Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels (元音) being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact (接触) with many people from around the world. This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary came out.
Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words. Late Modern English has many more words, mainly because of the following two reasons: First, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) led to the need for new words. Second, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600, the English colonization (殖民地化) of North America led to American English. Some English pronunciations and words “froze” when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that are called “American English” are in fact from British expressions. They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain. Spanish also had an influence (影响) on American English. For example, words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante are from Spanish. They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English has a greater influence, because of the USA’s movies, television, popular music, trade and technology.
1.The main difference between Early and Late Modern English lies in _____.
A. vocabulary B. pronunciation
C. spelling D. grammar
2.What helped to increase the vocabulary of Late Modern English?
a. the invention of printing
b. the Industrial Revolution
c. the colonization
d. the contact with other countries
A. a, b, c B. a, c, d
C. a, b, d D. b, c, d
3.From the passage, we can learn the word “canyon” is from _____.
A. American dialect B. African dialect
C. Spanish D. French
4.The third paragraph mainly talks about _____.
A. English colonies in North America
B. the development of American English
C. other languages’ influence on American English
D. the difference between American English and British English
Sports are all about change. A team gets better. A kid practices more and swims a personal best or learns a new move on the basketball court. In 2006, two things happened that got me thinking about change—in sports and in life.
One of them is tennis champion Andre Agassi, who retired in 2006. Agassi was a terrific player who won 60 titles, including eight major championships(冠军称号). But his greatest accomplishment（成就）might have been how much he changed during his career.
When he was young, Agassi was a show off who seemed to care only about himself. He didn't train very hard, but he won matches because of his tremendous（极大的） talent.
Eventually, though, injuries and his bad attitude caught up with him. He fell from No.1 in the world ranking to No.141.
So Agassi changed. He trained harder and became a world-class player again. More importantly, he changed as a person. He was nicer to fans and opponents（对手）. He stopped thinking just about himself and started thinking about others. Through his Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, he raised more than $60 million to help disadvantaged kids around his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. He even started a school, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, for at-risk kids.
At the start of a new year, lots of people promise themselves they will change. They might vow to get in good physical shape, do better in school or be nicer to others.
Changes such as those can be difficult. But they do happen. Just remember Andre Agassi: It wasn't easy, but he changed, and changed for the better.
1.According to the writer, which of the following may be the greatest achievement for Agassi?
A. He once ranked No.1 in the world rankings.
B. He won 60 titles.
C. He changed much during his career.
D. He won 8 major championships.
2.What does the underlined work “vow” in the 6th paragraph probably mean?
A. promise. B. agree. C. wish. D. prove.
3.What do you know about Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation?
A. It is intended to help at-risk kids.
B. It is a charity school set up by Agassi.
C. Some disadvantaged kids can get help from it.
D. Agassi runs it with his prize money.
4.What might be talked about in the paragraphs following this passage?
A. What achievements Agassi has made after he changed for the better.
B. How we can change for the better.
C. Another thing happened in life that got the writer thinking about change.
D. Some assessments(评价) about Agassi from different people.
The mom had died when the rescuers found her after the terrible earthquake. She was covered by a destroyed house. Through gaps(缝隙) of those ruins, the rescuers could see her last posture(姿势). It was something like an ancient person who was kowtowing(叩头), but it just looked strange because she was out of shape by pressure.
The rescuers confirmed(证明) her death by touching her through the gaps of the ruins. They shouted at the ruins again and again, knocked the bricks using various tools, but no reply inside.
Then the rescuing team went to the next building. Suddenly the leader ran back, calling "Come here." He came to the body, put his hands under the woman, feeling and touching, then shouted loudly and gladly, "There is someone, a baby, still living."
Through some efforts, rescuers cleaned up the ruins which blocked her. Under her body lay her baby, who was covered by a small red quilt (棉被)．He was about 3 or 4 months old. Since well protected by his mother's body, he was safe. He was in a deep sleep when the rescuer carried him out, and his lovely and peaceful face warmed everyone around him. The doctor, along with the rescuing team, took the baby out of the quilt to check if the baby was all right, and he found there was a mobile phone in the quilt. The doctor looked at the screen; a written message was already there: "My dear baby, if you could live, doesn’t forget how much I love you." As a doctor, he experienced much of this type of separation；but at this moment, he cried. The mobile phone was passed, and every person who saw this message shed (流出) tears.
1.When the rescuers found the mom, she________.
A．was using her mobile phone to ask for help
B．begged the rescuers to save her baby first
C．was struggling with the pressure
D．didn't have the normal shape
2.Which of the following is true?
A. The mom was kowtowing when the rescuers found her.
B. The rescuers carried the baby out without difficulty.
C. The little baby was found behind the mom.
D. When the baby was rescued, he was fast asleep.
3.The passage is mainly about________.
A．a story of saving a mother and her baby
B．the disaster of a terrible earthquake
C．the rescuers' hard work after an earthquake
D．the great love of a mother in the earthquake
A student was one day taking a walk with his teacher. As they went along, they saw a pair of old shoes lying in the path. They were a poor farmer’s, who was working in the nearby field.
The student turned to the teacher, saying: “we will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those trees, and wait to see what he will do.”
“My young friend,”answered the teacher,“we should never make fun of the poor. Why not put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch?”The student did so and they both hid themselves behind the trees. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes.
After putting on his coat, he put his foot into one of his shoes, and felt something hard. Then he bent (弯腰) down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Surprised, he looked at the coin, turned it around and looked at it again. He then looked around, but no person was seen. He put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe. His surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.
He couldn’t control his feelings and fell to his knees, looked up to the sky and expressed his thanks. Then he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread. He said the help would save them from dying.
The student stood there deeply moved, and his eyes filled with tears. “Now,” said the teacher, “are you not much happier than if you had hidden the shoes?”
1.When the student saw the shoes, he wanted to _____.
A. steal them
B. find their owner
C. play a joke on the owner
D. give the owner some money
2.When the farmer saw the second coin, he _____.
A. was very excited and grateful
B. was worried and looked up at the sky
C. was surprised and decided to find the owner
D. spoke of his difficulties and asked for more help
3.At the end of the story, the student _____.
A. was very proud of himself
B. was very pleased with his life
C. felt very sorry about his first idea
D. felt sad for not taking his teacher’s advice
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. It is never too late to learn.
B. All good things come to an end.
C. Where there is a will, there is a way.
D. True happiness comes from helping others.
请以下列词语为关键词写一篇英语短文。
内容： 1．自己或他人的一次经历； 2．你的感受。
注意： 1．必须使用所给4个关键词； 2．词数不少于120个；
短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英主事课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请您修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语文错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅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：把多余的词用斜钱（\）划掉。
修改：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．只充许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Mr. Johnson is a hardworking teacher. Every day, he spends too much time with his work. With little sleep and hardly any break, so he works from morning till night. Hard work have made him very ill. “He has ruined his healthy. We are worried about him.” That is which other teachers say. Yesterday afternoon. I paid visit to Mr. Johnson. I was eager to see him, but outside her room I stopped. I had to calm myself down. Quietly I step into the room. I saw him lying in bed, looking at some of the picture we had taken together. I understood that he missed us just as many as we missed him.
