching others
3. Now, the deaf are trained to __________.
A. write sentences quickly
B. understand others by lip-reading
C. be good at mind-reading
D. keep alone happily
4. The story as a whole is about __________.
A. learning to spell B. teaching the deaf to speak
C. how the deaf communicate D. understanding Indian sign language
三、完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Everyone knows that a favorite food of people in the USA is the hamburger.
The favorite place to buy 36 is a fast-food restaurant. In these 37 , people 38 their food, wait just a few minutes, then when the food is ready they carry it to their tables by 39 . They can either 40 it in the restaurant or take the food out 41 a plastic box and eat it 42 home, at work, or in a park. At some restaurants people can drive up 43 a window. They 44 the food, and a worker hands it to them 45 the window. Then they 46 off and eat in their cars or 47 they like.
Hamburgers are not the 48 kind of food that fast-food restaurants 49 . 50 serve fish, or sandwiches, and also 51 , coffee, and so on.
Fast-food 52 are very popular because the service is 53 and the food is not expensive. For many people, this is very important. In the United States, about 50% of all married women with children work outside. They are often too busy or too tired to 54 dinner for the family at night, and fast-food restaurants are a 55 help to help.
Now there are fast-food restaurants all over the world.
36. A. hot dogs B. hamburgers C. bread D. cakes
37. A. cafes B. shops C. restaurants D. stores
38. A. need B. order C. require D. want
39. A. yourself B. yourselves C. themselves D. oneself
40. A. eat B. get C. take D. bring
41. A. on B. in C. at D. of
42. A. in B. of C. at D. on
43. A. before B. to C. beside D. under
44. A. bring B. order C. eat D. have
45. A. beside B. through C. near D. throughout
46. A. go B. take C. drive D. walk
47. A. whatever B. wherever C. whichever D. whoever
48. A. only B. any C. one D. some
49. A. take B. work C. serve D. do
50. A. Another B. Other C. Some D. Anyone
51. A. wine B. orange juice C. soft drinks D. beer
52. A. meals B. restaurants C. markets D. shops
53. A. kind B. well C. fast D. strange
54. A. have B. take C. cook D. eat
55. A. large B. best C. great D. importan
．Sorry, sir. I broke the window glass, but I didn’t do that ______.
|
A．on purpose |
B．in purpose |
C．with purpose |
D．for purpose |
．I don’t think it is going to rain the day after tomorrow, _______?
|
A．do I |
B．don’t I |
C．is it |
D．isn’t it |
