When the seventeenth-century settlers brought the English language to America, they immediately and necessarily began to adapt (使适应) it to their new environment. These changes were clear early and criticized by some people on both sides of the Atlantic. However, after the Revolution, Americans began to be proud of their own form of English. Noah Webster was the major early supporter of American meanings and spellings over British ones and published the earliest American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language. During the years since Webster, language differences have continued to develop, proving (证明) the truth of George Bernard Shaw’s often-repeated words that the two nations are divided by a common language.
Like the American language, the earliest American literature (文学) copied English models. However, after the Revolution and the War of 1812, writers began to create a clear American literature. However, in 1820, Sydney Smith asked the famous question “Who reads an American book?”
Answering to this and similar taunts (讽刺) with creative anger, American writers soon produced works that plenty of British people read. Works by Washing-ton Irving, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain had been acclaimed greatly in Britain by the end of the nineteenth century.
Even as American writers got respect in Britain, British writers continued to have great influence in America. Charles Dickens went to America twice, in 1842 and 1867-68. Other major British writers who traveled and lived in the United States include D.H. Lawrence and Aldous Huxley. British best works continue to be widely read. The works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen became popular films.
At the turn of the twenty-first century, many books and writers continue to cross the Atlantic in both directions — made possible by the proud heritage (继承) of the shared language.
1.The author of this passage seems to think ______.
A. British English is better than American English
B. American English is better than British English
C. the same language has divided the two nations
D. the same language has connected the two nations
2.From the question asked by Sydney Smith, we can infer ______.
A. the British had to translate American books into English ones
B. the British found American books difficult to understand
C. the British thought highly of books written by Americans
D. the British looked down upon American books at first
3.The underlined word “acclaimed” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
A. sold B. discussed
C. welcomed D. refused
In fine department stores everywhere, you’ll see the light-blue boxes of Estee Lauder. These popular cosmetics (化妆品) are sold in more than 130 countries. Who’s the woman behind this worldwide cosmetics empire (帝国)? Estee Lauder herself, of course. This businesswoman became, for a time, the world’s richest self-made woman. Her secret? “I didn’t get there by dreaming about it,” she would say. “I got there by doing it.” Estee was born in the early 1900s in Queens, New York. Her father ran a hardware (五金器具) store, and from him Estee learned how to be a successful salesperson. Estee learned from her uncle John Schotz, too. He made creams in a small laboratory behind the family’s house. Estee watched him. Soon, she was experimenting with her own cosmetics. She put lipstick (唇膏) and creams on any female relative who’d let her, until her annoyed father told her to stop.
She married Joseph H. Lauder in 1930, and continued her experiments. She would cook dinner for the family, and at the same time, make her face creams. Then she began to sell her products in a Manhattan beauty shop.
In 1960, Estee began to sell her products in Europe. After many tries she succeeded and began selling her products in some stores in London. But France proved even more difficult. The store Galleries Lafayette refused to sell her products. So Estee “by accident” dropped a bottle of youth dew (香水) on the floor in the cosmetics department. As the scent spread around the store, customers came over and asked to buy it. The store soon began selling Estee’s products.
Estee led her company until 1982, when her son Leonard took over the business. Until her health worsened in the mid-1990s, she continued to attend the opening of a new store wherever in the world. She died on April 24, 2004. Estee Lauder’s talent as a saleswoman was extraordinary. Her son Leonard said, “There was never anyone who could sell like she could.” All who worked for Estee appreciated her special talent.
1.Which of the following can best describe Estee Lauder?
A. A successful cosmetics saleswoman.
B. A beautiful shop owner in London.
C. A popular cosmetics producer in France.
D. A founder of a cosmetics company in America.
2.What was Estee Lauder’s father’s attitude towards her when she tried her products on her female relatives?
A. He supported her and helped her.
B. He didn’t care about what she did.
C. He was very angry at her for what she did.
D. He was proud of what she did.
3.Estee managed to get her products known to the French customers by dropping a bottle of youth dew on the floor in the cosmetics department of a store ______.
A. on purpose B. with the store’s permission
C. by accident D. carelessly
4.The underlined word “scent” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
A. Estee’s product B. a customer’s praise
C. a pleasant smell D. the broken pieces of glass
What’s black and white and read all over? Not newspapers, at least not anymore. In fact, if you’re like most young people, you probably don’t read the newspaper at all.
In one recent survey, just 19 percent of 18 to 34-year-old said they read a newspaper every day, while 37 percent watch local TV news and 44 percent visit Internet news sites daily. As people turn more and more to new technologies, they turn the pages of newspapers less and less.
“There’s a revolution (革命) in the way young people get news,” says media consultant Merrill Brown.
Just a generation (一代人) or two ago, the newspaper was the main way that many people got their news. Now, nearly every home has at least one TV set. There’s high-speed, wireless Internet both at home and in many public places.
You no longer have to wait for a bundle of newsprint to arrive on your doorstep every morning. Thanks to new technology, if you want to know what’s going on in the world, you can get breaking news immediately in more ways than one.
So newspapers face a very big challenge. Raised on MTV and video games, today’s kids and young adults want flashy displays, special effects, quick information, and the chance to interact (互动) in real time, even when they’re reading about serious problems.
If newspapers can’t find creative ways to be more than just ink on paper, some experts suggest, they might disappear completely.
Traditional newspaper articles are supposed to be read from beginning to end, lack (缺乏) of interaction. With Web pages, on the other hand, there’s more freedom. You can look through the things you’re interested in, then follow links to other sources. You can join discussion groups, read other people’s opinions on a topic, or start a blog to express your own views.
1.This passage is mainly about ______.
A. the disappearing newspaper B. different news sources
C. the future of the Internet D. the new technologies
2.From the survey, we can see that ______.
A. TV has become the major source of news
B. newspapers are no longer the major source of news
C. more than half of the 18-to-34-year-old visit news sites daily
D. new technologies have replaced the traditional one
3.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned about the disadvantage of newspapers?
A. High price. B. Lack of changes.
C. Slow speed. D. Lack of interaction.
4.The author of the passage would probably think the future of newspapers is ______.
A. attractive B. bright
C. hopeless D. uncertain
When I was in my fourth year of teaching, I was also (and am still) a high school track and field coach (田径教练). One year, I had a student, John, who entered my class when he was a junior (三年级学生). John changed to our school from Greece, and seemed to be interested in athletics, so I encouraged him to join our track team. I explained to him that even though he had never taken part in it before, I did believe that he could do well in any event, and I would be willing to coach him at whichever ones interested him. He accepted the offer, and began to work hard at every practice.
About a month later, I had found out from other sources that John was a first-class tennis player, winning various junior awards in his home country. I went to him asking, “John, I really appreciate that you came out for the track team, but why didn’t you play tennis instead? It seems that would interest you a lot more, since you’re so good at it.”
John answered, “Well, I like tennis, but you told me that you believed in me, and that you thought I could do well in track, so I wanted to try it for that reason.”
From then on, I often remember my student’s reply. I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to share somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical (不满的) students can be of themselves, I’ve found that a simple “I trust that you can do it!” can go a long way!
1.According to Paragraph 1, the author seems to think more about John’s ______.
A. PE marks B. self-confidence
C. interest in sports D. state of health
2.Why did John take part in the track team?
A. He had been an excellent runner.
B. He was encouraged by his teacher.
C. He liked running more than tennis.
D. He had no tennis coach to train him.
3.The purpose of this passage is probably ______.
A. to build a close teacher-student relationship
B. to introduce a new way of sports training
C. to explain the value of sports and games
D. to show the importance of encouragement
4.The passage is mainly written for ______.
A. teachers B. parents
C. students D. players
近年来，网络用语更新迅速。青少年在日常谈话和上网聊天时喜欢使用前卫的语言，如“肿么了”、“有木有”等。这一现象引发了人们极大的关注与讨论。请根据下列内容提示，用英语写一篇短文反映现象并表达个人观点。
赞同 | 不赞同 |
1. 使自己更时髦 2. 容易找到兴趣爱好相同的朋友 | 1. 父母和孩子沟通有困难 2. 不正确的语言使用不利于语文学习 |
注意：1. 文章开头已给出，不计入总词数；2. 词数：100词左右；
3. 参考词汇：时髦fashionable；沟通communicate。
In recent years, Internet language has been updated faster and faster. Many young people like to chat in their daily talk and Internet chatting with these words such as “zhong me le” and “you mu you”.
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^）。并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Sometime in February, my teacher told us about the city speech contest, its topic was “People who have overcome difficulties in their lives”. I thought of my grandma would be my perfect topic. Then I carefully prepared for contest. A couple of weeks later, after the first round I was choosing to be one of the seven finalists! The final was held soon. I was the sixth to presenting the speech. How a relief when I finished it! After the last person finished, the judge made their final decisions and announced that I have won first prize. The audience were going wildly clapping and cheering! I was extremely happy. It was such exciting a moment that I will always remember it.
